I'm standin' outside in the rain Passin' out demo tapes tryna get a name I was like eleven back then with the braids It was 1999, I was tryna catch a wave I heard JAY-Z was in town 'Bout to hit the Summer Jam stage and I gotta see his face If I give him my demo, then I wonder what he'd say Maybe he'll sign me and I'll finally get a break So now he on stage And everybody's singin' all the words to his shit and I'm amazed I'm holdin' up my demo with a sign sayin': Please I just need a couple minutes of your time, mister JAY Could you? But that ain't gon' work Fuck it though, I know there gotta be another way I snuck past security and made it backstage Demo in my hand hopin' he gon' press play when he seen me But when the show is all over, I was tryna walk fast Catch him when he leaves hopin' we can cross paths But he ain't seen me and I was feelin' all bad, uh And then security approached me, he was wearin' all black I passed him my CD with my house number on it Sayin': If you listen to it, could you please call back? Please, please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Pl-pl-pl-please listen to my demo Listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Please It's 2001, I'm thirteen now, but I'm better than I was Rappin' in my class when I should be doin' work But I'm thinkin' 'bout this beat I was hearin' on the bus I heard Dre and Snoop Dogg was in town Up In Smoke tour, Eminem comin' out You should have seen the way my eyes popped out You done thought the heavens opened up and God popped out, uh I wish that I could vibe with him If I gave him my demo, maybe I could ride with him Maybe Em would listen if I got some time with him Maybe Dre is lookin' for a kid that can sign with him I don't know All I know is that I gotta go, hopefully it all pans out Tryna get tickets, so I get the plan down If I get front row then I probably stand out Then my pops came home with two VIP passes in clutch And at that very moment I was happy as fuck So I started gettin' dressed so fast in a rush Demo in my hand, had a rich nigga glow He walked in my room and said: Kids can't go Damn and so he brought his girl with him And I can't believe I let another big chance go, damn Please, please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Pl-pl-pl-please listen to my–, uh Please listen to my demo Can you listen to my demo? Please listen to my demo Pl-pl-pl-please, uh A lot of years went by I'm twenty-five now and the tears went dry 2015 and I still got a dream But reality is lookin' kinda real this time I'm in the booth with a grunge on my face Tryna make a demo with no funds in the bank I don't wanna quit 'fore I make it out the bricks And my girl told me that we got a son on the way What the fuck? Damn I gotta push to go, but I ain't got a bit of time 'Cause it ain't 'bout me no more, I gotta just provide If I don't make it when he born, then I gotta get a job I hit the ground runnin' with a plan Make a mixtape and build somethin' with the fans If I don't do it now, then I'll never get a chance Got a certain way of thinkin', some will never understand So now I'm sittin' on the block Vibin' out bumpin' instrumentals in the drop Writin' every day like my pen don't wanna stop And my baby mom packin' my demos in the box I was pullin' up to schools in the rental CD in my hand, put my arm out the window Nobody took it and I didn't get the memo And all I kept sayin' was: Please listen to my demo Please, please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Please listen to my demo Pl-pl-pl-please listen to my demo Listen to my demo Please listen to my demo, yeah Please listen to my demo Please It's 2025, had some change I think I finally made it to a household name Moved my whole family out the hood with a change Told my mama quit her job, she won't work another day I got Platinum plaques now Couple hit singles and a back to back now Couple big cribs I'ma have to pass down When I put my demos out, I don't have to ask now if you can listen I'm sayin' what I want All your favorite rappers keep sayin' I'm the one And if I died now, then I'm grateful what I've done 'Cause a lot of niggas never really made it where I'm from I'm on tour and they waitin' in the front Campin' outside while they bakin' in the Sun Pull up to your city and they wavin' to the bus Got my songs on the speaker and they singin' every one And so I hit the stage This the same book, just a different page Crowd goin' crazy, but I know this one kid starin' at me with a glow like he was in a daze I'm lookin' at him in the crowd, I can see his face And he lookin' back at me and I wonder what he thinkin' It remind me of how I used to look at JAY When all I wanted was someone to give my shit a play And when the show is all over, they was tryna get me back in the cut Security was walkin' all faster than us Tryna get me out the buildin', tryna get me back to the bus Standin' by the bus was the kid that I seen from the crowd Nigga, how coincidental Handin' me his CD with his number on the pillow Looked at me and said: Please listen to my demo