Yeah, yeah, I’m out in Brooklyn, now I’m down in Tribeca, right next to De Niro,
But I’ll be hood forever, I’m the new Sinatra, and since I made it here,
I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere,
I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicanos, right there up on Broadway,
Brought me back to that McDonald’s, took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street,
Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons whippin’ pastry,
Cruisin’ down 8th street, off-white Lexus, drivin’ so slow, but BK is from Texas,
Me, I’m up at Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie, now I live on Billboard,
And I brought my boys with me, say what up to Ty Ty, still sippin’ Mai Tai’s,
Sittin’ courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high fives,
Nigga, I be spiked out, I could trip a referee, tell by my attitude that I most definitely from…
[Alicia Keys]
In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothin’ you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new,
The lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for New York,
New York, New York
[Jay-Z]
I made you hot, nigga, catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game,
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain’t a Crip though,
But I got a gang of niggas walkin’ with my clique though,
Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin’ rocks,
Afrika Bambaataa shit, home of the hip-hop,
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back,
For foreigners it ain’t fitted, they forgot how to act,
8 million stories out there and they’re naked,
Cities is a pity, half of y’all won’t make it,
Me, I gotta plug Special Ed, and I got it made,
If Jeezy’s payin’ LeBron, I’m payin’ Dwyane Wade,
3 dice Cee-lo, 3 card Monte, Labor Day parade,
Rest in peace Bob Marley, Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade,
Long live the King, yo, I’m from the Empire State, that’s…
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
Welcome to the bright lights, city life
[Jay-Z]
Lights is blindin’, girls need blinders so they can step out of bounds quick,
The sidelines is blind with casualties, who sippin’ life casually,
Then gradually become worse, don’t bite the apple, Eve,
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you’re in-style,
And in the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out,
The city of sin is a pity on a whim, good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them,
Mami took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city, you’re a virgin, and Jesus can’t save you,
Life starts when the church ends,
Came here for school, graduated to the high life,
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feelin’ like a champion,
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
Welcome to the bright lights, city life
[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all lookin’ pretty,
No place in the world that can compare,
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, come on, come, yeah
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
Welcome to the bright lights, city life
