Lyrics:

Jay-Z:
Take the baseline out, uh huh
Jigga uh huh uh huh uh huh

Annie Sample:
It's the hard knock life for us (uh-huh)
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life!!

Verse 1:
From standing on the corner poppin
To driving some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen
To dropping some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard
From the dope spot, where the smoke lock
Fleeing the murder scene, you know me well
From nightmares of a lonely cell, my only hell
But since when ya'll niggas know me to bail? Fuck Naw
Where all my niggas with the rubber grips, off shots
And if you with me ma I rubbing your tits, and what not
I'm form the school of the hard knocks, we must not
Let outsiders violate our blocks, and my plot
Let's stick up the world and split it 50-50, uh huh
Let's take the dough and stay real jiggy, uh huh
Let's sip the Cris and get pissy pissy
Flow imminently like the memory of my nigga Biggie, baby!
You know it's hell when I come through
The life and times of Shawn Carter nigga Volume 2, ya'll niggas get ready

Annie Sample:
It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life!!

Verse 2:
I flow for those droned out
All my niggas locked in the 10 by 4 controlling the house
We live in hard knocks we don't take over we bomb blocks
Burn 'em down and you can have 'em back daddy, I'd rather that
I flow for chicks wishing they ain't have to strip to pay tuition
I see you vision mama, I put my money on the longshots
All my ballers that born to glock
Now I'ma be on top whether I perform or not
I went from lukewarm to hot
Sleeping on guitars and cots, the king size, dream machine to grief
I've seen pies let the thing between my eyes analyze life's ills
Then I put it down tight grill
I'm tight grill with the phony rappers you might feel we homeys
I'm like still you don't know me, shit
I'm tight grill when my situation ain't improving
I'm trying to murder everything moving, Feel Me!!

Annie Sample:
It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life!!

Verse 3:
I don't how to sleep, I gotta eat, stay on my toes
Gotta a lot of beef so logically I prey on my foes
Hustlin still inside of me and as far as progress
You be hardpressed to find another rapper hot as me
I gave you prophecy on my first joint, and ya'll lamed out
Didn't really appreciate it till the second one came out
So I stretched the game out, X'ed your name out
Put Jigga on top, and drop albums non-stop for ya nigga

Annie Sample:
It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
Steada treated, we get tricked
Steada kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life!!

It's the hard knock life!!

It's the hard knock life