03′ Adolescence
Intro
La-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la (Yeah)La-la-la-la-la-la-la (Yeah)Verse 1
I grew up, a fucking screw up. Tie my shoe upWish they was newer. Damn, need something newerIn love with the baddest girl in the city, I wish I knew herI wish I wasn't so shy. I wish I was a bit more flyI wish that I could tell her how I really feel insideThat I'm the perfect nigga for her, but then maybe that's a lieShe like a certain type of nigga, and it's clear I'm not that guyBall player, star player. I'm just watchin' from the sideOn the bench, 'cause my lack of confidence won't let me flyI ain't grow up with my father, I ain't thinkin' 'bout that nowFast forward four years or so from now, I'll probably cryWhen I realize what I missed, but as of now, my eyes are dry'Cause I'm tryna stay alive, in the city where too many niggas dieDreamin' quiet trying to dodge a suit and tieWho am I? (La-la-la)Ayy, who am I? (La-la-la-la-la-la-la, yeah)Chorus
Things change, rearrange, and so do IIt ain't always for the better, dawg, I can't lieI get high 'cause the lows can be so coldI might bend a little bit but I don't foldOne time for my mind and two for yoursI got food for your thoughts to soothe your soulIf you see my tears fall, just let me beMove along, nothing to seeVerse 2
I always did shit the hard way. My niggas out slangin' in the hallwayBurnt CDs and trees like this was BroadwayTimes Square, kept the dimes there in the lockerSome Reggie Miller with more brown hairs than ChewbaccaWhispers that he got it for the low-low, sell aDime for a dub. Them white boys ain't know no betterBesides, what's twenty dollars to a nigga like that?He tell his pops he need some lunch and he gon' get it right backI peeped game. Got home, snatched my mama keychainTook her whip. The appeal too ill to refrainI hit the boulevard. Pull up to my nigga front do'His mama at home. She still let 'em hit the blunt thoughI told her, "Hello." And sat with my nigga and laughedAnd talked about how we gon' smash all the bitches in classI complimented how I see him out here gettin' his cashAnd just asked, "What a nigga gotta do to get that?Put me on." He just laughed when he seen I was sureSeventeen years breathing, his demeanor said moreHe told me, "Nigga, you know how you sound right now?You weren't my mans, I would think that you a clown right nowListen: You everything I wanna be, that's why I fucks with youSo how you lookin' up to me when I look up to you?You 'bout to go get a degree, I'ma be stuck with two choices:Either graduate to weight or selling number twoFor what? A hundred bucks or two a week?Do you think that you would know what to do if you was me?I got four brothers, one mother that don't love usIf they ain't want us, why the fuck they never wore rubbers?"I felt ashamed to have ever complainedAbout my lack of gear and thought about how far we done cameFrom trailer park to a front yard with trees in the skyThank you, mama, dry your eyes, there ain't no reason to cryYou made a genius and I, ain't gon' take it for grantedI ain't gon' settle for lesser, I ain't gon' take what they handedNah, I'm gon' take what they owe me and show you that I can flyAnd show old girl what she missing; the illest nigga alive. Aye, who am I?Chorus
Things change, rearrange, and so do I (Aye, who am I?)It ain't always for the better, dawg, I can't lie (Who am I?)I get high 'cause the lows can be so coldI might bend a little bit but I don't foldOne time for my mind and two for yoursI got food for your thoughts to soothe your soulIf you see my tears fall, just let me beMove along, nothing to seeOutro
I never felt betterWhat the song means
"03' Adolescence" is J. Cole's autobiographical recollection of being a teenager in 2003 and the choices that shaped him. It opens with a young narrator feeling like a failure: shy around the girl he likes, stuck on the bench in life, and aware that his absent father and the violence around him are weighing on him. The first verse is full of self-doubt, and the repeated question "who am I?" becomes the emotional center of the track.
The second verse moves into a memory. The narrator watches a friend who sells drugs in his neighborhood, and he is tempted by the money and the status. The friend, though, turns the question around: he sees the narrator as the one who can escape, and he warns him that the street offers only dead ends. This conversation changes the narrator's outlook. He decides not to accept what life hands him, and he uses his mother's sacrifice as motivation, moving from trailer-park poverty toward something better.
Key images such as the hallway dealing, the "trees" and "blunt" references, and the "trailer park to a front yard" line show how far he has come and what he is trying to leave behind. The chorus, with its "things change" refrain, admits that change is not always good, yet it still affirms his resilience. The brief outro, "I never felt better," reads as a hopeful, slightly ironic closing note.
Key phrases explained
- slangin'
- selling drugs on the street — Describes openly dealing drugs in the hallway, showing the environment the narrator grew up in.
- peeped game
- understood what was really going on — Means he saw through the situation and recognized the hustle his friend was involved in.
- put me on
- let me in on it / show me how to get it — The narrator asks his friend how he can earn money the same way.
- dub
- a twenty-dollar bill — Part of the street-price talk ("dime for a dub"), showing how small drug deals are priced.
- fucks with you
- likes you and respects you — Expresses the loyalty and admiration between the two friends.
Song info
- Release date
- 2014-12-09
- Album
- 2014 Forest Hills Drive
- Written by
- J. Cole, Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke, Willie B
- Produced by
- Willie B
- Samples
- Sônia Rosa – Here’s That Rainy Day, D’Angelo – Alright
- Interpolates
- Ludacris – Grew Up A Screw Up, Nas – One Time 4 Your Mind, 2Pac – Runnin’ (Dying to Live)
Add a translation in your language · Request another language