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1985 Lyrics by J. Cole

KOD

2018

1985, I arrived
33 years, damn, I'm grateful I survived
We wasn't s'posed to get past 25
Joke's on you motherfucker, we alive
All these niggas popping now is young
Everybody say the music that they make is dumb
I remember I was 18
Money, pussy, parties, I was on the same thing
You gotta give a boy a chance to grow some
Everybody talkin' like they know somethin' these days
Niggas actin' woke, but they broke, umm
I respect the struggle but you all frontin' these days
Man, they barely old enough to drive
To tell them what they should do, who the fuck am I?
I heard one of 'em dissed me, I'm surprised
I ain't trippin', listen good to my reply
Come here lil' man, let me talk with ya
See if I can paint for you the large picture
Congrats 'cause you made it out your mama house
I hope you make enough to buy your mom a house
I see your watch icy and your whip foreign
I got some good advice, never quit tourin'
'Cause that's the way we eat here in this rap game
I'm fuckin' with your funky lil' rap name
I hear your music and I know that rap's changed
A bunch of folks would say that that's a bad thing
'Cause everything's commercial and it's pop now
Trap drums is the shit that's hot now
See, I've been on a quest for the next wave
But never mind, that was just a segue
I must say, by your songs I'm unimpressed, hey
But I love to see a Black man get paid
And plus, you havin' fun and I respect that
But have you ever thought about your impact?
These white kids love that you don't give a fuck
'Cause that's exactly what's expected when your skin black
They wanna see you dab, they wanna see you pop a pill
They wanna see you tatted from your face to your heels
And somewhere deep down, fuck it, I gotta keep it real
They wanna be black and think your song is how it feels
So when you turn up, you see them turnin' up too
You hit the next city, collect your money when it's due
You gettin' that paper, swimmin' in bitches, I don't blame you
You ain't thinkin' 'bout the people that's lookin' like me and you
True, you got better shit to do
You coulda bought a crib with all that bread that you done blew
I know you think this type of revenue is never endin'
But I wanna take a minute just to tell you that ain't true
One day, them kids that's listening gon' grow up
And get too old for that shit that made you blow up
Now your show's lookin' light cause they don't show up
Which unfortunately means the money slow up
Now you scramblin' and hopin' to get hot again
But you forgot you only popped 'cause you was ridin' trends
Now you old news and you goin' through regrets
'Cause you never bought that house, but you got a Benz
And a bunch of jewels and a bunch of shoes
And a bunch of fake friends, I ain't judgin' you
I'm just tellin' you what's probably gon' happen when you rappin'
'Bout the type of shit you rappin' 'bout
It's a faster route to the bottom
I wish you good luck
I'm hoping for your sake that you ain't dumb as you look
But if it's really true what people sayin'
And you call yourself playin' with my name
Then I really know you fucked, trust
I'll be around forever 'cause my skills is tip-top
To any amateur niggas that wanna get rocked
Just remember what I told you when your shit flop
In five years, you gon' be on Love & Hip-Hop, nigga
Credits
J. Cole

J. Cole

About “1985” by J. Cole

Read the complete lyrics to "1985" by J. Cole from the album "KOD" in 2018. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under USA, In English, Diss Track.

"1985" is performed by J. Cole. from the album "KOD" in 2018 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "1985", explore more songs by J. Cole using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for J. Cole · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"1985" is credited to J. Cole. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"1985" appears on "KOD" in 2018.

Visit the J. Cole artist page at /artist/j-cole for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.

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