Daddy, what's a will?
Yeah
[Verse 1: JAY-Z]
Take those moneys and spread 'cross families
My sisters, Hattie and Lou, the nephews, cousins and TT
Eric, the rest to B for whatever she wants to do
She might start an institute, she might put poor kids through school
My stake in Roc Nation should go to you
Leave a piece for your siblings to give to their children too
TIDAL, the champagne, D'USSÉ, I'd like to see
A nice peace-fund ideas from people who look like we
We gon' start a society within a society
That's major, just like the Negro League
There was a time America wouldn't let us ball
Those times are now back, just now called Afro-tech
Generational wealth, that's the key
My parents ain't have shit, so that shift started with me
My mom took her money, she bought me bonds
That was the sweetest thing of all time, uh
[Chorus: JAY-Z]
Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellence baby, you gon' let 'em see
Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellency, baby, let 'em see
I remember, like, listenin' to Wu-Tang
And niggas like, "Your seed married his seed, married my seed"
That's how we keep Carter money all in the family
[Verse 2: JAY-Z]
You see, my father, son of a preacher man
Whose daughter couldn't escape the reach of the preacher's hand
That charge of energy set all the Carters back
It took all these years to get to zero in fact
I hated religion 'cause here was this Christian
He was preachin' on Sundays, versus how he was livin' Monday
Someday I forgive him
'Cause strangely our division led to multiple religions
I studied Muslim, Buddhist, and Christians
And I was runnin' from him, He was givin' me wisdom
See how the universe works?
It takes my hurt and help me find more of myself
It's a gift and a curse
That's called the Red Queen's Race
[Bridge: JAY-Z]
You run this hard just to stay in place
Keep up the pace, baby
Keep up the pace
You run this hard just to stay in place
About
The song is an upbeat track which discusses the legacy for the Carter family name. It goes on to discuss members of the family and what they have done in the family name and how Jay has worked hard to get where he was.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
The song is just about what it is, it’s like a verbal will. Just a song about speaking to my daughter. She starts the song off, and she says ‘Daddy, what’s a will?
Y'all don’t see, clearly cause the rain ain’t gone
The Dynasty, no not Ming, but Shawn’s
In interviews with the Flipside and Vibe magazines in 1999 Jay broke down his long-term goals:
You know black people don’t really inherit businesses that our fathers left for us, so it was to do something like that, something for my sons. That was the big picture right there, for us to build a company that could be passed down to our kids and their kids.
[I want] to create a comfortable position for me and everybody around me. Cause, like, blacks, when we come up , we don’t normally inherit businesses. It’s not a common thing for us to have old money, like three, four generations of businesses. But that’s what I’m working on right now. A legacy.
President Obama’s inauguration in 2009 inspired Hov to write “History,” a criminally unknown track on which he hopes his children—literal and metaphorical—will speak of his life and career throughout history.
On “Made in America” in 2011 Jay spoke of building up his Roc Nation company and business portfolio to leave to his children:
The ever omnipresent James Fauntleroy revealed that he provided uncredited background vocals on this song.
On Instagram producer No I.D. revealed “Legacy” samples Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” which was recorded by Jimmy Douglass in 1971—when I.D. was only one year old. Bringing things full circle, Douglass mixed the entirety of 4:44.
- 1.Kill Jay Z
- 3.Smile
- 5.4:44
- 6.Family Feud
- 7.Bam
- 8.Moonlight
- 9.Marcy Me
- 10.Legacy
- 11.Adnis
- 13.MaNyfaCedGod
