Successful Lyrics

[Hook: Trey Songz]
I want the money, money and the cars
Cars and the clothes, the hoes,
I suppose
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful


[Verse 1: Drake]
Aw yeah, Trey, I fuckin' feel ya
They be starin' at the money like it's unfamiliar
I get it, I live it, to me there's nothing realer
Just enough to solve your problems, too much'll kill ya
And when I leave I always come right back here
The young spitter that everybody in rap fear
A lot of ya'll are still sounding like last year
The game need change and I'm the motherfuckin' cashier
Nickels for my thoughts, dimes in my bed
Quarters of the kush shape the lines in my head
Take my verses too serious, you'll hate me
Cause I'm the one to paint a vivid picture, no HD
Yeah, I want it all, that's why I strive for it
Diss me, you'll never hear a reply for it
Any award show or party, I get fly for it
I know that it's coming, I just hope that I'm alive for it

[Hook: Trey Songz]
I want the money, money and the cars
Cars and the clothes, the hoes,
I suppose
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful


[Verse 2: Drake]
Yeah, I want things to go my way
But as of late, a lot of shit been going sideways

And my mother try to run away from home
But I left something in the car and so I caught her in the driveway

And she cried to me, so I cried too
And my stomach was soaking wet, she only 5'2"

And 40, that was all before I showed up
And brought a thousand dollars worth of drinks and got poured up

Damn, my reality just set in
And even when the Phantom's leased, them hoes wanna get in
I do a lot of things hoping I never have to fit in
So try to keep up with my progress, it's like a dead-end

My girl love me, but fuck it my heart beats slow
And right now the tour bus is looking like a freak show
And life change for us every single week, so
It's good, but I know this ain't the peak though cause I want the:


[Hook: Trey Songz]
I want the money, money and the cars
Cars and the clothes, the hoes,
I suppose
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful


[Verse 3: Drake]
Wise words from a decent man
Back when I was trying to put a ring on Alisha hand
This lost boy got fly without Peter Pan
And my delivery just got me buzzing like the pizza man
In-person I am everything and more
I'm everywhere these other niggas never been before
But inside I'm treading water, steady trying to swim to shore
I'm on a shopping spree to get whatever is in store
Yeah, just call me "Shopping Bag Drizzy"
Or call me Mr. "Damn, he ain't coppin' that, is he?"

And fans of the freshman is about to get iffy
While this young'n that you doubted is about to get busy
I'mma kill it, I promise, that's how I know you're mad
I've always treated my city like some shoulder pads
The big homie, use a flash if you must
And I swear I ain't asking for much, all I want is the

[Hook: Trey Songz]
I want the money, money and the cars
Cars and the clothes, the hoes,
I suppose
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful


[Verse 4: Lil Wayne]
Pardon the swag, but bitch it's Car-tey
Long bread, I don't eat shortcake, how come I can't
Miss a woman like I can't miss court dates

Cheese, but she's not in this portrait
And yeah, life's fine, but I don't portray
I'm on the other side, but it is a short gate
I don't want the glow, I want the glo-ray
And I'mma fuck the world, but this is just foreplay
Tired of hearing bullshit, bring on the cow shit
Haven't met a smell that's stinkier than our shit
And that's word to Toronto
So high up, I got birds in the condo

Ha, ain't that a female dog
Ask her who I am to her, and she yell "God"
Weezy Baby, I go re-al hard
No further details, boy

Featuring: Lil Wayne, Trey Songz

Produced By: Noah “40” Shebib

Listen to Successful

Back to top
1.   Lust For Life
2.   Houstatlantavegas
3.   Successful
4.   Let's Call It Off
5.   November 18th
6.   Ignant Shit (Freestyle)
7.   A Night Off
8.   Say What's Real
9.   Little Bit
10.   Best I Ever Had
11.   Unstoppable
12.   Uptown
13.   Sooner Than Later
14.   Bria's Interlude
15.   The Calm
16.   Outro
17.   Brand New
So Far Gone Album Art

Successful Meaning

Back to lyrics
Successful

Drake, Wayne and Trey converse about wanting fame and fortune, passing through the consequences.
This song was included on Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape as well as Trey Songz' Ready album, that version without Lil Wayne’s verse.

Back to lyrics
I want the money, money and the cars
Cars and the clothes, the hoes,

A line referring to Weezy’s song “Money, Cars, Clothes, Hoes”. He wants to follow Weezy’s path so he can become as famous as his mentor and have the finer things in life.

Back to lyrics
I suppose

He says he wants these things, but does he really?

1) Mo money mo problems

2) Hoes can be dangerous gold diggers who could scheme their way to becoming babymama, or pass along STD’s
-He could just be referring to women as “hoes” in general, not all women are whoreable.

In an interview Trey Songs said:

conceptually for me, the deepest part of the record was when I say, ‘I suppose.’ I supposed that’s what success is about. That’s what [we’re] led to believe."

Back to lyrics
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful
I just wanna be, I just wanna be successful

Even though he supposes success is measured by these material things, most people actually started believing that this is what success means.

Back to lyrics
Aw yeah,
Back to lyrics
Trey, I fuckin' feel ya

Drake agrees with Trey Songz and what he sings in the chorus: he, too, likes money, cars, clothes and (of course) hoes

Back to lyrics
They be starin' at the money like it's unfamiliar

They’ve been staring at Drake’s money like if they’ve never seen money before.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1372392738_drake-money-2012.png

They are amazed as how much money he can get and want to get it themselves, but they can’t so all they can really do is just stare and see what he does with all that money. They could also be racial profile him and wondering how a black teenager could get all that money.

Back to lyrics
I get it, I live it, to me there's nothing realer

Drake is getting stacks of money, living it like a king, and he’s being honest about it.
There’s nothing realer than that.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/drakesftb3.gif

Back to lyrics
Just enough to solve your problems, too much'll kill ya

Indeed, having just the right amount of money so you can buy whatever you want but don’t get annoyed by paparazzi can be hard to figure out

I guess money is a phramacon (as Biggie (RIP) would say: “Mo money, mo problems..”)

Back to lyrics
And when I leave I always come right back here

Drake always reps his hometown, Toronto, so it’s no surprise that he takes some time to visit and show love to the city, ‘cause you know the city love a nigga.

Back to lyrics
The young spitter that everybody in rap fear

With his So Far Gone mixtape, Drake burst onto the rap scene and immediately garnered plenty of attention with his undeniably deep lyrics and radio appeal

Back to lyrics
A lot of ya'll are still sounding like last year

The competition’s material sounds outdated.

Back to lyrics
The game need change and I'm the motherfuckin' cashier

The game needs variety or diversity, change, and cashiers handle that.

Back to lyrics
Nickels for my thoughts,

Its taken from the Old English saying “penny for your thoughts” which is simply asking people to volunteer their opinions on an issue being discussed or “put in their two cents.”

His opinions must be worth every penny if he’s using nickels for his thoughts…

Back to lyrics
Dimes in my bed

A dime is a girl with a perfect body (on a scale of 1-10), and Drake is sticking to the money theme he has addressed so far in the song

Back to lyrics
Quarters of the kush shape the lines in my head

Smoking a quarter ounce of high-quality Kush marijuana inspires Drake’s verses (also, occasionally, inspires a nap / trip to 7-11)

He’s also keeping with the change theme. (quarter)

Back to lyrics
Take my verses too serious, you'll hate me

Drake’s flow is meant to sound offensive, so if you over-think it, you’ll probably take it personally.

Back to lyrics
Cause I'm the one to paint a vivid picture, no HD

High-definition, or “HD,” televisions are designed to deliver the highest quality picture and images available. However, Drake is saying he doesn’t need such technology because his rhymes and storytelling render that unnecessary

Back to lyrics
Yeah, I want it all, that's why I strive for it

A reference to the chorus, he wants the women, cars, money, plus everything there’s to accomplish in music.

Even though Drake was still very young and this was his breakthrough mixtape, he already knew he should be aiming to the top, and that’s exactly where he’s now.

Back to lyrics
Diss me, you'll never hear a reply for it

Unlike his rapping peers (e.g. Jay Z), Drake doesn’t respond to disses.

This claim is backed up by the Pusha T/YMCMB feud back in 2012. Pusha T was dissing Drake, but it was Lil Wayne that clapped back, and all he got from Drake was a few subliminals in “Lord Knows”.

That being said, Drake almost certainly replied to Common’s disses on Sweet in Rick Ross' Stay Schemin', and may or may not have replied to Kendrick Lamar’s Control verse on either The Language or Future’s Shit Remix.

In 2015 Drake replied to another diss, this time set off by a set of tweets from Meek Mill. Rather than just tweeting back or staying quiet, Drake hit Meek with the one-two punch of “Charged Up” and “Back to Back.”

Back to lyrics
Any award show or party, I get fly for it

He likes getting suited up for special events.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/drake-nicki-gq.jpg

Back to lyrics
I know that it's coming, I just hope that I'm alive for it

Drake knows he will become successful in the future once this mixtape blows up, but he just hopes his life will not be ended shortly like some other notable rappers of an earlier time, (Biggie, Tupac, etc.).

Back to lyrics
Yeah, I want things to go my way
But as of late, a lot of shit been going sideways

There comes a time when every life goes off course. In this desperate moment you must choose your direction. Will you fight to stay on the path while others tell you who you are? Or will you label yourself? Will you be honored by your choice? Or will you embrace your new path? Each morning you choose to move forward or to simply give up. ~Lucas Scott

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1362698294_51OU0QeAhUL._SX500_.jpg

Back to lyrics
And my mother try to run away from home
But I left something in the car and so I caught her in the driveway

Drake explained this lyric to MTV News:

“When I was going through the creative process for So Far Gone, I was actually at a pretty dark place in my life. It was a frustrating time for my family, because my grandmother – who is now in her mid- to late 90s – was just losing it. It was hard for my mother to watch. And it was just, it was really at a point where it was like, ‘Is this rap thing going to work?’ Like, ‘Is this my choice? Is this what I am committing to?’ Money was an issue. Degrassi [which Drake starred on as a teen] had ended years ago, and we were just all kind of trying to figure stuff out.
So my mother was going through a rough time. And yeah, man, one night she just broke down and tried to actually run away from the house, tried to leave it all behind. It was just a lot going on, and she never would have really left. She would’ve always come back, but it was just a frustrating moment for her. So I had forgot something in my car, and I came outside and I saw bags sitting by her car. I saw her out there, and she just started crying right away when she saw me. Anyway, I don’t wanna get too emotional, but I had to hug her. My father doesn’t stay with us, so I had to be security for her and just let her know that everything is going to be all right.”

Back to lyrics
And she cried to me, so I cried too
And my stomach was soaking wet, she only 5'2"

His mom’s tears are soaking his belly (cause she’s so little!)

Back to lyrics
And 40, that was all before I showed up
And brought a thousand dollars worth of drinks and got poured up

Drake is recalling a particular night of musical inspiration, when he showed up to his producer Noah “40” Shebib’s door on the verge of tears, holding two bottles of Don Perignon

They recorded “The Calm” that night.. (emotional)

Back to lyrics
Damn, my reality just set in

This line sums up this verse and where Drake was during that time of his life, basically doing everything to make it in the rap game, but at this point he realizes that maybe he’s not doing the right things, like spending money on drinks and leasing cars. But, in this case the ends did justify the means and everything worked out just fine for him so..

Back to lyrics
And even when the Phantom's leased, them hoes wanna get in

Drake leased a Phantom before he had money to buy an apartment. He’s saying, no matter the ownership of the car, the superficiality of the girls makes him desirable to them.

Back to lyrics
I do a lot of things hoping I never have to fit in
So try to keep up with my progress, it's like a dead-end

Here Drake kind of contradicts himself, because he admits to having leased a Phantom in the previous line, something he needed to feed his ego but also of course to blend into the rap game.

But, he could also be talking about how he was already creating his own lane on rap, so that he wouldn’t have to “fit” in by any standards.

Back to lyrics
My girl love me, but fuck it my heart beats slow

Drake’s girl loves him, but he doesn’t feel too lovey-dovey about her (his “heart beats slow” – an artful way to say it)

Back to lyrics
And right now the tour bus is looking like a freak show

After touring as much as Drake has, the tour bus starts to feel like one of these:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/magicbus.jpg

Or these:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/51B10SBFY0L.jpg

Back to lyrics
And life change for us every single week, so
It's good, but I know this ain't the peak though cause I want the:

Drake is glad for his fame and subsequent itinerant lifestyle(even if he’s always on tour,radio or perfoming) but he feels that isn’t yet at the top of his career and probably of his life (maybe he’ll be when return to home,get wed and start a family)

Back to lyrics
Wise words from a decent man

It was a phone call from his father saying, “You need go for the money and not the honey, know what i’m sayin, know what i’m sayin?” He needs to focus on becoming successful (no pun intended) rather than trying to get women i.e. marry Alisha.

Back to lyrics
Back when I was trying to put a ring on Alisha hand

Once upon a time there was a nice Jewish boy named Aubrey who thought he had found love. He proposed to this girl Alisha (Alisha Phillips – a classmate of his), and was denied.

Back to lyrics
This lost boy got fly without Peter Pan

Drake rose to stardom without a mentor, like a “Lost Boy” getting “fly” without their flying leader, Peter Pan

Drake references Peter Pan and the Lost Boys in a lot of verses!

rufio

Back to lyrics
And my delivery just got me buzzing like the pizza man

Pizza delivering guys push the door bell (buzzer) when they’re delivering your pizza.

Similarly, Drake’s delivery on his songs led to all the buzz over his mixtapes, which led to him being signed.

Back to lyrics
But inside I'm treading water, steady trying to swim to shore

A metaphor to say that inwardly he’s the opposite of how appears to the others.Usually,we human beings tread on the shore and swim in the water..Even if there was one guy long time ago

Back to lyrics
I'm on a shopping spree to get whatever is in store
Yeah, just call me "Shopping Bag Drizzy"
Or call me Mr. "Damn, he ain't coppin' that, is he?"

Here Drake comments on the financial success that he has gotten. “Shopping Bag Drizzy” refers to the items Drake can buy while Mr. “Damn, he ain’t coppin' that, is he?” refers to the expenses that Drake can now afford to “cop”, (Slang for obtain; usually legally).

Back to lyrics
And fans of the freshman is about to get iffy

Drake rejected being in XXL’s Top Ten Freshman rappers. The fans of the XXL ten freshmen are gonna start to reconsider the top ten after Drake kills the game!

Back to lyrics
While this young'n that you doubted is about to get busy
Back to lyrics
I've always treated my city like some shoulder pads

Drake is the only HUGE rap star out of Toronto (sorry Kardinal Offishall), so he’s carrying the whole town on his back.

But DRAKE: couldn’t you find maybe a less feminine metaphor than “shoulder pads”? (hopefully he means football..)

“If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants” – Isaac Newton
In other words, his city makes him metaphorically stronger.

Back to lyrics
Pardon the swag, but bitch it's Car-tey

He’s swagging out his last name (Carter) by making the last “R” silent, like a French Monsieur: “Sacrebleu! Eez pronounce Car-tay, mademoiselle!”
It’s even smarter if you notice that is also a play on Pardon my French

He’s also alluding to a lavish Cartier watch.

Back to lyrics
Long bread, I don't eat shortcake

3 meanings:

  • Lil Wayne gets a lot of “bread/cake” (both slang for “moneY”) at once; he never goes for the short pile

  • Lil Wayne doesn’t eat shortcake (because refined sugar causes acne)

  • “Long bread” suggests the French baguette, which goes along with his French pronunciation of his name in the previous line.

Back to lyrics
How come I can't
Miss a woman like I can't miss court dates

This line was written during Lil Wayne’s legal troubles in New York, where he was sentenced to one year on Rikers Island for weapons possession. One of Wayne’s themes is how low women are on his list of priorities – money, success, and now court dates are all higher

Back to lyrics
Cheese, but she's not in this portrait

An artful way of putting “I don’t need a woman in the picture”

Weezy is smiling – “cheese!” – because he doesn’t need a woman to be happy (or concerned with his cheese – aka money)

Cheese is also a staple of French cuisine, adding to the French references in the verse.

Back to lyrics
And yeah, life's fine, but I don't portray

When he raps doesn’t portray completely the reality ‘cause Weezy often says that life is a bitch

Back to lyrics
I don't want the glow, I want the glo-ray

A common Lil Wayne play on words. Glo-ray is pronounced like glory. This line is all about shining: Wayne wants to shine from within like a glo-ray and wants recognition for his accomplishments (glory)

Back to lyrics
And I'mma fuck the world, but this is just foreplay

He’s only just begun..

Back to lyrics
Tired of hearing bullshit, bring on the cow shit

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS:

  • Lil Wayne just wants a change!

  • Cows are females at least, so..maybe Lil Wayne has a cow fetish

Back to lyrics
Haven't met a smell that's stinkier than our shit
And that's word to Toronto
So high up, I got birds in the condo

He is so high (stoned AND literal altitude) that he has “birds” (UK slang for woman) in his apartment.

Also the more obvious, being high up he has literal birds (the flying ones) in his condo.

Birds is referred to kilos of cocaine as his stepfather Birdman used to say in his songs.

Birds also ties back to “owl shit”, as Drake (who is from Toronto) owns a record label, OVO Sound. Their logo is an owl.

Back to lyrics
Ain't that a female dog

Spelling out the figure of speech “Ain’t that a bitch?” (meaning life)

Back to lyrics
Ask her who I am to her, and she yell "God"

Weezy is like a deity to his women

Also god is dog (the last line) backwards – further proof that Weezy is dyslexic