[Verse 1] Yeah, when you been broke Back against the rope Tryna hang onto hope Last ounce of it Two steps back Ain’t the way to go You don’t know frustration If you never been this low Overqualified Talking KPIs Got the business tryna grow Still they tryna stunt you Used to hunt you Now they playin’ with your dough Tryna tell me ’bout myself Strengths and weaknesses Like I don’t already know Stealing ideas Changing the language Then they present Them slideshows Product stripped from culture Boardroom full of vultures Still tryna call me bro No [Chorus] R-E S-P E-C T me B-O S-S U-P Boss up R-E S-P E-C T me P-A Y U-P Pay up [Verse 2] Maybe if I code-switch They’d promote me CMO or some shit Maybe if I ass-kiss Unclench my fist I might get more rich Make your business cool Bring the profits through Then the layoffs come quick Targeting the Black folks And the brown folks Like we caused all of it They lie ’bout decisions Hide behind data Excuse my grammar Fuck the gatekeepers Blind to systemic Glass ceilings Then repeat the chapters Funny how corporate life Feels like corpse life How you really live When they either dead your name Or steal your idea? Only way to make it right [Chorus] R-E S-P E-C T me B-O S-S U-P Boss up R-E S-P E-C T me P-A Y U-P Pay up [Verse 3] Hustler Entrepreneur Businessman Know the difference Hustlers survive By any means Nine to five Still gotta feed them kids Might slang a thing Might’ve did a bid Might risk his life Just to handle his Entrepreneur Found a window Worked for himself instead Businessman Built a team Room full of people Sold ’em on the dream People gon’ follow If you know how to lead Me? I been all three Employee days I can’t sustain Rather take checks In my business name Experience Know-how That’s IP None of this shit Coming free [Chorus] R-E S-P E-C T me B-O S-S U-P Boss up R-E S-P E-C T me P-A Y U-P Pay up
