Verified archive entry

Intro: Stay Down

Intro: Stay Down is a track by The Diplomats with a diss section by Cam'ron targeting Kanye West. The recording also credits Jim Jones, Cam’ron, Juelz Santana and Trav. The record attacks Kanye West over loyalty, his relationship with Damon Dash and, later, his public political posture. Cam'ron argues that Kanye seeks former allies only when other relationships fail and separates Harlem street history from Kanye's public persona.

Released2018
Annotated4
ExplicitYes
Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

Demo lines only. Select a line number to copy a stable deep link.

  1. 01

    [Intro: Drake]

    02

    I was-I was in Atlanta with 40

    03

    And I was like, man

    04

    Just make me some Dipset, Heatmakerz shit

    05

    Heatmakerz

  2. 06

    Crack music

  3. 07

    [Break: Jim Jones]

    08

    Uh huh

    09

    We strike again

    10

    Harlem, what's up?

  4. 11

    [Verse 1: Jim Jones]

    12

    I put it on for my hood when they wanted to off me (Facts)

    13

    Lawyers on retainers, man, them fuckers was costly (Fetti)

    14

    Put it in that bag, what the fuck could it cost me? (Fuck that)

    15

    In the hood with all my jewels, who the fuck could extort me? (Skrt-skrt)

  5. 16

    Never said nothin’ when they cuffed and they caught me (Shh)

    17

    Copped two when papi had a couple to toss me (¡¿Qué lo que?!)

    18

    The pump'll make 'em Jump, when the fuckers Kris Kross me (Ya hear that?)

    19

    A savage wit’ them hoes, once I'm fuckin' her, all key (Missin' that)

  6. 20

    The engine in the Porsche like they stuffed it with horsies (Skrt)

    21

    Durant scuffed my kicks outta bounds on the floor seat (Oh shit)

    22

    Shit, outta bounds in the floor seat

    23

    And, yeah, I went to school, what the fuck did it taught me? (Loco)

  7. 24

    Man, I'm watchin' all you grown men dancin' to the Kiki (Word)

    25

    Shit, up in Harlem we was dancin' on them ki, kis (Facts)

    26

    Sixty eight and I owe you one, you gon’ pay me that fee, fee (Uh huh)

    27

    If this is the NBA, then you’d play in a D League (Fucka)

  8. 28

    [Chorus: Trav]

    29

    It was none of they business, I had inches but they take yards (Take yards)

    30

    I got niggas in the jails to the graveyard (Graveyard)

    31

    If the judge give the bail, we gon' straight ball (Straight ball)

    32

    If papi my amigo, we gon’ take off (We gon' take off)

  9. 33

    Got to stay chill, stay down and stay loyal (Loyal)

    34

    'Cause in this game, these niggas don't have no morals (No morals)

    35

    Niggas stay down, stay trill and stay loyal (Stay loyal)

    36

    ’Cause in this game these niggas don't have no morals

  10. 37

    Niggas stay trill

  11. 38

    [Verse 2: Juelz Santana]

    39

    What'chu know about bustin' moves in the freezin' cold?

    40

    Turnin' down sales just to keep it whole

    41

    Why break it down when my connect want me to flip the load?

    42

    That's like settlin' for silver when you gettin' gold (Don't)

  12. 43

    Small money on the breakdown, believe it though

    44

    I'm more concerned with the risk, I'm tryna keep it low (Low)

    45

    Peter pay Paul, if not, they gettin' pita rolled (Yeah)

    46

    Young Rondo with the give and go (Go)

  13. 47

    I was always thinkin' upper echelon (Uh)

    48

    They was thinkin' Nino Brown, I'm thinkin' Pablo Escobar (Yeah)

    49

    No disputin' what the truth is (Nah)

    50

    They was more Nicky Barnes, I was more Frank Lucas (Ha)

  14. 51

    They was thinkin' like Bishop, I was thinkin' like Q on the roof

    52

    Never cared about the Juice (Never)

    53

    Only cared about the points and the score

    54

    So every time I shoot, it's like swoosh (Swoosh, swoosh)

  15. 55

    [Chorus: Trav]

    56

    It was none of they business, I had inches but they take yards (Take yards)

    57

    I got niggas in the jails to the graveyard (Graveyard)

    58

    If the judge give the bail, we gon' straight ball (Straight ball)

    59

    If papi my amigo, we gon' take off (We gon' take off)

  16. 60

    Got to stay chill, stay down and stay loyal (Loyal)

    61

    'Cause in this game, these niggas don't have no morals (No morals)

    62

    (Dipset, nigga)

    63

    Niggas stay down, stay trill and stay loyal (Stay loyal)

  17. 64

    (Dipset, nigga)

    65

    'Cause in this game these niggas don't have no morals

    66

    Niggas stay trill

  18. 67

    [Verse 3: Cam'ron]

    Multi-line diss block
    68

    Dame Dash my man, he shootin' then I'm buckin' with him (Pop, pop, pow!)

    69

    They shootin' at us? Shit, I'm duckin' with him (Yo, look out!)

    70

    But I had to be firm and tell him

    71

    That Kanye only fuck wit'chu when no one else is fuckin' with him (That's a fid-act, fid-act)

    Block noteAccuses Kanye of treating Dame Dash as a fallback ally

    TargetKanye West

    MeaningWhat it means: Cam'ron pledges loyalty to Damon Dash, then says Kanye supports Dame only when other relationships have failed. Why it was said: Dame was central to Kanye's Roc-A-Fella opportunity and to Cam's own history, so Cam treats selective reconnection as ingratitude—using who remained loyal during difficult periods as the test Kanye fails.

    ContextThe record attacks Kanye West over loyalty, his relationship with Damon Dash and, later, his public political posture. Cam'ron argues that Kanye seeks former allies only when other relationships fail and separates Harlem street history from Kanye's public persona.

  19. 72

    He told me he was bipolar (What, nigga?)

    Multi-line diss block
    73

    I looked and said, "Bipolar?" (Come on, now)

    74

    Don't be ridiculous, he wasn't in the mix with us (Nope)

    75

    Bricks from Hamilton Terrace

    Block noteRefuses to let a diagnosis settle the loyalty charge

    TargetKanye West

    MeaningWhat it means: Cam'ron repeats Kanye's disclosure that he was bipolar, reacts skeptically, and immediately returns to the claim that Kanye was absent from Cam and Dame's earlier circle. Why it was said: The passage is trying—insensitively—to block mental-health context from displacing Cam's grievance; he wants the audience focused on who shared the risks and relationships before Kanye became powerful.

    ContextThe record attacks Kanye West over loyalty, his relationship with Damon Dash and, later, his public political posture. Cam'ron argues that Kanye seeks former allies only when other relationships fail and separates Harlem street history from Kanye's public persona.

  20. 76

    He didn't take the risk with us (Not at all)

    Multi-line diss block
    77

    Ain't boil a coffee pot, ain't open the barber shop

    78

    Where we sold hydro at, where we pissed off the cops (G-O-D)

    79

    The ones in the Taurus, nigga, he a tourist (Yup)

    Block noteContrasts Kanye's fame with Harlem's earlier risks

    TargetKanye West

    MeaningWhat it means: Cam'ron lists drug-selling locations and police pressure from his past, then calls Kanye a tourist to that history. Why it was said: The concrete places matter because Cam is drawing a boundary around lived experience: later friendship with Dame cannot retroactively make Kanye part of the circumstances that created Dipset's loyalty code.

    ContextThe record attacks Kanye West over loyalty, his relationship with Damon Dash and, later, his public political posture. Cam'ron argues that Kanye seeks former allies only when other relationships fail and separates Harlem street history from Kanye's public persona.

  21. 80

    Uncle Tom nigga know nothin' 'bout this chorus (Dipset, nigga)

    Multi-line diss block
    Block noteUses Uncle Tom as a charge of cultural betrayal

    TargetKanye West

    MeaningWhat it means: Cam'ron ends by calling Kanye an ‘Uncle Tom’ who cannot understand the song's loyalty refrain. Why it was said: Coming amid controversy over Kanye's public political posture, the slur widens Cam's complaint from personal abandonment to a claim that Kanye has aligned himself against the Black community whose culture underpins the record.

    ContextThe record attacks Kanye West over loyalty, his relationship with Damon Dash and, later, his public political posture. Cam'ron argues that Kanye seeks former allies only when other relationships fail and separates Harlem street history from Kanye's public persona.

  22. 81

    [Chorus: Trav]

    82

    It was none of they business, I had inches but they take yards (Take yards)

    83

    I got niggas in the jails to the graveyard (Graveyard)

    84

    If the judge give the bail, we gon' straight ball (Straight ball)

    85

    If papi my amigo, we gon' take off (We gon' take off)

  23. 86

    Got to stay chill, stay down and stay loyal (Loyal)

    87

    'Cause in this game, these niggas don't have no morals (No morals)

    88

    Niggas stay down, stay trill and stay loyal (Stay loyal)

    89

    'Cause in this game these niggas don't have no morals

  24. 90

    Niggas stay trill