Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
by Jay-Z

Album: The Blueprint (2001)
Charted: 21 8
  • Ladies and gentlemen let's put our hands together for the astonishing
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the eighth wonder of the world
    The flow the century, oh, it's timeless
    Hov
    Thanks for comin' out tonight
    You coulda been anywhere in the world
    But you're here with me
    I appreciate that, uh

    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
    Was hurtin' 'em in the home of the Terrapins
    Got it dirt cheap for them
    Plus if they was short with cheese I would work with them
    Brought in weed, got rid of that dirt for them
    Wasn't born hustlers, I was birthin' 'em
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Fo' sheezy my neezy keep my arms so breezy
    Can't leave rap alone the game needs me
    Haters want me clap the chrome, it ain't easy
    Cops want to knock me, D.A. want to box me in
    But somehow, I beat them charges like Rocky
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Not guilty, he who does not feel me
    Is not real to me, therefore he doesn't exist
    So poof, vamoose, son of a bitch

    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Not guilty y'all got to feel me
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up (holla at me)

    I do this for my culture
    To let 'em know what a nigga look like when a nigga in a roadster
    Show 'em how to move in a room full of vultures
    Industry's shady, it need to be taken over
    Label owners hate me, I'm raisin' the status quo up
    I'm overchargin' niggas for what they did to the Cold Crush
    Pay us like you owe us for all the years that you hoed us
    We can talk, but money talks, so talk mo' bucks

    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Not guilty y'all got to feel me
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up

    Yeah, Hov' is back
    Life stories told through rap
    Niggas actin' like I sold you crack
    Like I told you sell drugs, no
    Hov' did that so hopefully you won't have to go through that
    I was raised in the projects, roaches and rats
    Smokers out back, sellin' they mama's sofa
    Lookouts on the corner, focused on the ave
    Ladies in the window, focused on the kinfolk
    Me under a lamp post, why I got my hand closed?
    Cracks in my palm, watchin' the long arm of the law
    So you know I seen it all before
    I seen hoop dreams deflate like a true fiend's weight
    To try and to fail, the two things I hate
    Succeed in this rap game, the two things that's great
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    What else can I say about dude? I gets busy

    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    Not guilty y'all got to feel me
    H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
    That's the anthem, get ya damn hands up

    H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A
    H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A
    H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A
    H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A Writer/s: Alphonso Mizell, Berry Gordy Jr, Deke Richards, Freddie Perren, Kanye West, Shawn Carter
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 12

  • Brianna from New YorkJehovah (Psalms 83:18) is the English rendering of God's name. In Hebrew, God's name appears as four consonants, יהוה. Which are transliterated YHWH- the tetragrammaton. Or Yahweh. At John 10:36 Jesus refers to himself as God's son. Jesus is the son of Jehovah God or Yahweh
  • Bill from Pensacola, FlI thought Frankie "Double Dutch Bus" Smith gets credit for the first putting the "izzi" in the vocabulary and songs?
  • Deborah from Chicago, Il"Hovah" means mischief or ruin.In the book of Tehillim / Ps 119:150 "Those who pursue mischief (Hovah) have drawn near; They have been far from Your Torah (Law). Amein (Let it be so).Hovah is pagan and there is No letter "J" in Hebrew.
  • D from Clarkston, Gafor the record, jehovah is not jesus. thats his father
  • Se7 from Pomona, CaHmm... the "ZZ" is words is crip talk... started in CA.. Snoop brought it mainstream but it has been in the blocc for decades. NO its is not Jay's "GOD NAME" it is, infact a metaphore. Jay Hova as in Jehova as in Christ.. the savior of humanity.. Jay is the self appointed savior of hip hop. H.O.V.A. refers to the fact that he spells his name in this tracc.. nothing more, nothing less.
  • Luke from Toronto, CanadaThe general info is helpful. I think HOVA means a lot more than just Jay-Hova though. I mean it's an acronym - with the periods so it might stand for something. Also think of usages like Show Hova i.e. 'show over'. S. Carter often references biblical parables, for instance the book of Matthew in which I believe is contained early on the line Emmanual interpreted as 'god with us' or 'Us'. Hova is Us. We are Hova.

    Otherwise some of the feedback is sound, you'd have to know the drug game and how those markets work and what it's like to play on those markets and I guess survive to really appreciate where S. Carter is coming from. However, anything you need to know about S. Carter are contained in his lines much like the historical Shakespeare is of less significance than his impact which is immense and profound.
  • Graham from New York, Nyyo, this is the whitest representation of people talking about a hiphop song, i mean look at where you people are coming from. you gotta look to where the song came from first, instead of trying to relate it to what you already know in your own lives. i mean c'mon southampton, no matter what way you try to spin that s*** you prolly got more money than the rest of us, yet you try to get all gangsta on the rest of us...is that southhampton longisland, cause that's "mad ghetto son". jay-z isn't a stupid guy, what he's raps about means something deeper most of the time, so look for it rather than trying to face value that s***. i keep saying, think about where this came from, listen to some old skool jay z and it'll make sense, same with the rest of hiphop...
  • Eric from Southhampton, United StatesIt was not a 'trizzend in the 'rizzap industry that spawned this way of speaking, rather a slang or lingo from the ghetto that has been around for years, allowing those who knew to communicate covertly right in front of the average person that is unfamiliar with this method of speech.
  • Joey from Boston, MaMike Myers parodied this song in Austin Powers: Goldmember, when his Character 'Dr. Evil' refers to himself as 'D to the Rizzo, E to the Vizzo, I to the Lizzo'.
  • Joey from Boston, MaThis is a pretty creative use of a sample. Unlike most samples which tend to be blatant copies of the original, this one is pretty subtle. I actually didn't realize that Kanye had sampled ''I Want You Back'' until I read it here.
  • Jonathan from Bradford, MaOnce again the English language is becoming harder to understand.
  • Liang from Beijing, ChinaThanks for the information. It's really helpful.
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