The air is still, the heat is rising
Summertime's on the horizon
Little girl with a baby crying
'Cause she's got no food to eat
And it ain't that, nobody's listening
And it ain't that, nobody cares*
It's just that everybody's busy looking out for what is theirs
I'm a hustler, on the corner, making very little money
But down the block, on the other corner
This n******g's down there getting paid
What's he doing and I ain't doing?
He got clothes and fancy things
Big ole car and pretty women, watch what jealousy and envy brings
On the backstreet, that's where I live
On the backstreet, there ain't positive
Now up the block comes my man Cee-Lo say what's happening, how you feel?
He don't care about no 5 - 0 'cause he's known to keep it real
Peep what's happening down the block yo, who is down there taking mine?
Cee-Lo knows about his bizness, so he runs it down one time
He get keys straight from Miami, hooks it up and sells it cheap
You ain't getting none but O's from Sammy so your prices are too steep
But I got just the thing you need son, if you really want to win
Sun light sparkles on his gold fronts as he makes this evil grin
Take a walk on down to my crib then let me show you something new
I got loads of guns and ammo that I bought from this white dude
He could tell that I was down that I was just the man to see
And he fronted me at least a G's worth of artillery on the backstreet
That's where I live, on the backstreet, yeah
There ain't nothing positive
Now in his bedroom it's amazing, he got guns of every kind
He lights a blunt we start blazing then I picked the one that shined
It's an old school Calicola, semi auto dark as night
It's just the thing I need to make my situation tight
So he shows me how to load it since I don't know what to do
Aims towards the wall and it exploded, through this poster of Ice Cube
Upon so much devastation that it's obvious to me
That is just the thing to separate your soul from your body
On the backstreet, that's where I live
On the backstreet, yeah, there ain't nothing positive
I went home and starting plotting for my come up at midnight
In the darkest catch them slipping, take his re-up money his life
I'll just catch him as he goes out to his car to make a run
Now you can't front when you're confronted with the cold steel of a gun
When night comes and I'm moving on the creep all dressed in black
Wearing a ski mask so he won't know who just put him on his back
So I hid behind the bushes at the people's house next door
3 shots rang out from behind me and my blood began to pour, no
What? What now boy? Told you I was gonna get you boy
Thought he's gonna catch me sleeping, in your dream
Do it hurt? Let's go
Everything happened in one swift action, sh** I just couldn't believe
Cee-Lo told them what was happening, I been tricked,I been deceived
And it ain't that, nobody heard it
And it ain't that, nobody cares
It's just that everybody was busy looking out for what was theirs
Non-contributing citizens, what they call the NCC
I don't really know what that means but it's what the cops called me
They don't care what happens to me, they don't miss me on the beat
All they know is that there's one less n******g
Hanging on the backstreet, where I used to live
On the backstreet, there ain't nothing, nothing,
The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you.