See, I was born in the 70's
I learned what life is about in the 80's and sh** you know
I've learned my lesson
And I don't even know where the 90's went
Oh sh**
Yo, 4 18, 71, a mother second child, mother's first son
Daddy on the run, sippin on that rum
Growing up on my house son, was nothing like run
It was me, nicky and my mother
She used to roll weed on michael jackson album cover
Smokin with a younger brother
His name was uncle jean, first gun I ever seen
First thug I ever seen
From then yo I had a dream
Lazy boy from was playing in the couch
Everyday she scream and shout she gonn kick this n***a out
The sweetest sh** get deep, hit my mama
I tried to stab him in his slip
Caught attempt murder charge, I was only 9
A young brooklyn n***a, thinking with a hustler mind
At the supermarkets, packing bags for change
But you can't buy nikes with bags of change
These nickels and dimes ain't adding up
Plus my mama had 2 jobs, she had a rush
Late the boy had asthma, I had to pump
I was tired of being broke, man I had enough
I went from good to bad, from bad to worse
Now I'm at the supermarket, snatching up purse
Hanging out with the open crowds, they was always loud
But no doubt, I hold it down like the ...
[Hook]
I done been there, done that, been back, seen it all
I ain't really care, I never had something called my own
Life in the streets got a way of coming round
Through the ups and the downs, the ups and the downs yeah
Through the ups and the downs
Through the ups and the downs
There was a ...between, that mean nobody home
Pops in the streets, he was a rollin stone
So I took to the streets, I was all alone
I was raised on the corner by the payphone
In high-school, all I'm aging it was getting high
I kicked out the house, cause all that hold was a lie
I stood up to him, I looked up in his eyes
I'm only 17 and I'm already his size
I looked up to the hustlers chaz in particular
He hustled on the block for extra curricular
This cold was k**in him, but nothing like ...
But I ain't seen chaz man since the feds picked him up
A young n***a tryina find my way in life
By myself on the block almost every day and night
Tryina face my fears, I was running scared
Runnin in the streets but real, no one was there
Some n***as do anything for d**
And truth is known for taking everything you love
Money, cars, souls, and everything above
I put that on my life and everything I love
See I was born in the world feet first
I heard the beat so I wrote a deep verse
Tell me what you get when you leave the earth
Nothing, just your face on a t shirt
[Hook]
I done been there, done that, been back, seen it all
I ain't really care, I never had something called my own
Life in the streets got a way of coming round
Through the ups and the downs, the ups and the downs yeah
Through the ups and the downs
Through the ups and the downs