[Intro: 2Pac talking]
"Cause this world is such a, um
And when I say this world, I mean it, I don't mean in an ideal sense
I mean every day, every little thing you do
Is such a, 'Gimme, gimme, gimme! Everybody back off.'
You know, everybody's like taught that from school, everywhere; big business
'You wanna be successful, you wanna be like Trump? Gimme, gimme, gimme, push, push, push, push, step, step, step, crush, crush, crush!'
That's how it all is.."
[Verse 1]
They say success is a process, but empty pockets as I stress
Who am I to judge n***as moving d**?
What's left, of a man with his daughter in his hands, and he's gotta feed her?
Even if it means people gotta get robbed, watch over me God
I see ya'll n***as be watchin' me close like bodyguards
Keep my eyes open to the ocean, cause any small motion
Can tip my boat over, leave me decks wide open
I saw the look in his eyes
It's all familiar, he's a crook in disguise
I kinda wanna say a small prayer for him
He's right beside me, and as he walk in the store, I know he 'bout to rob it
I grab my rillos and I go
A smile is just as good as any mask you can wear
And when you from my hood, you wear a mask everywhere
To cover up the pain, to cover up that loss, to cover up the cost that you paid to be that boss
[Interlude: 2Pac talking]
"Nobody ever stop, just, you know
I feel like, instead of us just being like, 'Slavery is bad, slavery is bad; bad whitey, bad whitey.'
I mean, alright let's stop that
And everyone's smart enough to now that, I mean, we've been slighted, and we want ours
And I don't mean, by like, ours, forty acres and a mule, cause we past that
But we need help, I mean, for us to be on our own two feet
'Us' meaning youth, or 'us' meaning black people.."
[Verse 2]
They're asking how I feel to be on T.V., now that I get love
Did I sacrifice my life to be featured in all your clubs?
How you enjoy the fame when your family members on d**?
And homies out your hood holdin' a grudge, I ain't ask for this
I wanna ball, but I know there's alotta rappers missed
But I'm acknowledged by Oscar winners and actresses
It's like I'm ballin' with a fractured wrist
And you gon' need more than your just camera to capture this
I sold my food stamp this month so I could pay my bills
I took a charge for my cousin, how that make me feel?
My grandma cried before she died, and sh** it gave me chills
I'd give my life to have her back so she can make me meals
You robbin' Peter, payin' Paul, but that don't make you real
You k**in' n***as in all your songs, that don't make you ill
You go to church on every Sunday, that don't make you live
And God died for all your sins, but would you die for His?
I'm gone..
[Outro: 2Pac talking]
"It's too much money here
I mean, nobody should be hittin' lotto for thirty-six million, and we got people starvin' in the streets
That is not idealistic, that's just real, that is j-just stupid
There's no way Michael Jackson should have, or whoever Jackson
Should have a million-thousand-truple-billion dollars, and then there's people starvin'
There's no way, there's no way, that these people should own planes, and their people don't have houses.."