There are five stages that one journeys through On the pa**age to the darkside Fear...anger...remorse...acceptance... Each stage more tormenting than the last And it all begins with... [Verse 1] The first stage, denial, that of course is when people deny And lie to themselves like they ain't 'bout to die This sh** get buckwild, I even seen people smile And joke-crack, not knowin' it's all 'bout to go black n***as be like "f** that, man I can take it" Sixteen to your back? You ain't gon' make it You 'bout to die, and you the only one that don't know And here comes the ambulance ridin' all slow "There you go. You'll be aight. Hear me? You'll be aight Real n***as don't die! Real n***as don't f**in' die!" [Verse 2] Next is anger, you start cursin' everybody out Even the paramedics too, cause now there's doubt In the back of your head, you think "Oh sh** What if this is really it?" and start to b**h Fear, which brings us to number three on the list You seen your own blood, now you scared as sh** In the background, you can hear the cops talk Sayin' "That's a damn shame why they're warmin' up the chalk" "Dispatch, we got a 416, scuzzbucket with 14-17 holes in him Doesn't look good. Think we're gonna need a bodybag." (zzzzzzzzzzzzzip) [Verse 3] Now here comes your girl, she wants to know why you can't get up The firemen grab her and tell her that you been hit up She drops down to her knees and screams out "Why?" Now it's all dawnin' on you that (I think I'm 'bout to die) Four's remorse, got you feelin' sorry for the sh** you did Now you realize what goes around comes back, kid Like when you shot up the block and hit three little kids You live by it, then you die by it, can you dig Yeah, thought your mama told ya But now I see you on the streets, you a thug, yeah you's a soldier Five's acceptance, when you take the acceptance Into your mind that your life is over