[Intro] It feels good [Verse 1] If I wasn't a gangsta, where would I be? UCLA, graduatin' with a bachelor's degree Goin' to grad school to get my master's Or even f** around and get a Ph.D sh**, I could have been a teacher, schoolin' the youth Or I could have a preacher, healin' people in pews I could have been a scientist, I do like trees Or could have been a botanist or your psychologist Or just a store clerk, ringin' up at your request Customer service rep with a cubicle and a desk A j**eler with the best you could find on one's neck Or part of a company that consolidates your debt I could have joined the army, could have been a cadet Maybe the air force, pilot flyin' jets Either way, I'm just a n***a from the 'jects 92059, but who knows? [Hook] Nights like this I go deep in thought till I touch my soul People say life is a cycle, so I keep God as my idol But if I try and I fail, I say, "Get back up and try the next day" People say life is a cycle, but what do we really know? [Verse 2] What if I wasn't a Blood? Where would you find me? In the Crip hub with some homies behind me? Nah, somewhere where the sun is shiny With my daughter and my unborn son and mami Somewhere more positive like a plus sign You know what time it is, it's time to get mines I can see myself off and help To the people in need like yourself I'll probably be a lot more involved in politics On the podium, sharin' thoughts on Jena Six Start fundin' millions to NO after Katrina hit Not takin' no N-Os as a answer for it I could have completely evacuated the Towers on 9/11 '01, how many died? No one Now, picture that as the verse colds Everybody got an opinion, but who knows? [Hook] [Verse 3] One for the ghetto Two for the kids with dreams that won't settle for less I guess it's best that we settle for greatness Pedal education and throw darts at Satan You got to excuse my sincerity Cause everybody out ain't a leader And apparently you ain't one either I swear I keep my cerebral so sharp it can cut people They ball up like a child positioned in fetal Hey, young world, I got a song to sing About the dramas and they exist and they k** a king They want to k** a king, but that first verse was just a what-if See, I'm a gangsta with a red beam over the Glock Shootin' shots like a ball team Your shooters get shot, ten marksmen can all bleed Now, that's cold-bleed, I mean cold-blooded That's what Weezy said, and a n***a loved it Cause I'm 'bout that, took a loss, bounced back Get a show for fifty stacks, told mama, "Count that" This dope boy now doin' shows It's a long road ahead, but who knows? [Hook]