[Verse 1]
I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side
Stayin' alive was no jive
Had secondhands, Moms bounced on old man
So then we moved to Shaolin land
A young youth, yo, rockin' the gold tooth, 'Lo goose
Only way I begin the G off was drug loot
And let's start it like this, son
Rollin' with this one and that one, pullin' out gats for fun
But it was just a dream for the teen
Who was a fiend, started smokin' woolies at sixteen
And runnin' up in gates and doin' hits for high stakes
Makin' my way on fire escapes
No question, I would speed for cracks and weed
The combination madе my eyes bleed
No question, I would flow off and try to gеt the dough off
Stickin' up white boys on ball courts
My life got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater
Times is rough and tough like leather
Figured out I went the wrong route
So I got with a sick-tight clique and went all out
Catchin' ki's from 'cross seas
Rollin' in MPVs, every week we made forty G
Yo, brothas, respect mine or here go the TEC-9, ch-pow
Move from the gate now

[Verse 2]
It's been twenty-two long, hard years, I'm still strugglin'
Survival got me buggin'
But I'm alive on arrival, I peep at the shape of the streets
And stay awake to the ways of the world 'cause **** deep
A man with a dream with plans to make cream
Which failed, I went to jail at the age of fifteen
A young buck sellin' drugs and such, who never had much
Tryin' to get a clutch at what I could not touch (Touch)
The court played me short, now I face incarceration
Pacin', goin' upstate's my destination
Handcuffed in back of a bus, forty of us
Life as a shorty shouldn't be so rough
But as the world turned, I learned life is hell
Livin' in the world no different from a cell
Every day I escape from jakes givin' chase
Sellin' base, smokin' bones in the staircase
Though I don't know why I chose to smoke sess
I guess that's the time when I'm not depressed
But I'm still depressed, and I ask, what's it worth?
Ready to give up, so I seek the old Earth
Who explained workin' hard may help you maintain
To learn to overcome the heartaches and pain
We got stick-up kids, corrupt cops and crack rocks
And stray shots, all on the block that stays hot
Leave it up to me while I be livin' proof
To kick the truth to the young Black youth
But shorty's runnin' wild, smokin' sess, drinkin' beer
And ain't tryna hear what I'm kickin' in his ear
Neglected for now, but yo, it gots to be accepted
That what? That life is hectic