New York streets killers'll walk like Pistol Pete And Pappy Mason, the young boys admiration Prince Queens and Fritz from Harlem legends, the drugs kept the hood from starving Pushing cars, Barnes was the 70's But there's a long list of celebrities Worldwide on the side of things Livest kings, died, one guy, one time One day grabs me, as I'm about to heat 40-side of Vernon, I turned he asked me "What you up to, the cops bust you" I was a teen drunk off brew, stumbled I If God sent him, two squad cars entered the block And looked at us, I ain't when they watched I took it upstairs, the bathroom mirror, my hair Staring at a disciple, I almost gave my life to what the dice do Yeah man, throwing them Hoping my ace get his case His girl ain't wait for him, she in the straight hoeing While he looking at centerfolds of pretty they little cooch, gangstas don't die he's living proof The D.A. who tried him was A white dude, his mother during the case Hung jury, now the D.A. is replaced Pre-trial hearing is over, it's for the soldier Walks in the courtroom, the look in his is wild Triple-homicide, I sit in the back I to crack a smile when I see him up a fist for black power, cause all we want is his freedom He grabbed a court gun and started squeezing Then he the judge, screams out, nobody leaving everybody
Some niggas fuck they enemies in ass when they catch 'em Weird-ass are dangerous, so don't test 'em They make you, disappear, this a year that I won't Sold double platinum, met mo' execs Southern niggas, independent label, real Know the business, ran Tennessee for years, now chilling They had the coke game something Sold out the trunk of they car, that shit amazed me Put me onto heron blunts, sherm or a puff, what the fuck, I turned to punch them Southern niggas slow, nigga tried to play me I left around them dudes, they cool but they crazy Now I'm back around the old school that me New gangstas, we lounging, out in L.A. see A dude wrote my from Pelican Bay The letter say, "Nas I got back, the fools don't play" I rolled some Crips down to a Crenshaw funeral Never saw so many men and I knew the ho responsible The nigga alive in a hospital Midnight they crept in his room and the doctor too See my cousin's in the game, and things He plugged me with a who was half-Mexicano Gave the ass up, I'ma mack Soprano She me the indigo, but the imbecile Should of tippy-toed, thought my eyes were closed the hotel room do', to let her goons in But I moved in a manner, on Jet Li shit I let the hammers blow, wet three See honey thought I had to do, with all the drama Cause I was a crew, that had her people killed Called up my cousin, told him I ain't with you He responded cool, but told me out here this how
All I gotta say is that If that's how our gon' get down, how we ever gon' get up? How we ever gon' get up if how we get down? A shame when you look at it My folk is yo' folk, but we all gotta make a change