Nobody ever said life was gon' be easyBut damnJust a kid, moms died when I was sevenPops died, eleven, what's up with heaven?It's hell when you're an orphan at a early ageThis impressionable stage, no love breeds rageIn the heart of a child who never knew his rootsLooked up to pimps and to hustlers in the eel-skin bootsParkin' Caddies on the sidewalk, gangsta talkTruckin' diamonds and goldRubberbands around the bankrollsFly girls to make your head spinSeemed they partied all night longI was like, Put me onBut they said, Little fellow, run and go playTake your butt to school or else you'll have to be like us one dayI didn't understand, but I tried to get a jobWhile all the players got the girls 'cause they'd hustle and robI was like makin' 'bout 1-50 a weekAnd after taxes, you know what that is lunch meatAnd I know I can be better than thisI gotta get me a car, manI gotta get a girlI know I can do it out there, manI'm finna go for it, manI gotta get some moneyWordStreets of anger, trouble and crimeI had it hard, had to sleep in my car sometimeBut I never let another player see me downI kept my front up, my gear cleanEven when checkin' minor greenBrothers knew my game was trueSo I hooked up with the real crewThat knew exactly what to doBank jobs and jewels, quick to flex with toolsPimpin' hoes on the blockCheckin' cash non stopCrack spots, armor with interior barsNo lie, I used to own 'bout 15 carsEvery piece Fila madeDrape my women in suedePavet Piaget, Cesar's Palace holidaysIt was on, crazy out of controlWe made up the word 'ballin'', that was how we rolledBut the FBI had a whole 'nother ideaIt's called multiple indictments for hundreds of yearsWhatDaff is dead?Carter got 25 years?NahSpike 35 to life?Nah, don't tell me B.O.'s dead, manI don't wanna hear that, manI was just with himThe game is vicious, no retirement, you die youngListen to a fake, he might tell you to grab a gunI get phone calls from condemned rowBrothers I ran with, brothers I really knowThey tell me, Ice you got much love in the penYou're the one that got away, don't wanna see you inThey tell me, Tell the little homies the dealDon't let 'em come up in this hellish habitat of shanks and steelâ€I marched two million strong in D.C.Lookin' eye to eye with brothers that I used to think below meDamn, my mind was twisted in my hustlin' daysBut God spared me, I got a baby son to raiseAnd bein' black ain't easy, prejudice is realBut health and liberty is all we need for us to buildWe gotta come together, unseparatedCheck yourself like I did, blackman, because we're all related
Lyrics by ICE-T
409 6 'N The Mornin' 6 'n The Morning 6 'n The Morning 6'n The Mornin' 7Th Deadly Sin 7th Deadly Sin (Intro) 7th Deadly Sin (Intro)"(feat. Jay-Z 99 Problems 99 Problems"(feat. Brother Marquis A Lotta Niggas Addicted To Danger Ain't A Damn Thing Changed Ain't A Damn Thing Changed Always Wanted to be a Ho Ballin' Bitch I Knew Bang Bang Big Gun Bitches 2 Body Count Body Rock Breakin' Check Your Game Check Your Game (featuring King T) Check Your Game"(feat. King T Check Your Heart CJ Mac (Interlude) (featuring CJ Mac) CJ Mac Interlude CJ Mac Interlude"(feat. CJ Mac Code Of The Streets Cold Wind Madness (aka The Coldest Rap, Pt. 2) Colors Common Sense Cop Killer Cramp Your Style Dear God Can You Hear Me Dear Homie Dear Homie (featuring Hen-Gee) Dear Homie"(feat. Hen-Gee Depths of Hell Depths of Hell"(feat. Daddy Nitro Dick Tracy [Instrumental] Disorder Disorder (featuring Slayer) Don't Hate the Playa Don't Hate The Playa Drama Ed Escape From the Killing Fields Everything Is Going To Be Alright Evil E - What About Sex? Evil E-What About Sex? Exodus Eye Of The Storm Eye Of The Storm (featuring Buckshot Shorty) Eye Of The Storm"(feat. Buckshot Shorty First Impression Fly By Forced To Do Dirt Freedom Of Speech Fried Chicken Fuck It Fuck It (featuring El Sadiq & Powerlord JEL) Fuck It"(feat. El Sadiq, Powerlord JEL Funky Gripsta G Style G-Style Gangsta Rap Get My Cash On [feat. Shyheim] Get Your Moneyman Girls L.G.B.N.A.F. God Forgive Me God Forgive Me (featuring Laquan & SLEJ) God Forgive Me"(feat. Laquan and SLEJ Gotta Lotta Love Grand Larceny Hardcore Hardcore (featuring Radzay, Bazaro & Grip) Haters Heartbeat High Roller High Rollers Hit The Deck Hit the Fan Home Invasion Home of the Bodybag How Does it Feel How Does It Feel (featuring Big Rich) How Does it Feel"(feat. Big Rich I Ain't New ta This I Ain't New To This I Ain't New Ta This I Love Ladies I Must Stand [Instrumental] I'm Your Pusher I'm Your Pusher Ice M.F. T Ice MF. T Ice T Ice-O-Tek Ice-T Ice's Exodus Iceapella Iceberg Inside of a Gangsta Inside Of A Gangsta (featuring Jell) Inside of a Gangsta"(feat. Jell Intro Intro (7th Deadly Sin) Intro (featuring Jay-Z) Intro (Rhyme Pays) Intro / Rhyme Pays Intro Rhyme Pays Intro/Rhyme Pays It's Goin' Down It's On It's Goin' Down It's On Killers L.G.B.N.A.F. Lethal Weapon Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous M.V.P.S M.V.P.S. Make It Funky Make It Funky (12" Mix) Make It Funky (12\" Mix) Make The Loot Loop Message To The Soldier Mic Contract Midnight Mind Over Matter Mixed Up Money, Power & Women Money, Power & Women Money, Power, Woman My Baby My Word Is Bond New Jack Hustler New Life NY, NY O.G. Original Gangster Oh No Oh No [Remix Dirty][*] Our Most Requested Record Out There Outro Pain Peel Their Caps Back Personal Pimp Anthem Pimp Behind The Wheels Pimp Behind The Wheels (DJ Evil E The Great) Pimp Behind The Wheels (featuring DJ Evil E The Gr... Pimp Or Die Pimpin' Ain't Easy Pimpin' Ain't Easy (Godfather Theme) Pimpin' Ain't Easy (Godfather Theme) Please Believe Me Power Pray Prepared to Die Pulse of the Rhyme Question And Answer Race War Radio Suckers Rap Game's Hijacked Rap Games Hijacked Rap Is Fake Real Talk Real? Real? [Insert] Reckless Reckless Reckless (12") Reckless (12")"(feat. The Glove, Dave Storrs Reckless (12) Repossession Retaliation Return Of the Real Rhyme Pays Ricochet Sex Sex (Bonus Beat) Sex [Bonus Beat] Shit Hit The Fan Shit Hit The Fan (featuring Shawnie Shawn) Shut Up Be Happy Shut Up, Be Happy Shut Up, Be Happy"(feat. Jello Biafra So Fly Sombody Gotta Do It (remix) Somebody Gotta Do It Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy!!!) Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy!) Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy!) (12\" M... Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy... Sondoobiest (Interlude) (featuring Sondoobiest) Sondoobiest Interlude Sondoobiest Interlude"(feat. Sondoobiest Soul On Ice Squeeze the Trigger Step Your Game Up Straight Up Nigga Street Killer Street Sweeper Swazy Syndicate 4 Ever That's How I'm Livin That's How I'm Livin' That's How I'm Livin The 5th The 7th The 7th (featuring Marc Live, Ras Kass & Tash (Tha... The Coldest Rap The Girl Tried To Kill Me The House The Hunted Child The Iceberg The Lane The Lane (E.V.A. Remix) The Syndicate The Tower They Want Me Back In They Want Me Back In (featuring Big Rich) They Want Me Back In"(feat. Big Rich This One's for Me This One's For Me Threat (Interlude) (featuring Threat) Threat Interlude Threat Interlude"(feat. Threat Trespass Twice The Game Valuable Game Walking In The Rain Warning Watch The Ice Break What Ya Wanna Do? What Ya Wanna Do? (featuring Rhyme Syndicate) Where The Shit Goes Down Where The Shit Goes Down? Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year You Played Yourself Ziplock