Familiar scene, street corner, tape and
sheets,
18 put to sleep, talk on the street,
Til next week when a different face is
another life wasted,
Self-hatred is dangerous, the world see
him as a thug,
But don’t understand,
That a poor black man, ain’t born with a
strap in his hand,
Was soft like all children at 5 years old,
But the cycle and society, turned him cold,
Pops fled the scene, left mom’s on her
own,
To feed 3 seeds alone, so she never home,
Sweatin’ for change, but there’s big dough
in the game,
And he wanna be next to push a range,
So we change innocent, to militant ways,
Rollin’ with the bigger boys, doin
whatever they say,
But wait these streets ain’t got no glory,
Man rolled up on him, you know the rest of
the story
Chorus:
Why do we live this way oh lord?
Why do we have to live this way?
Why do we live this way oh lord?
Why do we have to live this way?
Look at what we see and go through,
Of course we’re thugs, coz of our will to
survive,
Not coz of drugs,
Living in foulest conditions, still breed
proudest traditions,
We speak, everybody listen,
But we still jealous, when one of us
shining,
Like I’m grindin, why’s my man shining?
I ain’t criticizing, been known to be
whiling,
Just tryna give you food for thought when
im rhyming,
Coz I’m tired of youts’ them dyin’ coz
theres no guidance,
But I won’t have my fam cryin,
An eye for an eye? That’s your science?
Cool we’re the same then, let’s get
blinded,
I’m not in the hype ting-handle ma
business,
If I feel somethings a threat, then that
threats missin,
Just know that my heart was good and that
I tried,
I just had too much pride,
Chorus
No matter how we act, we all got emotion,
Just learn to hide it, it hurts to open,
The street is a movie, stay in your role,
If you let it go, vultures swallow you
whole,
But it don’t fool me bro, I see things clear,
Big killers get big years and shed big
tears,
If not at trial, gradually as the years
pass,
The guilt set in like a vice on the heart,
Reminiscing bout the nigga at your side,
Now he’s missin’ and no wishin could give
him back life,
That’s just life, shit ain’t fair,
Man scream “street dreams”, all I see is
the nightmare’s,
Locked up, years pass seed dun grown,
Get murked or hit the pipe,
Either way you a ghost,
And that’s reality even though its crazy,
Got to change, or it’s the same fate for
our babies…
Chorus