as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i take a look at my life and realize there s nothin left cause i ve been blastin and laughin so long that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone but i ain t never crossed a man that didn t deserve it me be treated like a punk you know that s unheard of you betta watch how ya talking and where ya walking or you and your homies might be lined in chalk i really hate to trip but i gotta lope as they croak i see myself in the pistol smoke fool i m the kinda g that little homie s wanna be like on my knees in the night saying prayers in the street light been spending most their lives living in a gangsta s paradise keep spending most our lives living in a gangsta s paradise look at the situation they got me facing i can t live a normal life i was raised by the state so i gotta be down with the hood team too much television watching got me chasing dreams i m an educated fool with money on my mind got my tin in my hand and a gleam in my eye i m a loced out gangsta set trippin banger and my homies is down so don t arouse my anger fool death ain t nothing but a heart beat away i m living life do or die what can i say i m twenty three now but will i live to see twenty four the way things is going i don t know tell me why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me been spending most our lives living in a gangsta s paradise keep spending most our lives living in a gangsta s paradise power and the money money and the power minute after minute hour after hour everybody s running but half of them ain t looking what s going on in the kitchen but i don t know what s cooking they say i gotta learn but nobody s here to teach me if they can t understand it how can they reach me i guess they can t i guess they won t i guess they front that s why i know my life is out of luck fool been spending most our lives living in a gangsta s paradise keep spending most our lives living in a gangsta s paradise tell me why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me 