i reached my lifetime limit on lies and i reached my lifetime limit on tries and i m running low on hellos and goodbyes so i m here to stay baby you know you can wipe the tears from your eyes heard your take so many years thought i d never see the morning sky again from hearing grown men cry in a cell that kind of makes it hard to pretend when you been close to winning it kind of makes it hard to give in it makes it hard to throw in the towel and that s never been my style and around here we still take a beating for our pal and old ladies when they see us they don t ever smile they shake their heads from side to side look us up and down but i know where that frustration come from they look at our generation like a bunch of dumb dumbs and i don t know if that s wrong or right but is it wrong for me to just want something different in life for my family who s only ever saw poverty and deep down inside that shit bothers me i wonder if i m being the proper man i can be don t leave the drugs alone start working break my back til my knees start hurting for five bucks an hour with a boss that s a jerk when i can get a brick flip it and get paid that s for certain but if i get caught with a brick it s the curtains niggas shootin every night can t hustle on a war block baby two weeks old and they sleepin on a warm cot hand to hand rock only way on top hundred and fifty dollars that i need that s a long shot out on the ave you know it s swollen with cops one said up against the wall routine stop fifteen dimes on me and a sixteen shot now i m upstate with a shake and a slingshot gangs run you inside so i m running with a crew niggas from the other side boys saying fuck a truce they put me in a box they should put me in a noose ropes still around my neck even though they cut me loose a barefoot negro running through the jungle every man s equal try to be humble so everyday of my life filled with struggle so everyday of my life i m gonna hustle and i can do a hundred pushups trying to push thru slice another brother through even if he push you fuck what you would do on the outside no compassion no questions asked on the inside 