[Intro]
16 on d**h Row, d**h Row
That's where mothaf**as is endin' up
16 on d**h Row
[Verse 1: 2Pac]
Dear Mama, they sentenced me to d**h
Today's my final day, I'm countin' every breath
I'm bitter ‘cause I'm dying, so much I haven't seen
I know you never dreamed your baby would be dead at 16
I got beef with a sick society
That doesn't give a sh**
And they too quick to say goodbye to me
They tell me the preacher's there for me
He's a crook with a book
That mothaf**a never cared for me
He's only here to be sure I don't drop a dime to God
About the crimes he's committin' on the poor
And how can these people judge me?
They ain't my peers, and in all these years
They ain't never love me
I never got to be a man, must be part of some big plan
To keep a n***a in the state pen
And to my homies out buryin' mothaf**as
Steer clear of these Aryan mothaf**as
‘Cause once they got you locked up
They got you trapped, you're better off gettin' shot up
I'm convinced self-defense is the way
Please, stay strapped, pack a gat every day
I wish I would've known while I was out there
Now I'm straight headin' for the chair
[Hook]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can't be positive when the ghetto's where you live
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on d**h Row
[Verse 2: Eminem]
They think they're crazy, but they ain't crazy
Let's face it, sh**, basically they're just playing sick
They ain't sh**, they ain't saying sh**; spray 'em, 50!
A to the K, get in the way I'll bring 2Pac and them with me
And turn this day into f**ing mayhem
You staying with me?
Don't let me lose you, I'm not tryin' to confuse you
When I let loose with this Uzi
And just shoot through your Isuzu
You get the message? Am I getting through to you?
You know what's coming?
You motherf**ers don't even know, do you?
Take some Big and some Pac and you mix 'em up in a pot
Sprinkle a little Big L on top; what the f** do you got?
You got the realest and illest k**ers tied up in a knot
The juggernauts of this rap sh**, like it or not
It's like a fight to the top just to see who'd die for the spot
You put your life in this, nothing like surviving a shot
Y'all know what time it is, soon as 50 signs on this dot
sh**, what you know about d**h threats, ‘cause I get a lot
Shady Records was 80 seconds away from the towers
Some cowards f**ed with the wrong building
They meant to hit ours
Better evacuate all children, it's nuclear showers
There's nothing spookier
You now about to witness the power
[Hook]
16 on d**h Row
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on d**h Row
[Verse 3: Notorious B.I.G.]
Check it, I grew up a f**ing screw up
Got introduced to the game, got a ounce and f**ing blew up
Chopping rocks overnight
The n***a Biggie Smalls trying to turn into the black Frank White
We had to grow dreads to change our description
Two cops is on the milk box missing
Show they toes you know they got stepped on
A fist full of bullets a chest full of Teflon
Run from the police picture that, n***a I'm too fat
I f** around and catch a asthma attack
That's why I bust back, it don't phase me
When he drop, take his Glock, and I'm Swayze
[Bridge: 2Pac]
I'm sentenced to the pen
Remember that little bird? He snitched and told a friend
It's trouble on my mind, I'm with the old-timers
And f** five-0! Blaow, blaow! Turn 'em into forty-niners
[Outro]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can't be positive when the ghetto's where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin' like a thief, runnin' through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on d**h Row