Baba Brinkman - Used To Be The Man lyrics

Back in the day I used to scrap I'm not a thug any more But some days I just wanna be the man again Back in the day it seemed like every angry Teen was talkin' about packing a shank And gettin' cream – what happened to the gangsta lean? Eric B and Rakim said: “What happened to peace?” Now they askin' what happened to strength? The women say they want girth now? sh**, what happened to length? Sperm count goin' down so we packin' some blanks And they laughin' all the way to the bank Man, things done changed! Where has all the violence gone? Seems like people livin' three times as long Life just goes on, it's like survival of the strong Got swallowed by a Hobbesian Leviathan And why not? sh**, I ain't tryin' to abolish it Women dominate men in college, I acknowledge it So next they're gonna take over science and politics And business, but I guess I'm just kinda nostalgic I mean, at least fighting men know who they are You meet a soldier he can show you some scars But muscle can't win a contest over some jobs So now we're just good for opening jars I used to be the man But time has gone on ahead of me And my strong hands But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on I was the man Time has not been so good to me And my hands I'm still holdin' on I was the man What a f**in' waste of upper body strength this is I can dangle it for women like I'm angler fishin' I got a voice full of ba**, listen, ain't it pimpin'? But it came from male-on-male competition And I'm afraid that's a thing of the past I mean things fall apart, don't be thinkin' they last But I keep lookin' for some answers when I listen' to rap Like lookin' for the missing link in the gra** So where the gangsters at? The males barin' they teeth Starin' at weak opponents like: “I dare you to speak” The Menace to Societies and American Me's Not these wealthy, frail, weak, self-parodies I mean, things done changed! Can you believe it? Even the frickin' crime rate seems to be dippin' And some people give police credit, but I'm with Steven Levitt High risk fetuses are being rejected Just ‘cause females get to control their own fertility So murder and poverty drop, but not sociability What happened to the criminals on k**ing sprees Instead of fighting now, we all show civility I used to be the man But time has gone on ahead of me And my strong hands But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on I was the man Time has not been so good to me And my hands I'm still holdin' on I was the man Forty percent of men historically left descendents While six out of ten died young or got rejected Big winners and big losers, but women had it different Eight out of ten of them had children who had children And you wonder why we're f**in' obsessed with competition h*mo sapien males, yeah blazin' a trail Makin' amazing creative displays, and chasin' tail That lasts an extra decade when it's grey and frail Yeah, the Y Chromosome is a f**ed-up mutation And it s**s to face it, they call her 'Mother Nature' But if you want love from her, well, get accustomed to waitin' ‘Cause, brother, if you're male she loves to hate you She gives us testosterone, rage, and frustration She gives us jealousy and lust, and a hunger for greatness Plus our obsession with female reproduction is basic But the women gotta have choice. f** the 'Bush Administration' Times change, this ain't the Pleistocene Feminism and civil rights have arrived on the scene And not every guy is keen to let the violence be I'm just tryin' to tame the beast inside of me I used to be the man But time has gone on ahead of me And my strong hands But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on I was the man Time has not been so good to me And my hands I'm still holdin' on I was the man Back in the day I used to scrap I'm not a thug any more But some days I just wanna be the man again Credits