Joe Budden - SlaughterMouse lyrics

[Verse 1] Yeah, yeah Look, it was around '99, baby comin' while I was at rock bottom Ironic sh**, I was listenin' to "Rock Bottom" Pockets, rabbit ears, no paper, lot of cotton Had some charges stemmin' from me and my squad robbin' Had to leave the hood, sh** stayin', not an option I bumped your sh** forever, felt we had a lot in common A rapper expressin' wit who spoke in depressive stints All that introspectiveness, I couldn't measure what it did Listen, I'm writin' to you now cause we don't get to talk much 'Cept for in the stu' when we be pa**in' through the halls and such I wonder if you catch me stare at you in awe much And we be busy workin' so I never share my thoughts much Remember signin' four n***as with an attitude? Well maybe we'll get your star power and his magnitude All I thought was it was 'bout to be on But I never guessed that I was 'bout to be wrong We encountered some things, maybe we should've figured out all along Who the f** was I to be too vocal in my doubt for some songs? Even I can't be that dumb to step over the threshold And be the guy who says no to so many records sold Whole career, I never bit my tongue, I let it go Too many times bein' the rebel, ain't end in what's best for Joe That second album came and added truth to the slander But we learned what's good for the goose ain't good for the gander Guess I'm askin' for advice right now Experience and leadership to help suffice right now I guess I'm askin', "How would you do it?" Before I do somethin' too stupid Before my group lose it just to get our views lucid Every other day these n***as want a new exclusive Should I be in the mix more? Maybe I'm too secluded Do you think you'd be as famous now If you had to put out "My Name Is" now? The way the game is now, awful lyrics, sh** is shameless now Just tell me how you'd maneuver if you came in now It's just thoughts, everything is criss-crossed Gotta be cool with Complex and Pitchfork if I wanna get my sh** off These simpleminded n***as won't think you f** with us If they don't see you poppin' bottles in the club with us It's about fashion now, which I hate Because I dress like sh**, I'm just the best when I spit But different times, I was feelin' like the odd man out Like I should leave, they'd be better with the odd man out Like when I wasn't on that intro, I felt a little weird But that was for the team, so I didn't really care, for real For the team, how I happen to be When Bad met Evil, n***a who was happier than me? Think back, the way that I was on that sh** You woulda thought it was my album and I was on that sh** Like f** rap, happy to see a friendship get mended Cemented and any frivolous tension get ended Joell you my G, Weapon Waist you my OG cuz Nickel you know I look at you like it's blood Here's the flowers, before this end is covered in mud We can disband right now and it's gonna always be love For a brief period I tried to rhyme like y'all I was high, maybe tryin' to prove that I'm like y'all But I'm not, I s** at all that syllable sh** I'd rather make the pen bleed to see the feelin' you get I'm bein' honest, we might never sell a million and sh** To me it's more value in keepin' it trill with my nigs And to Em, one of the illest ever on the mic We're less different than we are alike This ain't about star power, I ain't on the hype Never mind skin color, I see beyond the white My whole life I fought trauma like you Had ups and downs with my baby mama like you I had my fair share of transgressions like you Had a bad temper once and fought aggression like you Did d**, popped pills, fought depression like you These are things you'd never pick up from our sessions in the stu' I beefed with Hov, 50, Game and Wu Got in my own way a lot, I'm sure the same as you The whole label think I'm crazy, I been peeped it I'm only mad I couldn't keep a better secret Still when I hear your voice, my head goes wrong Takes me back to that little boy with my headphones on And the way you saved my life back then is how I'm savin' them Plaques and charted tracks won't take me away from them So I hope you understand f** this record deal, you inspired me as a man I'll cut it short, before I start feelin' like a Stan HouseGang for life, word to the pig on Royce's hand Success'll never disable me No record label will ever label me My morals ain't for sale, can't under-the-table me I'll ride it out, even when everything ain't savory My brothers love me, they won't enable me And they won't k** me, they won't Cain and Abel me It's how I feel...