[33 second intro] {*Troutman-esque sample says "Liiiiiive my liiife"*} [Murs] Born March '78, Feco and Carmone the Mid-City L.A Okay Liquor was on the corner Basically raised on rap, found ways to adapt To every new hood I moved to, so way before "Colors" came out We knew the differences between red and blue Back then, my whole crew all, played Pop Warner football From tiny mites to pee-wees, we'd be tight Until we moved to the Valley, neighborhoods was all white Only blacks on the block, can't count amounts of times Somebody got socked for callin me out my name But I still came up on game where I first learned to slang herb And arranged words into the form of rhymes But, times got rough Moms wasn't tryin to see me and my stepdad, throw fisticuffs So we moved back, to the M-C, and that sh** bent me But it made my raps tighter, and so did my hustle And after my first hustle I was brought back to reality And reminded, respect didn't come, automatically So I earned mine, learned my claim Got some beadies for my stress and graffiti for my name Ditchin school everyday just to kick it at the crib Bein a bad-a** kid But the older that you get the more you're watchin how you live [26 second interlude] {*Troutman-esque sample says "Liiiiiive my liiife"*} [Murs] Now I claim a Legend, that's a lot to be Living up to I dedicate my every word, to my n***as who know how I feel When yo' momma say she givin up on you My luck was like that twenty-two, CATCH Cause what I wanted from life, and what I got didn't match Lack of scratch got me itchin to hit licks But now I watch the lil' homies and realize I'm too old for that sh** That be on my mind, when I'm on my way to the train When you're livin in Oakland, with L.A. on the brain Too much anger to be contained, so the rap's my only outlet Feelin like the deck was stacked against me since the outset n***as from my hood lookin at me like "Yo sh** ain't out yet~!?" But only if they knew how much patience it takes When you got a book full of headline stories, just waitin to break But when we do interrupt your normal schedule of events The sh** will be so bomb, a threat to national defense Too late, to mount the counter-a**ault, but thus far I've focused four years of my life on infiltration of the Walkman For domination of the asphault Doin what the f** I want, while these b**h n***as talk .. Y'know, run your mouth all you want Doin what the f** I want, but while you b**h n***as talk I'll [22 second interlude] {*Troutman-esque sample says "Liiiiiive my liiife"*} [Murs] I mean sh** it's a nice world if I was to actually believe Everything they tellin me, but I know better than that sh** So I'm out to get a little scratch and that Spice Girl, Melanie B You see, no great expectations Just out to enjoy this sh** until my date of expiration Hopin my a** will age like fine wine Cause there's so much to do, and such little time So I'll be damned if I waste my days, for minimum wage As a slave, or have some professor that's overpaid Control the way that I behave Afraid of commitment homey, I think not Cause I'm committed to these beadies and this music Cause it's all that I got Cancer and some answers to some questions posed to oneself And recited in the hopes they felt by someone else But this five dollar ring on my hand stamps out the reminder You can't always have, everything that you want Cause rejection hurt like a motherf**er n***a I won't front Heart broke like my pockets and dreams So now I'm on the hunt to see if it's possible To fix three things at once, while I [16 second interlude] {*Troutman-esque sample says "Liiiiiive my liiife"*} [Beat by itself to the fade of the song]