[Murs:] Ay it's like, me and this n***a Eclipse Been workin on this sh** hella hard for hella days Y'know, knahmsayin? Been since like '95, both graduated and sh** sh** changed a grip for me this year '95 was some sh**, check it out It was '95, the year of my graduation I was in, great anticipation of my date of release From this educational prison, moms made the decision To throw me from the residence It seems weed and hip-hop had taken precedence Over my responsibilities, but it was alright Because that day to day bullsh** was k**in me So willingly I left the home And set out on my own, shacked up with some crew Saga and Rhythm Didn't have to give 'em any rent So hella time was spent up late night, freestylin gettin high Not knowin how I would make it to school the next day From the Westside of L.A., I had to hit the 33 And now I hear them fools from Red Dots is out to murder me So certainly stresss built Takin bus to night school every day, coulda got my a** kilt But I had to get my credits straight Plus the bus ride gave me time to meditate On how to set this sh** straight So late one night, I called up moms then we reached an agreement Which only delayed, it didn't prevent what was bound to happen She said she wasn't trippin just as long as I got a gown and cap Then came graduation day, the only n***a to walk the stage With a zero point five four five GPA I hand her the diploma, and she still have sh** to say And it's f**in off my vibe, and the album's on it's way I couldn't prolong the day when Murs And the real world would collide The year was nine-five [Chorus] The year was nine-five, I thought I wouldn't survive Livin in the city where it's a day to day struggle to survive The year was nine-five {"Daily survival tactics in L.A."} [x5] [Murs:] I struggled my way in the summer and now the album's almost done But now is when the crew starts to fall apart One by one, we disa**embled, which sorta resembles my life Fallin apart, right before my eyes So I fantasized about havin a video, and bein on tour To keep my mind off my empty stomach, and sleepin on the floor Bein that I'm broke, I'm stealin groceries from the store And now it seems every battle I have turns to beef And me, broke with no heat I'm lookin over both shoulders whenever I hit the streets And just when I thought I escaped defeat I'm sittin with my homey and we smokin a beadie When this cop see me, and he decides to procede A young black male with dreads, it gotta be weed So he comes over with the usual, disrespect But that's all I've come to expect From a motherf**er with a badge and a God Complex Next he's askin questions, testin my patience Finds out I'm underage, now he's writin a citation Askin me to stand up to be frisked, I'm like "Man f** this! " Then this b**h cop snatched me up from the back I turned around, to counter the attack But I'm surrounded by five cops who don't appreciate the reply So it's me they hogtie, and throw on the asphault Steady talkin sh**, standin over me like it's all my fault And now I got a court case to face And in the first place, I barely got enoughs to survive So when the court date arrived I damn sure don't got enough for a f**in bus ride So they give me a warrant, failure to appear The next week I'm at the pier with my crew I seen this fool I battled a couple days back Hadn't seen him in a few, I stepped to him He's like, "Dude we need a rematch, you see my ego's been scratched" And when I tell him that sh** ain't gon' happen His ese partner went and opened up his trap And tell me that the odds was uneven instead of leavin I turned around and put this motherf**er in his place And at the same time, his homey all up in my n***a T.S. face So I'm think we 'bout to squab; but then the cops mob And break it up, now they feelin like, they did they job But here they come, back up the street hella deep Talkin sh** like we wasn't gon' trip So I took the first hit And now we squabbin in the middle of the streets The odds was 3-on-6, and we still held it down Except for the one so-called homey Who stood there, held the radio and looked around And it seems like forever that we fought But it eventually, came to a halt So then we hit the park, to discuss what happened I wake up the next day, these fools is talkin 'bout cappin me? Takin my life, over a fight, nah that couldn't be right Lost sight of where I'm livin, Los Angeles Where fools ain't givin a f**, stuck in the same place With decisions to make Either I k** them, they k** me, or I make an escape So I took the money that my step-pops left me when he pa**ed away And moved up to the Bay, only to find out n***az gon' have problems, wherever you stay And it's been a couple of years And some of these fools is still trippin to this day So I feel I can safely say That on this planet there ain't no place like L.A. (There ain't no place like L.A.) Mid-City fool, b**h! {"Heated, defeated, day after day Daily survival tactics in L.A."}