text: I tell it like it is, then how it could be
  Like it is, then how it could be
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  I tell it like it is, then how it could be
  Like it is, then how it could be
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  I tell it like it is, then how it could be
  Like it is, then how it could be
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  I tell it like it— tell it how it—
  Heaven or Hell, boy; freedom or jail, boy
  A Jansport bag full of shit I could sell for—
  The high or the low, boy, just me and my homeboys
  The police kill us, so we made up our own laws
  Been fighting this long war, its shells in this shore sand
  Still young, but a grown man, could tell by my stature
  Stacking money and problems as I wait for the Rapture
  Death never been no threat, I be chilling, relaxing—everybody bleed
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make it up to Heaven, despite the things Ive done
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make my mama proud, feel like her only son
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  With everything I need, with everything I want
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To do it like nobody has ever done
  When I was in seventh grade, my grandfather told me, Dont get caught loving the streets, cause they never gon love you back. But I feel like its all we got, so its all we really do love. At the end of the day, I feel like the problem is the people that control it dont really come from here. So they cant do nothing but, you know, look down on us. We look at them, we see somebody that could help; they look at us, and all they see is a nigga. But it dont really matter anyway. We all gon die one day, man. One day.
  Do doves cry when a Black man die, or do we croak with crows?
  The young catch gunshots, the old catch the Holy Ghost
  Ho, I love not, I never seen no pot of gold
  Just bar windows and six-fours with no switches
  Was broke with no bitches; she love me, though
  Youll kill me if it make you richer, what you screaming you my brother for?
  Heart is where the hatred is, the brainll stain the love below
  And life is what you make it, so Im making money for my folks
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make it up to Heaven, despite the things Ive done
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make my mama proud, feel like her only son
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  With everything I need, with everything I want
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To do it like nobody has ever done
  When most people look at a person who does what I do, they look at us with these preconceived notions, as if its a set way for us all to be. But we all people at the end of the day, so I wonder why we dont treat each other like it. You looking at a person, telling them that they story dont matter, really, no better than me walking down the street tryna shoot at somebody, cause all we got is these dreams, man, and yall aint never had to not have nothing. And thats the last thing you want for anybody is to not really have nothing at all.
  I been through Hell and back, I seen my mama cry
  Seen my father hit the crack, then hit the se to flip a sack
  I done seen my homies die, then went on rides to kill em back
  So how you say you feel me when you never had to get through that?
  We live for they amusement, like they view us from behind the glass
  No matter what we grow into, we never gon escape our past
  So in this cage they made for me, exactly where you find me at
  Whether its my time to leave or not, I never turn my back
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make it up to Heaven, despite the things Ive done
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To make my moama proud, feel like her only son
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  With everything I need, with everything I want
  I gotta be, I gotta be, I gotta be the one
  To do it like nobody has ever done, nobody has ever done