[Singing: Gerald Alston]
See I was raised up on these mean streets
I'm from the projects, right where poverty and hell meets
I'm searchin every day to find a better way, I gotta
Hustle, steal to get my pay before I hit bottom
Now some might say I'm already there
But who are they to judge or question what I do so I don't care
Tired of eatin cheese sandwiches with no meat
Tired of watchin all the playas from the same street
So it's a life of crime, some might sing a rhyme
To escape the ghetto before the flatline
Choices to make, what am I gonna do
Gotta use my talents that gonna put me through
[Hook: Gerald Alston]
Now with success I've become a target
They wanna set me up, I guess mo money equals more problems
They wanna get me, wanna hit me, strip me of my riches
They want to cut me up in pieces, leave me deep in ditches
And I can't take it, but I'm gonna make it
(Fading as Meth's verse starts: Fight to stay alive)
[Verse 1: Method Man]
I was raised on these meen streets
You know, where poverty and hell meet
Brothers get jelly, lifes for sale cheap
Since my momma held me in her arms to tell me
That it's a cold world I dun held heat
And held myself down, lots of bodies and shells found
And niggas takin anything that ain't nailed down
We fell down, ain't hard to tell now
I ain't tryin ta see the cell now
Or see momma put the house up for sale now
So I'm a give all I got, to try and get that guap
Nigga, I'm hot with this hustle, go ahead and get the cops
I used my talent to get more fickis
Unlike these little cornerstore niggas
Go change your drawers niggas
[Hook: Method Man, Gerald Alston]
Now with success I've become a target
They wanna set me up, take me hostage
Or take me down some notches
They wanna hit me, wanna stick me, get me for my riches
They wanna diss me, wanna clip me, leave me stiff in ditches
And I can't take it, but I'm gonna make it
[Verse 2: Inspectah Deck]