[Chorus: Repeat 2X] We came a long way up from fighting court cases Running the streets dirty with guns on our waists Tryna be a man feed a fam and build a basis Treaded the sandhills, hip hop is my oasis
[Verse One] It all began up in 100 dwight When my uncle younganutt handed me my first mic At 13 years old, I realized it was a road And at the end I would win lots of pots of gold Never lost the flame, never divorced the game Everybody who know me know I paid the cost for fame To be a billionaire, the god struggled for years Some nights I shed tears when I said my prayers Been shot at alot of times for slinging nickels and dimes On the road to the riches that was paved with crime I was sought of caught in between the streets and a mic Niggaz never touched the knuckles Cause they knew I could fight Red Hook was one projects easy to get killed in My mother always told me stay from underneath them buildings I scrambled all my life, finally I found my purpose I'ma be a disciple to hip hop long as the earth twist
[Chorus]
[Verse Two] My mother and Mrs. Irene had me, Klief, and Elliot sing +Rappers Delight+ by the Sugarhill Gang, at her baby shower Now I realize that's what gave me power At 8 years old that was my first hip hop encounter Then I went on playing keyboards with adam ellis Only 12 but we could play whatever people tell us In the halls of Red Hook, I was the king of the beat box Back when me and Mr. Ice walked around singing rock box He was the nicest emcee in the hook on Red Hook day When niggaz saw us behind the ropes they were shook We feint to lace the mic and young always allowed us Used to go from block to block to battle And people would crowd us On staircases with rah and sha the ganja would spark me I was fiending to battle dougie fresh, buff and biz markie Was always a ghetto star and highly respected Lashawna always asked me when I'm gonna make a record People seen something in me I didn't see in myself Shit I was only having fun, niggaz loved how it felt My 2 daughters denysha, yay-yay, my whole family I dedicate this to y'all for believing in me
[Chorus]
[Verse Three] I come from humble beginnings, a project apartment 7 kids on 2 beds, the rest on the carpet My mother raised her brothers and sisters on welfare As well as her own kids, and she didn't have any healthcare Now we tryna get houses with cars in garages Manage twa's, bubble hot tub massages Laughing all the way to the bank with my goddess Tryna put gold bars in the safe, platinum artist No longer settling for the crumbs on the cake No more embezzling or we running from jake Shopping sprees copping threes rocking designer things No more selling poppy seeds or hocking diamond rings Celebration of life, everyday's like christmas Taking my baby girls on trips, and fulfilling their gift list Sending my ol' earth on vacation on the love boat After a cruise around the world she comes home to a fur coat Relax with black sand all up between her toes on beaches Enjoying the breeze from palm trees, sipping crushed peaches Shit, back in the days the only island niggaz been on was rikers Doing pushups with them lifers!
Bainbridge Merril lyrics