Off of the Element of Surprise. Samples Love Me,
Love Me, Love Me or Leave Me, Leave Me, Leave Me... read more
In the metropolis the all-seeing eye steady watching us
Traffic lights on every corner got cameras that monitor us
The city takes no novices, so you better be street savvy
Never fall asleep, the snakes creep gradually
It's hard to keep your sanity or raise your seeds and family
In this jungle we occupy, forever breathing tragedy
Gun-toting goons put wounds in your anatomy
Just to make the cash in their pockets expand dramatically
Shorties running rampantly with no guidance or role models
Living their lives like young Tony Sopranos
Cause rappers and crime figures seem to be their biggest idols
I guess that's how the city life influences dudes
The only prospects are those that Biggie spit in the booth
About selling powder to sniff or getting rich shooting hoops
My advice is to stay away from criminal pursuits
And don't let the city's venom taint your innocence of youth
Ay yo, from my world to yours kid, it's all the same struggle
We in a warzone trying to maintain the hustle
Some escape the jungle in search of better landscapes
While others chase the urban life, cause they like the fast pace
The city, where cats be trying to boost up the crime rate
The city, shorties'll bust they guns till their palms ache
The city, a place they say it's hard to succeed at
The city, but still that's my favorite place to be at
Tenement buildings, bus stops and subways
Dudes sitting on the park benches while they puff haze
Trying to take their moms away from living in this rough maze
Knuckleheads busting dumdums while others duck strays
Trying to act tough and say they made it on the front page
But that's the routine, this fast life will never lose steam
Drama filled streets influence scripts on the movie screen
Discretion is advised if your eyes dare to view a scene
But on the flipside, far from confusion and distraction
O.G.'s be on the block, chilling on the stoop relaxed
Watching the drug merchants and consumers interacting
Bootleggers displaying CDs with the music blasting
Outside the sneaker spot where you can cop the newest fashion
Graffiti covered properties sprayed up by the vandals
And basketball courts with kids who're nice with the handles
Those are just some brief descriptions of the city life environment
Everybody's on the run putting in labor and sweat
Either out chasing a dream or maybe chasing a check
Some people succeed but only a few make an attempt
At escaping this grand chessboard paved with cement
We try to see our wages raised to the greatest extent
So we can be comfortable, live stable and content
Cause to carry cash by the fistful, cats'll blast their pistol
Materialism got them starving to make their wrist glow
The streets got their minds held captive, it's that simple
I can tell by looking at the bars attached to every window
Soon as you feel the breeze from the city wind blow
It's like you're instantly motivated to go and get dough
That's just the rush that touches you
Once you dwell in these urban districts
The urge to earn figures at a very absurd percentage
Whether suburban or urban you could observe the difference
But I prefer the place that gave birth to my existence