Testo That's How I'm Livin'

I was born in new jersey, I said it beforeBut I guess nobody heard meMy mother died youngNo sistas or brothas, I was the only sonWhen I was twelve my pops died tooWhat a brotha was supposed to do?They sent me out WestTo live with my auntI guess they though it was the bestBut there was no love thereGrowin' with no momsI guess I was prepared to live in a vacuumThe bedroom the kitchen, the hall and the bathroomI didn't leave home much, didn't like L.A.Didn't have no friends to trustGot busted to a schoolBlacks and whites, I guess the shit was coolBut in highschool I changedDidn't wanna bust, didn't wanna play the gameI walked to Crenshaw high, shit was flyI hooked up with new cruSome brothas that knew what the fuck to doYou might call it gang but we called it a setAnd it was our own thangThe whole school was downAnd one way or another everybody fucked aroundWhen the hardcore or notyou wore the right color or your ass got shotThat's how i'm livin'...I did three years in and made close friendsHavin' no love my homies came my onlyI was glad: a family I never hadBut I grew up fast got a girl on 10th grade pregnantNeedin' cash, I had to change my styleSwitched from bangin' to hustlin'No more goin' buckwildHad to get a cashflowBut my hustle was weak, it was a no goI join the army, four years in that shitBe all fucked you can beCame back to the hoodMy homies had done goodHad elevated their gameAbout 100 gees a lick, no mothafuckin' shamePassed for the jewelsBaby sledgehammers with the toolsI speak on this with a hesitationEven though it passed the statue of limitation...I checked the bankBought a porsche and gear, earn high streetrankBut as I grew my whole crew fell thruCops had us on the books as innerstate crooksMurder robbery rape escape, the whole damn nineYou robbed a nigga blindI had too much juice, I cut my boosters looseI was intread with the pimpgameTook on the ice-nameBut the pimpgame moved too slowEspecially for a nigga who was hooked on quick doughIn one nite late I was in a carwreckAnd I was lucky to escapeHospital for teen weeks, in bed almost deadAnd when I got well, I got gaught in a crossAnd got locked in a jailcellThat's how I'm livin'...They cutted me looseAnd I had to change troopsThis time they didn't catch meNext time they'll strecth meCause my time was gettin' shortAll my homies was in courtOr locked in a hole, this shit was gettin' oldSo I changed my lifePutted down the gun and picked up the micIt took ten years to get from there to hereBut I still keep a gun, cop sgot me on the runAnd they hate me more nowThan they ever did beforeMy homies came back from penAnd we all worked togetherTrue friends but every once and whileSome punk mistakes me as a junkAnd he gets in my faceWrong mothafuckin' placeAnd I aint lyin', that's how you dyin'...