[Jay-Z]
Geah.. whassup?
Whereīs all my street niggaz, project niggaz
Real niggaz, worldwide
Letīs reflect.. eīrybody got a story
We all ghetto B - hereīs mine
Geah
See I was -- born in sewage, born to make bomb music
Flow tight like I was born Jewish
Used the streets as a conduit - I kept arms
38 longs inside my momīs Buick
At any given moment Shawn could lose it, be on the news
Iron cuffs - arms through it; or stuffed with embalmin fluid
Shit, Iīm goin through it - mom dukes too
Tears streamin down her pretty face, she got her palms to it
My life is gettin too wild
I need to bring some sort kinda calm to it
Bout to lose it; voices screamin "Donīt do it!"
Itīs like ī93, ī94, bout the year
that Big and Mag dropped; and "Illmatic" rocked
outta every rag drop, and the West had it locked
Everybody doin īem, Iīm still scratchin on the block
like "Damn; Iīma be a failure"
Surrounded by thugs, drugs, and drug - paraphenalia
Cops courts, and their thoughts is to derail us
Three time felons in shorts with jealous thoughts
Tryin figure where your mail is, guesstimate the weight you sellin
So they can send shots straight to your melon; wait!
It gets worse, baby momma water burst
Baby came out stillborn, still I gotta move on
Though my heart still torn, life gone from her womb
Donīt worry, if it was meant to be, itīll be -- soon
[Chorus: Jay-Z]
This canīt be life, this canīt be love
This canīt be right, thereīs gotta be more, this canīt be us
This canīt be life, this canīt be love
This canīt be right, thereīs gotta be more, this canīt be us
[Beanie Sigel]
Chill dog
Second oldest born, from Michelle Brown my mother
Hell bound, grew with two sisters and one brother
Pop wasnīt around, so many stories thatīs another
Iīm thinkin damn; how my older sister gonī make me tougher
When steel sharpens steel, Iīma keep it real
Iīm tired of tryin to hide my pain behind the syrups and pills
Dead to the world, stretched out like a corpse for real
Yīall niggaz thinkin what yīall readin in The Source is real
What my life like, you lookin at the source, itīs real
What your life like? Mine dog, of course itīs real
Passin judgment, you niggaz second-guessin Beans
Cause you donīt eat swine donīt make you Amin
Dog you know a couple suras, out the Qurīan
I guess you all on your din and I ainīt on mine
Stop that Akki, īfore I send shots though your body
Make īem feel feel hell on earth before Allah drop thee
I feel the lineīs drawn here, nuttin more can stop me
Till them feds pick me up, or them boys pop me
Thereīs only three things that make Mac not act like Beans
Amatullah Tisha, Po Aldin, Samir Amin
My seeds dog, gotta teach īem that before I leave dog
Shit I know that Iīma see īem when I leave dog
I come back in the afterlife
Like fuck it I done touched hell twice; whatīs the meanin?
[Chorus]
[Scarface]
Yeah.. uhh..
Now as I walk into the studio, to do this with Jigī
I got a phone call from one of my nigs
Said my homeboy Reek, he just lost one of his kids
And when I heard that I just broke into tears
And see in the second hand; you donīt really know how this is
But when it hits that close to home you feel the pain at the crib
So I called mine, and saddened my wife with the bad news
Now we both depressed, countin our blessings cause Bradīs two
Prayin for young souls to laugh atlife through the stars
Lovin your kids just like you was ours
And Iīm hurtin for you dog; but ainīt nobody pain is like yours
I just know that heavenīll open these doors
And ainīt no bright side to losin lifel; but you can view it like this
Godīs got open hands homey, he in the midst.. of good company
Who loves all and hates not one
And one day you gonī be wit your son
I couldīve rapped about my hard times on this song
But heaven knows I woulda been wrong
I wouldnīta been right, it wouldnīta been love
It wouldnīta been life, it wouldnīta been us
This canīt be life
[Chorus]
[Jay-Z]
This canīt be life..