We done
already parted like it was 1999
We bout a decade
into the new millennium
I be dwellin' with hella women
with melanin swimmin' in em
Strippin' em, maté linen and denim
I stay surrounded by ten of em
I don't wonder how
I made it this far
Nothin' stays the same
Everything takes on changes
and re news
Back before I was awarded a state
I was hyphy at the sideshow,
bustin' figure eight
I done seen many grades of greats,
many shades of sticky
I remember if it didn't
have seeds,
then you couldn't be picky
The only thing you can do is maintain,
cause that's the way it
went in the game
Brothers keep dyin' in streets, son
Don't you just have to
keep on strovin'
That's the way it goes in the game
Yeah, Dominino, yeah, Dominino,
take it to Risin'
You got no peace, keep smokin',
but you just got to keep on goin'
That's the way it goes in the game
Wow, Sam
Back in the 80s and the early 90s,
it wasn't no pills to pop
Powder Coke
transformed the ether
base to Hubbarot
I used to double up a hundred
count up on the block
From seminary to 7th Deuce
God bless the soul of Mama
Betsy and Big Bruce
Answer, Jamal,
R .I .P. to little Niecy
A model, believe me, it ain't easy
My mo, my momma, ex used to feed me
And when she used to see me
goin' through a little trouble
She knew exactly what to do
To help me make it through
and ease my struggles
Now all I got is my Abbey Answer, Papa,
my sister, Q -Lee, and Bird
Family's the word,
remember what you heard
Words keep dyin' in
the streets of Oakland
But you just have to keep
on struttin'
That's the way it goes in the game
Y 'all don't need no,
y 'all don't need no ticket to ride
Guns keep blinding, things keep smoking
But you just have to keep on going
That's the way it goes in
In time everything will be alright
I'm sorry, X is a warrior
From the old school, I'm a player
I don't play no games,
I play by the rules, the mayor
Rondell, I'm trying to clean up the mess
and pick up the pieces
that were left
by politicians who cared less
For the poor and oppressed
and those who have less
Instead of setting up curfews
and placing us under arrest
Attack crime at the source,
the White House is a rock house
Of course, this capitalistic system
an d everybody that's with it
And everything that goes along with them
is skewed for the flames
Through the sunshine and the rain,
the pleasure and the pain
Cause that's the way it
goes in the game
Brothers keep dyin'
and the streets are open
But you just have to keep on strokin'
That's the way it goes in the game
And time and the flame
gonna be on the rise
Brothers keep dyin',
don't the penis keep smokin'
But you just have to keep on goin'
That's the way it goes in
Right that way, right that,
oh, yeah, yeah
Brothers keep dyin'
in the streets of Oakland
But you just have to keep
on strokin'
That's the way it goes in the game
Don't need no,
you don't need no ticket to roll
Brothers keep dyin',
dope beans keep smokin'
But just have to keep on goin'
That's the way it goes in the game
The way Brothers keep dyin'
in the streets of Oakland
But you just have to keep
on struggling
That's the way it goes in the game
Y 'all don't need no,
y 'all don't need no ticket to ride
Guns keep dying,
dope beats keep smoking
But you just have to keep on going
That's the way it goes in
In time, everything's
gonna be alright