It Takes A Thief

Back in the days when i was a young buck
Stuck like a truck gettin shit outta luck
Times was rough and i didn't have a plan
I was barely on the edge of my life as a man
It's really fucked up when there's dope in the crib
No food in the kitchen for the motherfuckin kids
That's why a young nigga learned how to steal,see
Shopliftin laid me a whole lotta meals
But i remember days when the cupboard was bare and
Life was unfair but who the fuck cares?
I still hear momma,what she used to tell me
That you don't get shit in this life for free
And even if i never ever make it to the mountain top
Fuck it!i fight for my hip-hop
Not everybody can relate to what i been through
Even though some front and they try to pretend to
Know about the life of a kid and the strife
Where he has to live in the shadow of a base-pipe
Good goes to bad,bad goes to worse
And pretty soon he's stealin from his own momma's purse
So clean out ya ears and open up your eyes
I reach out to touch but somebody moved the sky
My stomach is growlin,word is born
Cos all i had for dinner was a can-o-corn
Bridge
A can-o-corn,a can-o-corn
All i had for dinner was a can-o-corn
A can-o-corn,a can-o-corn
Before i went to school i had a can-o-corn
A can-o-corn,a can-o-corn
I tried to get full off a can-o-corn
A can-o-corn,a can-o-corn
That's all the fuck that we had in the kitchen

A few years later,i pledge a legions to the set
I'm growin up but i ain't grown yet
It's funny how the strain in a life filled with pain
Can sometimes leave a bitch stained on the brain
I'm sittin in the restaurant,guardin my food like a eagle
Pickin up scraps like a seagull
Waitin on the people at the next table to leave a tip
So i can put it in my pocket
Phoney easter bunny,santa claus and the stork
We was poor as fuck so we ate a lot of pork
And it ain't no motherfuckin way no how
When it come up i let you bring me down
So i stick to the boots and i'm down with a maad group
Of gangstas and hoodlums,but you can call em 'scroops'
Give me liberty or give me death
Cos a man without pride ain't got shit left,huh
And now that i'm older with kids of my own
I put me in the pot where it used to be a bone
Get'cha self together,word is born
Cos a man can't live on a can-o-corn

Verse 1:
I know a place where the trees don't grow
Just another place where niggaz live low
I know a place where life is fucked up
Make a wrong move and your ass get stuck up
Time ain't nothin but a frame of mind
And life is like a mountain or a steep ass climb
I've been lookin for a place to leave
The only free place is inside of me
So let's take a trip, and you don't need a grip
But you better be equipped cause it might be some shit
African-american, nothin but a nigga
Had our fingers on the trigger, but i pulled mine quicker
I know a place where there ain't no calm and
You better stay away if you're soft like charmin
South central, los angeles, watts, and compton
A nigga on the west coast on his way to harlem

Verse 2:

Now it's time to step into the light (light)
Put up your dukes, there's gonna be a fight (fight)
And when it's time to fight, you better fight right
Cause if it don't fight right, out goes the light
Take a close look at what i'm freakin on
Niggaz think i'm tweekin, but i'm speakin on
Subject matter, data
Information that i gather
Through my travels
Cause the hardest of the hard, hit hardcore killer
Can't stop the slug of a nine millimeter
Everybody thinks they know, but they know not
If they haven't caught a cap on the block *gunshot*
So shine up your boots and pick up the pieces
Grab a fresh pair of khakis with the sharp ass creases
Ring the alarm, here comes the storm
I got a firearm on my way to harlem

Verse 3:

I know a place where the sun don't shine
Everybody is a victim of neighborhood crime
I know a place where niggaz walk the line
One false step and they must do time
Since i'm in the same boat
I must stay afloat
And sing every note
From the quotes that they wrote
So, i look into the past and walk the path of the greats
So i wont make the same mistakes that sealed my ancestors fates
If i had to be a slave i'd rather be in my grave
If i get in how many lives could i save?
One, two, three, a hundred, a thousand
My heart is poundin, the devil keeps soundin
But he don't want my money, he wants my soul
So i reach like a tree, and like a weed i grow
My stomach is full, but my mind is starvin
Rollin in a g ride on my way to harlem

A bitch is a bitch and we all know
That a ho is a ho wit a toe-up slut so
If you're gotta have em, might as well be a fine one
But it seems that some niggas can't seem to find one
So they go and get a bitch that's lookin like trixie
And hekkyl & jekkyl wit some saggy ass titties
A big fat flagrant hoodrat hooker
And the nigga got the nerve to pretend she's a hooker
Sportin that down from your arm like a simpson
Talk about bitches that you wish you was pimpin
Come around the homies and you swear that she's playin
But everytime i see her, you're beggin
Go get you a girl that got somethin goin
Get rid of that bitch that's lookin like a dragon
Now you wanna fight cos you're baggin on your mrs
But that's what'cha get when you fuck with ugly bitches
Chorus:

When i was young i used to have fun
Fuckin with ugly bitches
But now that i'm grown i leave em alone
Cos i went from rags to riches

They say 'beauty is skin deep' but goddamn weeded bitch
Look like buckwheat mixed with opi
Toe up, toe up, straight from the floor
And her bad ass breath is about to make me throw up
Niggas started dissin and you blamed it on the gin
But the very next day you was with the bitch again
Now your ass is gettin clowned like bozo
But that's what you get for fuckin with that ugly ho
I don't know what possessed you, nigga
Stand that hooker in front of a trigger
Spendin your time with a big goony-goo-goo
To niggas like you i gotta say "choo choo"
Dig a ditch down in desperation
Send that monster on a permanent vacation
The girl is chop-top, but you don't listen
Cos some niggas like fuckin with ugly bitches

Chorus:

When i was young i used to have fun
Fuckin with ugly bitches
But now that i'm grown i leave em alone
Cos i went from rags to riches

Interlude

Aw shit, there go my nigga pretendin he don't see me
Talkin with a bitch that look like a flea g
Holdin her hand as he walks thru the plaza
I try to play it off but i couldn't hold my laughter
The girl is done so take her ass off the oven
Put her on a boom and send her back to the covent
Cookin up a plan in a big, black cauldron
And the dumb ass nigga don't know that he's fallin
Into a trap cos now the whore is pregnant
9 months later and she's squirted on an insect
He don't wanna claim it, she went and got a test
Now he's sendin child support in a big fat cheque
My nigga got depressed and he started drinkin liquor
One night he got drunk, went to her house and killed her
Riches to rags and rags to riches
But that's what'cha get when you fuck with ugly bitches

Chorus:

When i was young i used to have fun
Fuckin with ugly bitches
It seems that it's sad for this pussy i had
Came from some ugly bitches
When i was young i used to have fun
Fuckin with ugly bitches
It seems kinda sad cos this pussy i had
Came from some ugly bitches

Outro:

So you mean to tell me you fuckin with a bald-headed, ol' fat, lumpy,
Droopy, crack baby look-a-like, cisco drinkin, loud, ignorant, fucked-up
Teeth, stank hoodrat, won't down, once-a-month bleedin, butthead swap-meet,
Afdc, leaned-over tennis shoe, cigarette butt baggin bitch? nigga what's
Wrong wit you?
(that's alright. she take care of a nigga though, that's all i know nigga.
That's ok yeah, that's ok nigga)

Verse one: coolio
When i was a kid i rode crates on a skate
And i ate everything momma put on my plate
Niggaz walked around packin b-b guns
Knock on yo' door and run, just for fun
We went to the sto' and sold bottles fo' a nickel
To feast upon a big bag of cheetos and a pickle
You could get a soda foe less than quarter, and
People used to speak even if they didn't know ya
We fought in the streets like little black soldiers
Shake hands, and still be friends when it was over
We used to play tag and, hide and go seek, or
Hide and go get it if we had a few freaks, but
Now thangs changed, kids ain't the same
They bang, and slang, and blow out brains
I wish i could go back but, wishin is for suckers
Life was so simple then

Chorus one: ?

I remember (i remember) ohhhhhhh
When we used to hang
On the porch, drinkin brew
And now they drive-by (bay-bee)
I remember (i remember) ohhhhhhh
When we used to play
Shoot-em-up, up and down
But now they gang-bang (bay-bee)

Verse two: billy boy

Well i remember yesteryear like it was yesterday
Runnin through the streets of onessa p-a
I take you through my childhood step by step
Daddy always told me to maintain my rep though
Daddy was a dawg he ain't raise no punks
In the midst of the trees we learned how to thump
At the tender age of nine momma put us on a plane
Next stop -- the land of the insane
Compton california where the killers grow
Forced to live a life that i didn't know
Wore the wrong colors cause i didn't know the facts
Call her bitch, caught a case, caught a slug in my back
But i adapted quickly, suckers tried to get me
Now the fools better run cause this just driveby billy
Little black boy from the east
Forced to be a killer, but i can still remember

Chorus two: ?

I remember (i remember) ohhhhhhh
When we used to play
Domino, on the porch
But now they drive-by (bay-bee)

I remember (i remember) ohhhhhhh
When we used to have
Army fights, in the smog
But now they gang-bang (bay-bee)

[coolio] back when i was a kid nigga
We used to have this game called paperball
(paperball? what the fuck is that?)
Get a piece of paper, ball that motherfucker up
And play with it! hahahaha

Verse three: j-ro

I got tha alkaholik juice to wake ya up like a rooster
Back when i was young, i used to be a booster
Stealin candy from the sto', go to school, come up
I had the whole playground, chewin all my gum up
You know what i'm sayin? playin still to the chest
And i was the best, playin kickball at recess
I play pop warner, golden pairs for the losers
We used to hop corners on the fresh deuce cruisers
Playin galaga, space invaders, eatin reese's
I had all the women cause my tough skins had creases
And it's been that way since day one
Girls of the world ain't nothin but fun
I used to watch dr. j, come through in the clutch
Remember new zoo review, and starsky and hutch
I remember lunchtime, we used to rhyme out loud
Peace to the wop and the hip-hop crowd, i remember

Chorus one

Outro: ?

Ohhh, my life, no no
I do remember ohhhhhhhh
I know you do
I remember yesterday
I remember when we played
I remember yesterday, aoowwwwwww!
I remember, hell, when we used to play
In ghetto blocks through the dark
I rememmmmmberrrrrr
Yeahhh yeahhh yeahh
We used to play dominoes all night long
Dominoes all night long
Yesterday, yesterday
Do you remember yesterday? i remember yesterday
You remember remember remember remember...

Seven in the morning, standing in the line
Three fools in front of me, drinking on some wine
Two in the back of me sucking on a joint
And one in back of them ready for a new sport
There's 4-5 suckers way way in the back
Stooped down low with the crowd smokin' crack
They looking at me funny coz i got a record out
And a nigga with a record out is supposed to have some proud
A forth of the people in the line be hookers
But the other forth betta ask help themself
A forth of the people having good faith
And all of the rest all fucked up in the head
A bald headed stank bitch is about to make me laugh
And a nigga who need a bath is asking for my autograph
Ain't nothing changed but the time
I got to get mine, so i'm standing in the county line


Chorus:

This ain't funny so don't you dare laugh
Coz it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny
This ain't funny so don't you dare laugh
You got to have the conned, and let'n them looking funny


Verse 2:

I walked through the front door to fill out my ap
Here comes another sap asking if i rap
I don't say a word coz he know that i do
I'm down with the maad ass u know hoo!
I take a numer and a seat
I'm sweating from the heat
Somebody got their shoes off
I smell their feet
My number is 80, it's still on 20
I look up at the clock and now is 10:30
Free butter and cheese oh please, oh please
Can i get my food stamps so i can leave
I got money and a car but they don't really know it
Now they asking me a gang of questions coz i told them i was homeless
I'm living in a car drive back in the alley
But i use to shack up with a hooker named sally
Line after line
Ruff is the time
My life is in a bomb so i'm standing in the county line

-=chorus=-

Verse 3:

I'm sittin' at a desk talking to a social worker
She thinks i'm a fool but i know that i can work her

-punk ass ho' sittin' behind the window all toe up ass tramp
Rollin' that week sheets of mine

"you have a penetentry record"
-i said i know that biatch!

She wants to know what kind a work do i do
I said i haven't worked since 1982
I can't find a job though i looked and i looked
Took one hit of the crack and mistook
She sittin there wonderin' what did coz i did
And the whole time i'ma watchin like i'm smokin me a joint
Job search work the projects whackness
And in a few weeks i'd get my check
Now i got to wait for them to call me trough the window
So i can get some cash to pay for the hotel and the bathshow
It's 5:13 by the clock on the wall
Mothafuckez move so i can make a phonecall
Shit is getting late and the time is 29
That why so many niggas standing in the county line


-=chorus x 2 fade out=-

Verse 1: ps
Never gave a fuck and i still don't
So save your lectures, i'ma gangbang for the rest of my life
A young bg deranged in the brain
The youngest motherfucker on the chain gang
Yeah i still slang my thangs like a g
Really can i make your ass rest in peace?
No need to waste my energy squabbin
Quick to pull the trigger, put your ass in a coffin
Never been a baller but i trap many ballin
Homies y'know i don't give a fuck, i was starvin
You better hide your daughter cos i'm out to get laid with dick
And have her sprung on this black ass nigga
Straight up out the gutter, have her stealin from her daddy and her mother
Sellin rocks to the scandalous ass clockers
Ready to meet my snaps, yeah i'm cool like that
And i never gave a fuck about a stupid ass hoodrat

Chorus:

Bitches ridin on my bit
Niggas hit me up and shit
But i'm from the eastside
Where the niggas do or die
Representin like a dream
Cos circle's deep i thought you knew

Verse 2: billy boy

Uh, uh, uh
As i crack dice from one hood to the next
Doin credit card schemes and cashin hot cheques
I got a 9 for any nigga that come runnin up
Keepin motherfuckers on the duck
You can give a this or that sling, the yea or the tracks
But when your chick starts choking ya, you gots ta break me off
I sweat ya like keith until ya give me my ends
If a nickel bag is sold in the park i want in
In the middle of the night when the spot's not hot
You can find billy boy rollin down your block
Hittin switches cos your bitch is gettin paid, cos that's my way
And all the hoes still wanna fuck (you know we do)
I bleed like the next man but when the gat is in my hand
You can bet my monkey ass is comin out on top
La hustlers can't live without money
So before i make sense i gots ta make a knot
Cos i can't fuck without my hoes
And i can't hit no switch without the 6-4
Everybody wanna fuck a nigga like me
But i won't be gettin back in the cpt

Chorus:

Niggas tryin to give me stuff
Billy boy don't give a fuck
First i warn you with my rhyme
Then i'll fuck you with my 9
Don't give your plees cos i don't bang
But i'm down to fully slang
40 thevz end down your crew
Cos circle's deep i thought you knew

Verse 3: coolio

I fold a rapper like a dollar just to hear his punk ass holler
Walk into his hood and grab his homies by the collar
Stock em all up like a pack of punk bitches
Now i got his whole crew wearin heels and doin dishes
You don't wanna see me out the motherfuckin front
Don't you take this shit for granted just cos niggas call me cool
R-e-s-p-e-c-t
C-o-o-l-i-o g
M to the a, a to the d
A circle full of niggas that you don't wanna see
You ain't nuttin but a pistol that's fuckin with a missile
I chew your ass like gristle til the ref blows the whistle
Sing a song of six packs, a pocket full of snaps
Ain't no punks in my motherfuckin pack
See i use to be broke now i blow indo smoke
First you diss my city then you choke
*cough*

Chorus:

C-o-m-p-t-o-n
Punk motherfuckers get two to the chin
I don't give a fuck what'cha got or who you know
Step to the maadness, your ass gotta go
Ain't a damn thing changed but only the year
East coast, west coast get the *?c'reer?*
You don't wanna see my crew
Cos circle's deep i thought you knew

Verse 1: coolio
Hey baby, how you doin? what's goin on?
I'm sittin in my motherfuckin cell, it's the same song
Tell my kids that i love em but don't tell em that i'm thru
Keep cryin and tell em i'll be home soon
Oh baby i'm goin crazy
Cos i keep seein shit that amaze me
Still i had to kill a motherfucker last week
He thought i was a punk and tried to creep up on me in my sleep
I just think that i could hold or squeeze or touch or buck ya
But i can't, so fuck it
I'ma behind these bars and it's burnin like nitro
I might go psycho, the man on the tower got a rifle
Aw shit, there the lights go....

*phone ringing*
(hello)

Chorus: leshaun

Mama, i'm in love wit a gangsta (damn)
Mama, i'm in love wit a gangsta (y'know)
Mama, i'm in love wit a gangsta and i know he's a killer
But i love dat nigga

Bridge: leshaun

Hey ba-by
What's happenin honey?
How you doin?
I miss you

Verse 2: leshaun

The kids keep askin where's their papa?
I had to tell em daddy got caught by the coppers
It's time for me to raise em up proper by myself
It's a goddamn struggle when a bitch ain't got no help
Now everybody tellin me that you ain't shit black
And when you get out, you'll jack and probably go right the fuck back
Damn, the pressure's gettin hot and heavy
And yeah, i'm gettin sweated by your homey in the blue and white chevy
But now he's got a condo and a brand new lexus
Wants me to take a trip with him down to texas
The ends don't justify the means
And in another life he might've been the man of my dreams
But you know i got your back to the motherfuckin end
But a bitch can't even trip like she doen't have a friend

Chorus

Interlude:
(hello, you have a collect call from...)
Coolio!
(if you choose to accept this call please press 5 now)
*number dialed*

Verse 3: coolio

What the fuck you mean you need a friend?
I can't be havin no niggas round my kids
Don't you make me break up outta this motherfucker
And start killin motherfuckers, shit!
I know it's rough, i know it's tough
But when you fumble in the game sometimes you get locked up
You better stay away punk ass bitch, he ain't shit
I don't wanna have to kill him
Cos think about the times that we used to have
Don't make me reach out and touch that ass
You put yourself in danger when you fuck with a buster
Like shootin dice without a pistol in a circle of murderers
You got more class than the average-type hooker bitch
Don't switch, he gotta grip but he ain't rich
Now i gotta check but if you've got the cheque
Give a nigga a look and put somethin on my books
Peace

Chorus

Verse 4: leshaun

Aiyo remember the homey with the lexus, he took the trip to texas
Now he's wearin the fuckin lexus like a necklace
So tell me, what's the drill, baby pa? what's a bitch to do?
My nigga's stretched in the pen since '92
Them visits ain't doin the trick, drop fucks make me sick
Cos this po' puddy-tat needs a cat nip
And that motherfucker representin you, i think he resents you
He got evidence he never presents to
The people in court, i heard witnesses abortin
What's he doin about gettin you out to hold the fort?
I got some ends, i'ma send you a dime and two doves
Mama hates you but damn i got love for a gangsta

Chorus to fade