Atlanta: Gateway to the South

[Verse 1: Big Gipp]
It's a strain, mayne, living in these veins, mayne
Sucking on a piece of sugar cane, jerking chain
Take the wind out the throat
We never wash away the pain, so let the stain soak
Who's in the wave? Ideas, fingertips carry language
Computer read, have dead remove swimsuits for greenbacks
I'm on the corner with my butt up, sellin' new product
Women puttin' theyself in positions to get cut up

[Interlude]
Up out'cha guts, fear, up for what?
Nothin' but them Goodie

[Verse 2: Khujo]
Osmosis, with that thang up under the pillow crush
Caught in the crossfire between Yankees and 49ers
Rivals, but the South remain calm
Neutral, when we said 'blood,' that meant homeboys ended each other's lives
Over colors and thangs, that they can bring
To the next plain, but the toots in blue, badges
Who are the biggest gangs?
In Babylon, dying slowly but surely
Malicious drivers with hairpin triggers
On the loose like Juice
And white America couldn't stand it
LAPD planted, incriminating evidence
Jurors under gag order
But we talking outside the courtrooms
Shooting birds at the judges
Fuck Texaco employees shouting racial slurs
Destroying documents of complaints from black workers
[Hook]
The battle's no longer physical, it's from within
You live to die and you die to live again
But you can't win for losing, what sides are you choosing?
Decisions, Decisions to make
Decisions, Decisions to make

[Verse 3: T-Mo]
Legalize the dope and make paper
Think it's time to pull another caper
Outta my bag of tricks
These n***as ain't recognizing how they using us to get rich
N***as dying and shit
I woulda, broke my back for the scratch
That's what I did when I was a kid
Always had the thought of doing a bid
In the back of my mind, a life of crime was the last resort
I knew that going to court drama wasn't likely
An extremist, like a chemist
Cooking up a pen like the Witchdoctor
Steering wheel shocked ya, like a thousand volts
Over the edge of the Hope with the CIA selling coke
To make they bloat float up the river King Louis
Liquor sipper as I strategize a plan to infiltrate
The crooked new world ways to live a life
Who we got to fight to get it right?
Are you down tonight?
[Verse 4: Cee-Lo]
The relentless realism regardless represents
Southwest skills I possess and manifest is heaven sent
What's said is meant to the fullest extent
No nonsense because my conscience wouldn't be content
But just a little wealth, a little fame
But your mind-frame will keep you living the same
And it's a shame that n***as would settle with the ghetto
Huh, hoes and some clothes and ain't making what you suppose
'Cause your eyes closed, to what your contract shows
In fine print, they gotta get back every cent you spent
You content, cuz, you do what everybody does
The industry done changed you from the person you was
Knee-deep in the struggle
Two part-time jobs to juggle
Got a lady and a seed that you can't hardly feed
Any day your life could end, so you depend
On the reciting and the writing when you got the spare time to spend
To keep you stable, hoping one day you'll be able
To be a commodity on somebody's record label
Got your chance, twenty thousand dollar advance
And a car, and all of a sudden you a star at the bar
Ballin', callin' the waiter to bring one of they finest wines
Then you started snorting lines, your life defines
The misconception of staying down
You can't be influenced by everybody you hang 'round
You shoulda been more appreciative
Of the life that you were blessed to live
A hundred percent is what you got to give
'Cause ain't no tellin', yo' bullshit start smellin'
And you wonder why your record ain't sellin'?
No more, ending up with no dough
And no respect back in the projects
In Building 23, right next door to me, heheheh
[Hook]
The battle's no longer physical, it's from within
You live to die and you die to live again
But you can't win for losing, what sides are you choosing?
Decisions, Decisions to make
Decisions, Decisions to make

[Outro]
Up out'cha guts, fear, up for what?
Nothin' but them Goodie