[Intro - Samuel L. Jackson in "Fresh"]
Now what kinda player am I? Am I an offensive man or a defensive man? That's right, I'm neither. I play my opponent
If he likes to attack, I force him to defend himself. If he's a cautious man, I draw him into dangerous waters. See, you get so frustrated playing defensive positions. You make stupid moves you would never make if you were thinking. When you come here boy, check that shit at the door

[Bridge]
I'm at the top of my game, cut the check
Somebody better king me, I'm the best
Let's play a game of checkers, better yet
The game don't love nobody, let's play chess

[Hook]
I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again

[Verse 1]
I got street knowlege, that's why I outsmart em all
Gotta play chess in the streets, it's the art of war
Rapper get robbed, they took the jewels off your neck
You call the person who you payin' to protect
He got all your jewelery back, more or less
But now you owe him even more, you in debt
Guess who got you robbed
Why don't you take a wild guess
The person you pay to protect you, he playin' chess
Oil price high, buildings fall, government stressed
They need somebody to blame for all this mess
Capture Sadam but ain't captured Bin Laden yet
That's cause he doesn't exist, they playin' chess
A DJ, he helps artists progress
But as soon as they get in position, they forget
So now he got his own artists on the set
They risin' straight to the top, they playin' chess
[Bridge]

[Hook]

[Verse 2]
Life is like a game of chess, get it straight
You cheated on your wife, called it a mistake
I told her I hate to see a heart break
You feelin' bad, lemme take you on a date
I just took your queen right in front of your face
Now it's easy to get to the king, checkmate
One man's pain is another man's pleasure
He treat you like trash, I could treat you way better
Cause one man's trash is another man's treasure
This is chess not checkers, chess not checkers
She don't love you no more, eat dinner out the fridge
When a woman's fed up, you see the difference kid
You try to deny it but you admit what you did
She know you better than yourself, there it is
Females are intelligent, that's the wisdom kid
They're built from the top down like a pyramid

[Bridge]

[Hook]
[Verse 3]
Life is like a game of chess, get it straight
I made my first hit record, checkmate
I'mma do numbers on my release date
Here's another hit record, checkmate
You sold millions of records, but what's next?
You need a couple of bombs from funk flex
A diss record'll make everybody upset
But that'll make you hot, you playin' chess
Used to be an artist, but now you an exec
You signed a buncha wack artists at your desk
You make sure they wack so you can sound fresh
I guess they just your pawns, you playin' chess
Record labels, y'all signing acts right and left
He pop bottles and celebrate his success
Y'all put him on the shelf but told him he was next
He just a tax write-off, yall playin' chess

[Bridge]

[Hook]

[Papoose]
I got my rooks on the chessboard, uh
I got my knights on the chessboard, uh
I got my bishops on the chessboard
If you play your cards right you can get yours