[Verse]
Welcome to New York City, the Empire State
Where the entire state is tryna acquire cake
You either buyin' or you supplyin' weight
Where the unarmed blacks get shot down by the Jakes
It's time to educate and separate
Heavy- from the featherweights
Underdog winners from losers you n***as celebrate
Couple gram movers from dudes that's really sellin' weight
Ones who get told what to do from ones who delegate
Now, I'ma set this straight, there's levels to this shit
And I'm a five-star general, I got medals for this shit
You see, I was in the field
When the game was about principles
And gangstas didn't take no pictures or do interviews
This shit is new, everybody wasn't sellin' yay
You couldn't put work on the block with no resume
You couldn't just walk outside and just hustle
You had to be about that life and pay the muscle
See, in the jungle the soft got extorted
Crimes amongst gangsters never got reported
Nowadays the gangsters do crimes and they record it
The game is fucked up 'cause the lines done got distorted
It all started when the snitches got glorified
When they ain't kill Alpo after Rich Porter died
They even made a movie about Frank Lucas, I was mortified
Y'all n***as rode that wave, like a water ride
See, y'all decided that this fake shit was real
When snitches came home and y'all embracin' em still
Rattin' a G in the same place‭ a n***a‭ ‬chill‭
After he violated the codes that should've got him killed?
That's when I said chill, y'all can keep the game
There's no more rules, the players just ain't the same
Price is too high, they steppin' all on the caine
Everybody playin', nobody don't know their lanes
It's a shame, the centers runnin' point
The so-called killers is tellin', they run and point
N***as gettin' A1 felonies for one point
They doin' life, and they ain't even sellin' the whole joint
So, what's the point? We dyin' in vain
N***a, we dyin', we just hidin' the pain
Daddy told me one thing that stuck inside of my brain
Doin' the same thing and expect something different
You insane—shh, not me, I'm a genius
Flex, this is déjà vu, I done seen this
Yep, I was right here, homi'ing this shit
I had you lookin' like you smelled a dead body in this bitch
Let them try me and I switch from Malcolm X to Red again
A man down, everybody dead again
Each and every rapper you name I am better than
These codeine dope-fiend n***as, I'm the medicine
A veteran with adrenaline of a rookie
My n***as done made empires off of cookie
When we was learnin' morals, they was playin' hooky
Now I'm doin' my numbers, like a bookie
Look me in my eye, the average cat would turn away
Straight up G, no curvin' in my vertebrae
Every block, corner, curb, n***as done heard of me
I'm exposin' them now, they gon' wanna murder me
I had to do it, this shit was really concernin' me
These n***as up here spittin' committin' perjury
Chicks takin' trips to DR, they gettin' surgery
Forgettin' I done already hit ma, how you curvin' me?
Flex, this shit is life
I burn down mics and I fight for civil rights
I'm tryin' to get blacks same shit they give to whites
I used to kill n***as, now I give 'em life
Now I give 'em light just to help 'em through that darkness
I motivate and I give hope to the heartless
My verse on that Million Man March was‭
Just to let my brothers know we can evolve from the projects
I know it's hard to‭ ‬digest, but they feedin' you pork
You see the image they project
They don't be what you thought
I don't blame 'em no more, it be what they taught
But ain‭’‬t a n***a more thorough than me in New York
See, I can get a n***a snow, I can get it for the low
I can get it by the pound, I can get it by the O
I can get you pieces that's hittin', that's for sure
But before I get you anything, I'ma let you know
This shit is all a set-up, they let you get your bread up
Next thing you know, you‭ in State greens gettin' the send-up
Your man on the phone, he tellin' you keep your head up
When your girl got her mouth on his dick, givin' ya head up
Or you‭’‬re gettin' wet up by a so-called‭ opp
Now he‭’‬s really your bro,‭ ‬but that‭’‬s part of the plot
You see, you don't understand, we was three-fifths of a man
So when‭ ‬they ended slavery they had another plan
They said we can't end slavery, too many residuals
So they don't call you slaves no more, they call you criminals
Sendin' you to prison, you workin' for cheap labor
Don't listen to these rappers, they tryin' to see some paper
Real? This n***as couldn't be faker
But when I tell you n***as is frauds I'm a hater!
Look, Future said: "God blessin' all the trap n***as."
I got a question for that: "Where you at, n***a?"
Trappers that I know is gettin' arrested 'cause of rats, n***a
Sentenced to life and they ain't never comin' back, n***a
These rap n***as tellin' you lies
They ain't never seen a gram, but they sellin' you pies
N***as ain't real, you can tell by they eyes
They ain't tellin' their stories, they tellin' you mine
I was really in the streets, movin' work on the nightshift
The roaches used to scatter when I hit that light switch
Yeah, Jeezy, I know that life
Movin' snow to put food on the stove at night
I was married to the game, I had to throw that rice
Raekwon said: "You a legend – you know that, right?"
Y'all dont wanna hear that, they wanna hear that lingo
Soldiers goin' to war, lettin' that thing go
Trappers stackin' them chips up like bingo
Kingpins in Sing Sing, but they ain‭’‬t sing though
'Cause they know I'm a one to one
I was a savage before I was 21
Had my first gun at‭ ‬16,‭ ‬puttin' in work
Wordz told me how to hold that little Uzi vert‭’
I mean, horizontally‭, ‬I was a horror honestly
Had too much heart, these n***as wasn't as smart as me
Then I get seven up north for armed robbery
And realized the so-called gangster n***as lied to me
They threw a battery in my back, they was chargin' me
I'm catchin' charges, lawyers is overchargin' me
Bozo CO n***as in charge of me
I'm nice with my hands so the bigger n***as was chargin' me
Pardon me, the preachers couldn't save us
The teachers didn't teach us, the streets had to raise us
I‭’‬m from High Bridge, down‭ ‬the‭ ‬block from Larry Davis‭
We was all sick of bein' broke, it was contagious
But then I left the game 'cause I realized it's way deeper
You still say my name and you get it for way cheaper
These chicks givin' their box away for a pair of sneakers
So if you got a girl like Tasha you better keep her
These n***as,‭ ‬they ain‭’‬t doin' the most‭
They tellin' on themselves for likes on the post
N***as want the power just to brag and to boast
You see, there's way too many Tommies, not enough Ghosts
But then again, Ghost was a rat
I live by the code, so I ain't co-signin' that
The moral of the story is stop chasin' the glory
My youngin's‭ ‬16‭ ‬on the Island, facin'‭ ‬40
To the real G's it‭’‬s time to raise these shorties
To the kids that I misled,‭ ‬I‭ ‬just‭ ‬wanna say that‭ ‬I‭’‬m sorry
To the real G's,‭ ‬it‭’‬s time to save these shorties
To the kids that I misled, I just wanna say that I‭’‬m sorry