Released: November 27, 1998

Songwriter: Grover Washington Jr. DJ Shok DMX

Producer: DJ Shok

[Intro]
This life shit, this life shit is like
Is like bugged the fuck out, son, for real
See, to live is to suffer
But to survive…
Well, that's to find meaning in the suffering

[Chorus]
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up

[Verse 1]
I've been through mad different phases like mazes to find my way
And now I know that happy days are not far away
If I'm strong enough I'll live long enough to see my kids
Doin' somethin' more constructive with their time than bids
I know because I been there, now I'm in there
Sit back and look at what it took for me to get there
First came the bullshit, the drama with my mama
She got on some fly shit so I split and said that I'ma
Be that seed that doesn't need much to succeed
Strapped with mad greed and a heart that doesn't bleed
I'm ready for the world or at least I thought I was
Baggin' niggas when I caught a buzz
For thinkin' about how short I was
Goin' too fast, it wouldn't last, but yo I couldn't tell
Group homes and institutions prepared my ass for jail
They put me in a situation forcin' me to be a man
When I was just learnin' to stand without a helping hand
Damn, was it my fault, somethin' I did
To make a father leave his first kid at seven doin' my first bid?
Back on the scene at fourteen with a scheme
To get more cream than I'd ever seen in a dream
And by all means I will be livin' high off the hog
And I never gave a fuck about much but my dog
That's my only mothafucka I hit off with my last
Just another lil nigga headed nowhere fast

[Chorus]
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up

[Verse 2]
That ain't the half, shit gets worse as I get older
Actions become bolder, heart got colder
Chip on my shoulder that I dared a nigga to touch
Didn't need a clique 'cause I scared a nigga that much
One deep with the pit startin' shit for kicks
Catchin' vics, throwin' bricks, gettin' by bein' slick
Used to get high, just to get by
Used to have to puff my L in the morning before I could fly
Ate somethin', a couple of forties made me hate somethin'
I did some coke, now I'm ready to take somethin'
Three years later showin' signs of stress
Didn't keep my hair cut or give a fuck how I dressed
I'm possessed by the darker side, livin' the cruddy life
Shit like this kept a nigga with a bloody knife
Wanna make records but I'm fuckin' it up
I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up

[Chorus]
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up

[Verse 3]
Wasn't long before I hit rock bottom
Niggas talkin' shit, was like, "Damn, look how that rock got him!"
Open like a window, no more indo
Look at a video, sayin' to myself: "That coulda been yo
Ass on the TV," believe me, it could be done
Somethin's got to give, gots to change 'cause now I've got a son
I gots to do the right thing for shorty
And that means no more gettin' high, drinkin' 40s
So I get back lookin' type slick again
Fake niggas jump back on my dick again
Nothin' but love for those that know how it feel
And much respect to all my niggas that kept it real
Kept a nigga strong, kept a nigga from doin' wrong
Niggas know who they is and this is your fuckin' song
And to my boo who stuck with a nigga through
All the bullshit, you'll get yours because it's due

[Chorus]
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up
Ayo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up

[Outro]
See, this is that shit, this is that shit
That all real niggas can relate to
This is from the heart, baby
Don't get it twisted
X, baby

DMX

Earl Simmons better known by his stage name DMX (An acronym for DarkMan X) rose to fame in the late 1990’s.

His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80’s.

To date, his best-selling album is his 1999 album …And Then There Was X, which featured the hit single “Party Up (Up in Here)”.