Released: October 23, 2001

Songwriter: DMX Swizz Beatz

Producer: Swizz Beatz

[Hook 2x]
You could be blind
But you gon' see it when you need to see it
You gon' be fine
Cause you gon' be here when you need to be here
One of a kind
First free your mind, and then you'll free your spirit
Go where I go, dog in my life

[Verse 1]
Now if you start with dirt, then you start with hurt
You start with "Oh, you ain't got?"
Well here, take my shirt
Start with work, blood and tears over the years
Goin' through whatever we go through, we stickin' it out here
Pups turn into dogs, tadpoles into frogs
I'm just eatin' what's in front of me, ain't thinking about yours
But I'mma keep my paws on what's mine
Beg 'til I find
Strapped 'til I'm blind
A nigga that whatever I do, still gon' be able to spit this
I'm wit' this, cause this is mine, you scared shitless
Rap niggas can't fuck with the dog
Never, could be twenty below outside
I'm built for the weather
It could be hotter than lava, I wouldn't bother to sweat
Some of you niggas, form a following, but you startin' to forget
I paid my dues, not only did you not wear
But you would really love it
If you could meet that cat that made my shoes
C'mon!

[Hook 2x]

[Verse 2]
Now see, what I do is peep shit, keep shit low
Keep paying attention to what you trying to show me
Livin', but you never know, we livin'
Don't give me what you don't owe me
Don't tell me that you love me
Don't talk shit, don't kill me slowly
Cause a dog like me, is an only
Meaning, hit another like you, truth hurts, but I can't be phony
You always looking for bad, look at you mad
But you won't be satisfied 'til it took what you had
(Aight) I'm a thoro nigga, I keep my word
And anybody that's ever met me, got love for me
So I keep a heard
And that shit y'all niggas told me got me fucked up in the head
Went from, "Yo, that's my dog"
To, "Yeah, that nigga dead"
What the fuck is all this?
News to me
Dog it's like shit ain't what it used to be
See some niggas choose to be on the other side of the fence
Keep riding with this, get fried in the mix
C'mon!

[Hook 2x]

[Verse 3]
Now if it ain't that, then don't say that
Cause I don't play that, y'all play that
But the poke ain't black, damn, why you say that?
I thought that...what?
Nevermind, I just thought it
We supposed to keep it real
I destroy what I was taught
Misery, love, company
Now you niggas talikin' 'bout jumpin' me, pumpin' me
Full of slugs, blood, stud with the love
Damn, I just gave, what a real, nigga does
Don't listen to the buzz, don't get caught up in the hype
You'll lose everything that you worked for
Trying to take a nigga's stripes
Live life through life, and so on and so on
That's when the grow on, man, get your flow on
You niggas gettin' too old for this kid shit
On the real, we all done did shit to get shit
Snake shit, right is right, wrong is wrong
Muh'fucker, listen to this song
You see what shit I'm on
C'mon!

[Hook 4x]

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)”.