Released: January 3, 1995
Songwriter: André 3000 Big Boi Organized Noize Sleepy Brown Big Rube
Producer: Organized Noize
[Intro: Big Rube]
The feeling of being 12 years old and waking up in the middle
Of the night and somebody in yo room
Your heart starts beating so fast, you can hear it pumping
The veins in your temples pulsate as you stare at the intruder
Then after a few minutes, you realize he ain't moving
So finally you let 'em hang and turn on the light
And the killer turns into your coat throwed over the chair
The feeling of sitting at the red light early in the morning
And two or three motherfuckers cross the street
Your senses heighten, reflexes sharpen, vision's enhanced Adrenaline flows
As they rush across the street, you leave the print from the heater grip in your palm
Then your heart rate and breathing drag back to normal as you realize these niggas just going to the store
Many of us mistake phobia for true fear
Whereas fear is a gift from God to be used for self-preservation
Phobia are obstacles strategically placed in society by opposers of positive existence
Through stereotyping, innuendo, false documentation, and glorification, they'll turn your fear switch to a permanent on We can change this by changing the small truth within the lie
Death is a small price to pay for respect
Death is a small price to pay for respect
You know who it is; you know what it is
Peace out
[Verse 1: André 3000]
In these troubling times, a nigga like me be thinking of rhymes
That makes my quarters, nickels, plus my pennies and my dimes stack
Don't be looking for trouble, it be finding me
Try turning the other cheek
I understand but never mind that
Yes sir, guess the light is getting dim
At the end of the tunnel tried to hit me for my rims
I never thought thirty spokes could attract so much attention
I gotta protect my own therefore I'm heated just like a kitchen
Full of pots and pan, Glock's in hand
Shots, rung out like ringin' the bells
And then that sucker nigga ran
Damn, I never thought that it would come to this conclusion
The folks that throwed us on them boats should be the one's I'm bruisin'
But naw, we don't see it that way
In '94 this is the real, it ain't no time for play play
Better believe the playas on the loose
Need to get they head screwed on tight
When it really get down to the nitty grit, who gon' fight?
Pipe, down
'Cause ain't no better time to crank it up than right now
We gots the Seagram crunk down here
And I don't hear nobody disagreeing
Orga-no-i-z-e, Mr. D.J. and me and Big Boi
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
[Verse 2: Big Boi]
See why in the muthafuck, do niggas be acting up
Do they want me to grab my shit and be lettin' that pistol go buck?
See I be gettin' stuck and stuff
Havin' to knock a nigga out about my clout
That's not what it's about
See yes indeed I got that weed like Daddy Q be havin' them ounces
That nigga the B-I-G be chokin' 'em out and then I bounces
I got that lyrical flow to make a ho pull up her skirt
I drunk that Erk & Jerk, boi, thinkin' of future things to work on
I got my fuck on and then I took my clothes off
Washed my nuts up in the sink and then I got more nuts off
Cough, it's time to be out, sees bein' a pimp is bein' a pimp
I'm dirtier than the shit on the back of a shrimp
Now ain't that foul the way a nigga can spit that style
My nigga, I spit it, I did it, y'all suckas need to quit it
'Cause it's real
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
[Verse 3]
[Big Boi]
Well, it's that nigga that be wearing Nautica V-necks and Polo sweats
I got some food up in your thoughts and that cess off in your chest
See, living up in the Dungeon where we stayed in '93
See, that nigga the B-I-G B-O-I, that be me, yee
And when we rock it, niggas be jocking just like jock itch
You snitch, I fucked your bitch
See and my niggas G'd that ho
On the Southside of Campbellton Road
No slippin' in this pimpin', she was just a horny toad
See, I'm a mystery like the killing of Michael Jordan's father
Was steadily clockin' the hoes when I worked at Foot Locker
I'm gettin' higher than learning
Smokin' 'em up and then burning
East Point is on the map and now I close the curtains
[André 3000]
Now shit done got boring ass
Molin' when XS closed down
But niggas kept soarin', steerin'
Stirrin', being the pharm assistant that missed
Other folks but some people tend to joke about this
But it's really dead serious
You can bet my lyrics
Now ya wonder why that we done stopped and got curious
Wanting to know where I'm from and where I need to be
Now that I know comfortable living give me meat
Can I get that; ya wonder why we split back
Lure us into pitch black dark
But I sit back and spark another one
To leave ya discombobulated in that dust
Living in a world where in nobody do you trust
Then hustlin' became a major trade, but...
Us in major trouble 'cause we made, uh...
Too many mistakes off in the past
Thinkin' you could make it this world and now we laugh
'Cause it's all false
Either way ya go, ya gotta pay the cost...
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
Spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right](2506084)
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, hangin' with the G-O-O-D-I-E Mob, nigga Yeah
Take you a li'l higher, knowwhatI'msayin'?
When you learnin', when you burnin' up that smoke
So you can choke on my quote
And get my ... down yo' throat
You just don't understand, youknowwhatI'msayin'?
Organized Noize for '95, bitch!
The feeling of being 12 years old and waking up in the middle
Of the night and somebody in yo room
Your heart starts beating so fast, you can hear it pumping
The veins in your temples pulsate as you stare at the intruder
Then after a few minutes, you realize he ain't moving
So finally you let 'em hang and turn on the light
And the killer turns into your coat throwed over the chair
The feeling of sitting at the red light early in the morning
And two or three motherfuckers cross the street
Your senses heighten, reflexes sharpen, vision's enhanced Adrenaline flows
As they rush across the street, you leave the print from the heater grip in your palm
Then your heart rate and breathing drag back to normal as you realize these niggas just going to the store
Many of us mistake phobia for true fear
Whereas fear is a gift from God to be used for self-preservation
Phobia are obstacles strategically placed in society by opposers of positive existence
Through stereotyping, innuendo, false documentation, and glorification, they'll turn your fear switch to a permanent on We can change this by changing the small truth within the lie
Death is a small price to pay for respect
Death is a small price to pay for respect
You know who it is; you know what it is
Peace out
[Verse 1: André 3000]
In these troubling times, a nigga like me be thinking of rhymes
That makes my quarters, nickels, plus my pennies and my dimes stack
Don't be looking for trouble, it be finding me
Try turning the other cheek
I understand but never mind that
Yes sir, guess the light is getting dim
At the end of the tunnel tried to hit me for my rims
I never thought thirty spokes could attract so much attention
I gotta protect my own therefore I'm heated just like a kitchen
Full of pots and pan, Glock's in hand
Shots, rung out like ringin' the bells
And then that sucker nigga ran
Damn, I never thought that it would come to this conclusion
The folks that throwed us on them boats should be the one's I'm bruisin'
But naw, we don't see it that way
In '94 this is the real, it ain't no time for play play
Better believe the playas on the loose
Need to get they head screwed on tight
When it really get down to the nitty grit, who gon' fight?
Pipe, down
'Cause ain't no better time to crank it up than right now
We gots the Seagram crunk down here
And I don't hear nobody disagreeing
Orga-no-i-z-e, Mr. D.J. and me and Big Boi
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
[Verse 2: Big Boi]
See why in the muthafuck, do niggas be acting up
Do they want me to grab my shit and be lettin' that pistol go buck?
See I be gettin' stuck and stuff
Havin' to knock a nigga out about my clout
That's not what it's about
See yes indeed I got that weed like Daddy Q be havin' them ounces
That nigga the B-I-G be chokin' 'em out and then I bounces
I got that lyrical flow to make a ho pull up her skirt
I drunk that Erk & Jerk, boi, thinkin' of future things to work on
I got my fuck on and then I took my clothes off
Washed my nuts up in the sink and then I got more nuts off
Cough, it's time to be out, sees bein' a pimp is bein' a pimp
I'm dirtier than the shit on the back of a shrimp
Now ain't that foul the way a nigga can spit that style
My nigga, I spit it, I did it, y'all suckas need to quit it
'Cause it's real
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
[Verse 3]
[Big Boi]
Well, it's that nigga that be wearing Nautica V-necks and Polo sweats
I got some food up in your thoughts and that cess off in your chest
See, living up in the Dungeon where we stayed in '93
See, that nigga the B-I-G B-O-I, that be me, yee
And when we rock it, niggas be jocking just like jock itch
You snitch, I fucked your bitch
See and my niggas G'd that ho
On the Southside of Campbellton Road
No slippin' in this pimpin', she was just a horny toad
See, I'm a mystery like the killing of Michael Jordan's father
Was steadily clockin' the hoes when I worked at Foot Locker
I'm gettin' higher than learning
Smokin' 'em up and then burning
East Point is on the map and now I close the curtains
[André 3000]
Now shit done got boring ass
Molin' when XS closed down
But niggas kept soarin', steerin'
Stirrin', being the pharm assistant that missed
Other folks but some people tend to joke about this
But it's really dead serious
You can bet my lyrics
Now ya wonder why that we done stopped and got curious
Wanting to know where I'm from and where I need to be
Now that I know comfortable living give me meat
Can I get that; ya wonder why we split back
Lure us into pitch black dark
But I sit back and spark another one
To leave ya discombobulated in that dust
Living in a world where in nobody do you trust
Then hustlin' became a major trade, but...
Us in major trouble 'cause we made, uh...
Too many mistakes off in the past
Thinkin' you could make it this world and now we laugh
'Cause it's all false
Either way ya go, ya gotta pay the cost...
[Chorus: Big Boi]
So don't spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, I will resort to rob
Spend your whole life
Living it for the white
You got a 9-to-5 and now you choose to live it right](2506084)
You taking your ass to the Army 'cause you scared of revolution
I'm writing every day to stop that brain pollution
I got a baby on the way, the cess is in my chest
I'm 18 years of age and black so I can picture less
I'm smokin' and drinkin' e'ryday, so playa, fuck a job
Educated and black, hangin' with the G-O-O-D-I-E Mob, nigga Yeah
Take you a li'l higher, knowwhatI'msayin'?
When you learnin', when you burnin' up that smoke
So you can choke on my quote
And get my ... down yo' throat
You just don't understand, youknowwhatI'msayin'?
Organized Noize for '95, bitch!
- Hey Ya!
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