Released: December 12, 2004

Songwriter: Big D The Impossible 2Pac Stretch Eminem Luis Resto

Producer: Eminem

[Intro]
Yo 'Pac
That's right, hehehe
Yo, I heard you got beat up by the police
Got a big fat lawsuit and everything
Yeah..
Niggas just wanna know
If you still gon' be on some crooked-ass nigga shit

[Verse 1]
Please tell me what's a nigga to do, and it's true
Ain't nuttin new, so I do, what I can to get through
Now first they had me trapped and now I'm pissed
A loaded AK-47 layin' on my hips so I don't trip
One mothafucka from the Underground
And Big Stretch buckin' niggas if they fuck around
Yo why I got beef with police?
Ain't that a bitch, the mothafuckas got a beef with me
They make it hard for me to sleep
I wake up at the slightest peep, and my sheets are 3 feet deep
I guess it's hard for you to see
But now I'm pointin' the finger at police
Instead of them mothafuckas blamin' me
I got the right to bear a pistol
And when the punk mothafuckas get to trippin' I got shit too
And maybe then you'll see the truth
But until then, I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too

[Hook]
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth; OOOH!
But until then I gotta do what I do and stay a crooked nigga too
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth; OOOH!
You can't fuck with the crew, of crooked nigga too

[Verse 2]
You know you really can't say that ya blame niggas
Fuck being tame, set a flame, time to aim triggers
2Pac'll spark a revolution, fuck the constitution
I want my bucks for restitution
This time you got a bigger problem
Time to face the niggas from South Central, Oakland, Brooklyn and Harlem
And we ain't shootin' at each other (fuck no!)
That's my mothafuckin' brother, so Dave Duke, run for cover
And all the bitches from the Klan
Come feel the wrath of a black man that doesn't smoke crack and
I don't drink St. Ides (fuck that!)
Genuine draft, guns and ganja and my fucking TEC-9
They know their scared to see us sober (awwwww)
Stop drinking King Cobra, and niggas will take the world over
It’s all up to you (up to you)
Blame the Korean blame the Jew (fuck that)
Or be a crooked nigga too

[Hook]
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth; OOOH!
But until then I gotta do what I do and stay a crooked nigga too
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth; OOOH!
You can't fuck with the crew, of crooked nigga too

[Verse 3]
Why me? Play like Jasmine Guy and try me
I'll be damned if I die, come look at the rage in my eyes G
They got my homies in a jail cell
And it's the Rebel and the Devil, and one of us is goin' to Hell
I got the whole place covered, with loc'd out brothers
And nuttin but love for each other
So mothafucka make a motion
I give a fuck, slice you up, and throw your ass in the ocean
Temperatures drop; see it's cool to shoot a nigga
But they hate it when we pop the cops
That's when they gettin' petrol
You better watch your step or you'll be left on death row
But I learn to look ahead of me
Stay strapped watch your back keep your eyes on the enemy
We blowin' up precincts and OOOH
You can't fuck with the crew, of crooked nigga too

[Hook]
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth, OOOH!
But until then I gotta do what I do and stay a crooked nigga too
It's all up to you, but until then I gotta do what I do
And stay a crooked nigga too
And maybe then you'll see the truth, OOOH!
You can't fuck with the crew, of crooked nigga too

2Pac

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an actor and a highly influential rapper who is considered by many to be the greatest of all-time due to the revolutionary spirit and thug passion he mixed into his music. During his music career, he made appearances in movies such as his acclaimed debut in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), and Above the Rim (1994).

Born in Harlem, New York City to Black Panther Party members Billy Garland and Afeni Shakur, Tupac would later move to Baltimore before settling in the Bay Area cities of Oakland and Marin City in the late 1980s. There, he joined his first rap group Strictly Dope with Ray Luv before connecting with Shock G and Digital Underground. He was a roadie and backup dancer for the group before his breakthrough performance on their 1991 song “Same Song.”

2Pac released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, which featured intense storytelling on singles such as “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby.” His sophomore album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z featured one of his signature songs, the Digital Underground-assisted “I Get Around.” After working on the Thug Life group album in 1994, 2Pac released Me Against the World the following year, which is considered by many to be his best album, peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a Grammy nomination—all while he sat in prison.