Released: January 1, 2009

Songwriter: Coolio Ennio Morricone

Yeah!
The streets are still hard
I still walk the yard...
My soul is still scared!

When darkness falls
Across my face
Sweat, hope and tears
Afore my face
It's times like this
That I can't erase
The thoughts of being
Whipped, chained
Hanged and maced
So I try to accept the high
To fill the base
With concepts and dreams
Of a different place!

But with all the lies in life
That I was taught
And all the good things
That I forgot
That the coke was in the abbot
Fight the pussy like a savage
Get an on-tight grip on all
My bad habits
Sometimes I feign to the fiend
Sometimes I laugh at it
Get beans on the crotch
And take a stab at it;

Automatic with my static
No need to be graphic
Step to me and mine
And you gonna see action
Cuz you don't even know
What it is ta G
To C the N double A
An a history!

I want to change
The world to real
These sights that hold me
It's slowly breaking me down
I'm still the same
Inside my brain
And if I change, it might just
Break me down!

The things inside that show
But I can not hide
And now I lost the count of
The times I tried
The times I lied about
Shit that wasn't
Even necessary!

I changed my fro
But my style
Really never varied
I feel like Atlas sometimes
The weight of the west
I wear it like a vessel
Carry it on my back
And shoulders
Hommie I'm a soldier
I told ya
Cuz I wake the hood like a
Big pot of Folgers
I fully understand
The meanings
Of the mystery!

My baby be so wet close
So don't you be
Acting like you gangster
Cuz my bangers be
Sitting on the block
With them 23
Millimeter rounds
That'll set you free
So maybe ya can see
What I can see
So we run about lies
Seek cross bitches
And tennis shoes
Big chains, and wheels and
Bullshit we saw on the news!

I want to change
The world to real
These sights that hold me
It's slowly breaking me down
I'm still the same
Inside my brain
And if I change
It might just
Break me down!

Q

Coolio

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., Coolio is a West Coast rapper who reached insane popularity levels in the mid 90’s with his hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” and album of the same name. Unfortunately he is now often referred to as a one-hit wonder, despite having multiple hits before and after “Gangsta’s Paradise”, including “Fantastic Voyage”, “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)”, and “C U When U Get There”.

He has also had several minor acting roles along with a semi-successful career as a chef, having released multiple cook books, the most famous of which being “Cooking with Coolio”.