Released: December 21, 1999

Songwriter: DJ Shok DMX

Producer: DJ Shok

[Intro: DMX]
Same old shit dog, just a different day
You know how niggas do, when we play, how we play
IT IS NOT, A FUCKING GAME!
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
If it's fuck me nigga, you know it's fuck you

[Verse 1: DMX]
I kick it to shorty to try to help him understand
Hit him with work, cause yo, that's my little man
He asked a few questions bout the game and I told him
So when he made a bad move it was my place to scold him
Never told him nuttin wrong, kept it fair
Didn't listen, so I might as well have been talkin to the air (damn)
Everybody makes mistakes, a mistake is aight
But if it ain't, I'ma tell you straight, time to say goodnight
Nobody likes to be played, regardless of the relationship
But shorty's fuckin up big time, I HATE THIS SHIT
I'm caught in the middle of, havin love for a lil nigga
Knowin what's expected of me as a, real nigga
My next move is crucial, what do I do?
How do I keep it real with shorty in my crew?
Didn't want to kill him, so instead of puttin the Mac on him
I did the only thing I could do, turn my back on him

[Chorus: DMX]
Here we go again..
Same old shit dog, just a different day
Here we go again..
You know how niggas do, when we play, how we play
Here we go again..
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
Here we go again..
So if it's fuck me nigga, then you know it's fuck you

[Verse 2: DMX]
Niggas that I fuck wit, wanna get him dead
But I'm cool with shorty's peoples, so I let him live
Under normal circumstances, he would be a marked man
But I hit him with a grand, just didn't shake his hand
Go about your business (uh-huh) do what you gonna do
Be what you gon' be, I wash my hands, I'm through
I can forgive I just can't forget
You're on your own little man don't ask me for shit
If you paid attention to what I taught you then you good
If I see you again, get it, understood?
Go 'head before I change my mind 'cause you know you should be dead
"I just wanted to say-" "Aight, go ahead!"
Instinct told me to kill him but the savior is
I'm a good nigga, plus I owed his peeps a favor
But I also knew, the decision I just made
Went against the rules of the game that we played

[Chorus: DMX]
Here we go again..
Same old shit dog, just a different day
Here we go again..
You know how niggas do, when we play, how we play
Here we go again..
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
Here we go again..
So if it's fuck me nigga, then you know it's fuck you

[Verse 3: DMX]
I should have, followed my first instinct, cause I knew
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
Now this nigga's fucking with the competition
Ungrateful motherfucker, should of got him missing
This nigga got the nerve, to take my kindness, for a weakness
Gotsta get back on some street shit so I can creep this
Rat, when I act, take one, set him up, to take two
Get him there, take three, get him done
Wasn't hard for me to get him where I wanted him, confronted him
BZZZZZZZT, CLICK! There was a bullet in one of them
Feelin lucky? CLICK, looks like you are
CLICK CLICK CLICK, luck ain't goin too far
What you did was put on another pair of shoes
And they just happened to be too big
What you did was stupid, real fuckin stupid
Well shorty I gave you a chance and what did you do?
Threw it back in my fucking face so fuck you too!

[Chorus x2: DMX]
Here we go again..
Same old shit dog, just a different day
Here we go again..
You know how niggas do, when we play, how we play
Here we go again..
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
Here we go again..
So if it's fuck me nigga, then you know it's fuck you

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)”.