Released: October 27, 1997

Songwriter: B.G. (Baby Gangsta) Turk Juvenile Lil Wayne

Producer: Mannie Fresh

[Verse 1 (Lil Wayne)]
So you say you ready to hustle
Scuffle over a dollar, rumble over a bundle
Ready to bust over 2 dollars, ready to die for 5
Ready to ride on 9, better be bout your change
Lettin hang at all times, ready to fight high
Duckin them blue eyes, ready to see ya moma cry
Every time you walk inside, ready to bring the funk
Hide keys in the trunk, ready to live that life
One more night, knowin' you don't, ready to get ya pockets thick
Hustle hard sweat bricks, shoot you stick at a vick
Get her to buy a nick for 6, ready to serve Tammy
50 dollars worth of wammy, ready to lose ya heart fall apart
From ya family, damn near gettin killed, a mil is only on ya mind
Ready to slang that iron, put in work over time, ready to get crossed
Put a hit out on a nigga boss, ready to shine and floss
Is you bout that white sauce, 10 a keys the cost, bout to toss a nigga 3
Meet me at the dope spot 8 in the mornin next week
Now I was lookin for 30, you only had 26, I feel you tryin to play me
(Blow!) get it how you live

[Hook]
Get how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, I'll split yo wig nigga
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, I'll split yo wig nigga

[Verse 2 (Turk)]
Gotta watch yo back now, from all these licks that you did
That dope gotcha' gone now you can't even take care ya own kids
Everything you had, all that shit gone down the drain
Used to be a bigtimer, look at you ain't that a shame?
Get it how you live, how you live betta get it
Tried to rock now shit it, them niggas ain't takin no pity
It's yo world nigga, so you play how go, it's all up to you
You get smoked, you just get smoked, now from riches to rags
Doin' good to doin' bad, used to be happy, now you walkin round lookin sad
That monkey on ya back, yo mind you let em' take it
Don't matter how much you try, nigga you can not shake it
Get how you live

[Hook]
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, how you fig nigga
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, I split yo wig nigga

[Verse 3 (Juvenile)]
Dog, you out there bad, that's why niggas wanna bust yo head
And them hoes done thrown in that stupid shit that you said
Now you runnin to yo family, and yo boys for help
Look, you went and get some beef can't avoid yourself
All yo car done got shot up, yo house done got shot up
And I heard some niggas turnin against and bout to plot up
Don't get scared now, you was a killa yesterday
You was talkin some shit
Now they wanna blow you away, lil whoadie, you on your own
So leave me outta this shit
I don't fuck wit you anyway so keep me outta this shit
I wasn't wit ya when you stunted, wasn't wit ya when you blunted
And I ain't gone be wit ya when them niggas come through here gunnin'
You ain't neva heard of hard head, nigga, soft ass
You got strung on that dope ha?
Tryin to go to war fast, no matter how hard you try
Look you just can't get it right
Tell me what is the purpose of you havin a life
Now you sayin a nigga was down bad, for snatchin' yo kid
Look nigga you made that baby, betta get it how you live

[Hook]
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, how you fig jigga
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take my life, I'll split yo wig nigga

[Verse 4 (B.G.)]
Nigga it's rough, comin' up, in the U.P.T.,
N.O.P.D investigatin' murders constantly
You got coke don't let no one know where you lay yo head at
Cuz they comin' to getcha'
And that's where you be dead at
Gotta keep yo head up, make sure yo thing loaded up
Keep yo game tight if you don't yo brains blowed up
If you hustle keep a pistol wit 17 on yo hip
If a nigga run up on you trippin' let it rip
Don't let a nigga get flip wit' ya, or close to ya
Cause he'll steal what you love most nigga
Now take it how you wanna, bring it how you feel
But that's how it is, ya gotta get how you live
And if you live the wrong, make yo cheese doin' wrong
Then you might get shot up and bleed to death in yo home
I'm kickin the real, and if you real, you could feel
That you could steal or get stole when you gettin' it how you live nigga

[Hook]
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't go take my life, how you fig nigga
Get it how you live nigga, do you dig nigga?
You ain't gone take what's mine, I'll split you wig nigga

Get it how you live

Hot Boys

Consisting of Turk, Juvenile, B.G. and Lil Wayne, The Hot Boys were the group that took Cash Money Records from an influential local New Orleans record label to a multi-million-dollar powerhouse. They only released three albums as a group (one after their breakup), but together and separately, they brought a new energy to their label’s gangsta bounce sound

With beats by in-house producer Mannie Fresh, the group members took their youthful boasting (Wayne, the youngest, was just 15 at the time of their debut album) and made crossover hits that took a regional phenomenon to national prominence

The group members are also responsible for introducing tons of slang into the lexicon, including the infamous term “bling bling”