Released: September 26, 2008

Songwriter: Nipsey Hussle

[Intro]
You know a nigga like me tend to keep 'em at arms distance length
("Closer than most")
I'll give you that, you got a little bit closer, but, you know
("I just see so much in you")
Yeah
("And I want a better view")
Finna take you back around, like, '98, '99, you know
("I want to look deeper into you, yeah")
Slauson boy

[Verse 1]
Yeah, let's take it back then, when it was crackin'
We probably took your 10-speed and jacked your mags then
One on the handlebars and one on the pegs
Obituary pictures, I miss 'em, them niggas dead now
We used to fail tests, we used to steal chirps
We used to smoke stress, we used to sell work
Nigga, you're too cool for school, you ain't no fuckin' fool
You ain't gon' stay broke for long like them suckas do
That's when my moms trip, she told me "kick rocks"
My granny told me I could stay, that's when the shit popped
Rarely I came home, mostly I'm in the streets
Livin' with bitches I'm fuckin', bouncin' between the sheets
I hit a house lick, I got a little change
I bought a gold chain, a little cocaine
Focused my mind now, got on the grind now
I bought a bucket, a Cutlass, fuck it, it's mine now

[Chorus]
("Let's get closer")
That muthafucka rolled though, on hood
You know, nigga ain't have no license
("Closer than closer")
Nigga be like four, five deep in that muthafucka
("Let's get closer than close")
("Let's get closer")
Shit, you know, nigga was just livin' fast, you know
I got my first taste of money and I was turned out
("Closer than close")
I was on the grind after that, you heard me
Look

[Verse 2]
That's when the cash came, life in the fast lane
Goodbye 211, hello champagne
Goodbye hoodrat bitches, hello dime pieces
They say money and women is known to divide people
I couldn't see it, but now I see it's true
Your bitch was feelin' me, my bitch was feelin' you
We both was gettin' money, you know how these bitches do
Show no emotions to these hoes, don't let it get to you
Now when we meet, I'm seein' jealousy behind your face
Like crooked looks on top of phony smiles and fake shakes
You used to front me quarters, you used to have the bricks
You let me try your shit, how did it come to this?
Your young homie done growed up on his own
Same nigga you taught to cook and how to blow up a zone
Same nigga you sent the pounds to when I went out of town
Same nigga when I was down you let me sleep in your house
What's happenin'?

[Chorus]
("Let's get closer")
You know, them times when a nigga got, you know, sick of just being in the hood every goddamn day
("Closer than closer")
I got me a little ticket on JetBlue, got me a few pounds and I shook, you know
("Let's get closer")
I was in ATL tryin' to do it big, my nigga, Stone Mountain, westside, Decatur
("Closer than close")
Peachtree, all that, tryin' to get my money out in the zone, you feel me

[Verse 3]
I guess you never know a nigga, 'til you catch a case with him
And it hurt me in my heart when they told me that you was snitchin'
If I wasn't up outta town, I'da been right wit'cha
Takin' that bank down with you — would you have still turned witness?
And I remember them other niggas, they had you cornered
You chirped me early morning, I hit that corner with burners
No license in my Regal, on my lap was the heat
I'm taking risks within this 'cause you would do it for me
Wasn't that the code? Stay down and never fold?
Through 25 to life or through the casket close
And now I put some space between us 'cause the path you chose
You got another nigga life for that little cash you stole
And mama told you this a long time ago
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, and oh
At first I brushed it off and second guessed it
'Til the homie showed me all that paperwork with your confessions

Nipsey Hussle

Ermias Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), better known as Nipsey Hussle, was a Grammy-award winning hip-hop artist and mogul from the Crenshaw district of South Central Los Angeles, California.

With a name inspired by actor Nipsey Russell, Nipsey Hussle released his first project, Slauson Boy Volume 1, in 2005, and he was featured in XXL’s 2010 Freshman Class alongside J. Cole, Big Sean, Freddie Gibbs, Wiz Khalifa, and Jay Rock among others. Nipsey gained national headlines in 2013 as he sold copies of his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 each. One customer was JAY-Z, who purchased 100 copies in support of Nipsey’s hustle. He then charged $1,000 per copy of his Mailbox Money mixtape in 2014 to continue his #Proud2Pay campaign.

After a decade of releasing several mixtapes and singles, Nipsey released his long-awaited debut album Victory Lap in 2018. The album was nominated in the Best Rap Album category at the 2019 Grammy Awards.