That's How I'm Livin' (On Rox Remix)

Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on
Come on

I was born in New Jersey
I said it before but I guess nobody heard me
My mother died young
No sisters or brothers, I was her only son
When I was 12 my pops died too
What's a brother supposed to do?
They sent me out West
To live with my aunt, I guess they thought that was the best
But there was no love there
And growin' with no moms I guess I was prepared
To live in a vacuum
The bedroom, the kitchen, the hall, the bathroom
I didn't leave home much
I didn't like L.A., didn't have no friends to trust
Got bussed to a school
Blacks and whites
I guess it was cool
But by high school I changed
I didn't wanna bus, I didn't wanna play the game
I walked to Crenshaw High
It was fly
I hooked up with a new crew
Some brothers it seemed like they knew what the hell to do
You might call it a gang
But we call it a set, and it was our own thang
The whole school was down
And one way or another everybody messed around
Whether hardcore or not
You wore the right color or your ass got shot
That's how I'm livin'

I did three years in
And made close friends
Havin' no love, my homies became my only
I was glad, the family I never had
I grew up fast
Got a girl in the tenth grade pregnant and needed cash
Had to change my style
Switch from bangin' for hustlin', no more goin' buckwild
Had to get a cash flow
But my hustle was weak
It was a no-go
I joined the army
Four years in that mess be all the hell you can be
Came back to the hood
The homies had done good
Had elevated their game
About a hundred G's a lick, no shame
Bashed for the jewels
Baby sledgehammers were the tools
I speak on this with hesitation
Even though we're past the statute of limitations
That's how I'm livin'

I checked the bank
Bought a Porsche from gear and earned high street rank
But as I grew
My whole crew fell through
Cops had us on the books
As interstate crooks
Murder, robbery, rape, escape
The whole damn nine, we'd rob a sucker blind
I had too much juice
I cut my boosters loose
Was intrigued with the pimp game
I took on the Ice name
But the pimp game moved too slow
'Specially for a brother who was hooked on quick dough
Then one night late
I was in a car wreck and was lucky to escape
Hospital for ten weeks in a bed
Almost dead
And when I got well
I got caught in the cross and got locked in a jail cell
That's how I'm livin'

They cut me loose
And I had changed, troop
This time they didn't catch me
Next time they'd stretch me
'Cause my time was gettin' short
All the homies was in court
Or locked in the hole
Yo, this was gettin' old
So I changed my life
I put down the gun, picked up the mic
It took ten years
To get from there to here
But I still keep a gun
Cops got me on the run
And they hate me more
Now, than they ever did before
The homies came back from the pen
And we all worked together, true friends
But every once in a while some chump
Mistakes me as a punk
And he gets in my face
Wrong place
And I ain't lyin'
That's how you're dyin'