Only the Strong Survive

On the microphone in 1993
Short Dawg made me
And he don't stop to the beat
Nothing but a menace to society

I always heard that you gotta be strong if you wanna survive
Get your diploma, go to college, get a nine to five
Every year, you're makin' 30 Gs a pop
Workin', see, and you're tied to the white man's jock
Movin' out of the ghetto 'cause it troubles you
Makin' payments on a BMW

I know you never would settle for the minimum snaps
And have to live in the ghetto where the blacks be at
And send your kids to a school that don't really teach
How could I care about a college degree?

You think I wanna get cha
Take you to the motel and straight get richer
You must be crazy, smokin' that chronic
I take you to the motel and then put my rubber on it
And hope it don't bust so I can stay alive
'Cause only the strong survive

Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive

So tell me what it is, man, tell me what you want
Not talkin' 'bout the music but we likes to funk
Ain't no such thang as a Oakland punk
It don't matter who you are, you'll be in the trunk

You come twenty-five deep or maybe ten
If I let your push me, then you push me again
He was six foot four, they used to call him 'Sir'
But he was smooth, gunned down by a teenage gangsta

No bigger than me, never could be his self
Always tryin' to act like someone else
There just ain't no future for us young black men
'Cause we always get killed or sent to the pen

But even Malcolm X was a ex-convict
And you can bet I won't go fo' it next time
I'm kinda strong with my bullets in the clip
That's why I never trip 'cause only the strong survive

Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive

Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive

You say, "Be a man, let's go toe to toe"
But that was like fifteen years ago
They say, "Only the strong will survive"
But brothers be strong and still they die

But you gotta get around that bush
All the things we used to do, we can't push
No more 'cause ain't nobody trippin' on us
You wanna fight, mess around and get shot up
See you layin' there, bleedin', losin' the fight
All behind a broad and that just ain't right

You could live or die, it just doesn't make a difference
'Cause everybody knows about your sorry ass, simpin' for a hoe
I thought you knew life is but the punk's so fake, he can't handle his
So you weak fizz news ain't no surprise 'cause only the strong survive

Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive
Only the strong survive