Sometimes it's hard to wake up in the mornin'
Mind full of demons, I don't wanna hear 'em anymore
Got me heartbroken, fine, so many babies screamin'
'Cause they seeing destruction before they a see human being

So they start smokin' weed, we'll never get our day
Until we learn to pray, keep our families in shape
'Cause they all broke and why do ghetto birds die
Before we learn to fly, somebody else's child caught in guns

Smokin' weed can all make a change
So I'm told but I haven't seen the change unfold
I keep hopin' please, if you prefer to breathe
Communities in need of people that will lead

Keep your eyes open now, can only say I'll try
Until the day I die, I promise to be wise
With my heart open free, brings only misery
A way to tragedy, so I stay sucker free

Only a few chosen, rise, my ghetto queen, rise, don't be afraid to try
Too many of us died for the door to open wide
My brother, be wise, stay focused on the prize
Though everybody dies, we can

Only learn to take our anger and our hate
Control our mental state, settle down and just set it straight
Maybe, we can learn to take a second to pump the brakes
'Fore we said it, regret it later and let it escalate

'Cause by then its too just late, there's so much we can take
And there's only so much someone can swallow and tolerate
Until the point that he just breaks, snaps and that's all it takes
You'd think that we was learnin' from other rapper's mistakes but we ain't

It's plain to go against, with every artist comes
The image he portrays and a picture that he paints
But in the midst of all this anger and this angst
Never once did you hear me say
I'm a gangster and I ain't hear no complaints

But I know that I will always continue to grow
As long as I lead and never follow no one else's shadow
There will never be another me and that I can guarantee
That's why, the ***k, I remain sucker free to this day

The game will never be the same
No matter how much fame or success they attain
There will never be another me and no matter what they do
There will never be another you

You can search but you'll never find
You can try to rewind time
But in your hearts and your minds we will never die
We are forever alive and we continue growin'

One day at a time

Don't be caught in the publicity and caught in the hype
Rappers are regular people minus money and light
Searchin' for fortune and fame and super stardom
All the jewelry, all the cars, whose crew is the hardest

Now the hip-hop police, the villains is watchin'
And kids think beef is the only option
Outlaws born filthy, guilty as charged
My memories are gonna die but Makaveli lives on

You think the industry is fun and no pity with guns
And when your money is up, that's when your enemies come
So if he died and came back, would he try to save rap?
We needin' a change, the drama remains

I spent my whole life, yeah, fightin' myself
That I can't win so I'm invitin' some help
Okay and every now and then I take rights from the left
I'm still just like a kid lookin' for stripes on my belt

And that there is a fight in itself, so I just pray
And hope God take a like to myself
No matter how much I try, stay alive
I'ma die mad, still standing there in love with my pride

I heard frivolous beats, we past that
I'm trynna keep some income comin' in
And collect on my *** cap
The rappers in the game ain't changed

And I finally realized that we not in the same game
The hatin' will never end so I guess I'll deal wit it
The 45 with cop killers just some steel wit it
The streets is military, you gotta be a soldier

Gotta stay leery and keep your eyes on the rollers
As they do what they gotta do to shackle and hold us
So we gotta do, we gotta do to keep rollin'
One way at a time, keep the faith in your mind
And we continue growin' one day at a time
Damn!