Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous

Everybody everywhere is scratching for what they can get
Did you think anybody in this town is any different?
They don't give a damn who gets killed
Just as long as the dice keep rollin'
The hoes keep hoeing, and the money keeps flowin'

My name is L, and I'm from a part of town where clowns
Get beat down and all you hear is gunshot sounds
On 139 and Lenox Ave, there's a big park
And if you're soft, don't go through it when it gets dark
'Cause at nighttime niggas try to tax
They're sneakier than alley cats, that's why I carry gats
Yo, I'm a motherfuckin' fugitive
Buckwild and foul is the lifestyle that I choose to live

Because to me, it's all about a buck
I used to have a partner in crime by the name of Chuck
We stormed the city, shooting shit up like Frank Nitti
We robbed kids and split the dough 50-50
One day, we stuck a dice game on the ave and split the cash
Then I murdered his ass and took his half
Because I'm all about ends and skins
When you got those, you don't need no motherfuckin' friends

If I catch you on a late night, black, you're getting stuck, jack
My moms told me to get a job, fuck that
Ayo, picture me getting a job
Taking orders from Bob, selling corn on the cob
Yo, how the hell I'ma make ends meet
Making about 120 dollars a week
Man, I rather do another hit
I want clean clothes, mean hoes and all that other shit

Yo, I admit, I'm a sucker
A low down, dirty, sneaky, double-crossin' connivin' muthafucker
Breaking in cribs with a crowbar
I wasn't poor, I was po', I couldn't afford the 'o-r'
I used to wait until it gets dark
And tell a nigga to strip, I wanna see some birthmarks
Like a ninja, dressed in black with a ski mask
I take all the funds, then I run down the street fast

I vicked this nigga named Eugene, took his brand-new ring
'Cause sticking up's an everyday routine
Once I was crusing in a beat-up ride
Saw this nigga named Clyde and snuck up on him from the blind side
I told him, "Give up the dough, before you get smoked
Oh, you're broke? Now you're dead broke"

The Big L was cold crazy
A top-notch crook snatching pocketbooks from old ladies
I don't care, I'll do anything to get a buck
Even rob a Miller truck, 'cause I don't give a fuck
Some say I'm ruthless, some say I'm grim
Once a burglar broke into my house and I robbed him
Plenty and many brains I bust
'Cause I was livin' the lifestyle of the poor and dangerous

Word
All of us from Harlem, 139
That's living the lifestyle of the poor and dangerous
Know what I'm saying?

This goes out to my brothers Big Lee and Don Ice
Reggie Reg, T.C., Todd, Lou, Black Tone
Whitey, Ty Speeder, Ru Dog, Herb McGruff
E-Jet, G Love, Doc Ring, Slice and Rich Dice
I can't forget the 1-4-0, Lennox Ave. crew
And I gotta say rest in peace to Mate the Skate, Dog
And my man Kerry, peace

Now what kinda life is that for a child
Now what kinda life is that for a child
Now what kinda life is that for a child
Now what kinda life is that for a fuckin' child
Word to mother, fuck all that stupid shit
Controversial, not commercial, nigga