Rise & Fall

Cold as the cold in the wintertime

Slow rhyme when I rhyme, no beginner I'm

City walk when they sin tryna make a dime

They don't ask for too much, just a lil' shine

Lil' time on the grind tryin get that gwap

Wah'n't worth eight years for your first time pop

Now you back rehabilitated, punchin the clock

Old neighborhood witnessin your man and 'nem drop

Got the drop on that nigga said he runnin the block

Graduated from the greens to servin up rock

So you plot and you think and you sin on the plan

on some scheme-ass shit but, that's your man

I'm sayin, you tryna push reasons to the front

and put a block on that other shit you want

But the streets keep callin ya name

An 9-to-5 slave to the rhythm ain't bringin you fame

So it's back to the game, round up a lil' gang

Set it up to stick ya manye but he stick you first

Goodbye!

I seen 'em rise, seen 'em fall (seen 'em fall)

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go, seen 'em all (seen 'em all)

Seen stars wit dey name on the wall

til the money get tight and the limelight's gone (light's gone)

3 A.M. in the backseat leanin'

Thinkin 'bout all the things I've seen, man

Remember (-member), befo niggaz was on the bandwagon...

I fell asleep til the sound of hand cannons

Leavin holes in souls the size of Grand Canyons

Late nights streets with my man Brandon

Fast forward, twelve years now we grandstandin

Because I'm main-taining, wit'out man-tanin

and it made me an ani-mal

But I need another quota book for the catalog

I could dumb down and rap for bitches and alcohol

But I'm too loud, and too proud to tap-dance for these crackers, dawg

So, won't be no Gregory Hine-it

When Tay get hostle, he in the gospel like he in the Winans

and right now, he in there finding

a new platform for the rhymes that I arranged

A new ideas for the lines that I exchanged

cause I can't be, a laughingstock homie, that'll be a crying shame

All I need is six bars and an intro

Cause I relate to these beats like it was kinfolks

And the flow's so fresh like Mentos

and this is all real talk, that's for your info

Cause that's where I been, yo, ho!

I seen 'em rise, seen 'em fall (seen 'em fall)

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go, seen 'em all (seen 'em all)

Seen stars wit dey name on the wall

til the money get tight and the limelight's gone (light's gone)

Uh, 3 A.M. in the backseat leanin'

Thinkin 'bout all the things I've seen, man

Grindin, time limb

muh'fucker back up, stepped-up muh'fucker

So quiet, I coulda crept on a sucker (ahhh!)

From behind and blew the breath out the busta (poooow!)

But instead, held my head like a hustl-er

Pumped-up and get the sound of the muffler

Heard him clown bout his pounds bein fluffier

Tellin niggaz outta town they be luckier

and get sad when the hood had enough of ya

Broke niggaz buck at cha, poke you in ya jugga-ler

But when you high, you feel niggaz can't fuck wit ya

I'm surprised some niggaz still had customers

my eyes and inhaled my smoke

Tryna decide, should I let him slide - but nope!

He broke ties when he spoke his lies

Tell his pi's that he hope I die, so my reply is

to "Keep it real, I hope you could fly"

Cause I'ma send him to them open skies

(Gah! Gah! Rrraaah! Rrraaah!)

I seen 'em rise, seen 'em fall (seen 'em fall)

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go, seen 'em all (seen 'em all)

Seen stars wit dey name on the wall

til the money get tight and the limelight's gone (light's gone)

3 A.M. in the backseat leanin'

Thinkin 'bout all the things I've seen, man

I seen 'em rise, seen 'em fall (seen 'em fall)

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go, seen 'em all (seen 'em all)

Seen stars wit dey name on the wall

til the money get tight and the limelight's gone (light's gone)