Money, Power, Respect

I gave you money, power, respect, cars and gold

Made you a star, platinum cards, scar up your foes

Had your back, through it all, my love never expired

Down to do it all, I did it, no matter what you desired

All I required, was that you keep it real with me

And any man that crossed your path would have to deal with me

He was in it in the beginning and through the start of it all

On 24th Street, rappin' for guns and smokes

Write bars everyday, stay battlin' niggas

On the corner, in the hood, dismantlein' niggas

I was watchin' you, vowed that you could excel at somethin'

Instead of sittin' in the dank house steady inhalin' somethin'

So I snatched you up, put you at the right place at the right time

Open mic night at the club, with the right bass and the right rhymes

Got discovered, your chance of a lifetime, got a contract big

Now you pushin' cassettes and compact discs

Doin' videos and shows too fast

With your crew, thirty deep, smokin' O's and hash

But you didn't want to sign autographs, no respect for your fans

You forgot where you came from, you think you the man!

I gave you money, then when your second album dropped

Dubbed you with bad reviews, low sales, and this was the plot

You got dropped from the label's roster and lost all that you gained

Not a peep to your name cuz you disrespected the game

I gave you money, power, respect, cars and gold

Made you a star, platinum cards, scar up your foes

I was there, through it all, my love never expired

Down to do it all, I had your back, no matter what you desired

All I required, was that you keep it real with me

And any man that crossed your path would have to deal with me

But is you still with me?

Livin' in debt forever eternally

Then turn to me

Get your head together

You gave me money, power, respect, cars and gold

Made me a star, platinum cards, scar up my foes

You had my back, through it all, your love never expired

Down to do it all, you was there, no matter what I desired

All you required, was that I kept it real with you

And any man that crossed my path would have to deal with you

I feel it's true

Then why you go against the grain?

That's what children do

That's why I had to commence the pain

To convince your brain, to never circumvent the game

You'll be resented, don't be tempted by illusions of fame

For in this game, I'm choosin' to follow the rules and change

Loosenin' my steelo, bruised my ego, assumed the pain

Losin' my people

They're evil, you don't need 'em to live

They have no love, and love is what you need 'em to give

It's me and you against the World

I finally figured that out

Blowin' trees and crushin' girls is all them fools about

I'm choosin' a route that'll definitely lead to bigger clout

Like the Isley Brothers what I discovered makes me want to shout

What can I do with the respect of a man whose respect is worthless?

How can a man who has no purpose in life serve me a purpose?

Just wanna hurt me, they vicious and merciless

What's your mission?

Collectin' money in surpluses, my only intention

My only henchmen is the game, keep him near to my heart

Mention my name and I'll appear

Yeah, til' death do us part