For a man so well known for celebrating the life of the hustler, he has an extraordinary streak of songs about the down sides of that lifestyle. He raps beautifully about the reasons why people get into that life, and the struggles of living it.
From Reasonable Doubt, his debut album:
āWell we hustle out of a sense of, hopelessness
Sort of a desperation
Through that desperation, we 'come addicted
Sorta like the fiends we accustomed to servingā
āIād rather die enormous than live dormant thatās how we on itā
āMy mind is infested, with sick thoughts that circle
Like a Lexus, if driven wrong itās sure to hurt you
Dual level like duplexes, in unity, my crew and me
Commit atrocities like we got immunity
You guessed it, manifest it in tangible goods
Platinum Rolexed it, we donāt lease
We buy the whole car, as you should
My confederation, dead a nation, EXPLODE
On detonation, overload the mind of a said patient
When it balls to steam, it comes to it
We all fiends gotta do it, even righteous minds go through this
True this, history school us to spend our money foolish
Bond with jewelers and, watch for intruders
I stepped it up another level, meditated like a Buddhist
Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous, dreams of
Getting cream letās do this, against T-D-S
So I keep one eye open like, C-B-S, ya see me
Stressed right? Can I live?ā
āThis shit is wicked on these mean streets
None of my friends speak
Weāre all trying to winā
To be honest, I could quote the whole of both of those songs.
At his peak, he could also rap about money cash and hoes better than anyone. His delivery of these lines is ingrained in my brain.
āOn the canopy, my stamina be, enough for Pamela Anderson Lee
MTV jam of the week
Made my money too long for gamblinā with meā
