No Pain, No Gain (Salaam Remi Remix)

[Verse 1]
Back in the days when I was just a little lad man
I had strife and tribulations of life comin' from my dad
Bad drama caused my momma trauma
Stress became an everyday lifestyle chow, and meanwhile
Pounds of dead placements, late rent statements
Notice of an eviction from one-room basements
Addin' on to fights at night
Can't live right, had to stay clear of a Tec-9's eyesight
Growin' in the hood was no good
I should take up another route, but where? I got no loot
Couldn't make a master plan 'cuz the clan was the same man who ran the neighborhood newsstand
Indeed, greed just makes the mind bleed
Some speak, others need weed just to proceed
But I feed on my mere thoughts, hold down forts
Take pulls off my Newports, throw down court, no bluff
Times are gettin' rough and mad tough
Tryin' to stay black surrounded by that crack stuff
It's plain, I remain sane
But it's in vain, cuz if there's no pain, there's no gain

[Hook]
Uh, c'mon
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain
No pain, no gain, son
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain

No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain
No pain, no gain, son
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain

[Verse 2]
You rep the year of 94
You get a little more than you asked for
The man from the newsstand now on the corner store
Children hate hop scotch, drugs are top notch
A man was just murdered, volunteered for block watch
To G or not to G?
That's what it seemed
You need cream, sold yourself the hype of a pipe dream
Sendin' with the cash you spendin'
The new kingpin
Then your best friends life ends from a Mac-10
Got the fame and glory, same old story
Little kids get shot in the back over territory
Now you're too fly to woke up in bed stop
Or found out your boss got knocked off in a truck by Northern Exposure
No one knows ya, can't cope so you smoke with the coke that blowed ya
Now you're just an everyday kid, first day bid
Front teeth knocked out in beef for what our beef did
Runnin' a slang, that we are all in the same game, but even a don don gotta hang
No pain, no gain

[Hook]
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain, huh?
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain

No pain, no gain, huh?
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain
No pain, no gain, uh
No pain, no gain

[Bridge]
Uh, yeah
You know the flavor, oh
Uh

[Verse 3]
Now you got it strait
But you owe 8
Goin' upstate, so your fate rest in the hate of an inmate
No smilin', Clinton's not like Rikers Island
If trail blow, get ready to throw for your cash flow
Yo bro, watch your step in a warzone
It only takes one bad rep to get your neck blown
Home peace, earn some time for the phone piece
Don't give enough that you live to see your first feast
Stick with a whole new clique, get mad thick
Never play yourself too close to a convict
Be strong, don't be soft 'cuz it's all wrong
Those who snitch catch a stitch about an inch long
Maintain you brain 'cuz it pours when it rains
But if there's no pain, there's no gain

[Hook]
Uh
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain, huh?
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain, yo
No pain, no gain
No pain, no gain, you got's to maintain
No pain, no gain, huh?
No pain, no gain

[Outro]
Uh, yeah
You know the flavor, uh
Salaam Remi, uh
Buckshot LeFonque
And the Unknown Soldier, oh