Street Opera Intro

[Spoken]
I wake up sometimes, leave my house, take a ride down the street
I look around, and can’t help but think about all the young folks who lost they lives in these same streets
And man, when I think about it, I just get sad
‘Cause I can’t help but think about all the mothers who cried
The ones who cried in the past, the ones who’ll cry this very day, and the ones who’ll cry in the future
Young people losing their lives over nothing
State to state, city to city
All you can hear is gunshots and chaos; all over nothing
Fighting every day but don’t even know what we fighting for
I swear, man
The cries be so loud, man, you can’t even think sometimes
Sometimes I wonder, “When will it end?”
Sometimes I feel like it’ll never end
(Drop that shit, Swatts!) Yeah!

[Verse]
The streets don’t sleep, it makes thugs and loots
So death don’t rest, it chase niggas and shoots
Bang! Just like that, they let it loose
Bullets spew through the trunk and roof of yo’ coupe
Nothing new; ain’t no trip, that’s just the used
If I feel you up, lil’ mama, that’s just the booze
Talk my shit over beats is what I do
Give a fuck if you like it; my nigga, them my views
Oh, well; baby, how can you tell?
A young broke teen don’t have that shit for sale
When I been in his shoes as well
Like, fuck that, I’m tryin’ to pro-vail out of hell
Don’t want friends, I want yeast (that bread!)
Until I get it, I won’t sleep (hell yeah!)
“You talkin’ my language, Tre-Boy!”
Life too short, no need to save more
Accept that I fight for the team I play for
Clique certified, no need to play yours
H, A, M, and then squad
Don’t hate when you see it, my nigga, you should know it
Hard times, beats and hard rhymes
Prayers for my nigga that’s stuck committing crimes
Thoughts to the sky, tell your son why
Some niggas fail even though he did try
To make it; some might break it and can’t take it
Hell yeah, long as any street aching
I’m patient, quick to turn you to a patient
All for the love of the dream that we chasing
I swear the streets never rest
And every time they leave the house
They mothers get a pain in their chest
And life’s a lot like chess
You get checkmate, they put your name on a death plate
See how the flow switching up?
A nigga blessed to be alive, damn right, I’ma live it up
‘Cause back when ‘Pac hit ‘em up
I lost a friend every month when folk would come pick ‘em up
Most love is sinister
And that’s why, for the friends I lost, I throw the city up
And do it for the have-nots
And keep a ice-cold beer like I’m the liquor store mascot!