Pray

"What we need to be thinking about is the future!
We don't know what's in store tomorrow!
All we can do is just guess! We want the best for tomorrow
For our family, for our children, for our future
But if we don't get up and act like we want it
We gotta pray to somebody! We ain't to tough to pray!
You walking around like a gangsta, gangstas pray! Thugs pray!
Tell me somethin'; if you ain't praying, where would y'all be today?
Where would y'all momma be today? How would you be here?
Somebody praying for you, nigga!"

I never thought being a man you could hang in the end
Facing life with no parol and consecut' sentencing
Got people witnessing, your co-defendant snitching
Your back against the wall, your left eye is twitching
Loyal ladies usual, a D-and A's the mutual
Scared to face the light of a courtroom site
Racist cops on each side 'cause the know I just might
Make a break for the door but I give it my all
If I die in this struggle, give my momma a call
'Cause she always left these jewels: what goes up must fall
Since I fell dead broke, landed in jail
Refused to face the facts, how wifey skipped to town with the bail
I'm on my own now, V8, far away from home now
Palmer wealth state, the law changes each date
Secret indictments got me knocked, there ain't no price I can pay
To get me the fuck up out this shit, so to Allah I pray
For forgiveness – yes, I sinned and I need to be held
And jail ain't no place a black man wanna be killed
Amen

I only pray when shit is fucked up!
I only pray when my life is looking bad luck!
I only pray when I'm in motherfucking handcuffs!
Calling out for someone, somewhere!
Is there anybody out there?

I look up at the sky, why do young niggas die?
Felt the stray hit me, somebody stay with me
Falling to the ground with the sound of a four-pound near me
Bitches screaming, wish I was dreaming
I fought a thousand gun fights, near one bullet skipped me
On the morning run to get my little sisters Rice Krispies
Played the numbers knowing that I got my lucky dice wit' me
See some niggas I know I can roll – uh, uh!
Get them bitches, left all of them broke, left what they smoke
Hoes yelling, 'Watch ya back!'
But before I could turn around, before I could I react
Blaow! Blaow! Blaow! Would you look at me now?
Is this blood that I feel as I fell to the ground?
Feel like a head shot but maybe just grazed my temple
Niggas digging in my pockets, saying I just rolled a pimple
Yo, my mouth was moving but it was nothing I was saying
Only if they knew deep inside my mind, I was praying
Amen

I only pray when shit is fucked up!
I only pray when my life is looking bad luck!
I only pray when I need his help the most, what?!
Calling out to someone, somewhere!
Yo, is anybody out there?

Ain't nothing stopping me – untouchable – hoes, I fucked a few
Style like The Greatest, Ali – check what the knuckle do
Rock bubblegoose to mink, big links
Yellow ice, live the ghetto life, 'fuck y'all think?
Bravehearted; fuck around, get graveyarded
Dearly departed – the word on the street, I'm a target
I ain't running, I ain't hiding, I'm riding
I be gunning, y'all be ducking and diving
When I come through bucking this four-fiving
Revenge you saying you getting
But shit is getting too wild, this lifestyle of spraying weapons
So I check out the preacher – life is off the meter
Thoughts of homicide, trying to dodge the reaper
Confessions in a church 'cause it hurts, behind a curtain
Nigga talking to me, but I ain't certain
Voice sound familiar so I pulled the shade back
It was this stupid nigga that I popped way back
He set me up, he just got to the priest
I tried to reach but he had his heat pointed my way
And said, 'Pray'

"You've got to pray, huh! I mean pray, pray
And when you pray, you got to look up to the lord, huh!
You got to look up and you got to pray for your children, huh!
You got to pray for that man in front of the liquor store, huh!
You got to pray for that man on the corner! He know he doing wrong
But somebody gotta pray for him, huh! You know we doing wrong
But we gotta pray for ourselves! You know we are heading
To this new millennium, goddammit! They say a comet is coming
To this world by the year two-thousand, I say it's God! It's up to you
To pray to that higher power higher than yourself and humble yourself
And, and, and beg for forgiveness 'cause it comes back to you!
A man told me that while he was in jail, all he did was pray
All he did was stay in his jail cell and pray to God..."