Life At Risk

(album: Dog Beats - 1991)

Waking up to the little baby crying
Mom's yelling cause pop's got his fists flying
It's 9 in the morning and he's drunk
One day I feel that I'm gonna shoot that punk
My bitch laying next to me in the bed
I honestly don't give a fuck if the ho is dead
The only honor in my life is my rag
Without it zip me up in a body bag
Grab my brother's gun, load the .44
Take the money-back bottles and head to the store
In my neighborhood your life is a dare
'Cause there's factories pumping out black air
And I'm breathing this shit everyday
Living crazy 'cause I'm dying anyway
I see this tramp hanging under the bridge
I tell her go home and watch her kids
You listen to them cry and sob
Take your sorry ass and find a motherfucking job
See my homies hanging at the liquor store
40s and the cash, dice rolling on the floor
They say my friends'll never be any good
But the President wouldn't have been shit
If he was raised in my neighborhood
My friends say the same old shit
The Southwest side (G ,'nippid tiuq) have a hit on me
I guess everyone seen it
When I slammed Johnny's head into the cement
It started all this crazy shit
And now we never set out without a loaded clip
And we headed up to the dunk rim
Little boys on the court, so we punked them out
And I'm thinking of my brother
When he was pushed off the court he wanted to kill them fuckers
Now I'm standing in the bad guys shoes
Paying my dues
And I don't have no where to be
Just another street hood in the inner city
And a man is gonna ask for some change
Give him a dollar so he can go and fry his brains
Fuck no, I push him out the way
Cause that sad motherfucker got shit to say
My homie was known for the macking
Now they got him doing 10 on car jacking
And I'm thinking that I'm next to go
What the fuck I'm already living Death Row
So many out there want me dead
Everybody wants to put a bullet in my head
But I don't give a fuck if I die today
Everyone alive is gonna die anyway
What the fuck is life about
Come home late and daddy blow your mouth out
That's in the past now, I ain't soft
Daddy hits me today and I'm going to blow his fucking head off
For now the bullets close but miss
Living my life at a risk

You know J, man you're right
Too many motherfuckers out there are fake
People need to understand
That if you get hit enough times
Then you start hitting back
All we are is pawns on the game board
And if this is the way everybody's playing it
So be it, motherfuckers
Count us in
But the ICP is playing for keeps

Macking is a game and everybody's playing
Are you the one getting played like a sucker
Macking is a game and everybody's playing
Are you the one getting played like a sucker
Macking is a game and everybody's playing
Are you the one getting played like a sucker
Macking is a game and everybody's playing
Are you the one getting played like a sucker

I think I liked it better when I was a kid