50 Ways

(album: Under Tha Influence - 2002)

[DJ Quik]
Why you keep givin me cards I can't keep?
I throw these two back, you throw me two more, they're so cheap
I couldn't get the winning hand that I wanted in my sleep
Cause when the dream get good, I get trampled by sheep
Nightmares, even when I'm walkin in day
I'm havin dreams that I'm runnin but there's smoke in the way
And there's this man in a suit, he take a toke and he say,
"You have a promise that you made and you broke it today."
Now which part of this movie here did I just miss?
Did I really sell my soul to this big red bitch?
I don't think what you got to offer is really enough
For cars sex and houses, money and stuff
I'd rather be broke and own nothin but piece of mind
and a Benz, and a house, and a nine-deuce-nine
on top, help me out before I sink the boat
There's gotta be more than 50 ways to keep afloat
Cause I feel like I'm suffocatin, I can't breathe
I wanna go, but I'm too afraid to leave
Take me with you Mausie, I know you're seein somethin grand
as you fade away, and you gently release my hand
And it shook my balance, cause you ain't no more alive
You think I'd see you, if I chewed this 45?
Oh I'd be the first person poppin three, droppin me
to the abyss, but I miss, what's stoppin me?
I got the pressures of the WORLD on my little back
My nerves are turnin into jelly and I'm bout to crack
You think I'm cheatin on my homies, by holdin back?
No I really protect them all because the truth is wack
Forever bars and forever scars
Bein trapped and dyin young makes forever stars
Tell me why am I so hesitant?
And the way life's goin, looks like when hell comes, I'ma be a resident

[Chorus x2: Wanya Morris]
La, la la-la la, la la-la
La, la la-la la, la la-la

[DJ Quik]
They tell me Quik, suck it up, I'm supposed to
But me and Mausberg was closer than most knew
It ain't dramatized, and it ain't a fuckin act
when you're traumatized, and it ain't no turnin back
When you're so connected, and it's hard to keep your focus
When you're so affected, and it's hard to love again
When you're so neglected suck it up, I'm 'posed to
That ain't easy for somebody you're close to, shit
See your homey in a coffin is so wicked and vivid
It's gon' be harder on all of us, cause we gon' relive it
Over and over, drunk or sober, from October to October
I steadily feel like I'm gettin knocked over
And all the money in the world, don't make it better
And a whole bottle of alcohol, don't make it wetter
With a blur and a slur I'm still callin ya name
And on top of this drama you add fame? Wild
But when you start to bubble then your friends they spite you
And if you go to church, then hip-hop won't like you
I feel like a giant on a worldwide stage
but at the same time trapped in a real tight cage
With no way out, I play out, then I come back
Cause there's an unwritten law that says I can't be wack
So I put on my game face, go back to the same place
Only to realize that y'all ain't got the same taste
Even with somethin new, they look at you cold
And without a hot face, consider you old
And leavin me stressed and broken-hearted
How could I be finished with West coast rap? I helped start it!

[Chorus]