The Rise and Fall of Elliot Brown (Part I and II)

[Part I] "I mean um, I got years man, I go back, actually I-I-I just got back to these streets man, this is home to me though Y'mean, I was gone for a while, ten years to be exact I lost my lights in the streets, y'know but for these streets, me and my dude We got down and dirty for it, man, we did e'rythang, we took, nah'mean, to eat.. That's what it's about when I was comin' up in the 80s', everybody tried to eat man And my way livin' to eat, man I gurped in theses streets I grind, walked to these streets here, nah'mean?" [Gift of Gab] Got to get this bread Got to get this dough, got to get these chips Got to get these whips, and fits and - Got to get real mean, got to get real clean Got to get these fiends a fixin' On a mission to get rich real quick use wit' no intermission Got to live big, gettin' the tip on them big {?}, so spendin' spendin' Any witness get hit quick, this lick isn't never no kid shit Not a picnic, flip bis-cuit/get rich, that's it Big bills, just Ben's, no frills, just Benzes Spendin' endless spendin' sprees Limitless, BUILD IT UP TO THE MILLIONS Then I can have things, like a new fly ring And a new fly fling, I can do Irene, Darlene, Charlene And Francine, even get inside Pam's jeans as clean as you ever did see On the scene doin' real big things, as I PIMP this simple SYSTEM Then I hear si-rens, and I see high beams Now I am fly-in', but they're behind me NOW I'm ON ONE KNEE, AND THE DOPE'S ON ME NOW MY HOPE'S GONE SEE AND I LOST MY FREEDOM LOCKED UP, SEE YA!! [Part II] [Gift of Gab - Verse One] ..He was a young lad Off of happiness and smiles, he was sprung bad Wanted all the trendy classy number one fads In a very short time, learned the rules of combat Learned who was a punk, and who would have swung back How to take from the weak, especially when hung-ray While mama's workin' two jobs, and daddy's gone away And police be throwin' you vibes, even at a young age And it was like he was livin' inside a cage From the outside world, cause he just couldn't relate ..and then life really began And trifeness was a giv-en when he graduated The Fall [*echoes*] [Verse Two] ..So he hustled Doin' whatever just to get the bread and the mustard Stacked high, grew wit' some niggas he trusted He shouldn't have though, cause them same niggas got him busted And 'bout the same time he 'bout to get sent up, his - Ex-girl is like, "I'm pregnant baby daddy - plus it's twins" And when he goes to jail, he has company In the form of fifty percent of the cats he grew up wit' Gets out, goes back, just like a puppet Caught in a genocidal death trap of the government The don't rehabilitate, they just be lovin' it When niggas is in the pen, cause that's big money makin' to them The Rise [*echoes*] [Verse Three] For some time he sat and pondered Trapped in a cell filled with criminals and convicts Time had arrived to confront the real conflict Lookin' within, not without, he got honest Started to read and acquire that self-knowledge Learned he was royalty and didn't come from garbage How to embrace struggle and learn from his problems True wealth is health, family, and a higher conscious-ness Learned most of what he was taught was nonsense Read up on economics and how to start a business Self-determination and dedication empowered him Somethin' inside him told him only God could STOP him Now he's out livin' what others said was impossible Thought he would be another victim of ghetto obstacles Through a concrete, a rosebud started to blossom Remember change is really all that remains constant, yeah (*echoes*) [Intro to "Black Diamonds and Pearls"] "Saved message...Friday...3:56...P.M." "Hey, Big Tim, this is your sister Dee-Dee I was just callin' to tell you that I, gone to see Frankie And I told him that you wanted him to, um GIVE a, like, what it was like to be in prison And what, advice he would give and Oh my God, I got this letter from him Tim, you've got to hear it, this word should be in the book or a song or something I mean really..."