Intro (Pray For Them)

[Verse 1 - Joe Budden] Now if it goes to the wire I will never fall, I got the soul of a fighter Walk barefoot over the coal through the fire I thought the toll would be lighter but make sure that blunt's rolled a little tighter I tell 'em I'm just lookin' for some peace of mind But they say I'm only working with a piece of mine If Im'a do it'll be of my own accord no crush Swear to God I never called upon the lord so much Play the corner of the club, laughin' at the wanna-bees It's ironic cause they everything I wanna be Would light a ton of reef, but that's gonna unleash Everything I'm tryin' to hide underneath Then I'd lose all I've learned And if there's two things that I've learned Is I'm the only thing at stake And when you the only thing real really you the only thing fake Must be time to escape from that And fuck rhymes, might be time to escape from rap Why should I be the only nigga to escape from the act So I lie since everybody just escapes from fact Yo that sucka shit niggas be on, I can't dig it Joe, won't lose even if you plan to rig it Nothin' to prove with no fear of how I'm depicted I'm here, won't move I don't care to be evicted You don't like how I move, well I ain't gonna keep still Any nigga want me killed, wanna leave me in the streets peeled Well if it happens, it happens, I believe in free will Just know that ain't how we built I'll call niggas that will dead you for a cheap thrill When the clip's empty, they gonna try to refill And Im'a be the dude to try and stop them like please chill Y'all know what I'm about They keep puttin' up roadblocks I keep findin' alternate routes Now success seems likely everybody wanna try me I'm all for, can't trip me up won't fall for it I'm just a man without a care Neighbor to heartache, roommate with despair Reminded my past is darker Cause when AM died, I was starin' at Travis Barker Wishin' there was something I could say to make him cheer up And so I prayed, and he teared up I ain't wanna se him go through that The same shit that I feel just never show you that Guess it's none of nobody business, and it just makes you look weaker Every joke is just smoke gotta look deeper Nevermind don't bother, cause some of y'all are smarter Enough got sense that if you try harder you'll get a glimpse of everything that I harbor We all ain't got the strength to be a martyr So to anyone who ever loved me I apologize, and I'm sorry Whole-heartedly, can't change it's just part of me It's not music shit's art to me Too fucked up to drive here's the car key I don't care where we go just get it far from me Choices I don't wanna make but I know I have to World's goin' faster since my ride or die chose the latter Lookin' for a rush out of habit, proof there's a such as too much for an addict Ain't the nigga I'm belittled as, riddled ass nigga come from middle class When you speak to me show a little class Dropped out of school cause a nigga couldn't sit through class Learned to fall asleep through the sound of a pistol's blast I come from where dad taught mom to get high But she strong so we still got by When I picked up the drug why the fuck was they surprised If it wasn't for your genes I wouldn't lust the supply I come from a whole hood, tellin' me that I'm next Handin' me a mag, must've noticed I was complex They say that you a wild individual You just not gettin' my style, you too typical Everybody got a word for me Shit y'all deem important ain't pertinent to me nigga Put your opinion with a feather, and balance that Grab medicine when the success and the talent match