Never Lettin Go

[Verse 1:] 1995, I saw my first friend Get buried in the ground; we was traumatized We was just smokin' out up at Timmy's crib Now we at his funeral and his momma cry I got two years and then Charles died Both of 'em gone from a homicide All of sudden murder wasn't so uncommon The innocence that we had was gone inside Before we quit high school, selling drugs was cool Now all of sudden hittin' licks for the drugs was in My close homeboys from the robbin' crew Put me in the middle stickin' up my friends No wonder why nobody didn't trust me when The door busted in, they tied up and gagged And the guy with the gun that's behind a mask Is some dude you used to sit behind in class Let's ask hoodie guy a bunch of time he had To sit down, found guilty, his youth was stripped He called me collect when we ususally spit A bunch of dope ass rap, cause the music shit's The only future that boosted our optimism But the time was ticking as we lose our grip Years of boozin', and usin', abusin' drugs'll Prove you on how we used to live in this... [Hook:] The street life, those street lights Don't seem bright no more The devil's got a hold of ya soul And he's pulling you below (*Humming*) Caught up in this street life, those street lights Don't seem bright no more The devil's got a hold of ya soul And he's never lettin' go (*Humming*) [Verse 2:] Back in the day she was kinda fine But drugs took a toll on her pretty face That along with hard times combined These days you'll find her website online She quit stripping and now she gettin' paid to escort It's fucked up she was the girl from next door Now you can see her ad right next to sex toys And all you gotta do is hit the local sex store It made a lot of people lose respect for her But check yourself cause only God can judge her She blamed her family her step-father touched her She tried to tell her mom but her mom's to drunk to Really give a fuck and the thought disgusts her She sat back and watched her daughter suffer So her trust in love and life lost it's luster Anyway I hope you rocked a rubber If you fucked her though Cause shit gets thick like the fur on the neck of a buffalo When you piss and your dickhead hurts But you gotta let it burn like an Usher song And try to play it off like nothing's wrong I know it won't be long I see my homie Scoob and said he said "What ya know?" He said that you gotta reap what you sow So many people try to swim against the undertow in this... [Hook] [Verse 3:] We was young and dumb and full of bad ideas (bad ideas) So for the past five years (past five years) I be looking back like, "Shit! How the fuck I make it?" I'm just glad I did (glad I did) Slick called me up and told me, "Black got killed," I was like, "For real dawg?" in disbelief Somebody shot him up a couple years back, he lived Now he's gone for good I pray he rest in peace It's terrible knowin' that you will never see Your friend's face again I guess that's why protection is a necessity You can expect to see your life expectancy be that long When you let the streets become your second home They ain't have a choice; accept your role Hoping that they get to see the next episode Someone'll shoot you in the head and won't sweat it They cold-blooded never lose a wink of sleep And the cops don't care neither it's squat to them Your dead body's just another crime scene to sweep And I ain't never been a gangsta but thanks to Gwinnett Growing up I done seen some things I just hope that the friends that I named in this song Are watching over with their angel wings while we livin' this... Street life! [Hook] [Outro:] Caught up in this street life, those street lights Don't seem bright no more The devil's got a hold of ya soul And he's never lettin' go