[Intro:]
[Bēkon:]
It was always me vs. the world
Until I found it's me vs. me.
Why, why, why, why?
Why, why, why, why?
[Kid Capri:]
Just remember, what happens on Earth stays on Earth!
We gon' put it in reverse!
[Ted Taylor:]
Darling, I told you many times
And I am telling you once again,
Just to remind you, sweetheart,
That my…
[Kendrick Lamar:]
Oh, Lamar, Hail Mary and marijuana, times is hard,
Pray with the hooligans, shadows all in the dark,
Fellowship with demons and relatives, I'm a star.
Life is one funny mothafucka,
A true comedian, you gotta love him, you gotta trust him,
I might be buggin', infomercials and no sleep,
Introverted by my thoughts,
Children, listen, it gets deep.
See, once upon a time inside the Nickerson Garden projects,
The object was to process and digest poverty's dialect,
Adaptation inevitable: gun violence, crack spot,
Federal policies raid buildings and drug professionals.
Anthony was the oldest of seven,
Well-respected, calm and collected.
Laughin' and jokin' made life easier,
Hard times, momma on crack,
A four-year-old tellin' his nanny he needed her.
His family history: pimpin' and bangin',
He was meant to be dangerous,
Clocked him a grip and start slangin',
Fifteen, scrapin' up his jeans with quarter pieces,
Even got some head from a smoker last weekend,
Dodged a policeman, workin' for his big homie,
Small-time hustler, graduated to a brick on him,
10,000 dollars out of a project housing, that's on the daily.
Seen his first mil twenty years old, had a couple of babies,
Had a couple of shooters,
Caught a murder case, fingerprints on the gun they assumin',
But witnesses couldn't prove it,
That was back when he turned his back
And they killed his cousin,
He beat the case and went back to hustlin',
Bird-shufflin'. Anthony rang,
The first in the projects with the two-tone Mustang,
That 5.0 thing, they say 5-0 came,
Circlin' parking lots and parking spots
And hoppin' out while harrassin' the corner blocks,
Crooked cops told Anthony he should kick it,
He brushed them off
And walked back to the Kentucky Fried Chicken.
See, at this chicken spot
There was a light-skinned nigga that talked a lot
With a curly top and a gap in his teeth,
He worked the window, his name was Ducky,
He came from the streets, the Robert Taylor Homes,
Southside Projects, Chiraq, the Terrodome,
Drove to California with a woman on him and 500 dollars,
They had a son, hopin' that he'd see college.
Hustlin' on the side with a nine-to-five to freak it,
Cadillac Seville, he'd ride his son around on weekends,
Three-piece special with his name on the shirt pocket.
'Cross the street from the projects,
Anthony planned to rob it,
Stuck up the place before, back in '84,
That's when affiliation was really eight gears of war,
So many relatives tellin' us, sellin' us devilish works,
Killin' us, crime, intelligent, felonious,
Prevalent proposition with 9's.
Ducky was well-aware,
They robbed the manager and shot a customer last year,
He figured he'd get on these niggas' good sides,
Free chicken every time Anthony posted in line,
Two extra biscuits, Anthony liked him,
And then let him slide; they didn't kill him,
In fact, it look like they're the last to survive.
Pay attention, that one decision changed both of they lives,
One curse at a time
Reverse the manifest and good karma, and I'll tell you why,
You take two strangers, and put 'em in random predicaments, give 'em a soul,
So they can make their own choices and live with it,
Twenty years later, them same strangers you make 'em meet again
Inside recording studios where they reapin' their benefits,
Then you start remindin' them about that chicken incident,
Whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence?
Because if Anthony killed Ducky,
Top Dawg could be servin' life
While I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight.
(gunshot)
So, I was takin' a walk the other day…