See, when we would begin, they brought the heroin in
They was really determined that we was never gon' win
But by lookin' within, we began to believe
That we was breakers and writers, DJs and MCs
We was so damn poor, we was eatin' free cheese
But that made us raw, we started eatin' MCs
This before the fees and the MTVs
When you walked in New York and your ears would freeze
Wildin' beats and leaks mock necks and Ts
Night-long BVDs, we was fuckin' with these
We was fuckin' with this, we was fuckin' with that
But when the eighties came in, we started fuckin' with crack
And along with the crack came a big ol' gat
And along with the gat came a big ol' stack
'Cause if you ain't had that, you was the next to get jacked
This the way that it was, I'm just takin' it back