growing pains

Yo, yo, nappy headed snot nose
Lawn full of potholes
Grew up in the town where your shoes called zapatos
Was a skinny ***** so the people call me flaco
My older cousin Reggie was my only other honcho
Every Sunday morning we would go to the mercado
Piece of (?) of soda and some fifty cent tacos
Buy us that Tijuana with the rats and cukarachos
Headed across the border, with my mom to her trabajo
This to my brother Pablo, cant break the bond with you and I
Held a ***** down from pre-school to junior high
Never had a lot but always comin through when do or die
Always had a smile but on the inside, you would cry
Always told use my mind, the world is your canvas
Moved in 94, the same year as Illmatic
Then back to the block with John in elastic
The way he lost his life in that car it was tragic
Tried to understand it, still cant get a grip
7 years later *** *** still dont give a ****
Down to bend a knee thankin God that we here to live
Barely in our scenes havin dreams that we gettin rich
Always knew the boy could spit, * ***** call me Battlestar
Learned most of my game from the routes of Mt. Agalar
Still the fastest in my P.E. class
One love to Big Lenny and D.E. Slash

There was once two brothers of the same breed
The same type, wore each others Nikes
Tighter than tube socks, even dressed alike
Any drama throw the gloves on, let em fight
In the backyard , or the front lawn
Meet little Corey, and young Shawn
Before puberty hit, the twoof em skipped-
School on the usual tip, polluted the strip
Coreys mom always left **** around the house
Corey called Shawn, next thing you know, he sneakin out
To help him with his hustle, on his daily route
Until one day, they ran into a scuffle
With some youngns from the other side
Corey didnt make it, Shawn survived
But his lost his best friend in the midst of bullets flying
Hard to even smile but hes tryin
But... you know what they say...

Cause everybody grows, and everybody knows
That time moves fast, I just want to make the good times last;
You live and you learn (2x)

I already got that swisher rolled
Gangsta boogie to the liquor store
Puttin young Ach on ****, a kid who shouldnt know
(?) Waitress, kissin on your sisters nose
Meetin Martell at the mall, just to hook a ho
(?) on the box where my pops pushed the night
Cookin white, sidekick was grits and sugared rice
Hooded nights at the cypher, round table no mic
Like, 'you aint know Get Like Me?', no dice
Hide- and-seek with a fly freak, shy like a geek
Gettin credit fora kiss on the cheek
You aint beat
Gettin beats from the motif
Pass on the Casio
Wanted that one and a mil, before Casio
Always had a savvy flow, back when it was cavi-
So Cali cause I roll in a Caddy
Said, 'fully I be feelin that hood, G'
Still hold cold since that one ho pushed me
Come on, how could he?
A rookie still buildin up mymemory stats
Black, my phone got stole, give me three years then hear me back
Brrrrrring, ch, ch
Chirping something something something
No, chill *****, Im working

Yo, pornos in the range-range
Hidden for the main vein
Took em from Pops stash, then after made pot ash
Listening to King T
40s on empty
Memories of times before the 2000MP
Heart was never empty
Pockets super empty
Beggin for change to fill his stomach on empty
Times were more more simply
Face was too pimply
But still hittin chicks -
Young, dumb, off of rum
No condom on some stupid ****
And love on some Cupid ****
Pure heart, fell in love with many of these stupid chicks
But thats how it go though
Homey snorting No-Doz
Car-hoppin stealing everything, alarm would ring
Run before one time spotted us
Dumb **** we hold very deep inside the heart of us...

Cause everybody grows, and everybody knows
That time moves fast, I just want to make the good times last;
You live and you learn