I don't know who you are I don't know your name But if you want to live Ah, you better learn the game Don't know why you're here Don't see your face so far If you don't want to fail You better hide the scars Make a poor man cry, the way you run your life Make a poor man laugh, the way you run your wife Time you hit the road Better be on your way Don't scream, don't shout Three strikes and you'll be out It's a shame, I know No chance to see the show Fear the man, kill the snitch Just remember life's a bitch I don't know what you've got I don't know your mom But if you like your life Then don't act dumb I don't know where you go And I sure don't care If you don't want to starve You better get your share Make a grown man sick, the way you run your mouth Make a grown man shake, the way you're running out Time to hit the skids Better be on your way Don't shout, don't scream Three strikes and they be mean A shame, you're right No chance to see the fight Be a man, fix the glitch Just remember life's a bitch I don't know what you see I don't know the score But if you don't like blood You better close the door I don't know how you think Don't want to hear your tale And if you talk too much You're gonna land in jail Make a tall man short to see you act this way Make a short man puke, the way you waste the day Time to go to Hell Better be on your way Don't moan, don't pout Three strikes take your ass out Oh no, bad news No chance to shine your shoes Fear the sky, eat the rich Just remember life's a bitch

Don't always think you're wrong when you're right They'll always try to change your mind Darling, just do whatever feels right Your life is there to be designed It's both a blessing and a curse To feel everything so deeply like you do girl, I know There's been more times that it hurts But who said love was ever easy, girl? Life's a bitch and then you die La, la, la, la, la, la Oh, it's easier said than done But don't you worry about those little things and bigger What a fine revelation, yeah, yeah, yeah When you realise there's no voices in your head, girl Life's a bitch and then you die, ooh La, la, la, la, la, la When the world really gets you down Don't be scared, don't be scared, no All the little things you're worried 'bout Ain't really there, really there, no When the world really gets you down Don't be scared, don't be scared, no Ain't really there, really there, no, yeah Been talking to yourself at night I been thinking you should take that flight Let it go if it don't feel right, yeah, said So won't you come and put your phone down? You know you gotta leave that thing alone You know it's real bad for you Take a walk outside 'Cause life's a bitch and then you die And then you die And then you die And then you die

[AZ] Aiyyo, wassup wassup let's keep it real son Count this money, yaknowhatI'msayin? [Nas] Yea yea [AZ] Aiyyo, put the Grant's over there in the safe yaknowhatI'msayin? [Nas] Yea yea [AZ] Cause we spendin these Jackson's The Washington's go to wifey, you know how that go [Nas] I'm sayin, that's what this is all about right? Clothes, bankrolls, and hoes yaknowhatI'msayin? Yo then what man, what? *echoes* [Verse One - AZ] Visualizin the realism of life in actuality Fuck who's the baddest, a person's status depends on salary And my mentality is money-orientated I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it 'Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as five percenters But somethin must of got in us cause all of us turned to sinners Now some restin' in peace and some are sittin' in San Quentin Others such as myself are tryin' to carry on tradition Keepin this effervescent street ghetto essence inside us Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us Even though, we know somehow we all gotta go But as long as we leavin thievin', we'll be leavin with some kind of dough So, until that day we expire and turn to vapors Me and my capers'll be somewhere stackin plenty papers Keepin it real, packin' steel, gettin' high Cause life's a bitch and then you die [Chorus - AZ] Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we get high Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we puff lye Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we get high Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we puff lye [Verse Two - Nas] I woke up early on my born day, I'm twenty years of blessing The essence of adolescence leaves my body now I'm fresh in My physical frame is celebrated cause I made it One quarter through life some God-ly like thing created Got rhymes 365 days annual plus some Load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I puffs from My skull causes pain in my brain vein money maintain Don't go against the grain simple and plain When I was young at this I used to do my thing hard Robbin' foreigners take they wallets they jewels and rip they green cards Dipped to the projects flashing my quick cash And got my first piece of ass smoking blunts with hash Now it's all about cash in abundance, niggas I used to run with Is rich or doing years in the hundreds I switched my motto -- instead of saying fuck tomorrow That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto Once I stood on the block, loose cracks produce stacks I cooked up and cut small pieces to get my loot back Time is Illmatic keep static like wool fabric Pack a four-matic that crack your whole cabbage [Chorus - AZ] Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we get high Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we puff lye Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we get high Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die; that's why we puff lye Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die *Olu Dara plays trumpet until fade*

Getting in the heat Coming with the beat And I love what I feel Hard and heavy And I'm moving on and on 'Cause my life is on the run Now I feel the need to cry Oh, yeah I'm aiming high Longing all my life Waiting for a friend Who is fighting like I do Likes to do it hard and heavy It's a man's, man's world Filled with love and pain And he never gets enough And that keeps him very tough Aiming high, aiming high And I'm waiting for relieve To the best of my believe Aiming high, aiming high What a fight to get it right For a minute of delight Falling in the deep Dreaming in my sleep How it burns to be cruel Hard and heavy I feel lower more and more 'Cause I won't do it anymore And I feel the need to cry Oh, yeah I'm aiming high Aiming high, aiming high And I'm waiting for relieve To the best of my believe Aiming high, aiming high What a fight to get it right For a minute of delight Aiming high indeed Seeking for my need That is my sense of touch Hard and heavy, way too much Aiming high, aiming high And I'm waiting for relieve To the best of my believe Aiming high, aiming high What a fight to get it right For a minute of delight Aiming high, aiming high And I'm waiting for relieve To the best of my believe Aiming high, aiming high What a fight to get it right For a minute of delight Aiming high, aiming high Aiming high, aiming high Aiming high, aiming high What a fight to get it right For a minute of delight