I'ma take you back to day one, livin' in this New York slum   It's deaf to the dumb, only break bread with some   Moms left at 15, had no American dreams   To this day, I'm sellin' to my cousin who's a fiend      No one to guide me but my older brother   Little did we know the dirt we did fell back on my mother   But didn't care back then, that's why she left like that   Now my parents became the street and it's best like that      Some nights I pray to God and ask Him to pull my cord   'Cuz times is hard like the [Incomprehensible] street'll leave you scarred   Street wise with no respect for authority and shit   A chronic hustler of crack, a typical bitch      Raised by Madu, who strung out on a glass dick   But every now and then I blessed her with a hit   So she don't have to trick, it's prevalent amongst kids today   Hustle krills, stack dough and every thing's okay      It's the emancipation proclamation   Under the self devised guidelines of self preservation and starvation   It's the emancipation proclamation   Under the self devised guidelines of self preservation and starvation      My life in this world wasn't about diamonds and pearls   It was rough growin' up around the boys and girls   After Daddy left, shit was a mess, Momma stressed   But I give her an award, 'cuz damn, she tried her best      Holdin' down the household, barely had money to fold   Christmas time, cherished our little shit like gold   I can't front, Daddy was still if, we cared for me   But him and Mommy breakin' up was like a nightmare to me      Yo, this is for the younger fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers   Success is nothin' if it ain't influential to others   We gotta make the best out of this terrible situation   If not for us, for the younger generation      We gotta break the chain and deal with the pain   For all our people that was slayed in vain   For all our peoples that was falsely framed   For all our peoples that's livin' the name      It's the emancipation proclamation   Under the self devised guidelines of self preservation and starvation   It's the emancipation proclamation   Under the self devised guidelines of self preservation and starvation      Let me show, I gotta love L.O.D., they put me under the wing   And then I teamed up with the most beautiful thing   In the world, 'cuz L.O.D. we all, we got   I'ma fans and my mans keep it like it or not      I know it hurts, havin' to do everyday dirt   Police all over my back, feel like bustin' them jerks   When I'm on my road to the riches, I stay away from snitches   And them bitches and keep my mind on business      Life was tough so I became aggressive like a pit   The only time I felt relaxed was when the blunt was lit   Thinkin' me and my team can be tight like the Gambino   Muscle in the hustle scene, respected like Nino      It gets deeper than the words of Proverbs   New thoughts emerge as I cop the squat on the curb   Thinkin' the herb strengthen my brain like spinach   And heavy shine, flooded with ice might boost my self image      Stick 'em, my life is so real, it hurts   Like when I saw my pops bein' driven off in a hearse   Like when I saw my mother bein' driven off in a hearse   Like in school when the roach crawl out my shirt      Like on Thanksgiving when we got free food from the church   Back then it was DJ Red Alert and Kool Herc   Rockin' pinstripe Lee's and in Tigra shirts   Back then L.O.D. was puttin' in work      From the cradle to the grave   We all in the struggle, we gon' struggle, we gon' strive to stay alive   All my real people know what I'm talkin' about   Watch each other backs   Word up, my life is nothin' without my niggas, word up