Yeah
I take y'all way back

[ VERSE 1: Big Mike ]
Seven years old, I'm lookin up to the gangstas in the hood
Cause to me and my cousins, yeah, they represented good
Even when we played cops and robbers on the block
Nobody wanted to play the cop, dig it
Cause the cop was a pussy-ass bitch
And if you played the cop, nigga, you got yo ass kicked
I was a curious child
I used to hang out by the ballroom and study the gangsta style
The way they talk, the way they walk, the way they act
The way they wore that gangsta hat
Tilted, brim laid flat out
Now that's the type of shit I'm talkin about
Yeah, cigarette in one hand, drink in the other
Leanin to one side, cooler than a motherfucker
With them gangsta-ass nicknames
Gillie Boy, Pokey, Big Joe, Goldie, and Lil Lane
True motherfuckin mack daddies
Bitch on his side, drivin a '73 Caddy
With a chrome-plated .357
Ready to send a motherfucker on a stairway to heaven
I was fascinated
Yeah, I let 'em influence me, and my momma hate it
But she still gave me love
Cause my momma understood that it was in my blood
See, it was a cycle
And in a few mo' years she wouldn't have to worry about her Michael
Cause I'll be makin my own decisions
Yeah, comin up fast, clockin cash, straight gangstaism

[ VERSE 2: Big Mike ]
Now it's '93
I got a name for myself
Made a little wealth, played the cards I was dealt
Didn't go for self, now I'm a G
Huh, and every motherfuckin body know me
Niggas in the hood all got love
Cause they saw me raise up from a motherfuckin scrub
And hoes that I know
From way back befo'
They used to say no
All wanna go
To the hotel cause they claim that they intrested
And everybody talkin about the shit that they wish they did
But I surpassed all that
They used to wanna know if I was down, now they don't ask all that
Cause they believin what they seein
A young nigga comin up fast, yeah, straight G

[ VERSE 3: 3-2 ]
Sittin back as a youngster, peepin out my folks
Some were straight G's and some went out smokin dope
I had to cope with it, be a man and stay strong
Even though some folks didn't think that I'd live long
I watched grandpa shoot dice at the liquo' sto'
Hittin licks in the dough on Ju Man and Big Joe
Walkin out the do' with a gallon of Jack
Sellin straight sess buds cause back then there wasn't no crack
And matter fact, to this day
I'm doin shit like grandpa in every way
I got my hustle on, loc, I ain't frontin
Just a young nigga in this world tryina have somethin
Yeah, that's the environment I know
That's how I was raised and that's how I'mma go
I don't know if I will ever be a cell mate
But I do know I'm never goin straight
Gangstaism