Can I live? Can I live?
Yeah, it's me, huh, I know you all seen me
I'm the one who brings the blingin'
Pushin' whips and 22 inch chromes spinnin'
(Can I live?)
La da y'all wanna judge me?
Hair braided up, pants saggin'
Can I just live, yo?
(Yo, I'm just tryna live)
Why cant y'all leave me alone?
Man seem like everybody be judging me
Talkin' behind my back, fakin' the smiles and huggin' me
Pointin' fingers, hatin', jealous of my success
Praying for my downfall, cant handle me being blessed
Now youd rather see me at the bottom of the totem poll
Scraping for dollars on the edge 'bout to lose control
Back on the corner, still livin' in the projects
Still strugglin' down and out with no prophets
Still drivin' through the hood in a bucket
Im 'bout bringing my people over like Im Harriet Tubman, huh
Been through the fire like Kanye West
Beat the odds, now Im on shuffles and i-pods
See most of y'all could never reach stature
'Cuz half of you gangsta rappers is gangsta actors
And back-stabbers, y'all got the game backwards
But Bone and Darkchild make hits like linebackers
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
I shed blood, sweat and tears, been on this grind for years
Im at the top of the charts, no respect from peers
I could be the franchise still Im chastised
Spreading ya lies, need to recognize theres two sides
My whole life been the underdog
Against the odds, back still against the wall
Fighting to represent in the ring for God
Consciously makin' records for a different cause
This crab game keep pullin' me down
But like Ron Artest been known to rebound
And like Roy Jones, Im pound for pound
Spittin' a different kind of message over platinum sounds
Can I get some love and a little respect?
Can I rock your world without giving you sex?
And can I live in peace? Man I paid my dues
Youll never know where I been until ya walked in my shoes
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
(Can I live yo?)
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
Yeah, Im in it for the long hall, committed to the end like John Paul
Im tryin' to make a change, throw stones if Im wrong
If you can do it better then by all means
Shoot for the stars but stop crushin' all my lifes dreams
And let me fulfill my destiny and purpose
Why you try to make me feel no good and worthless?
This life is all a player got to give
So back up and give me room to breath, can I live?
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
(It ain't easy, yo)
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
(Can I live, yo?)
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
(Ya ain't been in my shoes)
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
Can I live?
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
(Yeah, so hard, yo)
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
(Just tryna be me)
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
(It's only when I know how, yo)
Can I live?
(Came from the ghetto I'm just tryin' to give back)
If you wanna be in my shoes then get in
(Ya ain't ever walked in my shoes)
You can talk the talk but don't live the life I live
(So y'all don't know what I've been through)
So can I live? Thats my question, can I?
(How can y'all judge me? Can I live, yo?)
I feel about myself in this world sometimes
Nobody relates what I've been tryna do for so many years
Just tryna make a change, make a difference in all your lives
Can I live? Can I live? Can I live?