[T.I. - talking]
Ay I'm working here, know what I'm saying
Try to put yourself in my shoes for a second
Its not personal I'm just sayin though
[Verse 1]
Ay look
From when the moon came out 'till the sun came up
I was supplyin the days with what they flame up
Our mamas passing by, trying to explain us
Pissing in the bushes like they never house trained us
But, try to understand thats how we came up
You get to know us, you'll love us but you can't change us (naw)
Really we rather be rich and famous
But in the mean time were forced to slang dust
'Dro or crack cocaine, Penicillin to Rogaine
Ecstacy, Viagra, whatever'll get the dough mayne
Im tired of people mis-representing my dough mayne
Oh you think we out here killing for nothing, hustling
for no gains (picture that)
[Hook (sample playing in the background)]
Hey man I'm just doing my job
Hey lady, don't mind me I'm just doing my job
I don't wanna make your life more harder, I'm just doin my job
You live here, I work here I'm doing my job
[Verse 2]
I don't know if you don't know, don't care or can't see
Every time something up in the hood, it ain't me
And I ain't always up to no good and on the creep
And ye' ain't always gotta pass through the hood without speaking (how you doing)
We ain't out here threatining your lives, raping your children
We just out here staying alive, making a lil' bit (you know)
Working hard, trying to survive chasing a billion
You hear us talking loud, just think of us as chamelions
adaptin' to situations, but accusations is still there
and robbing your house, now you just hurting my feelings (maaan)
We got lives, we wanna live nice too
We got moms, dads, wives, kids just like you
But our options are fewer, its hell in high school
When your helping with the rent lights and the gas bill too
So before you go judging us loving us won't hurt
if you're under 25, staying alive is hard work
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
And for you to see what I'm saying, open eyes would help
If you could think about somebody besides yourself
Why you pointing fingers at me, analyze yourself
Quit all that chastising and try to provide some help
Instead of calling the law, and busting my balls
With all due respect, we don't even be fucking with y'all (maan)
And we can't help it cause it is like this
We don't like it no more than you that we live like this
Always, stuck in the grind, from summertime to wintertime
Cut school, and sell fifty dimes by dinner time
See everything we know we learned from the streets
Since thirteen I've been hustling and earning my keep