Some of us have angels    the kingdom  the power
 Some of us have angels    the power  the glory
 Some of us have demons    greed  and lust
 Some of us have demons    lust  temptation

 [Nas]
 Now this is you  dressed in all black  fatigue hat  ready for combat
 A good nigga  you don't leave tracks
 A hood nigga wantin G stacks  do what you gotta do to get that
 You feel you need that  where the jooks at?
 These are your niggaz, creepin they be leavin niggaz sleep witchu
 Loc' style, quiet no smile, it's the official
 Sometime they grimy, speakin on they own people
 They snake you if they have to, raised tattoos
 Now these are your bitches, phonin lonely homey chickens
 All the homies stick em, you think you own em man listen
 She stab you in your sleep with a knife from out the kitchen
 Put a root on you, next week they find you missin
 Dead in your Expedition in the forest, fell off the cliff and
 tumbled til you blew up, Feds told her and she threw up
 Fake bitches, actresses, wicked witch practices
 Two sides of us, negative or positive

 Chorus

 [Nas]
 Now this is your mom, your good luck charm
 Pushin you to do no wrong, prayin for you that you live long
 Nobody kill my baby, but she know her baby crazy
 In and out of jail, mom's screamin, "God take me!"
 This is your pop, chip off the old block that made him
 The man of the house, mom and pops seperatin
 Spittin image of a gangster the way pop walked
 the way pop talked, got older and you thanked him now
 This is your hood, poor folks drugs and robberies
 Turnin into the things moms wanted you not to be
 Crime followin the wrong dudes who have no values
 Life's cheap as the dime in the minds of those around you
 This is the test, the stress, the conflict the ups and downs of
 niggaz around you make threats
 They tell you keep it gangster, no matter the predicament
 Even though your decision won't help you benefit

 Chorus

 [Nas]
 Now once again this is you, entertainin your desires
 Bitches money and guns, aimin and you fire
 Everyday is grief, if it ain't beef, it's feedin your seed
 Tryin to eat? You form material needs
 The weed make your brain sizzle, a pistol make it cool off
 by stickin up niggaz, make them take they jewels off
 His reputation is, bigger than his whole life span
 He never planned to fail, he just failed to plan
 What does it take to realize, Satan's alive, he whispers
 And any chance he get, he can take niggaz
 He comes in all shapes and sizes, his best disguise is
 when he stand beside us, but God is inside us, within me
 You are your worst enemy - my mom's words echo in my head
 And if I let go I'm dead
 He stepped at my door, the ? motivate my spirit
 And now the body experience, so now I feel it
 Lookin at my blessings, the bullets - that missed me coulda hit me
 Them court cases coulda put me in the penitentiary
 I never hate, that's just wasted energy
 The past is gone, the present's a gift, so what's the mystery?
 The future - and time only reveals, what fear is
 False expectations, appearin real
 We only human, love thy neighbor, so I was told
 and I will til permanently, my eyes are closed

 Chorus