[Chorus- Akon] (Flashy)
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How many days we gonna live our life struggling on the streets (c'mon)
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How many days we gotta live our life (what?) searching for a way to eat
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(You gotta) You gotta stay down stay down just to see a brighter day (day)
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Stay down stay down just to live a better way (c'mon)
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Stay down stay down just to live a brighter day (what?)
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Stay down stay down just to live a better way
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[Flashy]
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Yeah,
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How many blacks gotta die by the hands of another
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Don't you understand that man's the same color so that man is your brother
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That's what happens when that man is from the gutter (uh-huh)
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And that man is a hustler trying to survive, moving grams of that butter
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See, his momma was a dope fiend, poppa was a rolling stone
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he never knew what family was he grew up in a broken home
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Ever since twelve years old he was known as grown
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'cause ever since twelve years old he was on his own
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And even though it seemed like school was the best plan
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his only choice was distributing the rock like Def Jam
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While everybody else was getting diplomas
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he graduated from the middle of the strip to the corner
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But I don't knock him cause he tryin to bubble
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there's no food on the table, the rents past due and that's why he hustles
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and I ain't sayin that its right to be dealin
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All I'm sayin is I feel him I guess
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I just see eye 2 eye wit his struggle you know
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[Chorus]
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[Flashy]
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Yeah,
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Now baby girl's got a promising future (huh?)
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But her moms passed away while she was younger and her father's a loser
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He'd always abused her but what else you expect from a coward
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He wasn't even proud when she got accepted to Howard
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And even though she loves college everyday it would stress her
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but it wasn't cause of exams or she hate her professor
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it was her financial situation here she couldn't pay a semester
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And the only means of making it better was totally reversing the role
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lap dancing working that pole even though deep down its hurting her soul
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And even if it meant taking off her clothes
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she was down for what ever to help her accomplish her personal goals
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And I ain't trippin off a-how shortie livin
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She gotta pay her tuiton put food in the kitchen and that's why she strippin
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and I ain't sayin I agree with her job but shit times is hard
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I guess I just see eye to eye with her vision you know
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[Chorus]
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[Flashy]
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Now see the moral of the story is this
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if you ain't tryin to help stop our troubles then don't knock our hustle
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cause really at the end of the day its not ya'll struggle
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but you always got something to say
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well hear this fuck you
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Yeah that's right I'm talking to you come try to sleep in our beds
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eat off our plates, take a walk in our shoes
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look at the world from our view try to live by our rules
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drink the same water we do, put your kids in our schools
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I guarantee you won't maintain your health you'll probably try to end it all
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and hang yourself or bang yourself
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You couldn't possibly understand all pain we felt
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and without folding your hands play the games we dealt
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I'm being real I ain't tryin to be evil
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Look how we live, look how ya'll live
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c'mon be serious how is we equal
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Matter fact I feel I'm wasting my time
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I'm finished writing this rhyme
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Ya'll never gonna see eye to eye with my people you know
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[Chorus]x2
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-----------------
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Stay Down
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| Ruff Ryders |
