I told Althea I was feeling lost Lacking in some direction Althea told me upon scrutiny That my back might need protection I told Althea that treachery Was tearing me limb from limb Althea told me, "Now cool down boy" Settle back easy, Jim You may be Saturday's child, all grown Moving with a pinch of grace You may be a clown in the burial ground Or just another pretty face You may be the fate of Ophelia Sleeping and perchance to dream Honest to the point of recklessness Self-centred to the extreme Ain't nobody messin' with you but you Your friends are getting most concerned Loose with the truth, maybe its your fire Baby, don't get burned When the smoke has cleared, she said That's what she said to me Gonna want a bed to lay your head And a little sympathy There are things you can replace And others you cannot The time has come to weigh those things This space is gettin' hot You know, this space is gettin' hot I told Althea, "I'm a roving son" That I was born to be a bachelor Althea told me, "OK that's fine" So, now I'm trying to catch her Can't talk to you without talking to me We're guilty of the same old things Thinking a lot about less and less And forgetting the love we bring

See me in me heels and ting Dem check, sey we hip and ting True dem no know an'ting We have dem going and ting Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Nah pop no style, I strictly roots See me 'pon de road, I 'earin' you call out to me True you see me in m'pants and ting See me in me 'alter back Sey me gi' you 'eart attack Gimme little bass, make m'wine up m'waist Uptown top ranking See me in m'Benz and ting, oh Drivin' tru Constant Spring Dem check sey me come from Cosmo Spring But a true dem no know an'ting Dem no know sey we top rankin', oh Uptown top rankin' Shoulda see me and de rankin' dread, oh Check 'ow we jammin' and ting Love is all I bring Inna m'khaki suit and ting Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Watch 'ow we chuck it and ting Inna we khaki suit and ting Love is all I bring Inna m'khaki suit and ting Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Love inna you 'eart, dis a bawl out fe me When you see me in m'pants and ting, oh See me in me 'alter back Sey me gi' you 'eart attack Gimme little bass, make m'wine up m'waist Uptown top rankin', oh See me 'pon the road and 'earin' you call out to me True you see me in m'pants and ting, oh See me inna me 'alter back Sey me gi' you 'eart attack Gimme little bass, make m'wine up m'waist Gimme little bass, make m'wine up m'waist Love is all I bring Inna m'khaki suit and ting Nah pop no style, I strictly roots Nah pop no style, I strictly roots You shoulda see me and de rankin' dread, oh Check 'ow we jammin' and ting Love is all I bring Inna m'khaki suit and ting Me nah pop no style, dat true, I strictly roots

Why don't ya'll take a look into my life? See what I see At the age of fourteen, introduce to coops Learnin' how to seduce niggaz, takin' they loot Quickly, got involved with this money lifestyle The finer things, all kinda things, power, money Cars and diamond rings, and nice braids, flaunt it The Gucci boots with the G's on it A high price for this 'High price' life While I'm on tour is my man cheatin' just for spite? And if you only knew I hold my minks at nights with cheap Or no other hands can hold me right My girls ain't the same, guess it's 'cuz the fame Bitches smile in my face and throw dirt on my name Mad 'cuz I made it, now friends intimidated Hate it that I'm in the same game as them With mo' fame than them, they know who they are This life is no joke, got us havin' to broke You was my sister, who used to dream together How we could make it real big, do our thing together Huh, Thelma and Louise together, remember them days? Them niggas we played? Now we don't even speak Went our seperate ways, seperate lives Lost friendship for pride, playin' the game About to forfeit high price life, I can't afford it My life, do ya feel what I feel? My life, a black girl's ordeal my life Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go? My life Do ya'll know what it feels like? Do ya'll know what it be like? Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go? Daddy's girl, in his wildest dreams Said he think that lil' Ing will be illest in this rap -thing Age four in my mother's shoes, swore I could sing And even as a little girl I was doin' my thing Uh, confused, I ain't asked to be born Nigga so dumb, shoulda used a condom Ask mommy every day, when daddy gon' come? But he never showed up I would pimp for them, became demented, then men? Resented them, just the scent of 'em made me hurl Specially the baller ones tryin' to buy me with pearls All I needed was love, all I wanted was love Lack of love had me fallin' for thugs The niggas who ain't care, just like daddy If he ain't care, why should they? For this 'High price' life, it's the price I pay My life, do ya feel what I feel? My life, a black girl's ordeal, my life Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go? My life Do ya'll know what it feels like? Do ya'll know what it be like? Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go? All my girls cross the world that feel what I feel Hearts bruised, then been way I been, keep it movin' Let him do his thing, I'm the one he's lovin' I'm here to show ya'll, havin' a kid ain't meanin' nuthin' That ain't keepin' him, specially if he in love with another chick Then you stuck with the babymother shit Don't be lovin' niggas more than yaself Let 'em roam, a dog always finds his way home Shit, ya'll don't wanna take my place, cashin' cases Spit in faces, I never seem falsely accused While some say it's rude But if I was a dude, they all be amused But I'm a woman, so I'm a bitch, simple as that Double standards, call him a Mack, call me a hoe Say I'm in it for the dough, but tell me What tha fuck he in it for? Wanted it all, now it's all mine Loneliness, sorrow, confusion and pain Nightmares, headlines, "Rapper found slain" If it wasn't for my moms, I'd drown in this pain Now ya'll see what it's like, ya'll don't wanna be me 'Cuz it ain't always what it seem on TV Shit, but this is my nine to five ya'll Sometimes I wanna slit my wrist and end my life ya'll My life, do ya feel what I feel? My life, a black girl's ordeal my life Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go? My life Do ya'll know what it feels like? Do ya'll know what it be like? Do ya see what I see? Have you been where I've been? Can you go where I go?

I told Althea I was feeling lost Lacking in some direction Althea told me upon scrutiny My back might need protection I told Althea that treachery Was tearing me limb from limb Althea told me, "Now cool down, boy. Settle back. Easy, Jim." You may be Saturday's child all-grown Moving with a tinge of grace You may be a clown in the burying ground Or just another pretty face You may be the fate of Ophelia Sleeping and perchance to dream - Honest to the point of recklessness Self centered to the extreme Ain't nobody messin' with you but you Your friends are getting most concerned Loose with the truth Baby, it's your fire But, baby... don't get burned When the smoke has cleared, she said— That's what she said to me: You're gonna want a bed to lay your head And a little sympathy There are things you can replace And others you cannot The time has come to weigh those things This space is getting hot You know this space is getting hot I told Althea I'm a roving sign And I was born to be a bachelor Althea told me, "OK. That's fine." So now I'm out trying to catch her Can't talk to you without talking to me We're guilty of the same old thing Thinking a lot about less and less And forgetting the love we bring

We've been through it all Though it could be worse We've been moved around In a state of alert There's nothing new or sharp about the cutting edge If they build a wall Let's jump the fence, I'm over this Cold stares can never put the fear in me What we built here is godly They can't gentrify the heart of kings Let's just not talk about it If I make a move, you're coming with me What about the love? Coming with me What about the labor? Coming with me What about the seed? It's coming with me People that you came with coming with me What about the love? Coming with me What about the labor? Coming with me What about the seed? It's coming with me People that you came with, ya coming with me Hey (Okay now) Hey now (Just don't stay down) Uh, can't stay now (Let's go shake down) Until we get what we need, oh yeah (Okay now) I'm okay now (Just don't stay down) Yeah, can't hold me down (Let's go shake down) And let it fall like the leaves, I want it all We couldn't stand to see Our children shot dead in the streets But when I finally took a knee Them crackers took me out the league Now I'm not much for games But I play for keeps And we salute King James for using his chains To create some equal opportunities Cold stares can never put the fear in me There's a movement we've been grooving on You can move or stay your ass asleep Let's just not talk about it Everything they tried to hide We're taking back for yours and mine What about the love? Coming with me What about the labor? Coming with me What about the seed? It's coming with me People that you came with coming with me What about the love? Coming with me What about the labor? Coming with me What about the seed? It's coming with me People that you came with, ya coming with me What about the love What about the seed? It's coming with me What about the love? Coming with me What about the seed? It's coming with me People that you came with, ya coming with me Okay now Just don't stay down Let's go shake down (Shake, shake, shake, shake) Okay now Just don't stay down Let's go shake down (Shake, shake, shake, shake)