People always wanna know
The reason for what they consider senseless violence in the hood
I'ma break it down for you
This is why we ride

And this is why we ride

And this is why we ride

I gotta say this clear, I gotta say this loud
I should've been dead, don't know how I'm here now
I should've been dead, damn it forty years ago
How the fuck did I survive? Something that I'll never know

I played the crack game, gang bang, guns
Motherfuckers told me I'd never see twenty-one
I come from L.A, deep in the heart of the hood
Every night the bullets fly, this shit ain't Hollywood

Could be your best friend, mother or brother dead
Cops can't do shit, these streets are blood red
So we leave the block and we load the guns
And we want revenge, until revenge comes

And this is why we ride

And this is why we ride

I made it out the hood, I got a great life
But them bullets fly every motherfucking night
Another kid dies every motherfucking night
Another mother cries every motherfucking night

Ghettoes of deep crack, made to never escape
A place to store the poor, made to never escape
They're all over the world, people go to die
Murders go unsolved, I understand why

They remove hope and then we sell dope
Pain and poverty has us at each other's throat
Families are broken and so we gangbang
A bit form of unity but most love some of us ever seen

And this is how we die

And this is why we ride

Oh man, coming up and surviving in the ghetto
The smallest argument
Goes from little drama to big drama
Next thing you know, somebody's dead
I don't think you can understand
If you've never been in your streets and held your best friend in your arms
Your child in your arms
And watch them breathe their last breath
'Cause somebody shot 'em dead in the streets
You ain't thinking of calling the police
You want revenge
And you want it now
I gotta be honest with you
If somebody were to kill me, shoot me right now
My last words wouldn't be, "Peace"
It would be, "Get those motherfuckers"
(And this is why we ride)
This song is dedicated to all of you who has lost somebody to street violence

And this is why we ride

And this is how we die