SLJ - That's How I'm Livin lyrics

Artist: Ice-T Album: Home Invasion Song: That's How I'm Livin I was born in New Jersey, I said it before But I guess nobody heard me My mother died young No sisters or brothers, I was the only son When I was twelve my pops died too What a brother was supposed to do? They sent me out West To live with my aunt I guess they though it was the best But there was no love there Growin' with no moms I guess I was prepared to live in a vacuum The bedroom, the kitchen, the hall and the bathroom I didn't leave home much, didn't like L.A Didn't have no friends to trust Got bused to a school Blacks and whites, I guess the sh** was cool But in highschool I changed Didn't wanna bust, didn't wanna play the game I walked to Crenshaw High, sh** was fly I hooked up with a new crew Some brothers that seemed like they knew what the f** to do You might call it "gang" but we called it a set And it was our own thang The whole school was down And one way or another everybody f**ed around Whether hardcore or not You wore the right color or your a** got shot That's how I'm livin'... I did three years in and made close friends Havin' no love my homies became my only I was glad: the family I never had But I grew up fast, got a girl on 10th grade pregnant Needin' cash, I had to change my style Switched from bangin' to hustlin' No more goin' buckwild Had to get a cashflow But my hustle was weak, it was a no go I joined the army, four years in that sh** Be all f**ed you can be Came back to the hood My homies had done good Had elevated their game About 100 gees a lick, no mothaf**in' shame Pa**ed for the j**els Baby sledgehammers with the tools I speak on this with hesitation Even though it pa**ed the statue of limitations... I checked the bank Bought a porsche and gear, earn high streetrank But as I grew my whole crew fell through Cops had us on the books as interstate crooks Murder robbery rape escape, the whole damn nine You robbed a n***a blind I had too much juice, I cut my boosters loose I was in tread with the pimpgame Took on the Ice name But the pimp game moved too slow Especially for a n***a who was hooked on quick dough In one night late I was in a carwreck And I was lucky to escape Hospital for ten weeks, in bed almost dead And when I got well, I got caught in a cross And got locked in a jailcell That's how I'm livin'... They cut me loose And I had to change troops This time they didn't catch me Next time they'll stretch me Cause my time was gettin' short All my homies was in court Or locked in a hole, this sh** was gettin' old So I changed my life Put down the gun and picked up the mic It took ten years to get from there to here But I still keep a gun, cops got me on the run And they hate me more now Than they ever did before My homies came back from pen And we all worked together True friends but every once and while Some punk mistakes me as a chump And he gets in my face Wrong mothaf**in' place And I ain't lyin', that's how you dyin'...