Hell 4 a Hustler
Title | Hell 4 a Hustler |
---|---|
Artist | 2Pac & Outlawz |
Album | Still I Rise |
Release Date | 1999-12-21 |
Description | 8th track of 2pac’s posthumous album “Still I Rise” released under Tupac’s mother’s label “Amaru” also representing “Death Row” and “Interscope”. Hustling is slang word and means to do anything you can do to make money. The song reflects the conflict between 2 sides of 2pac – one side that wants to quit the lifestyle he’s living, considering it being past and asking for forgiveness and the other side that keeps living the lifestyle and becomes more and more brutal and heartless. Hell might be prison, or oppression, or poverty or anything that makes people to hustle. Tupac believed that “God blesses those who hustle, those who use their mind and overall are righteous”. But no matter what you do and no matter if you’re blessed or not, it’s still hell for hustler, because hustling itself means you have no choice but to do whatever it takes to feed your family. Which may mean going out with gun and risking your life, walking through hell just to survive. Tupac also sees himself as messenger for young kids who want to follow him. He wants to deliver the realest and clearest pictures of what this lifestyle is like. He doesn’t tell them not to live this lifestyle, he just warns them that it’s like riding “not knowing if we live or die”. |
Lyrics | Get on yo knees nigga, get on yo knees and pray [Verse 1: 2Pac] Increase the doses, bust on whoever closest Thug livin', hell of prison, never losin' my focus I'm makin' money moves mandatory, end of discussion My past records tell a story, picture niggas with rushin' And still bustin', 'til the cops come runnin', duck in abandoned buildings Ditchin' my gun, homeboy the motherfuckin' villain I live the lifestyles of drug dealers, but now legitly So I laugh til I'm cryin', when the Lord come get me No baby momma drama, nigga missed me Why plant seeds in a dirty bitch waitin' to trick me Not the life for me, livin' carefree 'til I'm buried And if they dare me, I'll bust on them niggas, and until they scurry I'm clearly a man of military means, to my artillery Watchin' over me through every murder scene From adolescence, to my early teens, thought we was gonna die Sellin' dope to all the fiends, at times I wanna cry And still, we try to change the past in vain Never knowin' if this game will last, feelin' the shame Of cocaine, the product of the devil, am I sellin' my soul Got tired of small time livin' nigga tellin' me no I got mine, fuck them other suckas That's the mentality, jealous ass bustas make it hell for a hustler [Hook: 2Pac & Yaki Kadafi] Lord, help me change my ways (Lord!) Show a little mercy on Judgment day (help me change my ways) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler (why I was raised this way?) Lord, help me change my ways Show a little mercy on Judgment day (on a judgement days) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler [Verse 2: Edi Mean] Now in these last days and times I takes mines so serious Gotta get that paper quickly and escape the sickness If I fail, then I suffer, bein' broke is hell 4 a hustler So I stay strugglin' and jugglin' with all the might I can muster Since a youngster, been money hungry, moved in One's five's and ten's was funny money So I sets my sights bigger, four figures or mo' Real nigga fo' sho', out in the cold for dough What you thought? "all" is for lost homies in plenty battles Last two years shed plenty tears and I'll send plenty at you Let me catch you slippin' you soft niggas is outta here In case you forgot we on the same shit that got us here [Verse 3: Young Noble] Yo, to e'ry step I take, e'ry sell I make E'ry jail I break, e'ry mill' I ate Head to head, whoever hustle hardest On the block duckin' charges, nigga fuck the sergeant He got a job, all my bottles got a pinch of coke Listen tho' I'm missin' dough I gotta gather mo' Hell naw, dead blocks with red tops but now a nigga sell words For all my young thugs in jail in Jerz They made it hell 4 a hustler, I bails high as fuck son Dyin' luck none supply us with much guns I buck one, just to let you know that I can touch ya Slangin' cracks or raps, still hell 4 a hustler You might also like[Hook] Lord, help me change my ways (Lord!) Show a little mercy on Judgment day (help me change my ways) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler (why I was raised this way?) Lord, help me change my ways Show a little mercy on Judgment day (on a judgement days) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler [Verse 4: 2Pac] No insanity plea from me, I ride the beef 'til I burn Censor me and bar your kids from the lessons I learned And in turn I'm hostile, guess you can recall me antisocial Niggas shakin' like they caught the Holy Ghost when I approach Try to politic before I smoke 'em, like Sun Tzu Niggas do unto these snitches, before it's done to you And if the cops come arrest me in the evening Best believe they comin' for my dogs in the morning And if I die by a slug, the death of a true thug Tell me will my niggas mourn me?, gettin' blowed out High watch me murder the bird before he testify Strikes walkin' close to my third, I live a troubled life And if you dream, be a part of my team from Long Beach to Queens Drug dealers to ex-fiends Keep yo eyes on the prize, nigga watch for bustas Either heaven or jail, it's still hell for a hustler [Hook] Lord, help me change my ways (Lord!) Show a little mercy on Judgment day (help me change my ways) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler (why I was raised this way?) Lord, help me change my ways Show a little mercy on Judgment day (on a judgement days) It ain't me, I was raised this way I never let 'em play me for a busta, make it Hell 4 a hustler [Outro: 2Pac] This is how we ride not knowin' if we'll live or die Catch me rollin' with my motherfuckin' guns on the side In case of drama, I'm the first to break wild 'til they all die This is how we ride not knowin' if we'll live or die Catch me rollin' with my motherfuckin' guns on the side In case of drama, I’m the first to break wild until they all die, outlaw Yes, change my ways yes, the Black Jesuz guide us through this Weary weary weary weary, aight, only God can save us |