ENDANGERED INNOCENCE

[Verse 1: Lloyd Banks] Uh Sometimes I laugh and cry when thinkin' 'bout my days as a kid Highlights was watchin' TV shows and music played in the crib It shook my mind up; morning Soul Train, we did the lineup Used to look forward to game from my cousin, when I could find him Grew up in my grandma house, was the kind with the open door Birthdays, had to appreciate, still hopin' for more Cortez Nikes and Adidas, Reeboks held up my sneakers Bought our bombers with the collar furred up; watch how I freak this Gotta make it out the bottom, 'cause shit, with all these speeches Got me questionin' if change is gon' come, could it even reach us? Hold up, shout out my teachers that actually taught me some'n All the influential artists that had my Walkman bumpin'? Uh Nigga, that Havoc and Prodigy CD changed my life Frank White and Escobar, they made me nice That Snoop Doggystyle was worth the price Now I feel like I gotta study, shit, I'ma begin tonight [Chorus: Lloyd Banks] I wouldn't change shit Everything we went through made me who I am now One in the same, kid Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd Money's callin' my name right now [Verse 2: Ghostface Killah] Yo Ayo, younger days, gun clickin' Burner ruins in staircases Bloody robberies with the bare faces Carnation milk over Corn Flakes Mama strugglin', plastic bowls, [?] on a hotplate Wore-down mattresses, Thelma on Good Times I was younger than Penny when I thought of these hood lines We was hyper-thug swattin', smashin' all lightning bugs Most left the concrete green, we never seen they blood (Nah) Chip on my shoulder, I could use a hug (Hug) My PCP days, all I seen was blood Staten Island [?]; shootouts, my arrivals Avenged my man's death, murdered in red Wallos (Damn!) My Rubik's Cube got stuck, never cracked the code At the age of 25, I done matched the gold Big bangles and bracelets, four-fingers, ferocious Chain so heavy, it cause osteos-perosis [Chorus] I wouldn't change shit Everything we went through made me who I am now One in the same, kid Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd Money's callin' my name right now [Verse 3: Lloyd Banks] Yo One in a million get to make it out and still get shot Tryin' to keep it real and come back, show some love to the block I got my first sniff of some weed up out my mom's purse, used it They tappin' tables in the lunchroom, wrote my first verse to it Became a man the perfect summer day, right there around the way To say that I was nervous would be an understatement, I prayed Don't leave me hangin'; as quarters went by, my voice is changin' Walk around here with my chest out now, temperature's raisin' Took a swig of Grandpa bottle 'cause he filled it with gin I got some new outfits for school, I'm 'bout to kill 'em again My pop was fuckin' up, no tellin' where the crook might been Got my ass whooped couple times just 'cause I look like him Next time I would see his face was on the visiting floor Correctional facilities here and there, I'm back and forth In our pursuit to happiness, we end up 'round DC I'm just happy to be there wit' him, hard times ain't shit to me [Chorus] I wouldn't change shit Everything we went through made me who I am now One in the same, kid Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd Money's callin' my name right now