Pagans

I personally saw it as a way of showing love and keeping it real
For most peeps on the street, when someone had your back it created
A silent special bond. For some of us, that bond was like a life
Insurance policy. Even though we became tight, I still wasn't 100
Certain they had my back to the end. I couldn't tell who was real
And who wasn't. When it came down to it, I realised that the only
Person I could depend on 100% in beef, was me. Trust is a luxury I
Can't afford, betrayal is something I can't ignore. If I'm honest
I didn't even know what the full meaning of keeping it real was
Anymore. I assumed it meant always backing the mandem's beef, never
Snitch, never touch a bredrin's wifey and never snake man. I couldn't
Understand why most of the mandem I parred with found it so hard to
Maintain these simple guidelines. It's not like Holly Street Boys was
Pussies, not even. It's just that they got shook to back beef when
They knew we were outnumbered or the other team had olders. We never
Had no olders backing us. They all went when their flats got knocked
Down. At this time, I found a lot of realness and comfort in
Listening to one NY rapper called Cormega. His tunes had me in a
Zone, especially when I had a spliff to hand. My favourite album
Of this time had to be Cormega: The Realness. I could listen to
That album from the first track all the way through. The interlude
Alone had me pulling up the track over and over. "Yo, yo, when you
Deal with niggas, you know what I'm saying? You gotta know where
They stand (Watch this) . 'Cause everybody's your man when things
Is getting right, uh, but what about when things is going wrong?"
Then in the first verse, he killed it: "Ask yourself, am I your man?
Would I die for you or bite your hand? If I go broke, would you
Divide your grams? Put me in your plans? Hold me down with your
Heat if my shit jams?" And then the chorus says it all: "If I died
Would you cry? If in need, would you provide? If I got beef
Would you be squeezing side by side? If I faced time, would you give
Me a place to hide? Would you snake me for paper? Look in my eyes