Otherside

[Intro]

"Chad Butler, known as Pimp C, died in a Los Angeles hotel room..."

"The L.A. County Coroner's office ruled the rapper's death accidental and attributed it to a combination of..."

"Apnea?"

"Yes"

"And syrup, and we know that syrup on the streets usually has codeine?"

"Absolutely, we have a problem now with the cough syrup epidemic..."

[Verse 1]

He rolled up, asked him what he was sippin' on

He said, "Lean, you wanna hit it, dawg?"

That's the same stuff Weezy's sippin', huh?

And tons of other rappers that be spittin' hard

Yup, he had five up on

Then went and passed him that Styrofoam

The Easter Pink, heard a rhyme before

Finally got to see what all the hype was on

And then he took a sip, sittin' in the Lincoln

Thinking he was pimpin' as he listened to the system

Little did he know that it was just as addictive as base

Not the kind of hit from the kick drum

Hotbox, let the bass bump

Take it to the face, gulp

Months later the use went up

Every blunt was accompanied by the pink stuff

But goddamn, he loved that feeling

Purple rain coated in the throat, just so healin'

Medicine alleviate the sickness

Liquid affix and it comes with a cost

Wake up, cold sweat, scratchin', itchin'

Tryna escape the skin that barely fit him

Gone, get another bottle just to get a couple swallows

Headed towards the bottom couldn't get off it

Didn't even think he had a problem

Though he couldn't sleep without gettin' nauseous

Room spinnin'

Thinkin' he might have sipped just a little bit too much of that cough syrup

His eyelids closed, shut

Sat back in the chair clutchin' that cup

Girlfriend came and a couple hours later

Said his name, shook him but he never got up

He never got up, he never got up

We live on the cusp of death thinkin' that it won't be us

It won't be us, it won't be us, it won't be us

Nah, it won't be us

[Verse 2]

Now he just wanted to act like them

He just wanted to rap like him

Us as rappers underestimate the power and the effects that we have on these kids

Blunt passed, ash in a tin

Pack being pushed, harassed by the feds

The fact of it is most people that rap like this

Talkin' about some shit they haven't lived

Surprise, you know the drill

Trapped in a box, declinin' record sales

Follow the formula: violence, drugs, and sex sells

So we try to sound like someone else

This is not Californication

There's no way to glorify this pavement

Syrup, Percocet, and an eighth a day

Will leave you broke, depressed, and emotionally vacant

Despite how Little Wayne lives

It's not conducive to being creative

And I know 'cause he's my favorite

And I know 'cause I was off that same mix

Rationalize the shit that I'd try after I listen to Dedication

But he's an alien

I'd sip that shit, pass out or play PlayStation

Months later I'm in the same place

No music made, feelin' like a failure

And trust me, it's not dope to be twenty-five

And move back to your parents' basement

I've seen my people's dreams die

I've seen what they can be denied

And "weed's not a drug," that's denial

Groundhog Day, life, repeat each time

I've seen Oxycontin take three lives

I grew up with them, we used to chief dimes

I've seen cocaine bring out the demons inside

Cheatin' and lyin'

Friendship cease, no peace in the mind

Stealin' and takin' anything to fix the pieces inside

Broken, hopeless, headed nowhere

Only motivation for what the dealer's supplyin'

That rush, that drug, that dope

Those pills, that crumb, that roach

Thinkin' I would never do that, not that drug

Growing up nobody ever does

Until you're stuck

Lookin' in the mirror like I can't believe what I become

Swore I was gonna be someone

And growin' up everyone always does

We sell our dreams and our potential

To escape through that buzz

Just keep me up, keep me up

Hollywood, here we come

[Outro]

"You can tend to, um, go a little too far with some of these things, they have very strong addictive qualities, pills and syrups and whatnot, so um…"

"Is it changing the music?"

"Um, I can only speak for myself personally, you know what I'm saying?

Um, we had been taking down, toning down the content of certain things in the music lately

My new album, of course, probably won't have any references to cough syrup in it

But, uh, it's a little bit more than the music

I think it's gonna start affecting the personal lives of a lot of artists and people..."