[Verse 1 - Brother Ali]I arrived in Minnesota with handcuff bruisesSummer ninety deuce, prepared to cut loose shitMom wasn't havin that, fuck bein coolWith no discussion, stuck me in a suburb schoolNow day and night I'm on a bus full of foolsWho parents didn't want us ended up in the newsYou must be crazy, you think any of us appreciate itHow our parents wanna upgrade usAll day long we're in a fantasy landMoms and dads, college plans and minivansBut when the sun set, you fled the successTo the slum where you rest, nothin more, nothin lessSchool they fantasize about gangsta rap recordsBut these are our lives, our families are connectedThe Ice Cube summer vacation is takin placeRight around the way from where I stayThe mold from the gold and the 'rips from L.ABrought, snow to the cold for a new place to playThere's a war goin on outside, you ain't safe fromSee if this education might save 'em[Hook - Brother Ali] - 2XI've known you your whole lifeYou drawn to that street lifeSlippin away, slippin awaySlippin away, slippin away[Verse 2 - Brother Ali]And so our little city bus crew used to run togetherEat lunch together, girls Double Dutch togetherFellas humbuggin, next day be friendsThe only thing we never did was date from withinFellas dated white girls, sisters stayed lonelyUsed to kiss me on my cheek and say we were homiesAlphonso basement, we ran the partyOne day on the bus, Pumpkin stabs AkeyShit, my main man was EthanUsed to sell sneakers at a store called Friedman'sHe had two older cousins that were hustlersFilas wasn't all he pumpin to the customersHe got a check but he got connectsSo he got some chicks and he got respectHis boy Ali got hooked up with clothesOne day slap boxin, he broke my noseHe almost cried man, he had a good heartThe brother's only problem was he wasn't book smartHe dropped out of school but he kept slangin shoesTo keep the kids fed, he had to sell base too[Hook][Verse 3 - Brother Ali]Time to time I used to stop in and check on my dudeEven when we lost touch with the rest of our crewWe both had babies, drama with our old ladiesBut as time went on, our connection only grewHe said "I just can't seem to leave these streets alone manFeels like I fell asleep one eveningAnd woke up the next day suddenly a grown manIn a rut with no idea how to leave itMy parents got too many kids to help me throughI really don't know what the hell else to doI know you gonna really get it crackin with that rap thingAnd when you blow up, I'm a come and work for you"Ha, that's my man, I see you when I see you brotherKeep your head up 'til the next time we see each otherRolled out on my first national tourBack on the block, went back to the storePut my hand on the door, Ethan wasn't in thoughThey said somebody shot 'em through his front windowHit 'em in the head and that he hadn't survivedMatter fact he died 'fore the ambulance arrivedA man in that life, it wasn't no mistakeThe cops called it a stray bullet, closed the caseSo there's no justice and there's no closureYou can't touch this, not you, no sirThey buried my brother, I was on the roadBy the time I got home, the ground was coldGot nothin left but a hole in my soulShit, dude was 23 years old[Hook]Slippin away, slippin away - 3X
