[Jay-Z]
  Geah.. whassup?
  Where's all my street niggaz, project niggaz
  Real niggaz, worldwide
  Let's reflect.. e'rybody got a story
  We all ghetto B - here's mine
  Geah
    See I was -- born in sewage, born to make bomb music
  Flow tight like I was born Jewish
  Used the streets as a conduit - I kept arms
  38 longs inside my mom's Buick
  At any given moment Shawn could lose it, be on the news
  Iron cuffs - arms through it; or stuffed with embalmin fluid
  Shit, I'm goin through it - mom dukes too
  Tears streamin down her pretty face, she got her palms to it
  My life is gettin too wild
  I need to bring some sort kinda calm to it
  Bout to lose it; voices screamin "Don't do it!"
  It's like '93, '94, bout the year
  that Big and Mag dropped; and "Illmatic" rocked
  outta every rag drop, and the West had it locked
  Everybody doin 'em, I'm still scratchin on the block
  like "Damn; I'ma be a failure"
  Surrounded by thugs, drugs, and drug - paraphenalia
  Cops courts, and their thoughts is to derail us
  Three time felons in shorts with jealous thoughts
  Tryin figure where your mail is, guesstimate the weight you sellin
  So they can send shots straight to your melon; wait!
  It gets worse, baby momma water burst
  Baby came out stillborn, still I gotta move on
  Though my heart still torn, life gone from her womb
  Don't worry, if it was meant to be, it'll be -- soon
    [Chorus: Jay-Z]
  This can't be life, this can't be love
  This can't be right, there's gotta be more, this can't be us
  This can't be life, this can't be love
  This can't be right, there's gotta be more, this can't be us
    [Beanie Sigel]
  Chill dog
  Second oldest born, from Michelle Brown my mother
  Hell bound, grew with two sisters and one brother
  Pop wasn't around, so many stories that's another
  I'm thinkin damn; how my older sister gon' make me tougher
  When steel sharpens steel, I'ma keep it real
  I'm tired of tryin to hide my pain behind the syrups and pills
  Dead to the world, stretched out like a corpse for real
  Y'all niggaz thinkin what y'all readin in The Source is real
  What my life like, you lookin at the source, it's real
  What your life like? Mine dog, of course it's real
  Passin judgment, you niggaz second-guessin Beans
  Cause you don't eat swine don't make you Amin
  Dog you know a couple suras, out the Qur'an
  I guess you all on your din and I ain't on mine
  Stop that Akki, 'fore I send shots though your body
  Make 'em feel feel hell on earth before Allah drop thee
  I feel the line's drawn here, nuttin more can stop me
  Till them feds pick me up, or them boys pop me
  There's only three things that make Mac not act like Beans
  Amatullah Tisha, Po Aldin, Samir Amin
  My seeds dog, gotta teach 'em that before I leave dog
  Shit I know that I'ma see 'em when I leave dog
  I come back in the afterlife
  Like fuck it I done touched hell twice; what's the meanin?
    [Chorus]
    [Scarface]
  Yeah.. uhh..
  Now as I walk into the studio, to do this with Jig'
  I got a phone call from one of my nigs
  Said my homeboy Reek, he just lost one of his kids
  And when I heard that I just broke into tears
  And see in the second hand; you don't really know how this is
  But when it hits that close to home you feel the pain at the crib
  So I called mine, and saddened my wife with the bad news
  Now we both depressed, countin our blessings cause Brad's two
  Prayin for young souls to laugh atlife through the stars
  Lovin your kids just like you was ours
  And I'm hurtin for you dog; but ain't nobody pain is like yours
  I just know that heaven'll open these doors
  And ain't no bright side to losin lifel; but you can view it like this
  God's got open hands homey, he in the midst.. of good company
  Who loves all and hates not one
  And one day you gon' be wit your son
  I could've rapped about my hard times on this song
  But heaven knows I woulda been wrong
  I wouldn'ta been right, it wouldn'ta been love
  It wouldn'ta been life, it wouldn'ta been us
  This can't be life
    [Chorus]
    [Jay-Z]
  This can't be life..