Hate It Or Love It )
50 Cent Lyrics

Yeah, let's take 'em back
Let's reminisce and go back to the past.

Comin' up I was confused, my mommy kissin' a girl
Growing up was tough, I couldn't understand why my mother was kissing another woman.

Confusion occurs comin' up in the cold world
Growing up in a harsh environment makes things even more confusing.

Daddy ain't around, probably out commitin' felonies
My father isn't around and is likely committing crimes.

My favorite rapper used to sing, "Check check out My Melody"
My favorite rapper used to say "Check check out My Melody" in his songs.

I wanna live good, so shit I sell dope
I want to live well, so I sell drugs.

For a four finger ring, one of them gold ropes
I sell drugs to be able to afford flashy accessories, like a gold rope necklace with four fingers on it.

Nana told me if I passed I'd get a sheepskin coat
My grandmother promised to reward me with a sheepskin coat if I did well in school.

If I can move a few packs I'd get the hat, now that'd be dope
If I sell enough drugs, I can afford a cool hat.

Tossed and turned in my sleep that night
I had trouble sleeping that night.

Woke up the next mornin', niggas had stole my bike
I woke up the next day to find that someone had stolen my bike.

Different day, same shit, ain't nothin' good in the hood
Every day is the same and there's nothing good happening in my neighborhood.

I'd run away from this bitch and never come back if I could
If I could, I would leave this place and never come back.

Hate it or love it, the underdog's on top
Whether people like it or not, I, the underdog, have succeeded.

And I'm gon' shine homey until my heart stop
I'll keep shining until my dying breath.

Go 'head envy me, I'm rap's MVP
You can envy me, because in the rap game, I'm the most valuable player.

And I ain't goin' nowhere, so you can get to know me
I'm here to stay, so you might as well get to know me better.

I told Dre from the gate "I'd carry the heat for ya"
I promised Dr. Dre that I would protect him and carry weapons for him.

First mixtape song I inherited beef for ya
I got into trouble because of my first mixtape, all because of my loyalty to Dr. Dre.

Gritted my teeth for ya, G-G-G-G for ya
I put up with a lot of hardship for you, I fought for you.

Put Compton on my back when you was in need of soldiers
I represented Compton when it needed strong, loyal soldiers.

At my last show I threw away my N.W.A. gold
During my last performance, I threw away my gold chain that said N.W.A.

I had the whole crowd yellin "Free Yayo!"
The audience was chanting to free Tony Yayo.

So niggas better get up outta mine
People should stay out of my business.

For I creep and turn your projects into Columbine
If people mess with me, I'll retaliate and cause serious harm.

Don't make me remind y'all what happened in D.C
Don't make me remind everyone what I'm capable of doing.

This nigga ain't Gotti, he pretend
This guy isn't like John Gotti, he's just pretending to be.

Mad at us 'cause Ashanti got a new boyfriend
He's upset that Ashanti has a new boyfriend.

And it seems your lil' rat turned out to be a mouse
The person he was referring to was weak and crumbled under pressure.

This beef shit is for the birds and the birds fly South
This conflict is just a waste of time.

Even Young Buck can vouch, when the doubts was out
Young Buck can confirm that I was always there for the team, even when there were doubts.

Who gave the West coast mouth-to-mouth? (Hahaha)
Who revived the West coast rap scene when it was down? (laughs)

From the beginnin' to the end, losers lose, winners win
From start to finish, the losers will always lose and the winners will always win.

This is real we ain't got to pretend
This is the real deal, we don't need to pretend.

The cold world that we in, is full of pressure and pain
The world we live in is harsh and comes with a lot of pain and pressure.

I thought it would change, it's stayin' the same
I used to be optimistic that things would change for the better, but now I realize that they will always stay the same.

How many of them boys is witcha'
How many of your friends are actually with you?

When you had that little TV you had to hit on to get a picture
Remember when you needed to hit the TV just to get a clear picture?

I'm walking with a snub, 'cause niggas do a lot of slick talkin'
I carry a gun with me because people talk too much and often say things they don't mean.

In the club 'til they coughin' on the rug
People party hard in the club until they're coughing and spluttering on the floor.

Ain't never had much but a Walkman and a bud
I never really had much in life, just a Walkman and some weed.

My role model is gone snortin' up his drug
My role model is dead because he overdosed on drugs.

Bad enough they want me to choke, my boy just got poked in the throat
I'm already in enough trouble, to make things worse, my friend was recently stabbed in the throat.

Now it's an RIP shirt in my coat
I now have a t-shirt in memory of my friend in my coat pocket.

Now I'm speedin', reminiscin'
I'm driving fast while thinking back on my past experiences.

Holdin' my weed in, never listen
I'm holding onto my weed and not paying attention to anything around me.

If I see him I'ma lift 'em
If I see the person who stabbed my friend, I'm going to beat him up.

And maybe that'll even the score
That act of revenge might make me feel better and balance things out.

But if not, it'll be me on the floor
If things don't go my way, I might end up getting hurt instead.

I started out at 15, scared as hell
I became involved in this lifestyle at the young age of 15 and was really scared.

I took 30 off a pack and I made them sales
I sold 30 units of drugs and made some money.

As a youth, man I used to hustle for loot
As a young man, I used to hustle (sell drugs) for money.

With that lil' deuce-deuce and my triple fat goose
I carried a small gun and wore a triple-layered jacket called a fat goose.

Sippin' Easy Jesus, rockin' a Alesis
I used to drink a type of alcohol called Easy Jesus and use a music machine called an Alesis.

My momma whipped me when she found my pieces
My mother used to hit me when she found my stash (of drugs).

I look back on life and thank God I'm blessed
Looking back, I realize that I'm lucky to have survived and made it this far.

We the best on the planet so forget the rest
We are the best and most talented on the planet, so forget about the rest.

You know I'm still nice with my cook game
I'm still good at cooking drugs.

Look man, it's a hood thang; that's why I'm loved in Brook-lyn
It's a normal thing to sell drugs in my neighborhood, which is why I'm well-liked in Brooklyn.

I handle mine just like a real nigga should
I handle my business in a real and honorable way.

If I do some time homey, I'm still all good
Even if I end up in jail, I'll still be okay.

Let me show you what a thug 'bout, born to die
Let me demonstrate what being a tough guy is all about, because I know that I could die at any moment.

I took the bullets outta 50 put 'em in my fo'-five
I transferred bullets from 50 Cent's gun and put them into mine.

And I ain't even got my feet wet yet
I'm just getting started and haven't even experienced the full extent of this lifestyle yet.

A seven figure nigga who ain't seen a worthy check
I'm making millions of dollars, but it still doesn't feel like a significant accomplishment.