B2K was an American R&B music group from Los Angeles, California with Omari… Read Full Bio ↴B2K was an American R&B music group from Los Angeles, California with Omarion, Lil' Fizz, Raz-B and J-Boog as its members. Founded and managed by music producer Chris Stokes, they were active from 2001 until 2004 and released two albums, 2001's B2K and 2002's Pandemonium!. They also featured in the film You Got Served as a breakdancing crew, and several songs by the group were featured on the film's soundtrack album. In 2008 there were talks of a reunion, and a new song titled 'Body Up' leaked onto the internet featuring all the members except Omarion, but these rumours have never been confirmed.

Even though they were newcomers to the industry, their first LP, 2002's B2K, became an instant hit. Their second (and final) regular studio album, Pandemonium!, was released in December of the same year, and garned the US #1 hit single "Bump, Bump, Bump" and "Girlfriend". The group was featured regularly on the covers of teen magazines such as Right On! and Word Up, and released a Christmas album in-between their regular two albums entitled Santa Hooked Me Up.

In addition to that, they were featured on the soundtrack album for MGM's film Barbershop and headlined The Scream Tour, their third, in 2003. Marques Houston, Jhene, Mario and Nick Cannon were also performers on The Scream Tour.

Those who were against the california-based boy band often claimed that their music is too mainstream, thus resulting in the boy band garnering nicknames such as, "B2Gay" and "B2Fugly."

In January 2004, Chris Stokes announced that the group had broken up. Three of the members claimed financial mishandling by Stokes' management company, TUG (The Ultimate Group); the fourth member, Omarion, claimed the allegations were untrue.

In the midst of the breakup, Screen Gems's You Got Served, a film starring the members of the group and Omarion's half-brother Marques Houston as breakdancers, went into general release on January 30, 2004, and hitting number one at the box office, earned more money than any other film that opened during a Super Bowl weekend. A number of the group's songs were featured on the film's soundtrack album.

Boys For Life
B2K Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

"Boys For Life"

(J-Boog Talking)
Yo, why ya'll have to bring this up man?
I mean it ain't like I forgot but it's like I wasn't thinkin about it man,
now that you wanna talk about it... You got me all watery in the eyes ya
know but uh it's all good I wanna tell you all 3 I love y'all like ya'll
love me but if y'all know what I'm talkin about Fizz holla at cha boy.

(Rap 1:)
For the first 3 yrs
We was on coat fax
No deals no money
But everybody had our back
We knew it would happen and that for a fact
Until then we was washing cars, visiting laundromats
Scrounging up change for a meal at pizza guy
No ride to Roscoe's
We made our own sunrise
Getting sick off cheetoes
Skittles and benekos
Marq yelling cause we eat his last taqeto
Wishing for a bank account with at least 2 zero's
Playing ball all day
Sharing one Gatorade
No dogs of our own
So we walked Bear and Jane
Playing B-B bridges
Hopping over gates
Just to go swimming
Yeah we were bad
Tryna holla at older women
Man
Times was hard
You know we didn't get much
But we had each other and man that was enough

(Chorus:)
We been through thick and thin
But we still here
No matter what goes down
We are still friends til the end
Ups and downs
Yeah dats a hard-knock life
Yeah its ride or die
Cause we are boys for life

(Rap 2:)
its getting hard now
what are we to do now
years is passing
its time to make a moves now
We got our act together
faced the bad wheater
told ourselves its either now or never
so we grabbed our stuff
and started shopping at lables
perform demos and did whatever it takes
damn every label slammed the door in our face
but we kept our heads up until we found the right place

(Chorus:)
We been through thick and thin
But we still here
No matter what goes down
We are still friends til the end
Ups and downs
Yeah dats a hard-knock life
Yeah its ride or die
Cause we are boys for life

(Rap 3:)
We found a home now
It's on
We in the game now
Chris and Max done made this thing crack now
Now we work with Tom and Polly with Dee Mack now
Took us a while but we got a name now
A platinum album with dough up in the bank now
No more lounging around, we businessmen now
Epic helped us and put us in the right gear
Video and radio thanks for the great year
I'm glad the time that it took was a struggle
To when this time came we would be greatful and humble
We thank God for making all this happen for us
We thank all our fans for having love in us
Ah come on

(Chorus:)
We been through thick and thin
But we still here
No matter what goes down
We are still friends til the end
Ups and downs
Yeah dats a hard-knock life
Yeah its ride or die
Cause we are boys for life

(Hook 3x:)
I know that your watching over me
Thank God that you brought the joy to me
Now B2K has a story
I love y'all just like y'all love me

(J-Boog Talking)
We love you Chris
IMX, we love y'all
TScott, we love you
Taz, we love you
(Lil Fizz Talking)
TUG, Needa S., TG4, Jhene

(Omarion talking)
I love you Raz and I Love you Fizz

Overall Meaning

In Boys For Life, B2K raps about their come up in the music industry and their bond as a group. The first verse details the early struggles of the group, where they had no record deals and no money. They reminisce about their humble beginnings, where they used to wash cars and visit laundromats. With no cars to their names, they would walk everywhere, eating Cheetos, Skittles, and shared a Gatorade. They had no dogs but had to walk Bear and Jane, and they would play basketball all day, even holla at older women. The rappers emphasize their initial journey as tough, but the brotherhood they built between them was enough to keep them going.

The second verse talks about the group's growing maturity and their decision to take music seriously. They faced rejections and failures from record labels, but they didn't lose hope. They persevered and followed their dreams, eventually getting a foot into the music industry. Eventually, their passion and hard work paid off, making them businessmen and selling platinum records. They thank Epic for helping them and put them in the right gear. They express how grateful they are for the love and support they received from their fans.

Overall, the song is an anthem for the bond of the group and the struggles they went through to become successful in the music industry.

Line by Line Meaning

For the first 3 yrs
During our first three years we were struggling to make it and did not have deals or any money.

We knew it would happen and that for a fact
Despite the tough times, we had faith that we would eventually succeed.

Scrounging up change for a meal at pizza guy
We had to gather all the change we could find just to afford a meal from the local pizza place.

No ride to Roscoe's
We did not have transportation to get to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.

We made our own sunrise
We created our own good times despite the tough circumstances we found ourselves in.

We had each other and man that was enough
Although we did not have much, we had each other to lean on and that was all we needed to keep pushing through the hard times.

Years is passing
Time was moving on and we knew we needed to make a move to get to the next level.

Now we work with Tom and Polly with Dee Mack now
We were finally able to find a team to work with that believed in us and helped us take our career to the next level.

Thank God that you brought the joy to me
We are all thankful for the joy that our success has brought us and for the people who have helped us along the way.

I love y'all just like y'all love me
We are all friends and always will be, no matter what happens in our lives or careers.

Contributed by Julia V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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