Food
Common (feat. Kanye West) Lyrics

I walked in the crib
I came home

Got two kids
I have two children

And my baby mamma late
My child's mother is behind schedule

Uh oh uh oh uh oh
Expressing worry/anxiety about the situation

And so I to did what I had to did
I took action to do what needed to be done

Cuz I had the kid
Because I have a child

Duh oh duh oh duh oh
Expressing continued worry/anxiety

Up all night, gettin' my money right
I stayed up all night to improve my financial situation

until the blue and white's
Until the police showed up (blue and white being their uniform colors)

Po po po po po po
Slang for police sirens

Now the money comin' slow
I'm not making as much money as before

But at least a nigga know slow motion better then
I'd rather make less money than get in trouble with the law

No No No
Reiterating the last statement

You love to hear the story again and again
People enjoy hearing stories about our experiences

About these young brothers from the City of Wind
About young men from Chicago (also known as the Windy City)

Like juice and gin in the city we blend
Our culture is mixed and diverse, like different flavors of drinks

Amongst the hustle Titties and skin 50's and rims
In the midst of the chaos, there are women, money, and flashy cars

Y'all know the Sprewell's and trucks with detail
We know about the fancy cars, like the Sprewell rims, and the attention paid to their appearance

Heartless females that wanna ride in 'em
Women who are only interested in being seen with these men because of their cars

Felt the southside venom with rawhides and denim
Experienced the aggression and danger of South Chicago, wearing rough clothing for protection

Bent minds collide with 'em in a system that tries victims
Our unstable mental states clash with a system that wants to keep us down and oppressed

We livin' it my man in the fast lane pivotin'
We are living a fast-paced, dangerous lifestyle

On the block yo they sellin' like Eminem
Expensive drugs are being sold on the streets

On the block get jumped off like him and them
People get robbed or attacked on the streets like Eminem did in his movie 8 Mile

On the block is hot you can feel it in your skinenen
The atmosphere on the streets is intense and dangerous

Shorties get the game with no instructions supersymbolin'
Young people learn how to survive in these conditions without any guidance, adopting their own language and symbols

Eyes right it seems like the fight is dimmin' 'em
People are trying to stay hopeful, but the struggle is taking its toll

Come my man kuzzle like I'm kin' to him
My friend Kuzzle is like family to me

He tryin' to stay straight, the streets is bendin' him
He's trying to stay out of trouble, but the streets are forcing him to compromise his values

It's all good in the hood like
Everything is okay in our neighborhood

Rags and Timbs
Ragged clothing and Timberland boots (popular attire)

Throwbacks and Timbs
Old school jerseys and Timberland boots (also popular attire)

Blacks and Rims
Black people and their fancy car rims

Whether on ball courts and tires of all sorts
Whether we're playing basketball or driving cars with different rims

We never fall short
We always succeed

With us, it's all force
We put all our effort into everything we do

Like And 1's someway some hand guns
We're good at basketball, but some of us also carry guns

The days the fam one is all over for
The days when we can rely on our family to support us are gone

Cash is colder than fobolobo
Money is more important to people than anything else, including relationships

But self I go toe to toe
I'm willing to stand up for myself and what I believe in

Wonderin' if it's for the art of for the dough
Questioning if our actions are for the sake of our artistic expression or just for money

Though I know to grow a nigga gotta learn to let go
I understand that in order to mature, one must let go of negativity and focus on growth

Though I know the dough I gotta bring back to the ghetto
Even as we make money, we must always remember to give back to our community

Arrows on tarot cards pointing to the grind
The tarot card symbolizes the hard work that we need to put in to succeed

More livin in more prisons
As we continue living in these conditions, more and more people end up in prison

Pointing to my mind
Causing mental distress and anguish

Shine the light up
Bring forth positivity and hope

Clench my fist tight holdin' the right up
Stay strong and ready to fight for what's right

Freedom fightin dark year for the years to get brighter
We are fighting for our freedom in a dark and difficult time, but we hope for a brighter future

Situations that jaws get tighter
Situations that cause stress and anxiety

My man tried to get his way...
My friend is trying to handle his struggles in his own way

Hey yo I, I know I could make it right
I know I can fix this situation

If I could just swallow my pride
If I can put aside my ego and apologize

But I can't run away
I can't just leave and ignore my responsibilities

You put my gun away
You helped me stay out of trouble

You can't front on me
You can't deny that I'm trying to do better

I, no I can't let it ride
I can't just let this go without resolving it

No no not tonight
I need to handle it now, not put it off

You put my gun away
You helped me stay out of trouble

You can't front on me
You can't deny that I'm trying to do better