Keep It Real
N.I.P. Lyrics

You can buy me diamonds
You can try to impress me with expensive gifts.

Or lots of ice
Or jewelry that sparkles.

You could buy me a Benz
Or a fancy car.

And not ask the price
And not care how much it costs.

Better yours than mine
I'd rather have you spend your own money than mine.

I won't take a dime
I won't accept your money for nothing.

But if it's coming out my pocket every thing is fine
But if I'm the one paying then it's okay.

We can spend the cash
We can spend money, but not just for show.

And I'll let you flash
And I'll let you show off if you want to.

I'm too playa for dat there
I'm too experienced to be fooled by fake behavior.

So you can go ahead and pass
So you can stop trying to impress me.

I like shining too
I like to show off sometimes too.

Even rhyming too
And rap well.

I got other female friends just as fine as you
I have other female friends who are just as attractive as you.

I do things for you
I do nice things for you.

You do things for me
And you do nice things for me too.

I'm as real as real gets, and it's plain to see
I'm genuinely myself and everyone can tell.

But first time a front
But if you try to act fake.

Took you out to lunch
And take you out to eat.

Spent fifty on your food
And spend a lot of money on your meal.

You ain't eat that much
But you don't eat that much.

You better ask you friends
You can ask your friends about me.

I'll smash some twins
I'll sleep with two women who look alike.

I peep game from a distance
I can tell what's going on even if I'm not directly involved.

Like a contact lens
As easily as wearing a contact lens.

So let me swing your wheel
Let me drive your car.

In your red Seville
Your red Cadillac Seville.

I put food on these tables
I earn money to support myself and others.

You can pay these bills
But if you want to help pay the bills, go ahead.

You triflin'
You're irresponsible or lazy.

Hoodrat, roaching
You come from a low-income neighborhood or act ghetto.

Type of sistas
The kind of women who behave that way.

Were T.Y.P
Are classified as typical or stereotypical.

Dem roaching hoes - we always miss em'
We never want to be with women who behave like that.

We ballas
We're wealthy and successful.

When times get hard
But sometimes we struggle too.

We need a woman to help us out
We still need someone to support us, though.

And never
But never someone like you who doesn't understand our lifestyle.

A girl like you who don't know what a player's about
A woman like you who's inexperienced with our kind of lifestyle.

Can you pay my cell phone bill
Can you pay for something small like my cell phone bill?

Put baggets in my grill
Or buy me expensive jewelry for my teeth.

Buy a house on a hill?
Or buy a big fancy house with a nice view?

Then maybe we can chill
If you can do these things, maybe we can spend time together.

If you can't come through
But if you can't meet my expectations.

Then you gon' get the boot
Then I'll end the relationship.

Hold up
Wait a minute.

Every thing was gravy
Everything was going well.

Till you started talking about them dollars
Until you started obsessing over money.

Trying to be another gangsta boo
Trying to act like a tough street girl.

But, uh, I'm a make you holla holla
But I'm going to make you scream and shout.

Like J-rule
Like the rapper Ja Rule, known for his aggressive lyrics.

I'm a act a fool
I'll behave in a wild or foolish way.

Can't get a dime from owing me
But you won't get any money from me just because you're with me.

Better ask my partner
You can ask my friend for help instead.

That boy, lil' Marcus
That kid Marcus.

Can't get that F.Y.B to the E
Can't get that Free Yaboys (a rap group) to endorse you.

That's J-five
That's J-five, another member of the group.

We struggling to strive
We're working hard to succeed.

Up in this thing for finer things
We're in this business to make money and have nice things.

Breaking up all these plots and schemes
Avoiding scams or frauds.

Can you put a bling bling up in my ring?
Can you buy me expensive jewelry for my ring finger?

That's your best friend
Your best female friend.

I'm talking baggets
I mean expensive diamond jewelry.

If you really want to, uh, keep it real
If you really want to be genuine or authentic.

Baby, I'll drop half on the bills
I'll pay half of the bills to show I'm serious.

But you need to chill and keep it real
But you need to relax and stop trying so hard to impress people.

And that's fifty-fifty, not eighty-twenty
And I mean splitting everything equally, not one person paying more than the other.

Tryin' to stack my paper up real tall and long
Trying to earn a lot of money and save it up.

Talking down on my name like Jenny Jones
Speaking poorly about me, like the talk show host Jenny Jones.

Blowing up my phone
Calling me too often or leaving too many messages.

'Cause I'm riding on chrome
Because I'm driving a fancy car with chrome wheels.

Better leave me alone
Better stop bothering me if you can't keep up.

And get lil' daddy to pay your bills
Get another man to pay your bills if you can't do it yourself.

'Cause you don't know no playa wit' my skills
Because you don't know anyone as experienced as me.

So you better chill and keep it real
So you better relax and stop trying to impress people.

[Chorus x 4]
The chorus repeats several times.