Life's A Bitch
Nas Lyrics

Ayo, what's up, what's up?
Hey, how's it going? Let's be honest and count this money, you know what I'm saying?

You know what I'm sayin'? Yeah, yeah
Do you understand me? Yeah, yeah.

Ayo, put the Grants over there in the safe
Put the larger bills in the safe over there, you know what I'm saying?

'Cause we spendin' these Jacksons
We're spending the smaller bills.

The Washington's go to wifey, you know how that go
The one dollar bills go to the wife, you know how it is.

I'm sayin' that's what this is all about, right?
I'm saying that this is what life is all about, isn't it?

Clothes, bankrolls, and hoes
Material possessions, money, and women.

You know what I'm sayin'?
Do you understand me?

Yo, then what, man, what
So, what are we going to do?

Visualizing the realism of life and actuality
Seeing and understanding the true nature of life.

Fuck who's the baddest, a person's status depends on salary
A person's worth is based on their income, not on who's the toughest.

And my mentality is money-orientated
I am focused on making money.

I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it
I am meant to achieve success for all the people who never had the chance to.

'Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as Five Percenters
We used to be inexperienced in the rough neighborhood as Five Percenters, a movement based on knowledge of self and others.

But something must of got in us 'cause all of us turned to sinners
Something caused us to turn to a life of crime, despite our previous beliefs.

Now some resting in peace and some are sitting in San Quentin
Some of our friends are dead and some are in prison.

Others such as myself are trying to carry on tradition
Some of us are still trying to hold onto our beliefs and culture.

Keeping the effervescent street ghetto essence inside us
We hold onto the culture and atmosphere of our rough, urban upbringing.

'Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us
This culture gives us the wisdom to navigate our way through life.

Even though, we know somehow we all gotta go
Despite everything, we know that we will all eventually die.

But as long as we leaving thieving
But as long as we leave with some stolen goods,

We'll be leaving with some kind of dough
we'll at least have something to show for our criminal activities.

So, until that day we expire and turn to vapors
Until the day we die and become part of the atmosphere.

Me and my capers will be somewhere else stacking plenty papers
My crew and I will be somewhere else accumulating money.

Keeping it real, packing steel, getting high
We will always stay true to ourselves and carry guns and smoke marijuana.

'Cause life's a bitch and then you die
Because life can be difficult and unpredictable, and it all ends in death.

I woke up early on my born day, I'm 20, it's a blessing
On my birthday, I woke up early and realized that reaching 20 is a blessing.

The essence of adolescence leaves my body, now I'm fresh and
I feel young and invigorated.

My physical frame is celebrated 'cause I made it
I am proud that I have made it to this point physically.

One quarter through life some Godly-like thing created
I am one quarter of the way through my life, as if some divine force created me.

Got rhymes 365 days annual, plus some
I have a year's worth of rhymes, plus some.

Load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I pus from
I pick up the microphone and perform while cursing, while inspiration flows from my mind.

My skull 'cause it's pain in my brain, vein, money maintain
The pain in my brain and veins is due to my obsession with making and keeping money.

Don't go against the grain, simple and plain
Don't make things harder for yourself, keep it simple.

When I was young at this I used to do my thing hard
When I was young, I was fierce in my actions and words.

Robbing foreigners, take their wallets, their jewels
I used to rob foreigners and steal their money and jewelry.

And rip their green cards
I also stole their green cards, which gave them legal residency in the US.

Dipped to the projects flashing my quick cash and
I went to the low-income housing projects and displayed my newfound wealth.

Got my first piece of ass smoking blunts with hash
I had my first sexual encounter while smoking marijuana mixed with hashish.

Now it's all about cash in abundance
Now, my focus is solely on having a large amount of money.

Niggas I used to run with is rich or doing years in the hundreds
The people I used to associate with are either wealthy or serving long prison sentences.

I switched my motto, instead of saying "fuck tomorrow"
I changed my outlook, no longer believing that tomorrow doesn't matter.

That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto
The money spent on a bottle could have been used to buy a lottery ticket and win big.

Once I stood on the block, loose cracks produce stacks
When I sold drugs on the street corner, even the smallest amounts added up to a large amount of money.

I cooked up and cut small pieces to get my loot back
I would break down and divide the drugs to make more money.

Time is Illmatic, keep static like wool fabric
Time is precious, don't waste it. Keep still and focused.

Pack a 4-matic that crack your whole cabbage
I carry a gun (a 4-matic) that could take out an entire group of people.

Life's a bitch and then you die
Life can be difficult and unpredictable, and it all ends in death.

That's why we get high
That's why we smoke marijuana, to deal with the stresses of life.

'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Because you never know when you will die.

That's why we puff lye
That's why we smoke marijuana.