Tick Tock
Nas and Mobb Deep Lyrics

Uh, yeah, yeah, yo, it goes tick tock
The song starts with an introduction and the beat goes tick tock.

This is for my niggaz in the bridge, blocks
The song is dedicated to the people living in the Bridge blocks.

Comin' through better hide your wrist watch
The singer advises people to keep their wristwatches hidden when walking through Bridge blocks.

Because niggaz, well, live they shits pop
The Bridge blocks are known for violence and people there are likely to get killed.

Hey, hey, tick tock, this is for my hoes
The artist now addresses the women and the beat continues.

Make your hips rock
The singer tells the women to shake their hips to the beat of the song.

Light a L, baby, let the Crys' pop
The singer suggests they should smoke marijuana and drink Crystal champagne.

Get your tick tock from this hip hop, any day
They encourage people to listen to hip hop for entertainment.

5-8 with double-X-L, pen saggin' blunts draggin'
The artist describes his outfit which includes a large size shirt, sagging pants, and smoking marijuana.

But never lived well, imagine, a felon on a two-way street
Although he never lived comfortably, he has a chance to choose between two paths- illegal or legal.

One way is where blood money coke and homicide leap
On one hand, there are illegal activities like drug dealing and murder that could bring fast money but are highly dangerous.

The other street opportunity, the chance to live sweet
On the other hand, he could choose a legal path and live a comfortable life.

Think positive k-nowledgement k-cypher complete
He encourages positive thinking and continuous learning, to complete the cycle of knowledge.

So you can be an architect, design apartments and shit
He is suggesting ways to make legal money through careers like an architect.

Or you can wind up on a jail bus dirty in clip
If he chooses the illegal path, he could end up in jail or dead.

Soon as I'm on the set, I'm never on a chick, I play it cool
When he is recording music, he is focused and doesn't get distracted by women.

But still ain't pussy muscles get wet, it's just the booze
Women are not impressed by his fame or money, they just like drinking with him.

Check my niggaz, what's the gossip, what's the word
The singer is asking his friends for the latest news and gossip in the neighborhood.

Puff some herb, all I see is niggaz runnin', chin shots
They smoke marijuana and sometimes see people getting into fights.

All I heard, dip behind the car, see somebody on the ground
He hears people getting shot and witnessed someone getting hurt.

Ambulance came and got 'em they start calmin' down
The ambulance arrives to take the injured person to the hospital.

Now it's back to the same old shit
After the ambulance, people go back to their usual activities.

You know, the Tarzan and Jane-o shit
People in the neighborhood doing crazy things, like swinging from vines like Tarzan and Jane.

In the jungle swingin' on vines
The artist is comparing the Bridge blocks to a jungle.

I saw the gat with the same old clip
He saw a gun with the same bullets from a previous shooting.

Another nigga layin' the hit
Someone else got shot.

Bloodied up, screamin', I'm dyin'
The person who got shot is lying on the ground, bleeding and in pain.

I be in Queens where the famous hood rats and ghetto stars are
The artist spends time in Queens where there are many people who act like they are important even though they are from the ghetto.

Pimps do the shuffle at night with slutty bars pah
The artist sees pimps walking with prostitutes at night.

It's like this nigga, it's on, toilet up for me, roll that shit big
The singer says he is serious and asks his friend to roll a big marijuana joint for him.

While I reveal the story of a wild street kid
He wants to share his story of growing up in the street.

Cock your seat back, relax, while I spit
The artist tells the listeners to sit back and relax while he tells his story.

Well, first I was hollyin' for years by them old timer clicks
He was hanging out with older people in the neighborhood when he was only 12 years old.

Gangsta, I soaked it all in, my first ammo was a one shot
He learned everything about being a gangster and his first experience with guns was using a one-shot weapon.

Deuce, deuce, had my pockets full of bullets, I was real loose
He carried a small gun with many bullets and felt powerful.

Thug parties out in wave crash, always got shot up
There were parties where thugs would gather, but they were always interrupted by violence.

No wonder we bugged out it gets so frantic
Understandably, they get upset and scared.

Niggaz aim on the fight, we cut yo melon
Thugs aim to start fights and hurt people.

Drinkin' that old English Red Bull and Blue Bull
They drink cheap, unhealthy alcoholic drinks.

Mean I draggin' with that cheap shit, fuck it, we was broke
They drink it even though it doesn't taste good because they can't afford anything better.

Little bad ass, my nigga rap sat me down, like this
A friend named Rap advised him.

He said, 'P, you gon' wind up dead
His friend warned him that he could end up dead if he continued with his dangerous lifestyle.

You and Hav' real good with that music shit
The friend encourages him to focus on music instead.

You need to stick to it, dunn, get your mind off the street'
His friend advises him to stay away from the streets and to focus on music.

And it stuck in the back of my head
The advice stuck with him and he remembered it.

Though I still did my little bit of menacin'
Although he continued with some small crime activities, he still thought about music.

Every now and then bang-outs in broad daylight
He still witnessed violent crimes in the neighborhood.

Like these things really happen
These crimes are not just stories, they really happen.

Niggaz get cut up, I put it in my rappin'
He uses these experiences in his raps to tell his life story.

It's non fiction, it's the real deal fiscal
His music is not made up, it is his real experiences.

It couldn't get more graphic, I'm so trail
His music is very realistic and graphic because he describes the violence he has seen.

City you havin', let me touch that ass
Finally, the song ends with the artist talking to a woman and being flirtatious.