Ain't Got Shit 2 Lose
Natas Lyrics

Blacks were allowed neither separate but equal
Black people were not allowed to have separate institutions that were treated equally or fairly to those of whites.

Nor minimal adequate public and or private education
Black people were not given even the most basic form of education that is necessary for one's social and economic success.

They were forbidden to excel in all most all professions
Black people were barred from achieving excellence in most, if not all, areas of work or occupation.

Food could be obtained primarily by the use of federal food stamps
Black people were in such dire straits that the only way they could afford to eat was through government assistance in the form of food stamps.

Issued through the thin department of health education and welfare
These food stamps were provided by a department of the government that was not resourceful or well-funded enough to cater to the needs of the people.

During and following the Vietnam conflict raided police and drug endorsement activity
As a result of the war in Vietnam, police and other authorities went on raids to secure the streets, which then led to the drug trade.

The opiate some ambulant social equations of alcohol heroin and the animal tranquilliser PCP
People residing in the urban areas resorted to alcohol, heroin, and animal tranquilizers such as PCP as a way to cope with the turmoil of their lives.

Properly turned booze skag and angel dust took place in the urban camp
Alcohol, heroin, and animal tranquilizers became a common sight in the urban areas.

And steadily increased throughout the 70’s
The use of addictive substances only became more widespread and frequent throughout the 70s.

I ain’t got shit to lose tiered of paying my dues
The singer is exhausted with life, unable to strive any further, and willing to take a risk since he has nothing left to lose.

And every time I turn around I’m sitting singing the blues
The singer is continually disappointed and facing hardships in life, leading to a sense of melancholy.

Cause I ain’t got no place to go and I can’t find a ho
The singer is homeless and struggling to find a place to stay or a girlfriend.

And every time I think it’s fast I’ll always turn some more
Even when the singer thinks he's found a solution, he is forced to keep looking since nothing ever goes his way.

You see you may think it’s funny but it’s all about money
People may find the singer's struggles to be a joke, but the underlying cause for his strife is the lack of financial stability.

With no doe theirs no home and no money no honey
Without money, there is no hope of having a home or a significant other.

So I got to find a way to make it I’m bout to be killed
The singer needs to come up with a plan to better his life; otherwise, the fear of dying looms large.

Get away from it all and make the big dollar bill
The only solution the singer sees is to get away from his current living situation and earn a considerable amount of money.

Get my life in check, Maybe brake some necks
The singer intends to get his life back on track while taking down anyone who gets in his way.

Come back with the loot and get big respect
The singer wants to return with a lot of money and, in turn, gain the admiration and regard of others.

No I’m not like the others I be a pig mother fucker
The singer is entirely different from everyone else, and he intends to take what's rightfully his in a brazen manner.

Keep my shit under cover keep away from the suckers
He plans to carry out his plan in secret and stay clear of people who could put a wrench in his plans.

Either way you go I got 2 roads to choose
The singer has two choices, both of which lead to risk and uncertainty.

It don’t matter to me…. Cause I ain’t got shit to, lose
Either choice is acceptable to the singer since he has nothing left to lose.

Life or death, Fortune or fame
The metaphorical fork in the road refers to the singer having to choose between life or death, and between poverty or fame.

See every things the same and everybody wants to make a name
In life, everything appears to be similar, and everyone wants to become notable, stand out from the crowd.

In this big old game called life the only life I know is pain and strife
The singer has only known a life of hard knocks, pain, and strife.

Born in the ghetto with no place to go
The singer was born into abject poverty and did not have the privilege of inheriting wealth or opportunities.

Living the life of crime’s the only life I know
The singer was forced to turn to a life of crime to make ends meet, and it's the only life he knows how to live.

So I take it slow and go with the flow
The singer intends to proceed at his pace while taking life as it comes.

Even though I know I could never grow into what society wants me to be
The singer believes that he will never be able to achieve what society deems to be acceptable for him.

Other than a straight G named TNT
The only thing the singer can see himself becoming is a notorious gangster named TNT.

Solitary confinement living just like you are man
The singer feels trapped and lonely, without any hope for escape.

The ghetto might as well be a suer man
The singer believes the ghetto to be a form of imprisonment, rendering him helpless and unfortunate.

You can’t comprehend unless you been were I been
Nobody can understand what the singer's been through unless they've walked in his shoes.

Down the yellow brick road but it’s just a dead end
The yellow brick road, made famous in The Wizard of Oz, is a metaphor for hope and a better future. But the singer realizes that for him, there is no such thing.

I’ve got the ghetto blues and it’s all bad news
The singer is experiencing the emotional and psychological hardships of living in the ghetto, which has its bad news.

So you wouldn’t want to be in my shoes…… Cause I ain’t got shit to lose
The singer cautions others against trying to walk in his footsteps, as he has nothing to live for at this point.

Soul is dead, Losing my head
The singer's spirit is destroyed, and he's on the verge of losing his mind.

A cardboard box has replaced my bed
The singer has become so destitute that he's forced to make a cardboard box his bed.

I wish I was dead although it would never come true
The singer wishes for death, but it's not something he expects to occur.

I’m forced to live in this hell right along with you
The singer is trapped in living hell, along with others residing in the ghetto.

Mamma said there would be days when I felt like this
The singer learned from his mother that tough times would come in life.

To many pressures of the world make me slit my wrist
The pressures and burdens of life are so heavy that the singer contemplates committing suicide.

I can’t deal with this cause my life’s a bitch
The singer is unable to cope with the difficulties of his life, which has turned out to be a nightmare.

Seems I’m all alone in this hell called home
The singer feels entirely alone and isolated, with no one to help him in his plight.

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
The singer believes that nobody can understand the problems and hardships he's gone through.

I just wish I had my piece of the American dream
The singer wishes that he could have a portion of the happiness and success that other Americans enjoy.

But America’s pie was not meant for I
The singer realizes that he's not part of the American Dream, which is reserved only for certain groups of people.

It makes no séance to try cause I was born to die
The singer believes that there's no point in trying to achieve success, as he's doomed to live and die this way.

Who the hell am I, Who’s the man in the mirror
The singer questions his identity and who he sees in the reflection of the mirror.

The scenario’s the same but the picture is no clearer
The circumstances in his life remain constant, but the singer is still confused and unsure.

I see my choices I her some voices on my head
The singer sees the choices he has, but he's hearing voices in his head that make it challenging to make a decision.

No matter what I choose…… I ain’t got shit to lose.
The singer realizes that any choice he makes will not be beneficial, as he has nothing to gain or lose.

It’s like he was chosen from god Makes me wonder how achieving going The extermination of the Negro people
The lyrics suggest that God has cursed the African American community and that their eventual destruction is imminent. The singer ponders how progress can be achieved while having so much strife and hardship after such a long and unfortunate history of oppression.