Monopoly
Papoose Lyrics

Mama's in the kitchen cookin' that rice
I come from a family that struggles just to survive.

Father's outside shootin' em dice
My dad is a gambler and can't help provide for us.

Brother's in jail raising hell
One of my brothers is in prison causing trouble.

Sister's on the corner sellin' fruit cocktails
My sister had to resort to selling drinks on the street to make ends meet.

Family alcoholic's still sippin' his booze
Even with all the family problems, someone still drinks too much.

That's why I'm rappin' over rhythm and blues
I use music to express my struggles and hardships.

To all you rich black folks with your glissining jewels
There are those who flaunt their wealth while others struggle to make ends meet.

Entrepeneurs all you millionaire dudes
I give props to those who have made it big in business.

Before you catch another case limit your moves
Don't get caught up in trouble with the law, be smart about your actions.

Johnny Cochran got a brain tumor I deliver the news
Even great lawyers like Cochran can fall ill and suffer.

What if mother nature aborted the sky
Imagine if something as vast as the sky disappeared suddenly.

When we shoot our fireworks on the fourth of July
We enjoy our celebrations, not knowing what it would be like if something were to go wrong.

We can't afford the life so abortion rised
Many people can't afford to raise a child, so abortions became common.

Can't afford the truth so we told a lie
We lie to ourselves to make it seem like things are better than they really are.

Can't afford a funeral cause the cost is high
Even death has become unaffordable for some families.

God damn we can't even afford to die
The struggle is so hard that even dying is too expensive.

But if you buying a house i'll be your landlord
I am willing to help others succeed and make money through property ownership.

I'll finance you a car that's if you can afford
I can help finance a car for those who have the means to pay for it.

I own the jails, the banks and all the property's
I aspire to gain wealth and power like the monopoly board game.

Here's a million come on big shot
I challenge others to step up and take risks to gain wealth.

Lets play Monopoly
Success in life is like the game of Monopoly, you need to own property and strategize to win.

Cause when the rappers start grindin'
When other rappers make it big,

It's a shame my outta towna gotta sign em
It's a shame that other record labels steal the talent from our area.

But when his album drop and he go diamond
When their album does well and sells 10 million copies.

Every real artist need a real label to sign em
A talented artist needs a reputable record label to help them succeed.

It ain't about havin' the baddest chick on the streets
It's not about having the most attractive girlfriend or wife.

I respect the dude Nas cause he married Calise
I admire Nas for marrying a talented and successful woman like Kelis.

But still if you ain't ready just wanna be my Beyonce
If you aren't ready for that kind of commitment, stay by my side for a while like Beyonce did for Jay-Z.

Then we can do it like Jay-Z & Beyonce
We can work together like the power couple did.

Pardon my language if you a real b***h
Sorry if my language offends you, but if you are a strong woman,

Then we can do it like Jada & Will Smith
We can be like the successful and loving couple Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith.

Coincedence where we comin' to spend it at
It's no coincidence that we are successful and return to the place where we first gained wealth.

They only gon' give us what they know they can get back
Others will only invest in us if they are guaranteed a return on their investment.

So when you get money don't you ever forget that
Remember that others will only invest in you if they know they will make a profit.

He got a dvd flow
This rapper has a unique style that stands out.

They need to get my man smackers on tv show
My friend who is in jail is talented and deserves to have his own TV show.

The voice of the jail, voice of the streets
Smackers speaks for those in jail and for the voiceless in the streets.

We pull guns on eachother always still people's
We rob and harm each other even though we are all struggling to survive.

If you strapped then I'm not strapped we still equal
Regardless of who has a gun or not, we are all equal and struggling to survive.

They say don't carry guns cause guns real lethal
The authorities advise against carrying guns because they are dangerous.

But guns don't kill people, people kill people
It's not the gun that kills someone, it's the person who shoots it.

My cousin got into time he said it ain't nothing
My cousin isn't afraid of prison time because he's used to living in a tough environment.

Told me I can do the time standing on my head cousin
My cousin thinks I can handle prison time too if it came down to it.

Yo Paps stay focused you out here bustin'
My friend Smackers tells me to stay focused on my rap career while he's serving his jail sentence.

Time I come home you gon' be somethin'
When Smackers gets out of jail, he believes I will be successful and recognized by then.

Wish I can do half of this time for him
I would do half of Smackers' jail time if I could.

We goin' in thuggin' He do it here I do it here
Smackers and I stick together and support each other even when he's in jail.

They running through cover but still
Others are running around trying to gain wealth in various ways.

It's all about having money and properties (True)
Money and property ownership is key to success.

They rather see us doing drugs then robberies (True)
Others would rather see us addicted to drugs than committing theft.

We gotta flip that into the economy (You)
We need to use that motivation to rise above our struggles and make a positive impact on the economy.

So my philosophy is the way of the world
My philosophy is to work hard and gain wealth in the way that the world works.

Lets play monopoly
Let's work hard and gain wealth in order to succeed in life, like the game of Monopoly.

Gotta Monopolize & Strategize
We need to own property and strategize to become successful.

So we can get this money
We need wealth in order to survive and rise above our struggles.

Get filthy rich
We want to be able to live comfortably and not have to worry about money.

Thugication, Streetsweepers
We are determined to succeed and sweep away all struggles from our lives.

C'mon man
Let's go for it and work hard.

East Coast pop a bottle with y'all
Residents of the East Coast, let's celebrate our success together.

West Coast pop a bottle with y'all
Residents of the West Coast, let's celebrate our success together.

Down South pop a bottle with y'all
Residents of the South, let's celebrate our success together.

Count your blessings you ain't promised them all
Be grateful for what you have, because not everyone is lucky enough to have that much.