Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappi… Read Full Bio ↴Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California.

Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has a twin sister. He has a son as well as three daughters.

Right after high school, 4-Tay made his debut on the Too Short album Life Is...Too Short. He was later convicted on drug charges and served ten months in prison. Upon his release from prison he released his debut album Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back in 1991, and followed up in 1994 with Don't Fight the Feelin', which included the hits "Playaz Club" (which sampled the song "Private Number" by William Bell and Judy Clay and hit number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100), the "Dank Season" featuring Seff Tha Gaffla, and "I'll Be Around" (which hit number 39 on the US Hot 100, number 59 in Australia, and number one in New Zealand).

In 1995, two Rappin' 4-Tay songs—"Problems" and "A Message for Your Mind"—were featured on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. "A Message For Your Mind" sampled "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.

Rappin' 4-Tay's mainstream success has been scarce since then, but he was featured on 2Pac's All Eyez on Me album on the track "Only God Can Judge Me" in 1996 and Master P's West Coast Bad Boyz II compilation in 1997. 4-Tay was also an original member of Bay Area supergroup T.W.D.Y. in 1999.

In 2003 Rappin' 4-Tay released the album Gangsta Gumbo with the single "Burning, Burning", followed up by the album That's What You Thought in 2007. In 2010 He was featured on R&B Artist E. Broussard's song titled Big Game Droppin'.

He was featured on the song "My Alphabets" on fellow Bay Area rap veteran Mac Dre's 2004 album The Genie of the Lamp. Dec 06 2011 Rappin' 4-Tay, E-40 and Playalitical collaborated on a song entitled "Bounce It Like a Bad Check" which was featured on the Political Playboy Music album released by Playalitical. In 2012 Rappin' 4-Tay collaborated on the song "Picture a Nigga" with Lil' Gang$ta, as well as helping with his debut album.

In 2013, he headlined the main stage of Seattle Hempfest with artists Ditch, Tony Tag, Brian Meyers and more.

In May 2014, he appeared with E Bone415 in a music video about Alcatraz Island.

Lay Ya Gunz Down
Rappin' 4-Tay Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Verse 1):
I be poppin' this game with the most infamous
Riders who be frontin' shit niggas known for killin' shit
Out on the run with your gun
Mr. Smith 'n Wesson makin' major connection
Stressin' but you pack protection
Dear Lord I'm prayin'
In whatever direction they out to get me

Stop breakin' laws for the cause haters out to kill me
Look what I'm facin' retaliation who's the man
Takin' out your anger but there's victim of circumstancers
Like little kids and brothas 'n sistas 'n cuzzins
But you don't give a fuck cause you keep blowin 'em up
Spreadin 'n buckin 'em
Now what's your contribution life in an institution
Them guns you're usin' in this game got us brothas losin' everythang
And it's lookin' bad for the home team
Sometimes a gang'll have you caught up wit them tripple beams
No, never be a punk I'm coughin' off this chronic smoke
I know you ain't no joke
You's a bitch when you smoke your folks

(Chorus): 2x
Brothas are dyin' and bullets are flyin'
And mommas are cryin'
Muthafucka put them guns down
Babies are dyin' and mommas are cryin'
Because the bullets keep flyin'
Muthafucka lay dem guns down (lay dem guns down)

(Verse 2):
They say it takes a man to walk away but fuck that
So you's a man because you pack a .9 millami to Gat
That shit is old who you want to impress all your friends
Cock the hammer back [?] stuck in the pen
That's what they want playa
Can't you see it's clear they
Shippin' them guns just like that coke so we can spray
It takes a fool to learn the devil loves nobody
Plus the trigga's got no heart, man fuck a autopsy
We ripped off I'm pissed off my people's fallin' off
Tryin' to get a reputation find him with his head off in a ditch
So ain't that 'bout a bitch found out he was a snitch
So they kicked to the norch and never did a liquor time
That's why I spit these rhymes so hopefully
You can see the game is quick to hypnotise your mind
And if you let it you'll gettin' caught up
Thought he had your back but when the drama took place
Them fools was up now picture that

(Chorus): 2x

(Verse 3):
Who can you trust when they buckin' up 'n down your block
Cause 911 is just a joke full of crooked cops
Nightstalkers creepin' through your back
[?] but it be for real , man
That's just what them guns for
Cause it ain't no tellin'
Gots to always keep escape routes
Convicts and felons ain't the only fools
Takin 'em out for good punk I wish you would
I hope I'm understood because them funerals batch and batch
This ain't no good
Can't even stroll on the sunday with my kids and mother
I'm gettin' sick and tired
I'll always have a break for cover
With all this drama 'n hustlin'
A playa's tryin' to accomplish
And that's we all know another day is never promised
It's fault across the world not just up in California
You doin' dirt you best believe the dirt gon creep up on ya
Batterram here comes the F.B.I. and D.A.
When they come to buck you down it's hard to live a playa's way

(Chorus): 2x

(Outro):
[?]
Bob Dole and Bill Clinton
y'all need to holla at playa , dough
And all you TRU playas out there , man

Put them guns down
And that's real

Overall Meaning

In "Lay Ya Gunz Down," Rappin' 4-Tay discusses the negative consequences of gun violence, urging listeners to stop using guns and to find peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. He starts by referencing the dangerous game of gang violence and the stress and fear that come with it, as well as the innocent victims who get caught up in the crossfire. He highlights the destructive impact of guns on the community, urging listeners not to be fooled by the glamorization of violence in the media. He emphasizes that violence is not a solution to problems, but rather a catalyst for more violence and tragedy. Through his lyrics, 4-Tay urges listeners to choose a different path, to "lay ya gunz down" and take a stand against gun violence.

Line by Line Meaning

I be poppin' this game with the most infamous
I am playing this game with the most famous riders who are known for taking down things

Riders who be frontin' shit niggas known for killin' shit
These riders pose and brag while actually they are killers

Out on the run with your gun
You are always on the run, carrying a gun

Mr. Smith 'n Wesson makin' major connection
The Smith and Wesson gun that you're using is making a significant impact in your life

Stressin' but you pack protection
Although you are stressed, you still carry a gun for protection

Dear Lord I'm prayin'
I am praying to God

In whatever direction they out to get me
I don't know from which direction they are coming to get me

Stop breakin' laws for the cause haters out to kill me
I should stop breaking laws for the cause because haters are trying to kill me

Look what I'm facin' retaliation who's the man
I am facing retaliation, and I wonder who the man behind it is

Takin' out your anger but there's victim of circumstancers
By taking out your anger, you are making innocent victims suffer from the circumstances

Like little kids and brothas 'n sistas 'n cuzzins
Like innocent little kids and brothers, sisters and cousins

But you don't give a fuck cause you keep blowin 'em up
You don't care about them and are still blowing them up

Spreadin 'n buckin 'em
You are spreading and killing them

Now what's your contribution life in an institution
Your contribution is only leading you to live in an institution

Them guns you're usin' in this game got us brothas losin' everythang
The guns that you are using in this game are causing us to lose everything

And it's lookin' bad for the home team
It's looking bad for the home team

Sometimes a gang'll have you caught up wit them tripple beams
Sometimes a gang will involve you with their trade of illegal drugs

No, never be a punk I'm coughin' off this chronic smoke
I will never be a coward, I am just smoking marijuana

I know you ain't no joke
I know that you are serious

You's a bitch when you smoke your folks
You are useless when you are smoking with your folks

Brothas are dyin' and bullets are flyin'
People are dying, and bullets are being fired

And mommas are cryin'
Mothers are crying

Muthafucka put them guns down
People should put their guns down

Babies are dyin' and mommas are cryin'
Babies are dying, and mothers are crying

Because the bullets keep flyin'
Bullets keep getting fired

Muthafucka lay dem guns down (lay dem guns down)
People should let their guns down

They say it takes a man to walk away but fuck that
They say that it takes a man to walk away, but I don't believe that

So you's a man because you pack a .9 millami to Gat
You believe you are a man because you carry a .9 millimeter gun

That shit is old who you want to impress all your friends
That thing is outdated, who are you trying to impress with it?

Cock the hammer back [?] stuck in the pen
Cocking the hammer of your gun can make you end up in prison

That's what they want playa
That is what they want, player

Can't you see it's clear they
Can't you see that it is clear?

Shippin' them guns just like that coke so we can spray
They are shipping guns like cocaine so that people can use them to spray

It takes a fool to learn the devil loves nobody
Only the foolish believe that the devil loves anyone

Plus the trigga's got no heart, man fuck a autopsy
Triggers have no sense of humanity; I don't care about an autopsy

We ripped off I'm pissed off my people's fallin' off
We are getting ripped off, and I am angry that they are bringing down my people

Tryin' to get a reputation find him with his head off in a ditch
People are trying to make a name for themselves by finding someone and killing them

So ain't that 'bout a bitch found out he was a snitch
Isn't it ironic that they found out he was a snitch?

So they kicked to the norch and never did a liquor time
So they ran away and didn't serve any jail time

That's why I spit these rhymes so hopefully
This is why I am creating these lyrics so that hopefully,

You can see the game is quick to hypnotise your mind
You can see how the game is manipulating your mind quickly

And if you let it you'll gettin' caught up
If you allow it, you will get yourself caught up in it

Thought he had your back but when the drama took place
You thought that he had your back, but when the issues came up,

Them fools was up now picture that
Those individuals chose to leave you behind, now see that

Who can you trust when they buckin' up 'n down your block
Who can you trust when they are carrying guns and walking around your block

Cause 911 is just a joke full of crooked cops
Because 911 is a joke, and the cops are corrupt

Nightstalkers creepin' through your back
Nightstalkers are walking stealthily at your back

[?] but it be for real , man
I don't understand what's going on, but it is real, man

That's just what them guns for
That's why you carry guns

Cause it ain't no tellin'
Because it's unpredictable

Gots to always keep escape routes
You need to keep your escape route always ready

Convicts and felons ain't the only fools
Convicts and felons aren't the only ones who participate in foolish activities

Takin 'em out for good punk I wish you would
If you take them out, then go ahead as I dare you to do it

I hope I'm understood because them funerals batch and batch
I hope people understand because it is leading to multiple funerals batch by batch

This ain't no good
This is not good

Can't even stroll on the sunday with my kids and mother
I can't even walk with my mother and kids on Sunday

I'm gettin' sick and tired
I am getting exhausted

I'll always have a break for cover
I will always need a place to cover

With all this drama 'n hustlin'
All of these issues and hustling

A playa's tryin' to accomplish
A player is trying to achieve their goals

And that's we all know another day is never promised
We all know that another day is never promised.

It's fault across the world not just up in California
It's widespread across the world, and it is not just in California

You doin' dirt you best believe the dirt gon creep up on ya
You are doing illegal activities, and you better believe that the repercussions will come back to you

Batterram here comes the F.B.I. and D.A.
The FBI and DA are coming in with battering rams

When they come to buck you down it's hard to live a playa's way
When they come to bring you down, it is challenging to live life as a player

[?] Bob Dole and Bill Clinton
I can't understand, Bob Dole and Bill Clinton?

y'all need to holla at playa , dough
You guys need to talk to me

And all you TRU playas out there , man
All of you true players out there

Put them guns down
Put your guns down

And that's real
That is the truth

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS