Things Done Changed
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics

Back in the day
In the past

Things done changed on this side
Things have greatly changed

Remember they used to thump but now they blast, right
Remember how the music used to be loud but now it's really loud

Remember back in the days when niggas had waves
Remember the old times when people used to have certain hairstyles

Cazal shades and corn braids
People used to wear certain types of sunglasses and braid their hair a specific way

Pitching pennies, honeys had the high-top jellies
People used to play games with pennies and women wore a certain type of shoe

Shooting skelly, motherfuckers was all friendly
People used to play a game called skelly and everyone was friendly

Lounging at the barbecues, drinking brews
Hanging out at barbecues and drinking beer

With the neighborhood crews, hanging on the avenues
With friends, hanging out on the streets

Turn your pages to 1993
Looking back at the year 1993

Niggas is getting smoked, G, believe me
People are getting killed, believe me

Talk slick, you get your neck slit quick
If you talk back, you may get hurt badly

'Cause real street niggas ain't having that shit
People who grew up in tough neighborhoods won't tolerate anyone disrespecting them

Totin' TECs for rep
People carry guns to show they are tough

Smoking blunts in the project hallways
People smoke drugs in the hallways of a housing project

Shooting dice all day
Playing a gambling game called dice all day long

Waitin' for niggas to step up on some fighting shit
Waiting for someone to try and fight

We get hype and shit and start lighting shit
We get excited and start causing trouble

So step away with your fist-fight ways
Don't try to fight with your fists

Motherfucker, this ain't back in the days
This is not like the old times

But you don't hear me though
But you don't understand what I'm saying

No more coco-levio 1, 2, 3
A children's game is no longer played

1, 2, 3, all it is to me, is a mystery
It's a mystery what these numbers mean

I hear you motherfuckers talk about it
I hear people talking about things

But I stay seeing bodies with the motherfucking chalk around it
I see dead bodies marked by chalk on the streets

And I'm down with the shit too
I'm involved in this too

For the stupid motherfuckers want to try to use Kung-Fu
For those that want to fight with Kung-Fu

Instead of a MAC-10, he tried scrapping
Instead of using a gun, he tried to fight with his fists

Slugs in his back and that's what the fuck happens
He got shot in the back and that's what happens

When you sleep on the street
When you're homeless and living on the streets

Little motherfuckers with heat wanna leave a nigga six feet deep
Young people with guns want to kill someone

And we coming to the wake
We're going to the funeral

To make sure the crying and commotion ain't a motherfucking fake
To make sure people are really grieving

Back in the days our parents used to take care of us
In the past, our parents took better care of us

Look at 'em now, they even fuckin' scared of us
Now our parents are even scared of us

Calling the city for help because they can't maintain
Asking the city for help because they can't handle the problems on their own

Damn, shit done changed
Wow, things have really changed

If I wasn't in the rap game
If I wasn't a rapper

I'd probably have a key knee-deep in the crack game
I'd probably be selling crack

Because the streets is a short stop
Because life on the streets is temporary

Either you're slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot
Either you're selling drugs or you're good at basketball

Shit, it's hard being young from the slums
It's tough to be young and poor

Eating 5 cent gums, not knowing where your meal's coming from
Eating cheap candy and not knowing where your next meal will come from

And now the shit's getting crazier and major
Things are getting more intense and serious

Kids younger than me, they got the Skygrand pagers
Kids younger than me have fancy pagers

Going out of town, blowing up
Traveling and becoming successful

Six months later, all the dead bodies showing up
Six months later, there are a lot of dead bodies

It make me wanna grab the 9 and the shotty
It makes me want to grab a gun

But I gotta go identify the body
But I have to go identify the dead body

Damn, what happened to the summertime cookouts
What happened to the fun barbecues in the summer?

Every time I turn around, a nigga getting took out
Every time I look, someone is getting hurt or killed

Shit, my momma got cancer in her breast
My mom has cancer in her breast

Don't ask me why I'm motherfucking stressed, things done changed
I'm stressed out and things have changed a lot