[Intro: interpolation of "Toy Soldiers" by Martika] Step by step, heart to heart Left right left, we all fall down..
[Chorus: interpolation of "Toy Soldiers"] Step by step, heart to heart Left right left, we all fall down Like toy soldiers Bit by bit, torn apart We never win, but the battle wages on We're toy soldiers
[Verse 1] I'm supposed to be the soldier, who never blows his composure Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders I ain't never 'sposed to show it, my crew ain't supposed to know it Even if it means goin toe to toe with the Benzino It don't matter I'd never drag 'em in battles that I can handle 'less I absolutely have to, I'm supposed to set an example I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em If some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em That Ja shit, I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it There's a certain line you just don't cross, and he crossed it I heard him say Hailie's name on a song, and I just lost it It was crazy, the shit went way beyond some Jay-Z and Nas shit And even though the battle is won I feel like we lost it I spent so much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted And I'm so caught in it, I almost feel I'm the one who caused it This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, it's not why I got in it That was never my object, for someone to get killed Why would I want to destroy somethin I helped build? It wasn't my intentions, my intentions were good I went through my whole career without ever mentionin {Suge} And that was just out of respect, for not runnin my mouth And talkin about somethin that I knew nothin about Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth While he's all over TV, now I'm talkin a man who literally saved my life, like fuck it I understand This is business, and this shit just isn't none of my business I'm still knowin this shit could pop off at any minute, because
[Chorus]
[Verse 2] There used to be a time when, you could just say a rhyme and wouldn't have to worry about, one of your people dyin But now it's elevated, cause once you put someone's kids in it the shit gets escalated, it ain't just words no more is it? It's a different ball game, you call names and you ain't just rappin We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him And asked him not to start it, he wasn't gonna go after him Until Ja started yappin in magazines how he stabbed him Fuck him, 50 smash him, mash him and let him have it Meanwhile my attention's pulled in another direction Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk has an erection for me and thinks that I'll be his resurrection Tries to blow the dust off his mic and make a new record But now he's fucked the game up, cause one of the ways I came up was through that publication, the same one that made me famous Now the owner of it, has got a grudge against me for nothin? Well fuck it, that motherfucker could get it too, fuck him then But I'm so busy bein pissed off, I don't stop to think That we just inherited 50's beef with Murder INC And he's inherited mine, which is fine, ain't like either of us mind We still have soldiers that's on the front line that's willin to die for us as soon as we give the orders Never to extort us, strictly to show they support us And maybe shout 'em out in a rap or up in the chorus To show them we love 'em back and let 'em know how important it is to have Runyon Avenue soldiers up in our corners Their loyalty to us is worth more than ANY award is But I ain't tryin to ha