Backstreet Songtext
von Anthony David

It′s a ghetto epic
You might have heard this story before
Not like this...

The air is still, the heat is rising
Summertime's on the horizon
Little girl with the baby crying
′Cause she's got no food to eat
And it ain't that nobody′s listening
And it ain′t that nobody cares, it's just that
Everybody′s busy looking out for what is theirs
I'm a hustler on the corner
Making very little money
But down the block, on the other corner
This nigga′s down there getting paid
What's he doing that I ain′t doing?
He got clothes and fancy things
Big old car and pretty women
Watch what jealousy and envy brings


On the backstreet
That's where I live
On the backstreet
There ain't nothing positive


Now up the block comes my man Cee-Lo
Say what′s happening, how you feel?
He don′t care about no 5-0
'Cause he′s known to keep it real
Peep what's happening down the block, yo
Who′s this down here taking mine?
Cee-Lo knows about his business
So he runs it down one time
He get keys straight from Miami
Hooks it up and sells it cheap
You ain't getting nothing but O′s from Sammy
So your prices are too steep
But I got just the thing you need, son
If you really wanna win
Sunlight sparkles on his gold fronts
As he makes this evil grin
Take a walk on down to my crib
And let me show you something new
Now I got loads of guns and ammo
That I bought from this white dude
He could tell that I was down
That I was just the man to see
And he fronted me at least a G's worth
Of artillery

On the backstreet
That's where I live
On the backstreet, yeah
There ain′t nothing positive

Now in his bedroom, it′s amazing
He got guns of every kind
He lights a blunt and we start blazing
Then I picked the one that shines
It's an old school Calico
A semi-auto, dark as night
Yeah, it′s just the thing I need to make my situation tight
So he shows me how to load it
Since I don't know what to do
Aims toward the wall and it exploded
Through this poster of Ice Cube
It brought so much devastation
That it′s obvious to me
That it's just the thing to separate your soul from your body

On the backstreet
That′s where I live
On the backstreet, yeah
There ain't nothing positive

I went home and started plotting
For my come up at midnight
In the darkness, catch him slipping
Take his re-up money, his life
I'll just catch him as he goes out
To his car to make a run
Now you can′t front when you′re confronted
With the cold steel of a gun
Midnight comes and I'm moving
On the creep all dressed in black
Wearing a ski mask so he won′t know
Who just put him on his back
So I hid behind the bushes
At the people's house next door
Three shots rang out from behind me
And my blood began to pour, no

What? What now, boy?
Told you I was gon′ get you, boy
Thought you was gon' catch me slippin′, then you trippin'
Let's go, man, do it hurt? Let′s go

Everything happened in one swift action
Shit I just couldn′t believe
Cee-Lo told 'em what was happening
I′ve been tricked, I've been deceived
And it ain′t that nobody heard it
And it ain't that nobody cares
Just that everybody was busy looking out for what was theirs
Non-contributing citizen, what they call an NCC
Now I don′t really know what that means
But it's what the cops call me
They don't care what happens to me
They don′t miss me on the beat
All they know is that there′s one less nigga

Hanging on the backstreet
Where I used to live
On the backstreet
There ain't nothing, nothing

The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you
The choices you make can make or break you