[Intro: Plies]
I'm finna give it to your ass gun barrel straight
That's just how we rocking over here, bruh
Big Gates Records, bruh
Gun barrel straight, bih

[Interlude: DJ Scream]
Shout outs to everybody in the projects
Shout outs to everybody in the ghettos
See, understand this:
It's always a bright light at the end of that struggle, my n***a

[Hook: Plies]
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
Ain't know avoiding getting killed was gonna ever be this hard
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds

[Verse 1: Plies]
N***as don't want to see me with shit, the white man don't neither
That's why I ride every day, drink my liquor and smoke my reefer
The Mexicans the only motherfuckers they put beneath us
I guess if you poor and white, the world don't fuck with you neither
I get it, I understand--I'm black, so I ain't equal
When you from the hood though, that shit run a lil’ deeper
Ain’t one motherfucker in my hood that done never became a doctor
Ain’t one body in my family who done never became a lawyer
My daddy sold dope, that shit hard not to follow
My momma did her best, but she had her own problems
My brother a two-timin’ loser, that's a whole ‘nother saga
Every n***a in my click, at some point was a robber
It's hard to think different, cause shit--I'm from the projects
Soon as you make a lil’ money, gotta spend it fightin’ charges
Ain't pussy, I'm a hundred--so I can't live with caution
I'm just trying to make sure, my wins outweigh my losses
[Hook: Plies]
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
Ain't know avoiding getting killed was gonna ever be this hard
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds

[Verse 2: Plies]
It's a thousand n***as that die for every one n***a that make it out
My homie can't even read, but do his thang with them pots
His momma been dead, his daddy smoke rocks
He can't get a job, some might say it's his own fault
Sometimes situations,can change what you was taught
If my momma and daddy was together, I wonder where I'd be
Cause most of the shit I know now, I learned it from the streets
Cause being a certain color, it attracts the police
And when you live in certain areas, you can never get peace
My momma’s biggest fear is me dying in these streets
But if ain't up in it, how the fuck I'm gonna eat?
And it's sad to say, but nobody in my family got a degree
A n***a played ball, and dropped out for the streets
And got involved in hustling, and got in too deep
That shit got over my head, and the n***a couldn't even see
The streets ain't the Army, but I wanna be all I can be
[Hook: Plies]
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
Ain't know avoiding getting killed was gonna ever be this hard
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds

[Verse 3: Plies]
I just got one wish ‘fore they drop me in the casket
To wake up one morning and see my momma happy
I wanna salute God for all the bad shit that happened
Cause everything that went wrong, now I understand it
He protect me from my enemies, protected me when I was trapping
He left me when I was lil’, but I still forgive my daddy
The world done got rough, everything done got drastic
I'm just a black man, that's the color of my fabric
If I'm ever gonna make it, the hustle I got to marry
The road done been rough, but I refuse to let it try me
I done made some mistakes, but shit I ain't embarrassed
I gotta beat the odds, cause one day I'm ‘a perish
[Hook: Plies]
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
Ain't know avoiding getting killed was gonna ever be this hard
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds
They say one out of ten blacks, we gonna die behind bars
Say if we were born in the ghetto, then we ain't gonna make it far
To keep it real with you my n***a, I'm just trying to beat the odds
I'm just trying to beat the odds