This Is Why We Ride

People always wanna know

The reason for what they consider senseless violence in the 'hood

I'ma break it down for you

This is why we ride

And this is why we ride

And this is why we ride

I gotta say this clear, I gotta say this loud

I should've been dead, don't know how I'm here now

I should've been dead, damn it forty years ago

How the fuck did I survive?

Somethin' that I'll never know

I played the crack game, gang gang, guns

Motherfuckers told me I'd never see twenty one

I come from LA, deep in the heart of the 'hood

Every night the bullets fly, this shit ain't Hollywood

Could be your best friend, mother or brother dead

Cops can't do shit, these streets are blood red

So we leave the block and we load the guns

And we want revenge, until revenge comes

And this is why we ride

And this is why we ride

I made it out the 'hood, I got a great life

But them bullets fly every motherfuckin' night

Another kid dies every motherfuckin' night

Another mother cries every motherfuckin' night

Ghettoes of deep crack, made to never escape

A place to store the poor, made to never escape

They're all over the world, people go to die

Murders go unsolved, I understand why

They remove hope and then we sell dope

Pain and poverty has us at each other's throat

Families are broken and so we gangbang

A bit form of unity but most love some ever seen

And this is how we die

And this is why we ride

Aw man, comin' up and survivin' in the ghetto

The smallest argument goes from little drama to big drama

Next thing you know, somebody's dead

I don't think you can understand if you've never been in your streets and

Held your best friend in your arms

Your child in your arms and watch them breathe their last breath

'Cause somebody shot 'em dead in the streets

You ain't thinkin' about callin' the police

You want revenge

And you want it now

I gotta be honest witchu

If somebody were to kill me, shoot me right now

My last words wouldn't be peace

It would be 'get those motherfuckers

(And this is why we ride)

This song is dedicated to all of you who have lost somebody to street violence

And this is why we ride

And this is how we die