[Chorus: Nas (repeat 2X)]
    Some of us have angels -- the kingdom, the power
  Some of us have angels -- the power, the glory
  Some of us have demons -- greed, and lust
  Some of us have demons -- lust, temptation
    [Nas]
  Now this is you, dressed in all black, fatigue hat, ready for combat
  A good nigga, you don't leave tracks
  A hood nigga wantin G-stacks, do what you gotta do to get that
  You feel you need that, where the jooks at?
  These are your niggaz, creepin they be leavin niggaz sleep witchu
  Loc' style, quiet no smile, it's the official
  Sometime they grimy, speakin on they own people
  They snake you if they have to, raised tattoos
  Now these are your bitches, phonin lonely homey chickens
  All the homies stick em, you think you own em man listen
  She stab you in your sleep with a knife from out the kitchen
  Put a root on you, next week they find you missin
  Dead in your Expedition in the forest, fell off the cliff and
  tumbled til you blew up, Feds told her and she threw up
  Fake bitches, actresses, wicked witch practices
  Two sides of us, negative or positive
    [Chorus]
    [Nas]
  Now this is your mom, your good luck charm
  Pushin you to do no wrong, prayin for you that you live long
  Nobody kill my baby, but she know her baby crazy
  In and out of jail, mom's screamin, "God take me!"
  This is your pop, chip off the old block that made him
  The man of the house, mom and pops seperatin
  Spittin image of a gangster the way pop walked
  the way pop talked, got older and you thanked him now
  This is your hood, poor folks drugs and robberies
  Turnin into the things moms wanted you not to be
  Crime followin the wrong dudes who have no values
  Life's cheap as the dime in the minds of those around you
  This is the test, the stress, the conflict the ups and downs of
  niggaz around you make threats
  They tell you keep it gangster, no matter the predicament
  Even though your decision won't help you benefit
    [Chorus]
    [Nas]
  Now once again this is you, entertainin your desires
  Bitches money and guns, aimin and you fire
  Everyday is grief, if it ain't beef, it's feedin your seed
  Tryin to eat? You form material needs
  The weed make your brain sizzle, a pistol make it cool off
  by stickin up niggaz, make them take they jewels off
  His reputation is, bigger than his whole life span
  He never planned to fail, he just failed to plan
  What does it take to realize, Satan's alive, he whispers
  And any chance he get, he can take niggaz
  He comes in all shapes and sizes, his best disguise is
  when he stand beside us, but God is inside us, within me
  You are your worst enemy - my mom's words echo in my head
  And if I let go I'm dead
  He stepped at my door, the ? motivate my spirit
  And now the body experience, so now I feel it
  Lookin at my blessings, the bullets - that missed me coulda hit me
  Them court cases coulda put me in the penitentiary
  I never hate, that's just wasted energy
  The past is gone, the present's a gift, so what's the mystery?
  The future - and time only reveals, what fear is
  False expectations, appearin real
  We only human, love thy neighbor, so I was told
  and I will til permanently, my eyes are closed
    [Chorus]