They Don’t Understand

[Verse 1: Mac Dre]
Once upon a time, before I had a 9
I didn't have to grind all the time
Thangs was cool and brothers hung out
The South with the North and the North with the South
As time went on I started cravin' for mail
Then came the yayo and then I started to sell
Money, money, money is all I knew
'Cause 24-7 the fiends came through
Luxurious living in the fast lane
But little did I know it wouldn't last, mayne
From selling the base cocaine I caught me a case
And then they put me away in a correctional place
They said I was beyond parental control
A hard-headed fool with no mental control
But for months and months I wrote and wrote
And when I got out of jail, I was funky and dope

[Interlude: Mac Dre, Ray Luv]
Yeah I was straight spittin' it to them fools up there, man
They didn't understand this mouthpiece I had, you know
I knew I was coming up
Yo, that's what I try to tell 'em, man
They don't realize it's a straight come up in the nineties
Ayo, but what happened when you got back to the hood, though?

[Verse 2: Mac Dre]
Back in the hood, thangs was so different
The rollers was jackin' and the brothers was trippin'
Uzis and 9s was kept in the trunk
'Cause the North and the South had high-powered funk
Thinking to myself: Dre, leave it alone
Khayree hooked me up with a microphone
Deeper and deeper the funk kept on gettin'
But I wasn't trippin', I had to keep spittin'
Now I'm cold chillin' on the T-O-P
And still ain't trippin' off the funk, baby
And if you don't get the point of the story I tell
Quit trippin' off the funk and make some mail

[Interlude: Mac Dre, Ray Luv]
Ray Luv is in the house

One, two

[Verse 3: Ray Luv]
I grew up on the westside of Rose
Slangin' and gangbangin', hangin' and smokin' dope
"Stay in the house, don't even think about going out!"
My room is a jail cell, so young Ray sneaks out
I run with the rat pack, stack that, jack that
Need some for gold ones, then go mack that
Tender for dollars and don't take no less
Than a C-note and stack that with the rest
Thinkin' and knowin' it's all about the game
Dropped out of school for big fortune and much fame
Runnin' around with a rag in your knapsack
Necks is cracked, Jack, now you pack, black
Why? To smoke another brotherman
Mac Dre, I don't see why they don't understand

[Verse 4: Ray Luv]
Never was much of an athlete
Always craved stages and pages of rhyme sheets and rap beats
Working inside my room through the late night
Damn near goin blind writing rhymes by a dim light
Changin' up my styles, learnin' to flow fast or slow
Kickin' the funky tempo, bass breakin' the bedroom window
But now at age 19 I'm made with a crazy fade
Pockets feeling fat because a brother's crazy paid
Back, to where I used to kick it at
But since it got crazy everyone comes with a gat
Got myself a ounce and a bottle of Boone's
I checked my watch 'cause I knew I had help soon
Now I'm just sitting here thinking 'bout days past
When the police stayed in a brother's ass
While some brothers every week were gettin' bailed out
I stayed my little black behind out of the jailhouse