I Can't Win

whoever said the grass is greener on the other side
never tried to lift a piece of their lawn
the pressures of the world won't let up
I'm so hungry and I'm fed up, I spent half my life tryna get on
I never knew the day would come, when I had about
5 records out, still work a day job, livin' at my moms house
still hoppin' turnstyles, can't catch a taxi
trying to sell records every week infront of fatbeats
this can't be the way it is for cats I've seen on TV
if I said I was a rapper I don't think you would believe me
it's easy to make it, seem easy to make it
but it's much harder than the eye can see when it's naked
you think you can take it, then you need to think again
cause you about to play a hand in a game you can't win

I can't get a job if I wear my hip hop clothes
can't get a deal if I use my hip hop flows
nobody wants to pay me to do all these hip hop shows
bout time my album dropped, shit it's five years old
and I've been told, paitence, this year you gonna make it
then december 31st comes, I hear the same shit
but I'm so close I can taste it
I'm so next that, me and success is adjacent
but time is wasting, I ain't been, gettin' any younger
can't wait to gain weight, my life is driven by this hunger
shit I hardly ever sleep, yet I'm a slept on emcee
you don't mention 9/11 than you ain't considered deep
but I am the epitome of what a real emcee should be
no matter how loud you critics be, you won't get rid of me
it shouldn't be this much of a struggle, a hustle, but it is
shouldn't be so much trouble just to get a couple spins
records should be reaching millions, not just a couple friends
but the dollar signs and numbers win, welcome to the biz

I get mad frustrated when I rhyme
so I sit and write more rhymes and take out my frustrations
a infinite loop, and this shit isn't cute
my lifes foul, on the line, less than a minute to shoot
I try kickin' the truth to these inquisitive youth
but they won't listen to you unless you fit in their group
so when I get in the booth, it's like I'm tryna feed my fam
and someone comes along and just spits in the soup
on top of that, I got these wanna be's
eating right infront of me, I look 'em in the eye like that wasn't for you
now I do what I love, and I love what I do
it ain't my hobby, it's my passion and by now it should be obvious
I'm sorry kid, I just hate dealing with these politics
got less in common with rappers than senators and lobbiests
and 99.9 percent of it is who you know
the other .01 percent is how you flow
even if your love for this is infinite with room to grow
a demo and a dream ain't really gonna get you through the do'
so by the hairs of my chin and every inch of my skin
I play again and again until the day that I win