[ VERSE 1 ]
I wake up, 3 in the morning, I'm tired
But for some reason I got inspired
To write a rhyme, I suggest myself
To express myself, maybe impress myself
Now it struck me odd that sisters and brothers
Would ever have riff with one another
And some of us live out of a pipe or a bottle
When what we need are positive role models
Can't you see we need to make the switch
Because a smart man po' will beat a dumb man rich
Yo, dollars don't make you, they can only enhance
And without intelligence, you know you don't stand a chance
With money, you can save it, borrow it, lend it
Without a brain, man, you can't even spend it
Yeah, you can play the role like you're gettin by
But if you do, you're just livin a lie

[ CHORUS ]
Living a lie, who are you fooling?
Living a lie, who are you fooling?
Living a lie, who are you fooling?
Living a lie, cause Young is cooling

[ VERSE 2 ]
'My record's comin out next week', that's your motto
Before you have a record, you will probably hit the lotto
Livin that lie for years and years
The closest thing you have to wax is what you find in your ears
You talk about girls like a have a whole harem
Look at yourself, yo, you know that you scare em
And it's unfortunate that you have to lie
To a fine young lady just to catch her eye
Yo, ain't it kinda wild how some girls be trippin?
Quiet now, and next minute they're lippin
Want all your money, and when you go broke
Leave you cold like it ain't no joke
The lie that you're livin in this, is quite simple
Fallin for a big butt and dimples
Homegirl's with it when the balance is high
But then it turns out that you're livin a lie

[ CHORUS ]

[ VERSE 3 ]
You live, you learn, you work, you earn
Do good, you go to heaven, do bad, you burn
So I try to tell people doin bad today
That somewhere down the line there'll be a price to pay
Don't hurt that woman, or beat that child
Or do something stupid cause your friends are wild
Cause when you've got a lot, friends love to share
But when it's time to pay, you know there's nobody there
You live the fast life, walk around high-strung
But then you know if you live fast, you die young
You're lookin in the mirror, say, it can't be true
But when it comes down to it, homeboy, you're blue
Look back on your life, and what have you done?
You spent all your life makin sure you had fun
And as you reflect, you begin to cry
Because you know deep down you was livin a lie

[ CHORUS ]