[Jay-Z] Is he a Blood, is he Crip? Is he that, is he this? Did he do it? Y'know, ehh Look.. If I shoot you, I'm brainless Different toilet, same shit, and I'm sick of explainin this I'm waitin on arraignment, my nigga is the plantiff Yeah, I know what you thinkin - fucked up ain't it? I shoulda known better, and I planned to But dog they be takin me out of my zone like a nigga with a handle I sat back and watched it, put the gats back in the closet I tried to tie my hands like an Iraqi hostage Let niggaz take shots at me, no response I just - flip and, pop my collar like the Fonz You give a nigga a foot he'll take you one step beyond He'll try to play you twice, the third time is the charm You wanna conversate with the writer of the Qu'ran Or Old Testament, don't test him then I know what y'all thinkin dick, pause Your future's my past, I've been here before I know when you're schemin, I feel when you plottin I got, mental vision, intuition I know where you goin I read your mind's navigational system Everybody whisperin - pst pst pst ss perspirin [Chorus] When the, streets is talkin, niggaz is gossipin Bitches all in your shit, what's the cause of it? I need to know.. geah geah Yeah yeah yeah, yeah.. [Jay-Z] You see me with a bodyguard that means police is watchin And I only use his waist to keep my glock in But when shit goes down you know who's doin the poppin And if you don't know, guess who's doin the droppin S dot again, y'all got him in a bad mood Bad move; that's bad news How many times have I got to prove? How many loved ones have you got to lose Before you realize that it's probably true? Whatever Jigga say, Jigga probably do Shit I paid my dues, I made the news I came in the door for dolo, blazed the crews And the streets say Jigga can't go back home You know when I heard that? When I was back home I'm comfortable dog, Brooklyn to Rome On any Martin Luther, don't part with your future Don't ever question if I got the heart to shoot ya The answer is simply too dark for the user And as a snot-nose they said that he got flows But will he be able to drop those before the cops close in? 'Fore the shots froze him, and he's dead and gone From what the block has spoken, my God Everybody stressin, who's his baby's moms? Who he got pregnant, let me tell you, ahh... [Chorus] When the, streets is talkin, niggaz is gossipin Bitches all in your shit, what's the cause of it? I need to know.. chicka-uh-ah, ah-chk-ah-uh-ah Chicka-ch-ah, chk-ah-ah-ah When the, streets is talkin, niggaz is gossipin Bitches all in your shit, what's the cause of it? I need to know.. gi-gi-gi, geah yeah uh, yeah yeah uh Yeah, yo, yo [Jay-Z] I seen my first murder in the hall, if you must know I lost my pops when I was eleven mmm twelve years old He's probably somewhere where the liquor is takin it's toll But I ain't mad at you dad, holla at your lad I grew up pushin snowflake to niggaz that was pro-base The stress'll take a young nigga, give him a old face All I did was smoke joke, think and drink Copped 'caine and complained, front row watch game I seen niggaz before me, with a chance to write they own script Slip up and change the story I seen young niggaz go out in a blaze of glory