[kid trying to sound like he's crying]



[Jadakiss] Whattup little man? What's the matter?

[lil' man] I wish I didn't have to be here

[Jadakiss] It's not that bad..

Could always be worse, yaknahmsayin?

All you gotta do, is stay in school

Anything you wanna do you could do yaknahmsayin baby?

No matter what though, gotta keep your head up to the sky



[Jadakiss]

This goes out to, all the infants

in this cold world that was born addicted

And to all the section eight kids

Just remember these four words y'all - we gon' make it

The government keep on tryin to fool us

The system, keep on tryin to lose us

And all we can do is keep buyin computers

And (?) all now 'fore it start goin down

We gotta hold our head, keep our pride

Though it hurts when I see people sleep outside

Little babies with no socks on, eatin popcorn

We all know what they moms and they pops on

Out go the love when the drugs come

They never got nuttin for Christmas, and they ain't Muslim

This is a jewel, a lot of us was them

This is a jewel, a lot of us was them



[Chorus: Ann Nesby]

Your head to the sky.. my my, my

You can win - you can win - if you keep your head

As long as you keep - your head - your head to the sky

My my, my..



[Jadakiss]

Uhh, to my lockdown niggaz keep your head in the sky

To my shot down niggaz keep your head in the sky

I don't know if it's better to ride, or better to die

And that's why there's red in my eye

Cause people don't know what the ghetto is like

Either you make it out, or the terrible life

I don't wanna be a broke bastard

And everybody in the hood got somebody in they fam' with a coke habit

You work for minimum wage

I'ma get in the game, get shot or a bid in the cage

It's a risk I gotta take - and I'ma be the nigga

with the bricks and the stash and the biscuit outta state

And even though I'm blessed with the gift

I gotta move cause the pain and the sickness gotta wait

I go extremely hard - why let up?

And I can breathe long as I keep my head up



[Chorus w/ minor variations]



[Jadakiss]

Uhh, uhh - uh-huh, uhh - uh..

Aiyyo I come from a place where it's three strikes out

And your life's on the line, so we iced out

Summertime gettin money, three dice out

Tanktops, and jean shorts, we Niked out

Headbands, and four wheelers

Jeeps and Coupes and convos, about who know more killers

It's all wrong but it's all right

It's a small world; matter fact it's a small life

We all trip but the way to survive

is hold your head and make sure you fall right

And it's a quite fact, that whatever goes around comes right back

It's just like that

And we tryin to touch major paper

Everybody in the struggle it gets greater later

Never say can't, it's better to try

And you can breathe long as you keep your head in the sky



[Ann Nesby]

Don't you let nobody stop you, mm

Heyy, heyyy, yeahhh!



[Chorus - 2X w/ variations]



[ad libs and Chorus by Ann Nesby to the end]