Chorus:

When I was 17, it was a very good year.

It was a very good year, when I was 17.



Verse 1:

I was wearing silk suits, real cute, pimp in the veins,

Thinking I was gonna be the next Big Daddy Kane.

G-Man was the name, and the G was for game,

Repped the Bridge from which I came, baby, simple and plain.

I had that inch-thick herringbone chain,

When them rich kids were sick that they didn’t get a goal in their game.

I came from a 16-year-old frame,

4’11” girl, with a gift from heaven, probably drove her insane.

I chauffeured for a change, I stole and exchanged,

We were broke, but I couldn’t let her shoulder the pain.

I hit the streets, formed my own lane,

And for them short gains, sold everything, marijuana to ‘caine..

Nowadays it ain’t foreign to slang,

But once that “hustle” label’s thrown on you, dawg, it’s like a ball and a chain.

I stayed reaching for goals, but it’s always the same,

I gotta shine cause my inside’s enduring the pain..

Life’s crazy, Vita Matta.

Kinda hard to be the man when you need a father, release the water.

There’s beauty in the rain, to smooth away the pain,

And we gain from the lessons we’re taught. Vita Matta.



Chorus:

When I was 21, it was a very good year.

It was a very good year, when I was 21.



Verse 2:

I was wearing Nike Flights, knife fights, Natural Ice,

Loving the night life, wilding, with a passion to write.

I changed my name to Check when I’m grabbing the mic,

Mark gotta come correct, can’t be average, right?

I seen a couple having a fight, and put my cape on,

From that day on, I was changing my life.

I cut my dames off, I’m with Shorty every night,

Put it on the table and I told her I’m the player type.

Thought she was my a-alike, and paid the price,

Loved the fight in the tiger, but she hated his stripes.

Everything sacred now created a fight,

Could’ve gone separate ways, but I made her my wife.

Life’s crazy, Vita Matta.

Kinda hard to build trust with a cheater’s aura, release the water.

There’s beauty in the rain, to smooth away the pain,

And we gain from the lessons we’re taught. Vita Matta.



Chorus:

When I was 35, it was a very good year.

It was a very good year, when I was 35.



Verse 3:

I was dressed like success, LV’s and G’s,

Scatter from Superfly, meets Steve McQueen.

I had a group of guys moving green to steam,

My team can’t eat raps, had to leave that dream.

I’m tryna get that green like ‘Preme,

The gangster, not the Gangstarr, I’m in a meaner scene.

Nobody rap like Pun to stack them funds,

They clap them guns with beams, and they squeeze for cream.

Every time I “re”, it’s like the same routine,

I’m an expert at making doing dirt seem clean.

I can’t sleep, keep having evil dreams,

But my daughter on my chest makes the scene serene.

A lot of pressure, between tryna read the D’s,

And keep my people eating, while I feed my seed.

And teach her how to read, but don’t see my deeds,

I never want D to be like me. Please redeem me.

Life’s crazy, Vita Matta.

Kinda hard to go legit, plus feed a daughter, at least I oughta,

Think about a change, but can’t change the rain,

So pour it down on me harder. Vita Matta.



Life’s crazy, Vita Matta.

Kinda hard to be the man when you need a father, and got a daughter.

Pour the rain down on me harder.

Vita Matta.