909 Below Baseline Where the odds got teeth And the cards don’t pray for you Hook Below Baseline, we was raised under pressure Ice on the curb, but the heat made the measure San Manuel lights, everybody chasing blessings But the house always wins when your life is the wager Below Baseline, every line had a lesson White on the scale, black cloud in the section Del Rosa had thorns, no bouquet for the reckless We gambled with time and paid interest on seconds Verse 1 I came up where the street signs double as warnings Baseline taught math, subtract friends every morning Del Rosa had roses, but the roots grew vicious Flowers by the curb, same place they leave wishes Waterman couldn’t wash the dirt off the name When the block baptize you, you still come out stained Highland made us aim high while we lived low Trying to touch heaven with a devil in the window E Street had the E, but no easy exits Every corner got a charge, even when you miss electric I seen kings shoot dice and pawn off their crowns Had aces in their sleeves but got sleeved in the ground San Manuel glowing like a god on the hill But the valley still broke while the jackpot stood still We played hands with no handouts, cards never fair Dealer said “hit,” then the block hit back there Had crystal in the bag, but the vision got cloudy Everybody wanted snow till the summer got rowdy They said money talk, but the money spoke evil One dime turn a man into front page sequel I learned profit and loss before algebra clicked You can make a killing and still die from it Hook Below Baseline, we was raised under pressure Ice on the curb, but the heat made the measure San Manuel lights, everybody chasing blessings But the house always wins when your life is the wager Below Baseline, every line had a lesson White on the scale, black cloud in the section Del Rosa had thorns, no bouquet for the reckless We gambled with time and paid interest on seconds Verse 2 The trap had a door, but the frame was a sentence In and out quick, still caught in the entrance Plug gave us power, but the bill came later Everybody charged up till the court seen paper Blue lights spinning like slots on the dash Three cherries mean money, three sirens mean crash I watched boys chase chips and get chipped by the chase Face card dreams, but the deck had no face Meth had them wired, but the block stayed wireless No connection to hope, just bars and silence Streets raised wolves, then blamed us for biting Taught us survival, then called it indicting Every brick had weight, every wait had a cost Standing on corners, still looking for a cross Dice in the palm, palm full of sweat One bad roll make your mama wear black I seen clean money dirty up faster than dope And dirty money vanish when you needed some hope Casino on the hill, trap down the slope One sells chance, one sells rope Both got lights, both got losers Both take souls from regular users Baseline wasn’t a street, it was a limit And I was below it before I knew I was in it Bridge Below the lights, below the signs Below the odds, below the lines Below the prayer, below the sin Below the hand they dealt us in Below the dream, below the shine Below the hill, below Baseline Hook Below Baseline, we was raised under pressure Ice on the curb, but the heat made the measure San Manuel lights, everybody chasing blessings But the house always wins when your life is the wager Below Baseline, every line had a lesson White on the scale, black cloud in the section Del Rosa had thorns, no bouquet for the reckless We gambled with time and paid interest on seconds Outro 909 made me read odds like scripture Every loss got framed like a picture Below Baseline, where the pain came fitted Had to lose the hand before I learned how to quit it
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