Without "The spirit of 76"
The 77 in my pocket?
Call 'em "walking sticks."
"All in" the mix.
Showing up late like in '78
when Mr. Henley & Maria they gave birth to a great.
It was worth the wait.
Feeling fine.
Now in '79, they sippin' that wine,
knowin' the 80's were comin
& things were gonna change.
Never the same. '81 Reagan is sworn in.
Then comes debates about abortion.
AIDS and crack about to hit with no caution.
Misfit turns awesome.
The number killer.
That's Michael Jackson '82.
He's dropping "Thriller,"
which goes on to sell about 25 Mil for real.
What's iller is CDs aint even come out 'til '83.
That was the same year that my dad died.
So I cried 'til '84,
even tho the Raiders won the Superbowl. I know.
"Civilize an 85'er." Tried to 86 my hustle.
Them Challengers aint fly. Crash & die like shuttle.
87 seconds for that line. Its like a puzzle
with 88 pieces for your thinking muscle.
Infinity double (88). The time is '89.
I'm tryin' to find trouble
with a bite like a pitbull. Still can catch a muzzle.
Cuz in '90 some Buster knocks out Iron Mike!
'91 we rhyming like "Yea somebody tryin' to fight"
We don't need no water. L.A. Riot '92 type.
Chill '93 'til the day that we get killed.
Even if its on some gruesome '94 Ruwanda ill,
or '95 yelling out "Freedom" as the blood spills.
My heart is brave still.
East-West feud builds, gettin' sick.
Pac gets shot & killed in '96. B.I.G. in '97.
Wonder if they got to heaven.
But more than that, R.I.P. will y'all ever let them?
Got a fever pitch even if my temperature is 98 degrees.
Won't freeze. So run ya ice up at the gate.
Its way too late to even try and prevent.
I give 'em "99 problems and..." I still aint 100%