There's gon' be some stuff you gon' see
That's gon' make it hard
to smile in the future
But through whatever you see
Through all the rain and the pain
You gotta keep your sense of humor
You gotta be able to smile
through all this bullshit
Remember that!
Mmm, yeah, keep ya head up! Yeah
Our lifestyles be close captioned
Addicted to fatal attractions
Pictures of actions be played
back in the midst of mashin'
No fairy tales for this young black male
Some see me stranded in this land
of hell, jail, and crack sales
Hustlers hardly think of culture
Or the repercussions while
bustin' on backstabbin' vultures
Sellin' my soul for material
wishes, fast cars, and bitches
Wishin' I live my life a legend,
immortalized in pictures
Why shed tears? Save your sympathy
My childhood years were spent
Buryin' my peers in the cemetary
Here's a message to the
newborns waitin' to breathe
If you believe, then you can
achieve; just look at me!
Against all odds, though
life is hard we carry on
Livin' in the projects,
broke with no lights on
To all the seeds that follow
me, protect your essence
Born with less, but you still
precious; just smile for me now!
Smile for me, won't you
smile? (Smile for me now)
Just smile, smile for me (Smile)
(What you lookin' all sad for?
Nigga, you black, smile for me now)
Smile for me
(Nigga, you ain't got
nothin' to be worried about)
Won't you smile? (No
doubt, smile for me now)
Just smile (And the ne t generation)
Now, as I open up my story,
with the blaze of your blunts
And you can picture thoughts
slowly, up on phrases I wrote
And I can walk you through
the days that I done
I often wish that I could save
everyone, but I'm a dreamer
Have you ever seen a n a
who was strong in the game
Overlookin' his tomorrows,
and they finally came?
Look back on childhood memories,
and I'm still feelin' the pain
Turnin' circles in my 9th
grade, dealin' cocaine
Too many hassles in my local
life, survivin' the strain
And a man without a focus,
life could drive him insane
Stuck inside a ghetto
fantasy hopin' it change
But when I focus on reality
we broke and in chains
Had a dream of livin'
wealthy and makin' it big
Over football chose to cook
raw, wouldn't take but I did
And after all my momma's thankin'
God for blessin' the child
All my momma gots to do now is
collect it and smile; smile!
Smile for me, won't you smile?
Just smile, smile for me
Smile for me
Won't you smile? Just smile
F k the world, as we elope
and witness furious speeds
Unanswered questions keep us
all stressin', curious G's
Backstabbed and bleedin'
Crooked thoughts laced
with weed, learnin'
Duckin' stray shots, bullets
be hot, they burnin'
Inhalin' sherm smoke,
visualize the flames
Will I be smothered by my own pain?
Strange whispers, cowards
conversate, so quick to diss us
Takin' pictures for the feds in
desperate hopes they'd get us
Hit us off, give us plenty centuries
Forgive my sins, since I
entered many penitentiaries
The best revenge is "F k friends!"
We military minded soldiers
Bustin' shots blindly,
tryin' to find Jehovah
To help me, somebody
save me, lost and crazy
Scared to drop a seed hopin'
I ain't cursed my babies
Maybe now niggas feel
me now, picture my pain
Embrace my words, make the world change
And still I smile, n a
And now a moment of silence, let us pray
And as you journey into outerspace
May the angels help to lead the way
May the prayers that our families made
Shine up on your soul to keep you safe
And all the homies that done passed away
They there to greet you
as you pass the gates
And as you headed to the tunnel's light
I hope it leads to eternal life
We say the prayers for our homie 'Pac
