In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
So, all of you Africans, all of you Africans
That know how to do things that's workin' for other people
Y'all need to open your own business
Save your money, quit payin' motherfuckers for jheri curls
Quit payin' motherfuckers for perms
Save your money, start your own business
So these little Africans will have way-, places to work
This is our future right here
This our future right here (right there)
This (the new generation is goin', the new generation)
Hey, I'ma tell you right now, if, if, if I have to die today
For this little African right here to have a future
I'm a dead motherfucker (you right)
Wake up, jumped out my bed
I'm in a two-man cell with my homie Lil' 1/2 Dead
Murder was the case that they gave me
Dear God, I wonder, can you save me?
I'm only eighteen, so I'm a young buck
It's a riot, if I don't scrap, I'm gettin' stuck
But that's the life of a G, I guess
Eses way deep, shanked two in the chest
Best run 'cause brothers is droppin' quicker
Uh, too late, damn, down goes another nigga
Bouncin' off the walls, throwin' them dogs
Gettin' that rep as a young hog
It ain't nothin' like the street life
You better be strapped with your shank, 'cause ain't no fist fight
So I guess I gots to handle mine
Since I did the crime, I gots to do my time
Dem say me grow up to be nothin'
Look at me now and tell me what you see (tell me what you see)
I am what I am, it's only me
Little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Now I'm holdin' a dub, sittin' on swoll
Twenty-seven years old, up for parole, stroll
I'm back up on my feet with my mind on the money
That I'll be makin' soon as I touch the streets
Things done changed on this side
Remember they used to thump, but now they blast, right
But it ain't no thang to me
'Cause now I'm what they call a loc'd-ass OG
The lil' homies from the hood with grip
Are the ones I get with 'cause I'm down to set trip
Nigga, I'm bigger than you, so what you wanna do?
Didn't know he had a .22
Straight sittin' behind his back
I grabbed his pockets and then I heard six caps
I fell to the ground with blood on my hands
I didn't understand
How a nigga so young could bust a cap
I used to be the same way back
I guess that's what I get (for what?)
For tryna jack the lil' homies for they grip
Mi learn many things from what mi see from the street
The outcome of what I've come to be
Little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Somethin' for the real OGs to get with
Some facts, made our made, now you runnin' but don't play
Like every single day, really, though
You know me, I'm the smooth macadamien, gamin' them for my homie
No need in bein' calm if you pack right
And learnin' just enough to keep your sack right
Late nights, I wonder what they gettin' for?
Early mornin' on the corners, what they hittin' for?
Seven young G's put they serve down
In the G ride, East side's where they swerve now
Not thinkin' about what's really goin' on
Got crept on, stepped on, now they gone
I spent four years in the county with nothin' but convicts around me
But now I'm back at Tha Pound
And we expose ways for the youth to survive
Some think it's wrong but we tend to think it's right
So make all them ends you can make
'Cause when you're broke, you break, check it out
So ain't no need for your mama to trip
'Cause you's a hustlin'-ass youngsta, clockin' your grip
And now mi finally grown as you can see (as you can see)
Still an OG, for life and always remain to be
A little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
That know how to do things that's workin' for other people
Y'all need to open your own business
Save your money, quit payin' motherfuckers for jheri curls
Quit payin' motherfuckers for perms
Save your money, start your own business
So these little Africans will have way-, places to work
This is our future right here
This our future right here (right there)
This (the new generation is goin', the new generation)
Hey, I'ma tell you right now, if, if, if I have to die today
For this little African right here to have a future
I'm a dead motherfucker (you right)
Wake up, jumped out my bed
I'm in a two-man cell with my homie Lil' 1/2 Dead
Murder was the case that they gave me
Dear God, I wonder, can you save me?
I'm only eighteen, so I'm a young buck
It's a riot, if I don't scrap, I'm gettin' stuck
But that's the life of a G, I guess
Eses way deep, shanked two in the chest
Best run 'cause brothers is droppin' quicker
Uh, too late, damn, down goes another nigga
Bouncin' off the walls, throwin' them dogs
Gettin' that rep as a young hog
It ain't nothin' like the street life
You better be strapped with your shank, 'cause ain't no fist fight
So I guess I gots to handle mine
Since I did the crime, I gots to do my time
Dem say me grow up to be nothin'
Look at me now and tell me what you see (tell me what you see)
I am what I am, it's only me
Little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Now I'm holdin' a dub, sittin' on swoll
Twenty-seven years old, up for parole, stroll
I'm back up on my feet with my mind on the money
That I'll be makin' soon as I touch the streets
Things done changed on this side
Remember they used to thump, but now they blast, right
But it ain't no thang to me
'Cause now I'm what they call a loc'd-ass OG
The lil' homies from the hood with grip
Are the ones I get with 'cause I'm down to set trip
Nigga, I'm bigger than you, so what you wanna do?
Didn't know he had a .22
Straight sittin' behind his back
I grabbed his pockets and then I heard six caps
I fell to the ground with blood on my hands
I didn't understand
How a nigga so young could bust a cap
I used to be the same way back
I guess that's what I get (for what?)
For tryna jack the lil' homies for they grip
Mi learn many things from what mi see from the street
The outcome of what I've come to be
Little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Somethin' for the real OGs to get with
Some facts, made our made, now you runnin' but don't play
Like every single day, really, though
You know me, I'm the smooth macadamien, gamin' them for my homie
No need in bein' calm if you pack right
And learnin' just enough to keep your sack right
Late nights, I wonder what they gettin' for?
Early mornin' on the corners, what they hittin' for?
Seven young G's put they serve down
In the G ride, East side's where they swerve now
Not thinkin' about what's really goin' on
Got crept on, stepped on, now they gone
I spent four years in the county with nothin' but convicts around me
But now I'm back at Tha Pound
And we expose ways for the youth to survive
Some think it's wrong but we tend to think it's right
So make all them ends you can make
'Cause when you're broke, you break, check it out
So ain't no need for your mama to trip
'Cause you's a hustlin'-ass youngsta, clockin' your grip
And now mi finally grown as you can see (as you can see)
Still an OG, for life and always remain to be
A little ghetto boy
Playin' in the ghetto street
Whatcha gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Lil' Ghetto Boy Lyrics as written by Calvin Broadus Andre Young
Lyrics © DAZAMATAZ, INC., BRET D. LEWIS DBA SMOKING WORD RECORDS, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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