This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Hey
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Hey hey
Don't nobody wanna live right no more
Everybody wanna live wrong
And they wanna give up
Don't really wanna fight no more
Shit's been going on way too long
But if you take a look at this
And listen to it
I guarantee that you'll know
Homie I got yo back
I'm not gon' leave you out to dry
I will take you off the street
And I'm gon' show you everything you can without it
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
And we got it
If I eat ain't nobody around me ever gon' starve
24/7, No days off, a nigga work hard
I know my niggas
My niggas know me
On everything I love 'cause I struggle real hard
Just to feed these streets
A real live nigga, so real
You can ask Big Meech ('Bout me)
You can ask T Money (T Money)
You can ask South West T (Fo real)
Ain't got a whole lot of time
But I got a whole lot of money
Whole lot of homies, a lot more love to give
So if I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
But if I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
And we got it
You see a hungry man is an angry man
It could be hunger for some knowledge, hunger for the truth
So I gotta keep my hustle on, so I can get it
And I acquire the knowledge and I pass it on to you
One man down, to another everything go
One by one, the whole world will know
But it's funny how sometimes the world will make you want to give up
So I tell you now one melody
If I tell you truth make it one melody
So feel free, feel free
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
We got it
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Yeah yeah
Hey hey
Don't nobody wanna live right no more
Everybody wanna live wrong
And they wanna give up
Don't really wanna fight no more
Shit's been going on way too long
But if you take a look at this
And listen to it
I guarantee that you'll know
Homie I got yo back
I'm not gon' leave you out to dry
I will take you off the street
And I'm gon' show you everything you can without it
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
And we got it
If I eat ain't nobody around me ever gon' starve
24/7, No days off, a nigga work hard
I know my niggas
My niggas know me
On everything I love 'cause I struggle real hard
Just to feed these streets
A real live nigga, so real
You can ask Big Meech ('Bout me)
You can ask T Money (T Money)
You can ask South West T (Fo real)
Ain't got a whole lot of time
But I got a whole lot of money
Whole lot of homies, a lot more love to give
So if I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
But if I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
And we got it
You see a hungry man is an angry man
It could be hunger for some knowledge, hunger for the truth
So I gotta keep my hustle on, so I can get it
And I acquire the knowledge and I pass it on to you
One man down, to another everything go
One by one, the whole world will know
But it's funny how sometimes the world will make you want to give up
So I tell you now one melody
If I tell you truth make it one melody
So feel free, feel free
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I ain't got it we gon' get it
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it
Get it get it get it ooh
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
If I got then you got it (And we got it)
We got it
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
If I Got It Lyrics as written by Faheem Najm Aliuane Thiam
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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