you played yourself

this is it

dope from the fly kid

the ice mic is back with the high bid

suckers you've lost cos players you're not

gangstas you ain't

you're faintin'

punk

if you ever heard a gunshot

yo

the pusher

the player

the pimp gangsta

the hustler

high roller

dead pres folder

is cold lampin' like a black king on a throne

evil e.turn up the microphone

so i can ill and break on the rollin' tape

another album to make? great

islam turn the bass kick up a bit

hype the snare

now i got a place to sit

and ride the track like a black mack in his 'lac

hit the corner slow where the girls are at

and kick game the way it should be done

how you gonna drop science? you're dumb

stupid ignorant

don't even talk to me

at school you dropped math

science and history

and then you get on the mic and try to act smart

well let me tell you one thing

you got heart

to perpetrate

you're bait

so just wait

till the press shove a mic in your face

or you meet boogie down or chuck d

stetsasonic or the big daddy

and they ask you about the game you claim you got

drop science now

why not?

you start to sweat and fret

it gets hot

how'd you get into this spot?

you played yourself. yo

yo

you played yourself. i'm no authority but i know the d-e-a-l

when it comes to dealin' with the females

what you got they want

cash is what they need

slip sucker and they'll break you with speed

but you meet a freak

you try to turn her out

spendin' money's what i'm talkin' about

but you fool out

your pockets got blew out

and after the date

no boots

you got threw out

mad and shook cos your duckets got took

call her up

phone's off the hook

but who told you to front and flaunt your grip?

you can't buy no relationship

you played yourself. yo

homeboy

you played yourself. i'm in the mc game

a lot of mc's front

and for the money they're sell out stunts

but they claim that they're rich and that they keep cash

yo

let me straighten this out fast

two hundred thousand records sold

and these brothers start yellin' 'bout gold?

you better double that

then double that again

and still don't get sooped

my friend

you think you've made it

you're just a lucky man

guess who controls your destiny

fans

but you diss 'em cos you think you're a star

that attitude is rude

you won't get far

cos they'll turn on you quick

you'll drop like a brick

unemployment's where you'll sit

no friends cos you dissed 'em too

no money

no crew

you're through

you played yourself. that's right

you played yourself. you played yourself. yo

yo

you played yourself. you got problems

you claim you need a break

but every dollar you get you take

straight to the dopeman

try to get a beam up

your idle time is spent tryna scheme up

another way to get money for a jumbo

when you go to sleep you count five-o's

lyin' and cheatin'

everybody you're beatin'

dirty clothes and you're skinny cos you haven't been eatin'

you ripped off all your family and your friends

nowhere does your larceny end

and then you get an idea for a big move

an armed robbery.smooth

but everything went wrong

somebody got shot

you couldn't get away

the cops roll

you're popped

and now you're locked

yo

lampin' on death row

society's fault? no

nobody put the crack into the pipe

nobody made you smoke off your life

you thought that you could do dope and still stay cool? fool. you played yourself. you played yourself. ain't nobody else's fault

you played yourself.