One Way Up - Lyrics - Dangerous Dame

[VERSE 1: Dangerous Dame] I got a message, and it's directed to the blackman About the time to get your mind up out the garbage can Cause what you're thinkin is wrong That's why I'm singin this song To bring you along the path where knowledge is born Now understand that you're broke, mane The worst move you can make is gettin in the dope game Cars, money and girls and clothes Yeah, these are the flammy things this life holds, right? It looks good from the outside, but on the inside you're goin for a rough ride Crack kills and happiness it will never bring That ain't the way to go up cause it's a devil thing How could you like to live a life so dirty Knowin that you'll never even last pass 30 You're livin in luxury but steppin on the life of another bra? There's only one way up One way One way up [VERSE 2: Dangerous Dame] G's was clockin, bustin out your socks from ( ? ) the caine Along with that the jealousy came Now you're watchin your back any place that you go to Cause everywhere you look there's a brother to smoke you You wonder how it happened this way Cause back in the day it wasn't even like this Man, you think: damn! You got your cash now they ask for a portion They gank you for your bank but you can call it extortion Breathin down your neck so much you're catchin the blues Sayin that you didn't pay community dues Yeah, death threats on the phone every night If you can't pay the price then they'll be takin your life Now you're scared, can't even think about sleep Your live illegal, whoops, can't even call the police When you got in the game, man, you was pressin your luck That's not the way to be livin, huh? (No) There's only one way up One way One way up One way, brothers One way One way up One way, sisters One way One way up No more killin, no more dealin One way One way up The sky's the limit if you choose it [VERSE 3: Dangerous Dame] You got the choice of two, so what you wanna do It's on you to listen to my point of view Or either stay on the wrong track and go down (Where?) Where the fire is found It's called hell, and the other place is called heaven Whoever said you need a preacher or a reverend? God's ears will always open if you're speakin No matter if you're white, red, brown or Puerto-Rican But what I'm preachin is simple to learn (There's a heaven and hell, you only get one turn) It's time to make that change just like the man in the mirror Straighten up your life so you can see a little clearer Doin crime, sellin crack and gettin *** raps Now tell me, do you always wanna live like that? (Nah) Well, stay away from stupid stuff There's a lot of ways down, but only one way up