Kendrick Lamar - Average Joe lyrics

The hardest thing for me to do
Is to get you, to know me
Within sixteen bars that's the hardest thing

Who is K dot? A young nigga from Compton
On the curb writing raps next to a gunshot
On the corners where the gangsters
And the killers dwell
The fraudulent tender scars that get unveiled
Everyone I knew was either Crip or Piru
Cousins in elementary
Relatives in high school
With that being said
Each one of their rivals
Was aiming something at my head
I needed survival
Got jumped, got jacked, shot at, shot back
And I don't even push a line
I'm just tryna push these rhymes
In the midst of staying neutral and discrete
My momma said you're judged by
The company you keep
But what you can consider
That if it goes down
They'll kill you if you kill me
It gets deep nigga
So if you ask what I'm doing
I'm tryna duck the influence of my
City that's brewing, real talk, and

This is why they fuck with me
(real talk nigga, believe it)
This is why they fuck with me
(do what I do, ya know?)
I'm no gangster, no killer
I'm just your average Joe (know that)
But one thing you should consider
I'm the realest you know

I was walking from Centennial
When an unidentified vehicle rolled up
And I was like "hol' up"
"Where you from?" I don't bang
"Where you stay?" Westside
That's a Piru gang to be exact
Well aware they had blue across they hat
Dropped backpack and ran inside
Of the cul-de-sac
Shots rang out, hoping to God I wasn't wet
Crossed across Rosecrans and ran
Inside of the yet
Chirped the homies on the I95
They said they already knew what happened
And meet 'em outside the garage
Never seen that many guns in my life
I was paranoid like a fiend in the night
But needed revenge
Grabbed the nine ball, opened up the door
Then got in somebody said, "fall back
We gon' make these niggas suffer
You my brother like a frat
And that's just to remind you"
Thought about that so long I
Had failed my finals, fuck, but

This is why they fuck with me
(I told you, nigga)
This is why they fuck with me
(you fake nigga) i'm no gangster, no killer
I'm just your average Joe (you fake)
But one thing you should consider
I'm the realest you know

I don't do black music
I don't do white music
I do everyday life music
Give 'em cuts like a nigga
Pierced a knife through it
You say you through, but
I've been through it, now that's cold
And this is for my county building children
In Hub City on hubcaps, no power-steering
I use perseverance in this mad city
Where the niggas drink Remy and
Hold semis for cutthroats
Bernie Mac died, it's no joke
Don't ask why if you don't know
About these killers and thieves
Seven grams of weed, you smoke that
But I'm high off life
I could fall out the sky like twice
And land in the land of the AKs
And the minivans where the fan never on
Cause it's hotter than a lunatic's
Underarms in a straight jacket
In other words, we get it cracking
But I keep it cool, you know?

This is why they fuck with me (haha)
This is why they fuck with me (real talk)
I'm no gangster, no killer
I'm just your average Joe (come on)
But one thing you should consider
I'm the realest you know

So there you have it
But I'mma leave you with this
An OG once told me
A real gangster is either dead or in jail
Or behind the scenes getting real money
I'm gone