Kendrick Lamar - Last Real Nigga Alive lyrics

Lord have mercy, Jesus Christ
He’s just nice, he just slice like a ginsu
Look at the life that I been through
We the last real niggas alive
That’s official

Let me tell you when it all started
Game dropped Documentary and
Made plenty enemies
It was a classic album, but prior to that
Guerilla Black debuted and put
The city on wax a lot of Biggie comparisons
We all was aware of them
But that wasn't my MO
I just thought he was dope
Can't understand why Game would say
"Hi!"s name in that manner
Many years went by
Still no legitimate answer
Anyway, I put out a mixtape in 12th grade
Hub City threat, minor of the year, DJ Dave
And his brother designed
Put together the music
Put it out to the people
The people said I was stupid with the flow
Went to the barbershop to show off my skills
Mike and Himey and some other
Cat said I was real himey was Games barber
The other cat made a statement
Saying that Game was his partner
So I gave him my tape
Said he'd play it for him
Hoping that I'd get my big break
But never got a response anyway
This nigga named Pop Gates came to
My school with a camera
I freestyled on his DVD for
A minute then after it hit the streets
I was known as K dot from Compton
Man Hootie probably was the youngest
Out that was poppin'
But I didn't have a home yet
Hootie had? in me until I met Top Dawg
Told Dave that he'd like to meet
Me at the studio
Made me freestyle for an hour
Told me come back tomorrow
But I came back in a hour
Jay Rock was in the booth
Recording his first mixtape
Was skeptical homie at first because
He knew where I stayed
But we got over that, heard the beat
Wrote a rap did our first collaboration on
The Nephew track
He got signed months later, Warner Brothers
We started on his album
He wrote his rhymes on paper
Before Sidekicks became a modern day phone
Same time our buzz was
Generated from G Malone
He had a song called 200, White Lightnin
The streets loved it said that Sony had gave
Him an unbelievable budget
Now that's a smart nigga
I'm tryna make my raps bigger than life
But not knowing how to market it right
Turned on the radio
Only cat new from the West
Coast was playin' was Bishop
And by then this nigga' buzz was tremendous
In the lab
Me and Rock tryna perfect our craft
What the fuck? Next thing you know
We came across Lift Me Up it was a hit
When I heard it but all we had was the
Instrumental and the hook but when
Rock jump on it for certain, it was to smash
Gave it to Julio, just to get his opinion
Next thing you know, the record was spinning
That was a good look
It set the coast on fire
Niggas in Garden projects presents Watts Riot
Then these rappers start hating
Callin' up to the station
Ask why they record ain't playin'
What you niggas complaining, about?
Shit was funny to us tho
Niggas hate to see a nigga
From the bottom come up, yo
In the midst of the single poppin'
And niggas tryna seek and destroy
I had a situation with Def Jam, premature
Shit went sour after Jay-Z left
But they didn't care
I was glad Jay-Z gave me respect
See I was young, fast forward
Hot dollah had the streets on lock
Far as radio play, obvious, he got a lot
Beefing’ with Daz Dilinger
Jay Rock spoke on it which in my opinion
I didn’t think the shit was impo’tant
But that’s a whole ‘nother story
We hit the lab with Game
And a few other names like Juice and Young
Ya boy did the cypher freestyle
And everybody’s like, "Wow"
These Top Dawg niggas ‘bout to make noise"
Surely after Game took us on tour
I love you for that but right after that
We didn’t see him no more
G Malone came with a smash hit with Akon
Mistah FAB battled Royce Nickel with napalm
Then everybody start to scream
Out the new West
And claim that West Coast legends don’t
Want to see him at best
I think that’s just an excuse
Because their music ain't tight
Tell ‘em that Ab-soul said it
They can quote him twice
Then Crooked I came with Hip-Hop Weekly
Killin’ the internet
But he been a threat since Deathrow
Then Roccett came about
And all I thought about
Was Ab-Soul 2Eleven too
It finally started to look like
The West was makin’ moves
Western Union had the whole block
Boomin’ because of Snoop matter fact
Bad Lucc was my favorite about the group
Then?Problem? took off
Another Compton native
We both Compton niggas
But Compton still ain't made it
By this time
Jay Rock and All My Life hit the airwaves
We almost got into some major
Beef over Lil’ Wayne
That part I'mma leave out
Theres certain things that the streets
Only should know about shout out to Nipsey
Bishop win that game
Then had a fight with XO
That’s when I dropped C4 and had
The critics mad at me
Because they didn’t see my views
Grab the hottest album out and re do it
That’s a goddamn power move stupid
You foolish
Don’t know shit about this war shit
Theres mo’ shit to wanting to be
The king of the coast shit

Lord have mercy, Jesus Christ
He’s just nice, he just slice like a ginsu
Look at the life that I been through
We the last real niggas alive
That’s official
Lord have mercy, Jesus Christ
He’s just nice, he just slice like a ginsu
Look at the life that I been through
We the last real niggas alive
That’s official

So two weeks ago I finally run into
The nigga I gave my mixtape too
And said he was partners with Game
The nigga finally told me what he said
He said he didn’t like it
But the niggas like
"See, see, look at you, look at you now
I tried to tell him you was tight"
Nigga probably never even gave it
To him and shit