When I was five years old, I realized there was a road At the end, I will win lots of pots of gold Never took a break, never made a mistake Took time to create 'cause there's money to make To be a billionaire takes hard work for years Some nights I shed a tear while I said my prayers Been through hard times, even worked part-time In a Key Food store sweepin' floors for dimes I was sort of a porter takin' the next man's orders Breakin' my back with a shack for headquarters All my manpower for four bucks an hour Took my time and wrote rhymes in the shower Shoes are scuffed 'cause the road gets rough But I'mma rock it 'cause my pockets ain't stuffed enough All the freaks wouldn't speak 'cause my checks were weak They would turn the other cheek, so I started to seek A way to get a play, and maybe one day I'll be performin' up a storm for a decent pay No matter how it seemed, I always kept the dream All the girlies screamed and suckers get creamed Dreamed about it for five years straight Finally, I got a break to cut my first plate The road ain't yellow and it ain't no witches My name is Kool G Rap, I'm on the Road To The Riches I used to stand on the block sellin' cooked up rock Money bustin' out my sock 'cause I really would clock They were for kind of fiends bringin' jackets and jeans Magazines, anything just to hustle up beans The cash was comin' fast, money grew like grass People hungry for the blast that don't even last Didn't wanna be involved but the money will get ya Gettin' richer and richer, the police took my picture But I still supplied, some people I knew died Murders and homicides for bottles of suicide Money, jewelry, livin' like a star And I wasn't too far from a Jaguar car In a small-time casino, the town's Al Pacino For all of the girls, a pretty boy Valentino I shot up stores and I kicked down doors Collected scars from little neighborhood wars Many legs I broke, many necks I choked And if provoked, I let the pistol smoke Loyal members in a crew now down with the game Sellin' nickels and dimes in sunshine or rain What I had was bad, from my shoes to my pad In the first time in my life, loanin' money to dad Now the table's turned and my lifestyle switches My name is Kool G Rap, I'm on the Road To The Riches A thug will mugs for drugs, he eventually bugs Lookin' for crack on carpets and rugs The squealers tells but the dealer still sells Little spoiled kids inheritin' oil wells I was the type on the opposite side Of smokin' the pipe, in a beef I got hype 'Cause rags to riches switches men to witches Become stitches, body bags in ditches Bloodshed, I painted the town red People fled as I put a dread's head to bed That means dead, in other words deceased Face got erased, bullets got released Bombs were planted and kids were kidnapped In fact, this was a way to get back At enemies who tried to clock G's On my block, now they forever knock Z's Plans of rampages went for ages Some got knocked and locked inside cages Some bit the dust for crumbs and crusts In God we trust, now rots to rust Bust caps to cops, policeman drops They blew off his top when the pistol went pop Troopers, soldiers, rollin' like boulders Eyes of hate and their hearts get colder Some young male put in jail His lawyer's so good, his bail is on sale Lookin' at the hourglass, how long can this power last? Longer than my song but he already fell He likes to eat hearty, party Be like John Gotti, and drives a Maserati Rough in the ghetto, but in jail he's Jello Mellow, yellow fellow, tell or hell, hello One court date can turn an outlaw to an inmate The judge states: Ship him upstate, by the Great Lakes And than a-wait and wait and wait Until he breaks, that's all it takes So he fakes to be a man, but he can't stand On his own two feet because now he's in a new land Rules are different and so is life When you think with a shank, talk with a knife Not my lifestyle, so I made a U-turn The more money I earn, more money to burn Pushin' all buttons, pullin' all switches My name is G Rap, I'm on the Road To The Riches