[Chorus]
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's gonna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug!
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Verse 1]
Was a nice middle-class n***a
But no one knew the evil he'd do when he got a little bigger
You'd often find him blazed, for puffing on a Newport
Plotting on another way to catch a case
Was only 16, yet convicted as a felon
With a bunch of old n***as, but you the only one ain't tellin'
I tell you it's a cold world, stay in school
You tell me it's a man's world, play the rules
And fade fools, break rules until we major
Blaze up, getting with hoes through my pager
Was raised up, commence to money-makin' tactics, uh
It's getting drastic, n***as got automatics
My finger's on the trigger
Tell the Lord to make way for another straight thug n***a
I'm sitting, getting buzzed, looking for some love
From the homies, ‘cause shorty wanna be a thug
[Chorus]
Said he's gonna be, said he's gonna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, said he's wanna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's gonna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Verse 2]
Straight from the hall to the pen'
An adolescent n***a standing way higher than six feet ten
He carried weight, like a Mack truck
Gonna bust on playa haters, if them mothafuckas act tuff
Then that's when, a lethal weapon with the razor
This little n***a smoking weed and getting blazed up
No one could figure, when the guns blast, pull the trigger
Could take the life of a young n***a, guns bigger
No mother and father, you see, the n***a's all alone
Old timers my role model, the war zone
Been laced with this game 'til it's a part of me
My heart don't beat no fear, and that ain't hard to see
The future is looking dim
I'm tryin' to make a profit out of living in this sin
I'm in the dark, getting buzzed, looking for some love
Out with the homies, ‘cause shorty wanna be a thug
[Chorus]
Said he's gonna be, said he's gonna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Outro]
Shorty's gonna be a thug
Little bad ass n***a, to the young n***as
Gotta stay sharp, n***a, play your part!
Got plenty of time (you bad mothafuckas)
You only get three mistakes, and then it's life, big baby
(N***as craaazy) Watch the signs!
Damn, n***a! Sixteen, n***a?
Sixteen?! Too bad, mothafuckers