Used To Be The Man

Back in the day I used to scrap
I’m not a thug any more
But some days
I just wanna be the man again

Back in the day it seemed like every angry
Teen was talkin’ about packing a shank
And gettin’ cream – what happened to the gangsta lean?
Eric B and Rakim said: “What happened to peace?”
Now they askin' what happened to strength?
The women say they want girth now? Shit, what happened to length?
Sperm count goin’ down so we packin’ some blanks
And they laughin’ all the way to the bank
Man, things done changed! Where has all the violence gone?
Seems like people livin’ three times as long
Life just goes on, it’s like survival of the strong
Got swallowed by a Hobbesian Leviathan
And why not? Shit, I ain’t tryin’ to abolish it
Women dominate men in college, I acknowledge it
So next they’re gonna take over science and politics
And business, but I guess I’m just kinda nostalgic
I mean, at least fighting men know who they are
You meet a soldier he can show you some scars
But muscle can’t win a contest over some jobs
So now we’re just good for opening jars

I used to be the man
But time has gone on ahead of me
And my strong hands
But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on
I was the man
Time has not been so good to me
And my hands
I'm still holdin' on
I was the man

What a fuckin’ waste of upper body strength this is
I can dangle it for women like I’m angler fishin’
I got a voice full of bass, listen, ain’t it pimpin’?
But it came from male-on-male competition
And I’m afraid that’s a thing of the past
I mean things fall apart, don’t be thinkin’ they last
But I keep lookin’ for some answers when I listen’ to rap
Like lookin’ for the missing link in the grass
So where the gangsters at? The males barin’ they teeth
Starin’ at weak opponents like: “I dare you to speak”
The Menace to Societies and American Me’s
Not these wealthy, frail, weak, self-parodies
I mean, things done changed! Can you believe it?
Even the frickin’ crime rate seems to be dippin’
And some people give police credit, but I’m with Steven Levitt
High risk fetuses are being rejected
Just ‘cause females get to control their own fertility
So murder and poverty drop, but not sociability
What happened to the criminals on killing sprees
Instead of fighting now, we all show civility

I used to be the man
But time has gone on ahead of me
And my strong hands
But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on
I was the man
Time has not been so good to me
And my hands
I'm still holdin' on
I was the man

Forty percent of men historically left descendents
While six out of ten died young or got rejected
Big winners and big losers, but women had it different
Eight out of ten of them had children who had children
And you wonder why we’re fuckin’ obsessed with competition
Homo sapien males, yeah blazin’ a trail
Makin’ amazing creative displays, and chasin’ tail
That lasts an extra decade when it’s grey and frail
Yeah, the Y Chromosome is a fucked-up mutation
And it sucks to face it, they call her 'Mother Nature'
But if you want love from her, well, get accustomed to waitin’
‘Cause, brother, if you’re male she loves to hate you
She gives us testosterone, rage, and frustration
She gives us jealousy and lust, and a hunger for greatness
Plus our obsession with female reproduction is basic
But the women gotta have choice. Fuck the 'Bush Administration'
Times change, this ain’t the Pleistocene
Feminism and civil rights have arrived on the scene
And not every guy is keen to let the violence be
I'm just tryin' to tame the beast inside of me

I used to be the man
But time has gone on ahead of me
And my strong hands
But I'm still holdin' on, movin' on
I was the man
Time has not been so good to me
And my hands
I'm still holdin' on
I was the man

Back in the day I used to scrap
I’m not a thug any more
But some days
I just wanna be the man again
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