Like toy soldiers

Step by step, heart to heart, left right left<br>We all fall down...<br><br>Step by step, heart to heart, left right left<br>We all fall down like toy soldiers<br>Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win<br>But the battle wages on for toy soldiers<br><br>I`m supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure<br>Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders<br>I am never supposed to show it, my crew ain`t supposed to know it<br>Even if it means goin` toe to toe with a Benzino it don`t matter<br>I`d never drag them in battles that I can handle unless I absolutely have to<br>I`m supposed to set an example<br>I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide `em<br>If some shit ever just pop off, I`m supposed to be beside `em<br>Now Ja said "I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it"<br>There`s a certain line you just don`t cross and he crossed it<br>I heard him say Hailie`s name on a song and I just lost it<br><br>It was crazy, this shit be way beyond some Jay-z and Nas shit<br>And even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it<br>I spent too much energy on it, honestly I`m exhausted<br>And I`m so caught in it I almost feel I`m the one who caused it<br>This ain`t what I`m in hip-hop for, it`s not why I got in it<br>That was never my object for someone to get killed<br>Why would I wanna destroy something I help build<br>It wasn`t my intentions, my intentions was good<br>I went through my whole career without ever mentionin` Suge<br>Now it`s just out of respect for not runnin` my mouth<br>And talkin` about something that I knew nothing about<br>Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn`t my beef<br>So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth<br>While he`s all over t.v. down talkin` a man who literally saved my life<br>Like fuck it i understand this is business<br>And this shit just isn`t none of my business<br>But still knowin` this shit could pop off at any minute cuz<br><br>Step by step, heart to heart, left right left<br>We all fall down like toy soldiers<br>Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win<br>But the battle wages on for toy soldiers<br><br>There used to be a time when you could just say a rhyme<br>And wouldn`t have to worry about one of your people dyin`<br>But now it`s elevated cuz once you put someone`s kids in it<br>The shit gets escalated, it ain`t just words no more is it?<br>It`s a different ball game, callin` names and you ain`t just rappin`<br>We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin`<br>Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him<br>And asked him not to start it he wasn`t gonna go after him<br>Until Ja started yappin` in magazines how we stabbed him<br>Fuck it 50 smash `em, mash `em and let him have it<br>Meanwhile my attention is pullin` in other directions<br>Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk<br>Has an erection for me and thinks that I`ll be his ressurection<br>Tries to blow the dust off his mic and make a new record<br>But now he`s fucked the game up cuz one of the ways I came up<br>Was through that publication the same one that made me famous<br><br>Now the owner of it has got a grudge against me for nothin`<br>Well fuck it, that mutherfucker can get it too, fuck him then<br>But I`m so busy being pissed off I don`t stop to think<br>That we just inherited 50`s beef with Murder Inc.<br>And he`s inherited mine which is fine ain`t like either of us mind<br>We still have soldiers that`s on the front line<br>That`s willing to die for us as soon as we give the orders<br>Never to extort us, strictly to show they support us<br>We`ll maybe shout `em out in a rap or up in a chorus<br>To show them we love `em back and let `em know how important it is<br>To have Runyan Ave and who sulked us up in our corners<br>Their loyalty to us is worth more than any award is<br>But I ain`t tryna have none of my people hurt and murdered<br>There ain`t words that I can`t think of a perfecter way to word it<br>Then to just say that I love ya`ll too much to see the virdict<br>I`ll walk away from it all before I let it go any further<br>But don`t get it twisted, it`s not a plea that I`m coppin`<br>I`m just willin` to be the bigger man<br>If ya`ll can quit poppin` off at your jaws with the knockin`<br>Cuz frankly I`m sick of talkin`<br>I`m not gonna let someone elses coffin rest on my conscience cuz<br><br>Step by step, heart to heart, left right left<br>We all fall down like toy soldiers<br>Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win<br>But the battle wages on for toy soldiers