Rooted - Intellectual

This is to say that it doesn’t matter to some people who have been brought up on the streets about how much money you have – they won’t respect or hesitate to pull a gun out on you and hold it to your chest.

This is further supported by depicting the shooter saying “fuck it” as if to say, they just don’t care about how much you have right before they pull the trigger (squeeze a round).

A “stick-up” is a robbery. A “187” is the California Penal Code for murder. The term was popularized by Snoop Dogg and Dr.Dre with their track, “Deep Cover.” Since then, it’s been a term used by rappers all over America, including Scarface who is a Southern rapper.

Because of the sinful ways of his criminal activities, one could argue he’s distanced from God and religion. Additionally, he converted to Islam in 2006, and they literally don’t go to church. The Holy building in Islam is a Mosque, with their equivalent to a Reverend being an Imam.

These lines directly juxtapose the previous lines about life in prison. Jail is like Hell to ‘Face, but the streets don’t seem to provide a better solution. There are drug dealers pushing drugs near schools, leading to kids doing drugs and mothers trying to keep their kids away from those influences.

The reality outside prison is almost directly causing some to be sent to prison. So which one is the real Hell?

However, Face can’t blame all the bad aspects on his hood because it’s also where he grew up and was molded. It’s where his grasp on reality rap grew from too – it gave him life.

To be “real” denotes that you eat, sleep and breathe the environment around you and act on what you say about yourself without making false statements. Those real to the art of rap and those real to the streets recognize others like them. The fakes are transparent [see through] and can be spotted a mile off. ‘Face has yet to meet anyone on his level.

“I and I” is Jamaican slang for “me, myself, and I.”

“Staying rooted” means to stay true to one’s roots. No matter where Papa Rue or Scarface may end up in life, they’ll never forget where they came from; you can take the man out the hood, but you can’t take the hood out the man. Crooked cops are mentioned as hoods are often associated with the presence of them.

It’s wiser to keep one’s mouth shut if you’re involved in illegal activities because you can never be too sure; it’s likely to backfire on you sooner or later. Scarface would rather handle his business on his own to prevent that from happening. He knows what he’s doing – the immaturity of these youngsters would lead them to talk a big game, and this could risk Scarface facing the death sentence either in the streets or by the State of Texas where the capital punishment is still practiced.

Keeping with the theme of this verse of staying committed to the streets – face is urging that those from the streets don’t get swayed by little amounts of money to forget their hood.

Keep in mind that rappers often refer to amounts of money as “bread”. Therefore, referring to crumbs would refer to a pitiful amount of money.

Face has been in prison for a year from 2010 too 2011 for failing to pay child support – he’s seen enough terrible things in prison to be pleading for those incarcerated to be set free.

Tattooed teardrops have multiple meanings, in jail they usually mean someone has either killed or lost someone. ‘Sitting in a wheelchair’ symbolizes there are some in prison who have been violently abused by inner prison gangs.

The last line is a depiction of what the general population of a prison comprises. Murderers, people who have had to deal with loss and others who are being beaten and abused. Face sees this as hell.

Face is saying that him and others who are firmly rooted to the streets honor the idea of getting paid over anything else.

“Hustling dope” refers to selling drugs – an illegal act. Face states that people are partaking in illegal measures to make money because going by the legal route (9 to 5 job) is not resulting in them being any better-off.

I believe he’s referring to the taxes to be paid on a legal salary which barely passes over the minimum wage threshold in the first place.

In the dope game the old folks accuse the dealers of killing their children by selling drugs but Face is saying he is simply on a mission to make a million dollars!

You won’t always come up top in everything you do, this chimes in with the next line which focuses on the reality of prison. It’s just a case of dusting yourself off and carrying on!

Remember – calm seas never made a skilled sailor.

To be “ten toes down” means to be 100% committed to something – in this case, committed to the streets and not snitching.

Face is shouting out those in the streets who aren’t snitches and who are willing to keep a secret a secret till death.