[Verse 1: T.I.]
Ay say K.T., I remember bruh, standin out ten of us
Flip a bird, split it up, antenna stickin up
For crooked cops patrollin if the red dog rollin all the dope
I'm throwin, fuck a jail, I ain't goin tonight
Quick to pull a fo'-fo' in a fight
Under the street lights rollin the dice
We were so enticed, by niggas like slick money and ice
We figure prison it just come with the life, along with losin your life
And there was no way we thought
We'd go to jail for e'ry case we caught
For all the yay we bought, not a dime did we say we borrowed
Bought damn near every pair of J's at the mall
Had our way with the broads, hit the rink but we ain't skatin at all
Seem like every other day we'd brawl, that A.K. on call
When I think about all we done
It's amazin to see how far we've come
Remember? Ay
[Chorus: Mitchelle'l]
Ohhh! Oh-ohhh!
I remember walkin (walkin)
Didn't have a dollar in my pocket (in my pocket)
Now I'm watchin stocks like what's the options (options)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
I remember hustlin (hustlin)
Tryin to keep these crooked cops off us (off us)
Now I read about it in my office (in my office)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
[Verse 2: T.I.]
Ay say C-Rod, remember days we was slangin the hard?
In a crib with no lights we used to stay in the dark
Remember Cap and Mac Boney man, they were retarded
I don't know who kept us laughin the hardest
Since our stacks was the largest, didn't take us long to corner the market
I remember every day was a party
15, 16, was dreams of bein cocaine bosses
In pursuit of that we made so many terrible choices
Like the time we made away with that millenium
From the dealership before our day, wasn't we killin them?
Late nights, gun fights, high speed chases
So close to the good life, we taste it
Damn the consequences pimp, if it's a chance we'd take it
First case a month in juvenile and get probation
When I think about all we done
It's amazin to see how far we've come
Remember?
[Chorus: Mitchelle'l]
Ohhh! Oh-ohhh!
I remember walkin (walkin)
Didn't have a dollar in my pocket (in my pocket)
Now I'm watchin stocks like what's the options (options)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
I remember hustlin (hustlin)
Tryin to keep these crooked cops off us (off us)
Now I read about it in my office (in my office)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
[Verse 3: Scarface]
We started small time, dope game hustlin that cocaine
Interstate traffickin, high feelin no pain
Numb to the fact that we was poisonin our own kind
I ain't give a fuck, he gettin his so I want mine
Young'n with that attitude, somebody finna give me that
I ain't give a fuck, how I got it, it was real as that
So if I had to peel a cap, somebody was dead then
Since I'm a killer that's the condition my head's in
Can't work too hard to get my money, I refuse to
Slave for the next man who raised nigga, fuck you!
These streets are 9-to-5, you want it we can get it for ya
And even though they steady changin this is still a hustle
Still got them same rules, may not be the same game
We done found some brand new money, still we maintain
The same integrity we upheld in the street light
Livin a motherfuckin dream nigga singin like
[Chorus: Mitchelle'l & Scarface ]
Ohhh! Oh-ohhh!
I remember walkin (walkin)
Didn't have a dollar in my pocket (in my pocket)
Now I'm watchin stocks like what's the options (options)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
I remember hustlin (hustlin)
Tryin to keep these crooked cops off us (off us)
Now I read about it in my office (in my office)
Uh-huh (uh-huh) uh-huh (uh-huh) how life's changed
To quote NAS, “I shall stay real, stay true stay holdin' figures”. There are unwritten rules to slinging crack, respecting other dealers hustle, staying off the radar, don’t rat each other out etc. Now that they a sell music instead of drugs, they still live by the same code of honor in some ways.
T.I. is saying that he never thought that he would get caught, and thus go to jail, for his buying and selling of cocaine. T.I. is trying to get across the point that he was naive growing up, and did things with out thinking of the consequences.
When T.I. and his friends were young, they thought that it would be fine if they went to jail and/or lost their lives because that was the thing that happened if you were a rapper. As they got older and matured, they realized how precious life is and how difficult jail is.
Echoing from the previous line, he wouldn’t have cared anyway. Everyone else is poisoning the hood for his own benefit to make it out so he is going to do the same. If he isn’t doing it, someone else will, so why not cash in?
The recurring theme of the song: They didn’t care about the consequences when they were younger. This is a specific revelation they were ignorant to the fact that trafficking and selling crack in low-income communities, they were perpetuating the cycle of poverty which produced the environment they came from.
When T.I. and Mitchelle'l were young, they would roam the streets of their hood, instigating trouble. Now that they’re older, more mature, rich, and famous, they don’t participate in these things; rather they hear about others doing it.
Hustling isn’t a part time job, you’ve got to dedicate your life to it. Scarface has connections; he can get you involved in the life if you’re dedicated enough.

When these rappers were young, they did life-threating things without realizing the consequences. Now they are older, and are speculating on things in their lives have drastically changed from when they were in their glory days