Against All Odds Lyrics

[Intro]
To my niggas that went out in line on duty
21-gun salute! One love, one thug, one nation
(Let’s get down, let’s do this!)

21-gun salute! (Come on, yeah, let’s do this!)
21-gun salute! (Come on, come on, let’s do this!)

All the time I be…

[Hook]
Hopin' my true motherfuckers know
This be the realest shit I ever wrote
Against all odds, up in the studio gettin' blowed
To the truest shit I ever spoke

[Verse 1]
21-gun salute, dressed in fatigues, black jeans and boots
I just appeared in the crowd, all you seen was troops
This little nigga named Nas think he live like me
Talkin' 'bout he left the hospital, took five like me
You live in fantasies, nigga, I reject your deposit

We shook Dre punk ass, now he out of the closet
Mobb Deep wonder why nigga blowed 'em out
Next time grown folks talkin', nigga close your mouth

Peep me, I take this war shit deeply
Done seen too many real players fall to let these bitch niggas beat me

Puffy, let's be honest, you a (you a sucker ass nigga) punk or you will see me wit gloves
Member that shit you said to Vibe about me bein' a thug?
And you can tell the people you roll wit whatever you want
But you and I know what's goin' on

Payback, I knew you bitch niggas from way back
Witnessed me strapped with MAC's, knew I wouldn't play that

All you old rappers tryin' to advance
It's all over now, take it like a man
Niggas lookin' like Larry Holmes flabby and sick
(Look at De La Soul!)
Tryna player hate on my shit, you eat a fat dick

Let it be known, this is how you made me
Lovin' how I got you niggas crazy

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

The final track on The 7 Day Theory, “Against All Odds” is one of the most revealing songs about the East Coast–West Coast war. Unlike “Hit Em Up,” which was a more personal, emotional attack on Biggie and his record label, “Against All Odds” is more significant in terms of the subject matter.

Producer Hurt-M-Badd said the following about the creation of the track:

The day we made that song Tupac said ‘I need a war song. I wanna go to war.’ He gave me an hour then came back and heard the beat, and he wanted me to add that Cameo song bassline [from ‘Skin I’m In’]. Once it was in ‘Pac started snapping, 'This is it!’ He called the Outlawz in and started reciting the hook: ‘This be the realest shit I ever wrote.’ While ‘Pac was doing his vocals he wasn’t just recording his vocals, he was also kicking over the music stand, hitting the microphone. There was a vibe in the room. We all knew what was goin’ on. As [‘Pac] started reciting his lyrics, we was just looking at each other like, 'Uh-oh, here we go again.’

What repercussions 2Pac would have suffered for recording the track will never be known (“Probably be murdered for the shit that I said”) as he was killed before the song was released. Nevertheless, “Against All Odds” remains one of the greatest narratives of the East Coast–West Coast war.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What has Nas said about this song?
Genius Answer

Well, if you think about it, 2Pac just came at me only one time, on a song called “Against All Odds.” I cried when I heart it. Look, most niggas started listening to ‘Pac after he became controversial. I was listening to him since “Trapped,” since he rhyme with [Digital] Underground. I identified with him… as an artist. Fuck the hype. I love his music. There’s niggas today that didn’t really listen to 'Pac, but they love the sensationalism he brought. But his shit gets in my heart. So I don’t give a fuck what we went through, he’s the most incredible muthafucka I ever heard. That’s what it is. I knew him. A lot of these rappers today, you know, they didn’t know him. They never had a conversation with him, that’s why he disrespected them on almost all of his records.

via XXL

Comments