[Verse 1]
  
  This is it, dope from the fly kid
  The Ice mic is back with the high bid
  Suckers you've lost cos players you're not, gangstas you ain't
  You're faintin', punk, if you ever heard a gunshot
  Yo, the pusher, the player, the pimp gangsta, the hustler
  High Roller, dead pres folder
  Is cold lampin' like a black king on a throne
  Evil E...turn up the microphone
  So I can ill and break on the rollin' tape
  Another album to make? Great
  Islam turn the bass kick up a bit
  Hype the snare, now I got a place to sit
  And ride the track like a black mack in his 'lac
  Hit the corner slow where the girls are at
  And kick game the way it should be done
  How you gonna drop science? You're dumb
  Stupid ignorant, don't even talk to me
  At school you dropped Math, Science and History
  And then you get on the mic and try to act smart
  Well let me tell you one thing, you got heart
  To perpetrate, you're bait, so just wait
  Till the press shove a mic in your face
  Or you meet Boogie Down or Chuck D
  Stetsasonic or the Big Daddy
  And they ask you about the game you claim you got
  Drop science now, why not?
  You start to sweat and fret, it gets hot
  How'd you get into this spot?
  
  You played yourself...
  Yo, yo, you played yourself...
  
  [Verse 2]
  
  I'm no authority but I know the D-E-A-L
  When it comes to dealin' with the females
  What you got they want, cash is what they need
  Slip sucker and they'll break you with speed
  But you meet a freak, you try to turn her out
  Spendin' money's what I'm talkin' about
  But you fool out, your pockets got blew out
  And after the date, no boots, you got threw out
  Mad and shook cos your duckets got took
  Call her up, phone's off the hook
  But who told you to front and flaunt your grip?
  You can't buy no relationship
  
  You played yourself...
  Yo, homeboy, you played yourself...
  
  [Verse 3]
  
  I'm in the MC game, a lot of MC's front
  And for the money they're sell out stunts
  But they claim that they're rich and that they keep cash
  Yo, let me straighten this out fast
  Two hundred thousand records sold
  And these brothers start yellin' 'bout gold?
  You better double that, then double that again
  And still don't get sooped, my friend
  You think you've made it, you're just a lucky man
  Guess who controls your destiny, fans
  But you diss 'em cos you think you're a star
  That attitude is rude, you won't get far
  Cos they'll turn on you quick, you'll drop like a brick
  Unemployment's where you'll sit
  No friends cos you dissed 'em too
  No money, no crew, you're through
  
  You played yourself...
  That's right, you played yourself...
  You played yourself...
  Yo, yo, you played yourself...
  
  [Verse 4]
  
  You got problems, you claim you need a break
  But every dollar you get you take
  Straight to the Dopeman, try to get a beam up
  Your idle time is spent tryna scheme up
  Another way to get money for a jumbo
  When you go to sleep you count Five-O's
  Lyin' and cheatin', everybody you're beatin'
  Dirty clothes and you're skinny cos you haven't been eatin'
  You ripped off all your family and your friends
  Nowhere does your larceny end
  And then you get an idea for a big move
  An armed robbery...smooth
  But everything went wrong, somebody got shot
  You couldn't get away, the cops roll, you're popped
  And now you're locked, yo, lampin' on Death Row
  Society's fault? No
  Nobody put the crack into the pipe
  Nobody made you smoke off your life
  You thought that you could do dope and still stay cool? Fool.
  
  You played yourself...
  You played yourself...
  Ain't nobody else's fault, you played yourself.