Kendrick Lamar – Imagine lyrics

(feat. Jay Rock & Punch)

[Verse 1: K. Dot]
I sit on the studio couch
Ask myself what the fuck am I thinking about
Thinking 'bout living without the past and the present
A Dr. Dre record, imagine, I drift off 600 seconds
10 minutes exact, letting my mind explore
K. Dot had turned Curious George
You know, off the hardship is what I'm curious for
Like what if Pac had never looked left to holla at broads
Before he turned right to get them shots through the door
They say Suge did it, but he was in emergency clinic
So he'd risk his own life, to get someone else killed
But in the process, get injured, it don't make sense
It's like the Da Vinci Code, trying the solve the crime of these rap souls
What if B.I.G. never did it big
Never went to L.A., would it make a difference in them bullet-holes
Would it make my flow flow more persistent
Would it raise up the bar of competition, who knows
Who told Nastradamus baby momma was fucking with HOV
Would the battle be less interesting, if it wasn't personal
If Jay wasn't intimate, there'd probably be less people listening
People thinking its a publicity stunt
What if he partnered with Jay and still didn't blow
Hip-hop would really be fucked
Something like Milli Vanilli
Nothing different, quite similar
Filling up my mind capacity
Thinking about Martin Luther, on the balcony
What if the shooter-
Better yet, what if Malcolm on the side
Killed two birds with one stone, both would've died
Now lets rewind

[Hook-D'Angelo]
Before we go
Can you imagine?
Picture years, with your mom
Can you imagine?
Hang her picture in the sky
Can you imagine?
Call emergency I've been dreamin' all my life

[Verse 2: Jay Rock]
Imagine if Tookie was a Blood, Look, no disrespect
But would there be more Bloods than Crips sets
Dominating the population of-
L.A., Orange County, the Valley, and back up to the bay
Matter fact, imagine if we didn't really start this gangster shit
Y'all wouldn't have nothin' to spit
No drive bys, no flags stickin' out pockets
No NWA dudes, just rappin like Cre Cru
Imagine if Mike Concepcion walked on his own two
Feet no paralyzed, would he be alive
Or would he been lost his life to the streets
No match, no cars in that driveway
What if Freeway Rick never was a kingpin
On this L.A. strip, would these rap n*ggas use his name
Nah, what if rap niggas never had rap would they try to fall back on this drug game
These rappers ass backwards
Now these rappers getting caught with the cocaine
Not to smoke, but to slang
Imagine that people not knowing these rap niggas insane
Just think about it

[Hook]

[Verse 3: Punch]
Imagine life without death would you even feel alive
Your people that passed, what if they never died
Imagine seeing your mom cry, tears of happiness
Knowing her son safe, and she ain't lose him to this madness
The street living what if the crack epidemic
Never reached the projects and destroyed our buildings
Turned most of us to killers, innocent victims
Imagine if heroine didn't affect our system
They say drug money funding the labels today
What about the drug money that's funding the C.I.A
Imagine if they really tried to fix these streets
Would they start in the hood, or executive suites
Where the real criminals meet, and principals beef with me
You could possibly live without heat
Imagine if Al Gore, had won that election
Would the Twin Tower buildings still stand erected
Imagine the penal system without witness protection
Would there be these many cowards on the stand telling
I don't know, I'm just speaking my mind
Lost in my own soul, Just press rewind and imagine

(Training day, training day)