Game Of Survival
Release Information
| Artist | Live Squad |
| Title | Game Of Survival |
| Format | 12 Inch Promotional Single |
| Label | Tommy Boy Records |
| Catalogue Number | TB 551 |
| Released | 1993 |
| Country | United States |
| Status | Official Promotional Release |
Overview
Game Of Survival was released by Tommy Boy Records in 1993 as a promotional single supporting Live Squad's planned debut album of the same name. Featuring Game Of Survival and Pump For A Livin', the release showcased the group's darker, more cinematic style that had developed following the success of Murderahh! and Heartless.
The single was issued alongside the promotional Game Of Survival VHS short film, which combined music videos and dramatic scenes to present the concept behind the forthcoming album. At the time, few hip hop artists were producing promotional films of this scale, making the project particularly ambitious for an emerging group.
Although Tommy Boy actively promoted the single, the label ultimately decided not to release the full album. Following controversy surrounding violent themes in hip hop during the early 1990s, Live Squad were dropped from the label and Game Of Survival remained unreleased until Grand Imperial Records later issued a reconstructed version in 2001.
Track Listing
| Side | Track |
|---|---|
| A | Game Of Survival |
| B | Pump For A Livin' |
Release History
The release formed part of Tommy Boy Records' campaign to introduce Live Squad's debut album to radio and record stores. The accompanying VHS promotional film featured several songs intended for the album, including Game Of Survival, Heartless, Murderahh!, Pump For A Livin' and additional unreleased material.
Despite the promotional campaign, Tommy Boy cancelled the album before its commercial release. The decision is widely believed to have been influenced by the increasingly hostile attitude towards violent gangsta rap during 1992 and 1993, leaving much of Live Squad's catalogue unreleased for almost a decade.
Notes
- Official promotional release issued by Tommy Boy Records.
- Released to promote the cancelled Game Of Survival album.
- Issued alongside the Game Of Survival promotional VHS film.
- The album was eventually reconstructed and released by Grand Imperial Records in 2001.
Lyrics
That nigga crazy
Uh flava, get that motherfuckin money, you know what im sayin
Im surviving, fuck that, aint tryin to be broke, know what im sayin
[Chorus]
Puba from Brand Nubian
Raised in the Ghetto
Raised in the Ghetto
Raised in the Ghetto
Raised in the Ghetto, singing songs called survival
Stretch
Straight up and down, this story's all about street life
Where most live by the gun and others live by the knife
This aint no sell outs, damn about fake shit
Cuz when we come you know we come legit
Now the dumb motherfuckers won't understand this
And the powers gonna clinch they fist
But we don't give a fuck cuz we tell it how it is
Now let me get down to biz
When we was growning up, we was living in poverty
Hand me down clothes was given to me
Poor memories, boy I got em
Only ?? coming out the bottom
And the apartment was roach infested
One double bed was where four of us rested
We didn't have shit, P-double O R,
Now im a mothafuckin star
But back then, my parents never had enough dough
I had to rob a nigga for a pair of ??
They had the rent to pay, plus they had bills
So a nigga had to get ill
And go for mine the only way I knew how
Whatever, whatever, Im tryna tell ya now, kid
It was robbin or stealin, or sellin drugs on the street
Shit, cuz a niggaa gotta eat
Yeah, but then I got older and bolder,
Turn into to a motherfuckin soldier
Now im the mack top general
Moving keys with ease, like they was motherfuckin minerals
And the streets we're controlling
And the stinky ass cops is on the payroll and
My brother young Majesty been wit me (right here)
He been down since day o-n-e
We're playing the crazy ill game of survival
The thought of us starving is dead on arrival
We untouchable, god-damn immortals
After the hook, Maj'll kick the moral
[Chorus]
Majesty
Fuck being positive, I lived in the ghetto
Not in a condo, so to the block I had to go
Hustlin', scramblin', stickin, whatever
Never got caught cuz I was too fucking clever
To the powers I'm dumb, but on the streets I'm Einstein
On Springfield is where you’ll constantly find
Niggas like me with a pocket full
Always on some shit, so the guns I pull
Cuz im at war, motherfucker, tell em give it up
A niggas gotta survive so I don’t give a fuck
That’s why you'd do what I did, because I had to eat
But yo, now I’m here schooling on this funky beat
And to my man Ed Lover I give a special thanks
Cuz if it wasn’t for him I'd be out robing a bank
Americas most wanted for murdering police
But while they on the ally illin like a beast
This is for the North, the South, the West and the East
They’re tryna tell us how to live, are they crazy man?
We gotta survive, the best way we can
Be positive? What are you, dumb?
Poverty is where we comin from
But when we sell a gem, you say we outta order
But how the fuck does it get across the water?
And how the fuck does it get across the border?
You don’t know, you don’t have a hunch
They’re the leaders of the motherfucking bunch
When theyre in our neighborhoods they point they fingers
But believe me that they are the head ringers
Coke killin us, locking us up, saying we wildin
But FUCK THAT SHIT, you know we just survivin