Survival got me bugging, but I’m alive on arrivalĪnd stay awake to the ways of the world cause sh*t is deepĪ man with a dream with plans to make cream It’s been twenty-two long hard years of still struggling Yo n***a respect mine or here go the TEC-9 Rolling in MPV’s every week we made forty G’s So I got with a sick-a** clique and went all out My life got no better, same damn ‘Lo sweater No question I would flow off and try to get the dough all No question I would speed for cracks and weed Only way I be gettin’ the G off was drug lootĪnd let’s start it like this son, rolling with this one and that oneīut it was just a dream for the teen who was a fiendĪnd running up in gates, and doing hits for high stakes Had secondhands, Mom’s bounced on old manĪ young youth, yo, rocking the gold tooth, ‘Lo goose I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side Artists like Drake, Notorious BIG, Lecrae, Wyclef Jean, Mos Def, and Datsik have drawn inspiration from the words of the Wu-Tang Clan. One of the most well-known choruses in the entire genre, these lines have been referenced in over 200 songs in the almost 23 years since the song was released. The original vision for the track comes from the mind of RZA, Wu Tang’s illustrious producer, and contains verses from Raekwon and Inspectah Deck as well as a hook performed by Method Man. as well as the original track, as we are all at the end of the day slaves to a paycheck. The darkness of the lyrics drifts unassumingly through the playful piano sample, courtesy of The Charmels’ “As Long as I’ve Got You,” a title that cleverly applies to C.R.E.A.M. The real meaning is of a reality faced by those on the threshold of poverty that struggle each and every day to make ends meet. To the untrained ear “Cash Rules Everything Around Me” comes off as some type of materialistic shtick about a human craving for more than one needs. “Hey, what does that stand for?” A question I get asked every time I wear my Wu-Tang Clan C.R.E.A.M.