1st Of Tha Month by Bone Thugs N Harmony Lyrics Meaning – Uncovering the Depth of Hip-Hop’s Reflection on Economic Cycles
Lyrics
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Hey my nigga we havin’ a wonderful day and I won’t fuck wit me. Why?
’cause it’s the 1st of tha month and now we smokin’, chokin’, rollin’ blunts
And sippin’ on 40 ounces thuggin’ come come we got the blessed rum
From jumpin’ all nights we high
Hit up the block to where? East 99
I get wit my nigga to get me some llello
Double up nigga what you need?
We got weed to get POD’d
Fiend for the green leaves
Give it up it’s the foe sure you better lay low
Cause the po-po creep when they roll slow
If you can’t get away better toss that llello
Keep your bankroll
Yeah we havin’ a celebration, I love to stay high
And you better believe when it’s time to grind
I’m down for mine crime after crime
Fin to creep to the pad ’cause mom’s got grub on the grill
If we got the food, you know it’s the 1st of tha month
And my nigga we chills foe real
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get upWake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up and I see that my sister is already dressed
She said “I’m gonna run and go get my stamps
Watch and make sure no one snatches my check” nigga that’s the mailman
Sort through the mail and put it up in-a me pocket
So I be hittin’ the 99 to get me a dub
Foe forty bucks but ain’t nobody ride that Rita
Hop on the 10 to the click
Ready to get ’em up with-a me thugs
And to cash that dumb
I gotta get paid there there holla holla
Saint Claire got much to offer
Whether it be weed on 93
Or off on the glock glock for some dollars, so
Get a bag of dope and a quarter roll, oh
Most all of my niggas got the same, and we gonna roll it all up to smoke
Hittin’ that reefer hydro, you know the cut, so fuck them po-po
Toss all that llello, and we’re gonna say no
Runnin’ through the alley and into the melee
Up on the second the sundown
Those run from January,November,December remember the 1st of the month
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
It’s the 1st of the month
Gotta grind gotta get mine
In the hood that I claim
I slang on that double 9-9
Gotta find them dubs
Gonna get a forty, can a thug get love?
What’s up?
Try to stand on my corner
Nigga you’se a gonna Saint Claire niggas don’t like that
And sellin’ them dummies makin’ that money come back nigga get pap pap
From the 1st to the 15th niggas smoke plenty weed
But I gotta save gotta come up
Put my rocks on the cut
When I get high nigga blaze that blunt, huh
Time to roll to the pad
Count up my profits and add it to the stash
Gotta watch my back see for niggas that’s tryin’ to rob me, fool
But never no shorts no losses
Dumpin’ keepin’ this niggas up off me see
Gotta search the whole block
Spend a couple of bills
Thugs smoke a lot of weed on the 1st
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wakin’ up feelin’ buzzed off up early mornin’ stretchin’
I’m yawnin’ lightweight bent chugga lugga take a fifth to the dome
Instead I kick it with my trues
But it’s the 1st so I’m getting my hustle on
Hop on the phone, calling up Krayzie Bone
Want to know did you O.G check come? (She put me down)
I’ma hop on the bus with Biz (Yo Brother let’s get drunk)
And I’m coming with blunt after blunt
Of this skunk
Nigga T just put me down
Oh God how I love when the 1st come around
Now I’m feelin’ black and mild, headed cross town
Cause niggas the 1st to get celebrated
Rushin’ to the block ’cause I want to get faded
Lookin’ all wild ’cause I’m getting me hair braided
We heavy off into this game
True to the 1st just call me that pro slang
Them nickels and dimes and 20’s and 50’s
The 1st be the day for the dope man
Slangin’ that cocaine fool, and I’m working late tonight
And all them fiends be lovin’ them thugs
Cause I got them rocks for them pipes
Come come with them ease
I gotta get paid on the 1st, gotta blaze up my spliff
Get live with the Bone Thugs, Poetic Hustlers in the graveyard shift
On the 1st
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of tha month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s ‘1st of tha Month’ emerges as an anthem that encapsulates more than just a catchy hook and a head-bobbing beat. Through the seemingly straightforward lyrics lies a lexicon of hard-hitting realities, detailing the monthly economic cycle that grips the lives of those in the inner cities. It’s a track that efficiently uses its runtime to paint a microcosm of the societal structures and personal rituals binding the urban proletariat.
Rhythms of Survival in Urban Narratives
The ritual of ‘waking up’ repeated in the chorus symbolizes far more than the literal act of getting out of bed. It’s a metaphor for the reinvigoration of spirit that arrives with the ability to fulfill basic needs. ‘Cash your checks and get up’ serves as both a literal directive and an invitation to participate in the brief period of economic upswing that benefit payment dates provide.
An Ode to the Government Check and Its Ripple Effect
‘1st of tha Month’ dives into the lived reality for many who depend on government assistance, showing how a specific day can pivotally influence the community’s dynamics – from increased social interactions to illicit trade spikes. The government check becomes a lifeline as much as it is a leash, dictating the flow of life and the hustle that surrounds it.
Duality of Celebration and Struggle in the Lyrics
Amidst the joyous declaration of celebration, there’s a pervasive sense of ephemeral relief in the lyrics. The repeated mention of getting high, drinking, and purchasing weed (llello) reflects a collective attempt to escape the incessant pressures of poverty, if only for a moment. It’s a hard-earned respite from the relentless pursuit of sustaining oneself in a system designed to marginalize.
Hidden Meanings Beneath the Surface of Hedonism
While the song revels in the temporary pleasures afforded by the influx of cash, it doesn’t shy away from the desperation lying beneath. The mention of the ‘po-po creep when they roll slow’ or the need to toss the ‘llello’ is a stark reminder of the surveillance and criminalization that this community endures, turning even moments of joy into potential risks.
‘They Fog The Mind But This Directs Them To Our Plight’: Memorable Lines Decoded
The well-crafted lines of ‘1st of tha Month’ are more than memorable; they are vehicles transporting the listener into the heart of the struggle. ‘And all them fiends be lovin’ them thugs’ is a powerful acknowledgment of the symbiotic relationship between the suppliers and consumers in the black market economy—a byproduct of wider societal neglect.
