Time Is Money
How We Live
Styles P
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
34
End
174
Internal
57
Multi
196
Slant
24
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: Jadakiss & Styles P]
This is how we live
Smoking,✦ drinking,✦ hustling,✦ thinking✦
This is how we live
Drug spots, projects,✦ Jail cell stinking✦
This is how we live
Whole block run when they see cop lights blinking✦
This is how we live
Benjamins,✦ grants, Washingtons,✦ Lincolns✦
[Verse 2: Styles P & Jadakiss]
Die once, you live twice, die twice, you live once
Get the shit confused so I'm puffin✦ on the big blunts
Kick it wit' the kid that be deep in the zone
It's the ghost, I got to go to sleep just to get home
I'm spiritually outta✦ this world
Meet my lyrics✦ on the darkside✦ come back when the dutchie get twirled
I'm the alpha✦ and omega✦ of nice
I'm the messenger sent by the force at the head of the light
But Satan's ridin✦ my back in the dead of the night
I be doin some crazy✦ shit for some bread and some ice
God I'm tryna✦ focus with my third eye lens
I smoke haze to see my brother✦ when he blow that wind
And I'm a grown man so I know my sins
And niggas✦ don't get the picture so do Kodak win?
The shit's over✦ their head and under✦ their nose
Not a star cause I'm a sun when it come to a flow
Ya Know
[Chorus: Jadakiss & Styles P]
This is how we live
Smoking,✦ drinking,✦ hustling,✦ thinking✦
This is how we live
Drug spots, projects,✦ Jail cell stinking✦
This is how we live
Whole block run when they see cop lights blinking✦
This is how we live
Benjamins,✦ grants, Washingtons,✦ Lincolns✦
[Verse 3: Styles P & Jadakiss]
I'm a rare individual
Represent my team till they put in me in the earth no air in my physical✦
I don't need to dream I live another✦ life when I sleep it's so deep I'mma✦
Spare you the visual✦
Far from religious but my heir's name is biblical✦
Stay away✦ from crabs, they don't care cause they miserable
School lil niggas✦
You could buy diamonds but I could play wit words that's a jewel✦ lil nigga✦
Tongue sharp like a sword
I could get ya fam killed✦ just off my word, that's the proper✦ Art of War
Stay wit the Parker✦ and the Porsche
I don't trust a soul cause niggas✦ threw rocks up at the Lord
The cash ain't right there, the mask is right there
Niggas✦ try P, I'ma✦ blast 'em right there
You don't want ya right ear next to ya Nike Airs
Said I'm from the darkside✦ bringin the light here
Wha!
[Outro: Jadakiss & Styles P]
This is how we live
Wha! You know, niggas✦
Second time around, you know what time it is
This is how we live
It's all lyrics✦ over✦ here, nigga✦
Feel me, nigga!✦
This is how we live
And I'm in the hood for real, all day, all night, shit like that
This is how we live
Yo, Hav, once again,✦ good lookin'✦ out for the beat, nigga✦
This is how we live
SP the Ghost, ONE!
This is how we live
Technical Breakdown
8.5
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm10.0
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity6.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control8.0
Performance and control
Computed Score8.53
Production
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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Styles P utilizes a gritty, atmospheric delivery to bridge street nihilism with spiritual existentialism, punctuated by clever lateral-thinking wordplay.
A
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
10
Cadence / Flow
6
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Internal rhyme stackingMetaphysical metaphorAphoristic wordplayDynamic cadence shifts
Rhyme Architecture: A dense, fluid scheme relying heavily on internal assonance and multi-syllabic end-rhymes (e.g., 'once/blunts', 'nice/light/night/ice/lens/wind/sins/win'), creating a consistent, pressurized rhythmic forward motion.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"do Kodak win?"
① A question regarding whether the rapper 'Kodak' (referencing the film brand associated with photography/pictures) wins or is successful.② A homophonous reference to 'code act' or 'Kodak' (film), implying that if people cannot 'get the picture,' they are not acting in accordance with the street code.
"I'm the alpha and omega of nice"
① A religious reference (Biblical) denoting the beginning and the end.② A assertion of lyrical superiority, claiming he is the comprehensive standard for being a 'nice' (skilled) emcee from start to finish.
"It's the ghost, I got to go to sleep just to get home"
① Referring to his moniker 'The Ghost', suggesting a supernatural or detached existence.② An existential statement that his physical reality is so bleak that he only feels at peace (at home) when he is dreaming/escaping through sleep.
Exceptional command of rhythmic pocket
Consistent, grimy aesthetic consistency
Strong integration of personal narrative with broader street themes
Occasional reliance on genre-standard tropes
Vocabulary complexity is limited by the gritty, direct tone of the era