We Don't Care

The lyrics portray people facing poverty, limited opportunities, and low expectations. The repeated claim that they were not expected to live past 25 turns survival into a defiant celebration. The mood shifts between hardship and pride: the speakers describe risky ways of earning money, but also insist that they are still standing and refuse to be shamed.

Several images make these pressures concrete. “Stack your money ’til it gets sky high” suggests trying to build security, even when income comes from dangerous or illegal work. Calling drug money a child’s “scholarship” highlights the lack of ordinary support for education, while also showing the painful trade-off between immediate survival and a safer future. The refrain “we don’t care what people say” works as a response to judgment, not necessarily as proof that the speakers feel no hurt.

The song’s attitude is deliberately complicated. Its chorus sounds triumphant, yet the verses point to abandoned children, inadequate schooling, unemployment, and violence. The lyrics can be heard as celebrating resourcefulness and solidarity while criticizing the conditions that make harmful choices seem necessary. The defiance may be genuine, protective, or both; the speakers’ bravado does not erase the vulnerability beneath it.