Struggle & the hood

See, to live is to suffer

But to survive

Well, that's to find meaning in the suffering

A loss ain't a loss, it's a lesson

When you’re not fed with a silver spoon you learn to lick it off a knife.

I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death

If I wasn't in the rap game

I'd probably have a ki, knee-deep in the crack game

Because the streets is a short stop

Either you're slingin' crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot

One day, I'm wordless, next day, I'm a wordsmith

Close to success, but to happiness, I'm the furthest

The code words to killin' a black man by police is, "He's got a gun"

Damned if he do, damned if he don't, damned if he runs

They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor

People sellin' drugs 'cause they can't find no job

Wonder if Christ made a million off of sellin' the cross

To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'

To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of

Didn't choose this dirty game, this dirty game it chose me

We on our back, starin' at the stars above (Aww, man)

Talkin' bout what we gonna be when we grow up (Mm)

I said, "What you wanna be?" She said, "Alive"

And although it seems heaven-sent

We ain't ready to see a black president, uh (Oh-ooh)

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this

You shook, ‘cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks

If you wanna make change, it's gon' take commitment

Some people enslaved by they religion

Can't emancipate them from the mental prisons

I was already sentenced, before I came up out the womb

It's workin' twice as hard as the people you know you're better than

Why shed tears? Save your sympathy

My childhood years were spent buryin' my peers in the cemetery

You was listening to your coaches

I was listening to the vultures

You either make your way or stay

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti

He's nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting

If Dr. King marched today, would Bill Gates march?

I know Obama would but would Hilary take part?

Birthdays was the worst days

Now we sip Champagne when we thirsty

Nerve bad like I'm back to sellin' crack again

Fame and money brought some factors I didn't factor in

If I was old, they'd probably be a friend of me

Since I'm young, they consider me the enemy

They kill ten of me to get the job correct

I helped the game, it ain't help me

This is America

Don't catch you slippin' now

I came into this world high as a bird

From secondhand cocaine powder—I know it sounds absurd

I never tooted, but it's in my veins

I'm a man now, I came up to hold my fam down

Can't tell them about my depression 'cause most them fans now

I didn’t feel connected to hip-hop growing up. I never wanted a chain or a mansion. I just wanted niggas to stop dying.

Institutionalized

I live my life a product made to crumble

Much too hardened for a smile, way too crazy to be humble

I learned early that I had to work harder than the white kids and harder than the boys.

What good is a degree when there's no jobs to apply?

And fast food won't do cause you overqualified

It's sad, 'cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know

Just 'cause you're in the ghetto doesn't mean you can't grow (You can't grow)

I done got rich and it cursed me

You know the best medicine go to people that's paid

If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS

And all the broke motherfuckers passed away

You tellin' me if my grandma's in the NBA

And I'm so high, it's so lonely up here (Lonely up here)

Day by day it's more impossible to cope

I feel like I'm the one that's doin' dope

Can't keep a steady hand, because I'm nervous

Now I remember, I used to be cool

'Til I stopped fillin' out my W-2

I play my part, and my heart seem colder than March

But on the flipside of things, it's still warmer than June

I have talks with the Lord, and he'll be callin' me soon, what?

Couple problems my cash can't help

Human issues, too strong for tissues

False bravado all masked by wealth

Easy, low-key crooked military

Pay taxes up my ass, but they still harass me

Our summer die, our summertime don't got no time no more

I have been my own worst enemy since the very genesis of rebels

The deeper it gets, boy, the pressure increases

But pressure make diamonds

It's a cold world, better pack your own heat

Negative at heart, am I?

Or shall I explain what the world done to me?

My lifestyle was so far from well

Could've wrote a book with the title "Age Twelve and Going Through Hell"

My girl pinched my hips to see if I still exist

Being dead broke is the root of all evil

You too deep in it to quit, I know the pain of it

You love the game but knowin' that the game doesn't

Love you back, love the fact this the same struggle

City to city, we products of the same hustle

My other, my partner, I was teacher, he was father

I skilled, he schooled, we chilled, we moved

We thug, we hung, we ate, we slept

We lived, we died, I stayed, you left

Born sinner, the opposite of a winner

Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner

Moms smoking rocks same stuff I'm sellin'

So who's wrong her or me

She addicted to the high, I'm addicted to the cash

Almost put my hands on her when I caught her in my stash

Take me away from the hood, in a casket or a Bentley

I'm on the pursuit of happiness, and I know

Everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold, hey

I'll be fine once I get it

I'll be good

I'm the young city bandit, hold myself down single-handed

For murder raps, I kick my thoughts alone, get remanded

Born alone, die alone, no crew to keep my crown or throne

I once contemplated suicide, and woulda tried

But when I held that 9, all I could see was my mama's eyes

No one knows my struggle, they only see the trouble

Justice won't be served by a hashtag, and that's the very reason I ask that

What are we to do? We're scattered around

With no clue of this ugly truth