Lyrics

My mother and them told me "know when to cut ya ties"/
My brother and them said "most will tell you bunch of lies"/
My cousin and them told me they was down for the ride/
Other than them, it aint many in whom I confide/
It should come as no surprise that I vocalize/
Some strong feelings and opinions that I hold inside/
(hold up...)
Was raised to know the tree by the fruit that's closely by/
And know the difference 'tween a wolf and hunger cry/
I thought, to meet each other's needs, we supposed to try/
But just cause we look alike don't mean that we closely tied/
Uuuhhnn…I feel it deep inside this soulful vibes/
From stabbed backs, and side-winks from a loathful eye/
This that Zora Neal feel inside of spoken rhymes/
That Langston Hughes Harlem talk from a local scribe/
i learned to separate the real from the tropes and spies/
and that good seeds aint the only ones that multiply/
I aint talking self-hatred, I uphold the tribes/
Matter of fact, I’d rather march and then mobilize/
But sometimes I feel like throwing bricks through broken skies/
Front lines, is where real soldiers abide/
I’m from where counter slogans matter more than lives/
Where bootstrap ideologies are normalized/
Where neighborhoods feel locked down and fortified/
They think we only into balling, killing, dope and crime/
I was brought up by "never lose hope inside"/
I never thought that the Savior was supposed to die/
I never thought my flesh and blood would ever go awry/
Friends or enemies? Same message to both apply/
The bonafide, I was sent here to notify/
To keep ya kin close, but ya skin folks closer by/