Right, so much more than a rapper
They only write rhyme, well I'mma writer
That use rap to capture the times
The songwritin' so excitin', like ridin' a bike
But speed, never exceed what you can catch in a line
On rainy days, you never see me fighting a vibe
My brainstorm can light before the lighting is ripe
Blow, lost for days, moms taught me bout honest ways
I saw that crime don't pay at the youngest age
Just a south side kid from around the way
Most of our friends deadbeat till extended stays
You're just an animal once you get inside that cage
That's why I fuck with basketball, I'm out there working all my J
Got some lettuce from school, askin' me to play us
It seem to be the way to escape the inner city maze
A brave scholar that love art and praise knowledge
But got shot at the summer before he went to college
I never told my moms that, she had enough to bear
She sacrificed everything just to get me there
To see your baby boy graduate, shed a tear, computer science major
The math added an extra year
Found a sampler and put it on layaway
Spent my Christmas break making beats every day
Things I saw in high-school told me stay away
But my love for the music never gonna fade away
High price to pay for the greez even then
Five years of school, the debt added extra ten
But came home making more dough than all my friends
So when my fam needed my help I could finally give
Moved to Cincinnati, couldn't be stationary
Felt a lot of love with the girl I moved there to marry
Progammer first, local rapper secondary, battle anybody
Wanted to be legendary
Try hard to get promoted but I wasn't able
Having better luck with the mike and the turntables
All we wanted was attention from a lil' label
Kept pushin', even though my family wasn't stable
Lost my big sis, hardest year of my life
Pops got sick and told me not to stop by
Makin' paper, still didn't have a decent car
Banging two mortgages, cause moms got hurt on the job
Had to slow my roll, from out there, gettin' mine
To understand how the family is intertwined
They all sacrificed so we can live a better life
So you gotta step up to the play when it's yo time
Remember this, when you race towards the finish line
Credit towards your fam should never be minimized
Lot of people lean on 'em when they on the rise
See some, success, then they wanna break the ties
Flippin' through the channels, landed on Charlie Rolls
Interviewing Sting about all the songs he wrote
Charlie asked how a song writer keep his hope
Well, Sting answered, I never dared forget the quote
He said 'the music get dark whenever things get bad
But artist gotta understand, it's easier to pay with black
If you feel it comin' on, you gotta reel it back
Cause people turn to us to hopefully escape from that'
I try to think of that time to time when I'm writtin'
Responsibility that come along with the rhymin'
'Don't be the guy always talkin' bout the sky fallin'
Don't paint the dark cloud, unless you paint the silver lining'
It's why I'm rhyming, to be that silver linin'
Huh, to be the silver linin'