In front of the judge,
wrist and ankles shackled up,
D.A. pleading to the court to lock me up
'til there's gray hairs on my scalp and nuts
mind falling back on my religious crutch
"please God, don't let this time be too much"
my money's not right
so public defender's negotiating for my life
feeling down on my luck
with a part of me not giving a fuck
I'm confused
"your honor, may I speak before I receive the bad news?"
See, I'm what life molded me to be
many nights I've went to bed without being fed
stomach completely empty
while my mother roamed the streets
doing things I'm too ashamed to speak
and my father was too busy chasing
smoke screens, hanging with dope fiends
daddy O neglected me
so i gravitated to the streets your system created
thought if I had a pocket full of loot
it would mean that I've made it
never mind how I generated it
I just new that poverty is what I hated
and I refused to have that hunger pain reinstated
so I did things that society frowns upon
but seems to prosper on
obstacles set, meant to keep us at the bottom end
of the economic pond
feed us shit to corrupt our hearts and soul
and when the difficulties of life begin to take it's toll
you lock us up without parole
while the streets swallow our children
alive and whole
and you tell the public this is the DEPT OF CORRECTIONS
created to shape and mold our minds and point us in the right direction
a wolf in sheep's clothes
I see through all the deceptions
only because I'm the exception to the rules you uphold
my insight is priceless like a rare stone
the streets "AINT" raise a fool
and I refuse to break and lose my cool
opposition makes me stronger
my spirit gives me the strength to fight a little longer
than most on your side of the boarder
and fuck being a soldier
I supply the orders with my people on my shoulders
we bear the burdens of our culture
and if I could choose another life
I'll choose the same one over
and fuck you if you think I'm a little vulgar
but I'm aggressively assertive when I'm around you vultures
I'm here to shake awake those caught up in the spell of being hopeless
and this "AINT" no conscious rap
this is anger wrapped inside a young man
trapped inside the matrix of this western land
which was designed to build upon the backs
and multi-cultural hands
of the undesirables
you conveniently brand as
low lives
but through the midst of confusion
I've learned to overstand
and survive
throughout it all I've managed to hold on to my
dignity and pride
walk with a confident stride with my head up high
never needing to hide
so fuck you and the bench where you reside
cause time is on my side.