Inner City Blues Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Every time my momma leave the house
I know someone gon bless her
With a chair or a couch
Or someone's old dresser
That they left on they lawn
It's their trash it's our treasure
Momma we don't we need it tho
Why do I even test her?
Cause now it's in our living room
Ever so messy
Cause there's barely room to live
But I've learned that all the best things
In life are free
Or intangible
Or passed down
I'm talking secondhand cause yo
Now we at the thrift store
Our budget is $20
Shopping for winter clothes
While outside it's still sunny
Cause that's when the jackets' half off
You know blue tag, green tag
Supply & demand
Yo either way we saving money
It's been a lifestyle before it was a trend now
You know how many times we've had to introduce ends now
I'm talking bout make ends meet
They good friends now
So time's the only thing I've really learned to spend now
Pretend now, you walking in my scuffed up size 10's now
Well they my brothers, I ain't even gon pretend now
So sir come stand in my shoes
And see
My circumstances have proved
We just products of my environment now
But how did this happen yo?
See I can go and blame my dad
Cause we left him when I was 6 for reasons I didn't understand
So how's a single woman supposed to raise another man
When she's still being taken advantage of by Uncle Sam
Damn
But for the record I love my dad
We closer than we ever been
That's in the past no I ain't mad
So I thank you for your wisdom
But those years can't get them back
So your presence and absence made me exactly who I am
Cause like
I never learned to fix a car with you
Never got the talk, I learned that from Mike & Dr. Drew
And Christian often taught me like what not to do
When momma was at work it was K-DAY & the Carter 2
And Pac & 'Ye & Jay but thank God
We didn't have cable so it was a little harder to be brainwashed
So I started rapping & drawing just to escape falling
Into depression and started counting my blessings
Act like you know
[Verse 2]
But Momma taught me if it's broke
Learn to fix it
We're not buying a new one
And shoes are just shoes
What you trying to prove son?
Boy you gon wear them out
Or grow out of them in a few months
So these Shaq's, Starburys, or FUBU's gon have to do son
Awh
They look just like Nike's, what's the difference?
If your friends are making fun of you, they're not your real friends
I never thought I was poor til I made rich friends
And spent the night at my homie's just to witness what I been missing
Like wait
Hold up
Yall don't have bars on your windows bruh?
Y'all got real Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Man these Cinnamon Toasters got the same ingredients
And these Marshmallow Mateys taste like convenience
If there's no sale or coupon nah we don't bother
What you know about half your shampoo bottle being filled with water?
And your stove barely work, you just use it to store your pots
No internet, just your thoughts, were those fireworks or gunshots? Helicopters & dogs barking
Can't find parking
$5 in my wallet, $4.50 in my tap card
And a buncha bus tokens for Christmas man that's some distance
So I'm going wherever this bus gon take me
Chillin just listening to some rappers call me broke
In one earphone cause only one work
Complaining bout my situation man I got some nerve
Cause there's some kids in other countries man they be starving
I'm worried bout where I'll get some wifi
They worried bout where they'll get some water
So for a second I'm like, I ain't got it all that hard
Then I forget because my boys still joke that I ain't got a car yet
So don't hit me up to chill today
Cause we got Mr. Clinton's hairpiece
We got bills to pay
We've been eating manna from heaven for a minute
And Romans 8:28 been on my brain, dawg I live it
Chillin in Jalen's civic
Talking bout how we gon get it
Before they gentrify my city
But for now come take a visit
Come look
Act like we ain't been institutionalized
Liquor store, motel, liquor store
Used to disguise
This systematic oppression
With no tools to provide
Us with to build
So there's nothing left to do but get high
Or get drunk and kill each other cause we can't get along
And we can't move out this dump because we can't get a loan
Cause the color of our skin yeah they gon make sure we don't
Cause once we move into they city, property value get low
And yeah we tried to change the system
Bernie got all our votes
Well that's when we thought our votes counted
Til we found out it don't
Cause Gerrymander and his folk with the electoral vote
They split the states and districts
And trust me we do not benefit from it
So now our hope is as low as our education system
Cause it seems like teachers round here just get payed to baby sit them
It don't matter anyway cause it ain't cool to pay attention
We just tryna smoke, rap, fight, play 2K, and get bitches huh?
Cause our music & media taught us that's all there is
As they infect the perspective of all these kids
We can't afford college anyway
So we got 3 options
Rap game
Drug game
Or the NBA
Nah
No it ain't gotta be that way
See the Father got a plan we just can't see right away
You gotta dream a lil bigger than what you see right now
Fight the system, seek His wisdom, seek the Kingdom, cause the world's a ghetto
[Horatio]
"...you gotta learn how to dodge those rocks
You have to learn how to be strong and get up from a fall
Life won't be like "oh, let me help you up, oh oh are you okay?"
Life won't be as easy as you think
Especially from our skin color, they won't treat us fair
That's why you have to be independent, you have to be strong
Always get a good job, cause when you get k-
They won't be nice to you
We don't have equal rights Daishanay
We have different rights than a white person as a black person
That's why we have to be strong"

[Outro]
Don't you know
That it's true
That for me
And for you
The world is a ghetto
X2

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