shine all gold
Talking 'bout, uh, uh, what they talking 'bout? Uh
What they talking 'bout? Uh, uh, what they talking 'bout? Uh
What they talking 'bout? Uh, uh, what they talking 'bout? Uh
What they talking 'bout? Uh, uh, what they talking 'bout? Uh
"You're stupid to think the world's small enough to heal all of us."
That's what the teacher say, "Go to the preacher, pray."
But you gotta pay, gotta fight you a cheaper way
Look into myself, try to find me a deeper way
Chase my dreams, create, made me me today
As I prosper, know the feds, they watch us
So I stunt, obnoxious when I'm in they binoculars
A nigga just wanna be free, I was in the same hood and nobody rescued me, my nigga
Cut the pleading, believe and self-achieve, nothing with greed, just be yourself, uh
Realize that your strength is locked inside
It's the thing that you feel when you open your eyes
That feeling's alive, go ahead, homie, and fly
Someday you'll get high, leaving your mark in the sky
But 'til then, I got this, fuck your hypothesis
New York blocks is where I built my conscience up
Brought my ganja, tryna live life prosperous
Since a toddler, had a dream and I followed it
Be dodgin' them hollow tips
Throw some shots, they missed
Had to stay optimist'
Neighborhood pharmacist kept me on Cloud 9 when the hard times would hit
All time high, first time I hit Fronto, kid
By eighteen, had the mind of a king
Gotta learn from mistakes, what it takes to lead
But of course had a taste of the evil seed
So I could truly see what I was meant to be
Who would know much later, I would be much greater?
Every parent-teacher conference told my mom I'm a failure
'Cause they couldn't see the prophet in disguise as a player
Rise on them haters, I defied all the labels
Swear to keep it G 'til I'm at the crossroads, and the Grim Reaper creep, tryna banish my soul
Used to sin every week, had to let the pain go
Gotta practice what you preach, but I ain't an angel
Mobbed in the streets, what the blue rag know?
Know no power and the peace, but I took the gang road
But despite all the demons tryna bring me down low
I just rise like a phoenix and I shine all gold (shine all gold)
Flatbush was my stomping ground
Mother wanted to keep me out
Tried to put me on a different route
Sent me to schools to smarter crowds
Problem is when my school was done
Would come home to my neighborhood
Learned the ways of the hood I'm from
But in my books, I was a gifted one
My conduct, it was fucked up
I was the class clown since I started up
Getting good grades, but that's not enough
Had a 99, but my behavior sucked
High school, a nigga found drugs
Prescription pills, not the good stuff
Xanax when I'm waking up, Percocet just to keep me up
Nose candy was a favorite, 8-ball for only two of us
Popping 'X' was another one until we found out the shit was cut
Ain't it funny, when you think about it?
My mother thought that these schools were bound to
Keep a nigga on the straight and narrow
Instead, they filled me up with problems
But in the same breath, I wouldn't change shit
Because the pain is what made me become great
Everything that I go through—because faith
It was hard but it caused me to change shit
Addiction lead to depression
And in depression, you're taught some lessons
If you listen, then keep on pushing
Then the solution cause evolution
Obstacles come inside of your path
And make you switch up and step on the gas
If you look back inside of your path
You find direction, it's like your own map
It's like your own map, uh, it's like your own map, uh
It's like your own map, uh, it's like your own map