Life's a confusing search
 From birth till you lay in the cold, black earth
 And your soul is reunited with the universe
 Supreme peace, all a nigga ever knew was hurt
 It's like every colored child in the womb is cursed
 To be labeled as a ****ing criminal or worse
 And it pains me to see anguish in me
 Explained in a paragraph, laid in a beat
 I epitomize a rough life, hoping the judge might
 Show compassion, we were moving crushed white
 My man got caught with a four that wouldn't bust right
 Plus marked money, you could say he had a rough night
 Who laws' enforced when you standing in court, remanded
 The D's seized a ki and half of that vanished
 Life is deeper than you'll ever understand it
 Sometimes I wonder how the **** I ever manage
 This is the other side, often glorified
 But never lived, I know what it is to fall and rise

 Shorty's life was no joke
 He never met his father and his mama was on dope
 Then she took an overdose and died, you know how it goes
 Left shorty alone with no home, stone broke
 Now he in the game at fifteen years old
 Enduring the winter nights till his feet get cold
 Frequently on the phone, his girlfriend was beautiful
 With goals, so they argue 'bout his lifestyle as usual
 Time goes on and she eventually left
 Sick of him going to jail and near brushes with death
 She gave him an ultimatum but she knew he would choose
 To return to a game with ever-changing rules
 And when she stayed in school, now he resting in peace
 And the crack is still selling where he bled in the street
 This is the other side, often glorified
 But never lived, I know what it is to fall and rise

 My appetite was destructive, I swallowed my pride
 When the connect suggested it's best if I just rhyme
 Ultimately, we both knew the choice was mine
 Coulda hit me with that ki, but he want me to shine
 I could see sincereness in his eyes
 We both was still here and our man just died
 He told me park my V and we went for a ride
 Then he said he's yet to hear lyrics realer than mine
 His words froze my soul as if suspended in time
 My conscience and greed were prepared to collide
 He told me if I need currency, he will provide
 And he would rather give me money than give me consignment
 The choice is mine, I could use my voice to rhyme
 Or pursue exploits in crime while trying to e-void time
 It's deceiving, meaning it ain't always on your side
 Yet the answer came easy when my daughter arrived