The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I carry babies like you carry guns
They hold our rights while we hold none
And that's real
And I understand the pain you feel
But I can't begin to understand the pain you inflict
How can I hold you? Kiss you? Love you? When no one ever taught you that shit
You say I remind you of your mother
But you wanna be just like what you can remember of your father
So you leave me
Or even worse, you hit me, you beat me
And she and I are still grieving
Make babies with us then deny them, I guess you're slave masters now
If they could see the way you treat us wouldn't it make your slave masters proud?
But this is not about us, it's about you
Ghetto boys stomping the streets of Brooklyn, Chicago, Compton and Houston to name a few
Sag your pants and sag your goals
Cause you've been told
That you are worthless
Guaranteed to pass by a woman on the street and leave her purseless
Greet your mother with lies and curses
Kill your brothers... and the worst is
That you're proving them right
Landed every punch and yet you're losing the fight
Cause you've lost sight of what you're fighting for
Soldiers strapped ready to fight this war
Shoot him already... no one will give a shit
You've done this before, you can live with it
But can you die with that?
Make your mother cry with that?
When someone comes to retaliate presses the cold metal to your head
Will he make the same choice you made? Or choose another path instead?
Niggas love to kill niggas, I guess you're slave masters now
If they could see the way you treat each other wouldn't it make your slave masters proud?
But I love you, so I try to make excuses defending what you do
Cause I don't know how to put an end to what you do
Love bears the same name as you
I don't ever wanna be ashamed of you
So I hold you close, like you hold guns
And push out babies like you push away daughters and sons
I should avoid you, cause you remind me of my father
But I wanna be just like my mother
So I cling to you
Have 5 of your babies and never get a ring from you
And the sad part is 3 of them are boys that wanna grow up to be just like what they can remember of you
They have the same walk, the same stare, the same temper as you
You say you're too young to be a father... I bet that's what your father said
Right before he said goodbye, I bet that's what went through your father's head
And now the sad part is I got 2 girls that'll probably grow up to be just like me
16 years old pregnant and throwing up, just like me
How can their brothers protect them when they don't even know how to protect themselves
When they're 16, 15, 14 having sex themselves
And now my grandchildren are starting to look familiar
And they keep making us look inferior
And we keep proving them right
If only we knew who to fight
And how
So that's why I grip pencils, like you grip guns
Though you hold back bullets like I hold back my tongue
My dream is that your hands will form to grip pencils, basketballs, microphones, stethoscopes, like you used to grip guns
That you'll unclench your fists just in time to hold your daughters and sons
That history will repeat itself and we'll become kings and queens again
That we'll awaken Martin Luther King’s dream again
But until then… they'll label you criminals, juvenile delinquents, and thugs
They just wanna give you years, but I just wanna give you a hug
And I know you were taught never to cry so let me cry for you
Maybe my tears will cleanse your sins, at least let me try for you
You're just like my brother, who looks like my father, whose face I saw on the first boy I ever loved
And they all hurt me, but I'm so tired of holding this grudge
Tell the judge you plead insanity, it's these streets that made you crazy
Gearing you up for war since you were just a baby
Look into the eyes of these fatherless men
Taught to be men by boys that were never taught to be men
Give us liquor stores instead of schools, crack instead of textbooks, then wonder why we don't succeed
Give us guns and minimal chances for survival then wonder why we bleed
As I grip this pencil tightly, I pray you let go of that gun
My father, my brother, my lover, my son

Boomerang

The moment that I realized that I loved you...
Was 3 seconds after I screamed I hate you to a non-responsive phone
Alone in my room
Because you decided to cut me out of your life, forever... again
But only for a week
Until you had another "epiphany" and realized I was the one for you
Rinse and repeat
Begging me to take you back
Telling me that you missed me when in fact
You just miss having someone that accepts you and all your many, many flaws
How sad is it that I realized my love for you
Because there was just no other explanation for all the bullshit I allowed you to put me through
Love makes you fucking stupid
Knowing I shouldn't take you back but doing it anyway and making excuses
Like, "but we have so much history together"
And the tiny little voice inside my head that knows better
Was screaming "there's a reason why history is part of the past"
And I said "yeah, I know" but still went back to your ass
See I have a weakness for people with a weakness
I can't help it, I just want to help you
I don't mind being your shoulder to cry on
The one you can always rely on
But you only like me when you're miserable
When everything in your life is fucked up you run to me to make it all better
But where were you when shit wasn't so great for me?
Too busy, too high, having too much fun, too preoccupied
Don't you dare hit me with that "I've been hurt before" line
Who the fuck hasn't had their heart broken at least one or two times?
It doesn't give you the right to be a complete douchebag
Baby, you're so selfish
You're so last minute, last chance, last time
Swear I'm the last thought that's ever on your mind
And you're the last thing that I need in my life
Can't believe I ever thought this would last
I don't think you'll ever really know how I felt
But yes I'll get over you baby get over yourself
You're just another guy
Just another lie
And I refuse to give this just another try
You only get one "one last chance"
Guess you got used to me being your boomerang
Baby, boomerang love
All my tears are frozen now
All the words I spoke on how
I loved you, they were true
But guess what? I love me, too
And I love me more
So I won't let you hurt me, no, not anymore
No, not like before
I must look dumb to you
But I've become numb to you
So I'll leave you with a fuck you! But thank you, for all the times that we had
But they're in the past
And this boomerang, baby, this boomerang... she ain't never coming back

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Struggle

If you're reaching for the top.... then you better be prepared to climb
And if you're starting at the bottom, then remember this could take a long time
But if you're looking for the easy route, then honey get in line
Sit back, relax, and tell your dreams never mind
Turn around and walk away if you wanna live in the past
And veer off into this shortcut if you're tryna get to nowhere.. fast
See they'll give you the directions to easy street, but then forget to mention
That the road to hell is paved with good intentions
But the road to success? Well the road to success isn't paved at all
It's a rocky, uphill slope guaranteed to make you fall
If you don't hold on, hold on to your dreams
You gotta keep on climbing.. even when it seems
Like all hope is lost
Remember that struggle is the cost
For greatness
And you could blame it on the system
And make yourself the victim
If you wanna be swallowed by the city
And wallow in self-pity
But no, not you, you're better than that
You won't settle for that
You'll learn to stomach everything, so nothing will ever satisfy your hunger
Your hands will bear the mark of centuries, so you'll know you're not getting any younger
See one day you'll stand tall, brave face, and unrattled heart
But you can't win the war.. without a few battles scars
So here they are
A slice on the knuckles because they said that you were weak
One across your face because you learned how to turn the other cheek
A gash on your Achilles's heel because they didn't want you to reach the peak
And one slashed tongue because you were never afraid to speak
They left a scar from your eye to your ear cause they couldn't comprehend how to see your words and hear your fashion
And stabbed you in the heart because they cowered in fear of so much passion
But they failed in all attempts to break your spirit and halt your course
And instead created a MONSTER, an unstoppable force
You can lick your own wounds, cause you're used to the taste
And when they tell you that you can't HA you'll laugh in their face
Cause while they're standing in place, you'll be running the race
Victory tastes the sweetest when you fight for it
Sleep can wait, there will be other nights for it
So don't stop now
If you never fail, then you won't know how
To win
If you've never seen the journey, then you'll never see the end
So never say no to hard work, and never bow down to any obstacle
Because struggle does not hinder success.. it makes it.. possible

Man Up

I used to want to be just like a guy
To feel no emotions, and never cry
Until I met the boy with the saddest eyes I'd ever seen
Brown and empty, with an everpresent gleam
Even when he had a smile on his face
It always looks as if there was a tear trying to escape
But he wouldn't let it
Cause ever since a toddler he was told to be tough
To man up
Learned how to fight, but never learned how to love
He's just going through the motions
Emptying bottles of liquor so he can have a place to bottle his emotions
He won't let you hold him
Intimacy's not one of his abilities
Running through girls faster than he runs from responsibilities
Mean mug
Arms folded at the chest looking tough
But I know better
He's just trying to hold himself together
Just a generation of little boys
Given guns to call toys
Made to be brave, to "have heart".. but he's scared of the very heart that beats inside him
It's like we were all playing hide&seek but the boys never came out from hiding
See he never really grew up, he just got older
Lifting weights at the gym but can't seem to lift the weight that's on his shoulders
A history of violence and an appetite for self-destruction
He's just bits and pieces put together wrong cause he's too proud to read the instructions
Running towards a dead end
Pouring out liquor for his dead friends
Cause it would cause more
To let the tears pour
Little boy with a big ego
Yelling "I go so hard!" .. Yeah.. We know
Who you trying to impress?
Chin up and well dressed
But your insides are bare
And I know inside you're scared
You can't trick me, I've played your game before
And I'm so tired of seeing the same old score
Baby we haven't won anything
You're doing too much... and yet you haven't done anything
I swear I've met you a thousand times
Different face but same game and the same tired old lines
You claim you've got this heart made of steel
But you should be jealous of the hearts that you steal
This is what you call keeping it real?
I feel for you, your futures looking ominious
Baby, masculinity and misogyny.. were never meant to be synonymous
You think these tears are weak?
You should feel the way the burn my cheek
When a woman's eyes start to rain you can hear it thundering
I swear the bravest, most beautiful thing a man could ever do is cry in front of me
Show me the painful, show me the ugly, give me everything you've got to give
And I promise I won't tell you to man up baby.. because you just did