Here I Am

[Phonte] Back in the day they used to say I was a man-child Moms looked at me, was like "Oh, you a man now" Taught me to walk like a warrior, eyes up, shoulders back Looking like a nigga bout to stand trial Made me exactly who I am now It made me one of the livest niggas walking And realest niggas spitting hands down Taught me to stand down and always man up Cause then I'd never give in to a hand out One-man army, slash rhyme armada Don't need a little guac', I need the whole avocado That bullshit they playing got nothing to do with 'Te That's Maury Povich rap, homie "I am not the father" And I am not to bother with those who don't do the real I be on that Sugar Hill, no business with a cotter My purpose is to separate the classic from the fodder 'Te bring it and make you sing it like the Alma Mater, let's go! [Hook: Phonte] Like the way I move, like the way I groove Out on the floor Like the way I walk, like the way I talk Yeah, it's all yours Make the fellas rock, make the ladies say "Girl, that's my jam" Accept nothing less cause if you want the best Then here I am [Brother Ali] Yeah baby, here I'm is They say "Ali? Doubt his, he'll never be Eyedea" Fuck being half-great, I got to be five fifths Everybody clap your hands to the beat box kids I believe in this shit, could never be out sick If I didn't, I would not be tryna eat off of this They talking bout the greatest emcees ever lived Tryna give 'em good reason to put me on that list, shit You ain't in this discussion, you're simply interrupting I'm as good as gone, y'all ain't good for nothing My stomach grumbling isn't it Man we eating, y'all are just biting, that's inconsiderate Quit your nibbling, nobody's feeling it You beating a dead horse, that's not killing it We living it, y'all are visiting Get a grip, it's never too late for you to fix your shit It ain't set in stone till you're dead and gone Don't want 'em saying "Stood, walked tough, but could've flown" So when the sun rise and shine get on his grind He can look down and smile and see that I'm on mine Phonte, uh, yeah [Hook: Phonte] [The Grouch] Have you ever seen a dreamer lock his dreams up? Sabotage himself like his thoughts don't mean enough? Well I ain't tryna be that, you got me cleaned up Can't mix the yellow with the blue and get the green stuff Ain't no time to be scared and sad What I got's much rarer than that, I do care but in fact I don't care what you think, though I've been there before I now know more, I more know me I'm living to my full capacity Tryna spill a little game and soak a splash of three Focused past the obvious, ask of me More than your average, half a G Cause I can hear the birds chirping and feel the words working Where the curb's serving, a smoking herb's surfing Today you'll catch a wave Let your guard down and be free or that's a slave And this is true ... It's all true [Hook: Phonte]