For the Love

[Intro] Yeah, this is for all the pioneers For all the fathers For all the grandfathers, the uncle's The stepfather's even (for the love) For all those great men.. Who showed the youth the right way And talked the real talk with the youth Yeah, this for y'all [Hook] Yo this is for the love, it's for the love of you It's for the love of you Yo this is for the love, it's for the love of you It's for the love of you [Defari] Yo this one's for the love of you Pop With me, the ball you'd never drop In first grade it was the bully you told me to sock This is for everything you taught.. For every basketball you caught, and every football you bought It's from the heart let me explain This for the fact that I'm proud to be named after Dwayne And James, I know that times has changed since grand-dad died Hey - the whole family's rearranged But still, one thing remains the same I remember all the times we had pizza after every game I remember the music.. You bumped Coltrane, The Eisley's, Mays, George Duke shit Not to mention war.. I remember the L.A. street scene in '83, we saw Stevie I was just a young soldier, Pop, you showed me the streets And what to watch for when I got older Pop, you taught knowledge yourself, yo, how's Dennis? This for the fact that you was born and raised in Venice [Hook] [Defari] Yo this one's for the love of you Uncle - That's what we called you Six foot six, man you was too tall to - For any of us to have the balls to - Step outta line, and face the wrath on our behinds I always watched what you did - sipped a Scotch Beautiful wife, all those kids, in a big crib You was the Don of the fam, no doubt If any problem, you'd be the one who always worked shit out That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, a true man of the house Be the cushion for the family, when they fall down The felonious, from you I learned about Thelonious - Monk And Charlie Parker, yo that's my unc Yo Uncle, I remember the day you grabbed your muscle Who woulda thought that a Scotch and a smoke could provoke a stroke The whole family - shocked, watched, and waited Your return... was highly anticipated And even though after that you slowed down I'll cherish the times that we talked and sat around You dropped jew-els that I'll never forget From your life I gained so much to work with [Hook] [Defari] Yo this one's for the love of you Dale For all the times we watched - James Worthy kill Kevin McHale For all the times you would prevail To rescue a nigga in high school, when his car failed You've been down since sixth grade When a brotha had a frill, before the days of the ways I thank the almighty.. That you was there with me and moms, holdin' down nightly You remember in front of the house That rat cat got out and tried to run You chased him down and almost broke his neck They had to pull you off him Good thing for that cat, cause he was headed for a coffin Do you remember Patti Austin? Remember how moms used to bump Quincy Jones' "The Dude"? Aiyyo Dale, you more than a step-dad We share the blood of Monique, my little sister Can't forget that [Hook]