Ode to Lauryn

[Verse 1] First time I saw you I was with my cousin He was buzzin' He had a baby mother that didn't trust him I was seven, he was 20-something with two kids While we was at the store, she popped up with a pistol and a fist I looked her in the eyes, seen the schizo and the fear With a mama out her mind screaming "I'mma come for mine" So I ran to the back with his two kids, we both cryin' Tryna figure out if my cousin dead or alive Am I the last one to see his eyes? Am I the last one to see his time pass with the blast Of a mother troubled by my sad situation I waited for somebody to rescue me The song I see on TV is The Refugees Playing in my head while I dread watching my cousin get locked like Haile Selassie Praise Yahweh, he wasn't dead, Lauryn I ain't know your name back then but your lyrics Kept me kinda sane back when I was in the back thinking "Let the track spin" Let the track spin, sing it [Hook] Ooh la la la Ooh la la la That's the way that we rock when we doing our thing [Verse 2] Saturday morning I see you on the TV singing in the split screen 50's theme with a picture It's a sister with a crown that isn't made of gold But skin like mine, that's when my mind froze like the summer's gone That color wasn't popular, changed me in the winter Maybe that will make me lighten up or bright enough or white enough to heighten love "Zion" was the track I played out Educating misses on the mission Adam made out [Be a mother or an artist and make your case sound inside the playground With toys don't take the place of your present They gift the stay round]? Ms. Marigold, you killed the Grammy's, rest in peace to them Very ghosts that repeated the parable that chicks don't put bullets in pencils Even in writtens let the lead go The trigger spittin' wicked, it's wicker, it's brooms flyin', no witches The lyrics only scarecrows, you made 'em timid, Lauryn Yeah, I knew your name back then and your lyrics Really brought some change back when I was in the back thinking "Let the track spin" Let the track spin, sing it [Hook] [Verse 3] Ms. Lauryn, it was a minute before we saw your face You made "Miseducation" then left the class with another teacher to take your place Fans waiting patiently, pacing the record places for music that they could play without you We just Drakes, nothing was the same until "Unplugged" showed up Voice broken but the substance told the story that a drug imitates It was hot, doper than the vanity in the veins In entertainment's attics, you radically ravished the masses With a couple words or two With action in your language, something verbs would do But your emotion had me asking if you was alright You seemed kind of different like in the distance you might've dealt with some issues Some religion that had Scriptures but with no intentions of giving you Christ Giving you life, I could be trippin' but I'm telling the truth If a decision's what you made, lyrics can't be the proof It's something else, it's something bigger than you It's Jesus, when you was climbing out your box, I hope you seen Him Peace will find you when you seek Him In the meantime, I'm praying for you You're a legend, hope to see you in Heaven, Lauryn You ain't been the same since back then, I know You kinda changed back when I was in the back thinking "Let the track spin" Let the track spin, sing it [Hook]