When I Was Young

[Natti - V1] Father figured he didn't wanna be a figure no more But mama made sure as a kid I'd never knew we was poor No worries about the bills and all the rigmarole The food stamps were paper and they spent in the store If the Kool-Aid was sweet then so was my life And the life my friends lived was of a similar type But as Mike Jack's face changed so did my needs Let the Osh Kosh be gone now I needed some Lees And when I fucked em' up she ironed patches on knees And if it didn't bother her it wasn't bothering me I thought cartoons came through the TV for free But now that I'm grown I know every fee And think back to how strong she had to be Cus I was into everything like vitamin C And I thought it was unlikely to come back to bite me Til the Lord blessed me with a son just like me [Kno - V2] Those holes in my clothes, didn't think nothin of it Huh, fuck ya'll we was broke and I loved it Nothing but hopes and dreams off in the cupboard Fresh baked humble pie, throw it in the oven Income been much lower than the others Grandmas boy cus I didn't know my mother Didn't know my father, at least not sober Forgive and forget though, now that its over And now that I'm older, I look at the past like Rich folks look at dashboard cams on a Rover Tryina back up like data on ya Motorola While I'm dialin up the past Living in the present like a puppy in a box The Best I Ever Had was my stomach tied in knots Hopin that my pops copped me some folded socks And brand new draws, thanks Santa Claus, aw [Substantial - V3] First it was all about Anime, Kung Fu, Hide & Go Get It Anything's possible the sky's no limit Plan to be an MC athlete and architect So you could see a player in the building cold rockin' it See me copping shit like comics & cards Long before I rocked watches times was hard Before I had to find a job or been places I was 11 pounds 10 ounces, Glenn Davis 'Fore I saw pops being put in a grave I had broken heart before I murmured a phrase Had my first fight Grabbed my first mic Before my man Ti said "Dag that verse tight!" Like LL I grew to be bigger and deffer No frontin' I'm Ben Button I only get better Made hand me down sweaters look sharp as cheddar A shame that them days didn't last forever!