Manchild

[Poppa Wu] I'm a manchild born in the promised land Captain of my destiny, guidin my faith through the turbulence of life See, in order to be who you are, you've got to know who you are In order to get to where you want to go You've got to know from where you came Say, it was Malcolm X who said "A man who doesn't have nothing to stand up for Will fall for any god damn thing!" [Shyheim] Damn, Woke up again... Down my face drop tears, it's like nobody cares I swear, life ain't fair, sometimes I wanna disappear Only Blahzay Blah', I got mad gray hairs, I'm a young old man What part of "Shit Iz Real" don't you understand? Twin got murdered, caught one to the temple You ain't been what I been through, Can It Be All So Simple? I got bad nerves, it's absurd, I'm disturbed So, I suggest you watch the words that you blurb Out your mouth, or it'll be a shoot out I leave you stretched out, I'm thugged, inside and out And it ain't by choice I'm screaming out loud for love (AHHHH!), do anybody hear my voice? Pardon the noise, I'm just a black ghetto boy Went through the rain and pain, where's the sunshine and joy? I can't seem to find it, trapped in the black cloud Watching my life go down, to hide the suffering, I smile [Hook: Tekitha] Running these streets can be so Trying these trying times Manchild in the promised land Who of you will understand? Running these streets can be so Trying these trying times Manchild in the promised land, hey-ay... [Shyheim] My aunt died from AIDS, I watched her deteriorate She told me fucking wit drugs, was her biggest mistake Put my moms on to it, sticking needles in her veins Being sons of addicts, yo, me and Cane the same We packed bags at Pathmark, we both humped Tamika We used to go to the pool, just to steal kid's sneakers Rocked cut-off beepers, wore old clothes for Easter Shit was so real, we had to split a slice of pizza I was born at six months, damn, premature My moms birthed a thug like, Afeni Shakur I'm surprised I ain't crazy, from the bug shit I saw I caught my mother buying crack on the first floor, before I never thought I'd be in a cell, smoking the Newport With all sorts of thoughts, running through my mind Know I ain't leaving, caught, D.A. talkin jail time I glanced at my mom's eyes, she looking like she wanna cry [Hook 2x] [Shyheim] They say I'm an accident waiting to happen, G Miss Ann from the first floor said she gon' pray for me She had a bad dream, that they, murdered me I said, "Miss, truthfully, I don't believe in dreams" Hope is miles away, from where I stay Who knows the way? Pssshhh... shit, I'd pay For the directions? My whole family's in correction Fake friends half-stepping, I'm stressing, answer question Can I trust you? Uh-huh, then I love you Yea, if not, straight up and down, fuck you Bottom line, real people do real things Play your position... (running these streets can be so...) [Hook to fade] [Poppa Wu in background of Hook] You see, its like this You've got to plan your work and work your plan Cause seeing who fails the plan, plans the fail Execute your strategy and seize your goal Cause see, persistence overcomes resistance Peace