von poe vii - youth and adolescence lyrics
introduction:
“because for so long we were living in these neighborhoods boxed in, and those neighborhoods were our world. you know, our little world was all we knew. we didn’t know anything outside of that world. so to look and see people who look like you achieving great things, it’s like ‘oh, there is more for me’ you know? it improves self esteem.it approves upon self worth.” – sean “jay z” carter
[chorus]
we was runnin’
my youth and adolescence
my youth and adolescence
my youth and adolescence
[verse one]
in eight-nine i was born
my twin brodie my roadie
my mama-dearest was solo
my father figure-ish living like
he ain’t planned to be sober
so riverside in the nineties
perris town to be true
in ninety-one, ninety-two
in ninety-three, ninety-four
by ninety-five i was conscious
in ninety-six we was hoping
that rodney king wasn’t rockin’
my raider nation was livin’
in politics we had clinton
cali n-gg-s was crippin’
and makeveli was found a victim
of his own decisions
word up we hit the pay stubs
we was posted up independent
my momma was working two jobs
we was proud to be fitted
smiling for what it was worth and
in ninety-seven my n-gg-
by ninety-eight we was bigger
in ninety-nine we had fell in love
with the glamour of triggers
and gangsta violence and f-ckin’ b-tches
couldn’t comprehend it
a new millennium had hit the scene
we was laughin’ at bush
see i was just a little shorty
when them twin towers took
i seen em runnin’
[chorus]
they was runnin’
my youth and adolescence
my youth and adolescence
my youth and adolescence
[verse two]
my momma took my pops to court
two-thousand and two
you see around the same time
i had got kicked out of school
you see around the same time
i was becoming a man
and i started to visualize
how much my pops had never loved me
two-thousand and three
my first time in the streets
continuation was segregated
but respect to the beef
me and my brodie divided
that separation was weak
cause public school without your n-gg-
survival is bleak
two-thousand-four reconnected
the same year we was stressin’
a couple deaths in my family
like r.i.p. to my family
i was trippin back in o-five
taking chances illegally
p.t.f. was what i repped
a party crew with gang affiliations
my n-gg-
who repped the west for the threat
my spanish teacher had introduced me
to that wu-tang flex
so what’s the word, what’s the word
i was taking offerings
two-thousand and six
i had a black goddess on my wrist
believe that
two-thousand and seven
r.i.p. to my brethren
the curse of perris high
two days before our graduation
it had me thinking like
my n-gg- i ain’t dying without a purpose
too many homies is locked up
i can’t die up in this city
i was runnin’
closing statements:
“you know, because a lot of choices are made from the position of ‘my life isn’t worth much, and this sort of living is not much. so if i risk my life, what am i really missin’? but if you know how valuable human life is, you’ll have more respect for yours and others.” – sean “jay z” carter
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