Alive and Well

[Verse 1: Datin]
My mom and dad threw gardens, and would invite lots of friends
And they would dance to the records that my pops would spin
And from her womb, I could feel my head pop within
Before birth, a love for music's what I got from them
Then as a toddler, dad would put a mic in my hand
In front of my fam, I would sing like Michael and dance
The King of Pop, I wanted to be just like him
But my dreams and aspirations were changed on that night when
Searching for cartoons on a tube I stopped
On video music box, so amused, I watched
A choice is yours, a black sheep, man, it was a fat beat
It was the first rap to attract me
And then the play "Scenario", Q-Tip and Bust' going back-to-back
My mind was blown, my life ain't been the same after that
'Cause from then on, I was a full fledged hip-hopper
The lyrics kept me in a trance like a witch doctor
I would listen to the grimiest dudes
But the violence they spewed shaped my mind and my views
They bragged about what a life of crime can produce
The money, the cars, the clothes, the diamonds and jewels
I was poor, so I thought I'd try on they shoes
There lifestyle is something that I would pursue
But what they did was leave me in the darkness
I became like them and lost me in the process, man...

[Interlude: Da’ T.R.U.T.H.]
Man *clears throat*
Yeah, so, yeah, so-
When we first started rapping, right, there was no industry for it
It was no money, no award shows, it was just pure
We saw it as an untapped mission field, you know
Like a place where we could take the gift of rap
And provide not just an alternative
But an antidote for people that were being poisoned by the bad (The bad)

[Verse 2: Datin]
So, I took my life and made a mess of it
Yes, I possessed a gift, but I invested it
Into trying to flex and drip, I set my mind on getting rich
And buying diamond necklaces, tryna drive them Lexus'
Then I got the bag, but still felt the side effects of this
Spiritual type of deficit, that's when my depression hit
I was feeling down till my friend Lionel stepped in
With the Good News in his car, he played them type of records that
Convicted me with truth from the Bible etched in it
Truth-craved fanatic, [?] did I mention Swift
They said the Christ did not require my prerequisites
And eternal life with the Messiah Christ is effortless
I thought, "How could I deny this precious gift?"
I was in sin but said, "It's time that I repent from this"
And then, I had climbed the highest precipice
And dived inside the depths of His love, goodbye to wretchedness
You probably asking why am I addressing
This CHH topic, why do I deny the death of it?
It's 'cause I've seen the Most High provide His message with
This art form, he saved and revitalizes reckless kids
I've tasted the fruit of the truth it conveys
It's message can point the youth to Yeshua, it saves
It's an alternative to what we hear in music today
As long as we do what we do in His name
This CHH ain't dead

[Interlude: Da’ T.R.U.T.H.]
Nah, nah, nah- Christian hip-hop is-
It's just like a child star
You know, like a child star growing up under the microscope with the whole world watching?
One of the most painful things is to watch
Children go through puberty, you know those years
The voice is changing, the face is bumpy, it's that awkward stage of development
You don't quite know who you are, but you think you got all the answers
Just tryna figure it all out
I think that's all that's been over the past, you know, seven years or so
We've been going through that weird stage, an identity crisis
You know what I mean? We gon' be alright, though
'Cause everyone at some point transitions from adolescence to adulthood
So we gon' be good
CHH is not dead, we just been in transition
And God's hand is on it, so, let's rock on