Back in the Day

[Intro: Phonte]
“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply by the lives they lead.” -James Baldwin

[Verse 1: Add-2]
Hold up wait a minute now we back on that
It’s in my jeans they try to hit me but I never slack
Reaching for the title like a ladder match
I light a match for Ms. Dash and Mr. West
It all falls down and then they came back wearing MAGA hats
Dead presidents, pockets feel like a cemetery
Blacker the berry, it’s scary all the Blacks that they bury
My father’s time, my brother’s hood, my mother’s land
My family tree was uprooted by Uncle Sam
Damn, sometimes I wish I was a kid again
In a sense, all this inner sense when I was innocent
But from the start, develop from the dark like I’m Gordon Parks
Picture that, they couldn’t take 2 if this was Noah’s ark
Bread unleavens, got no bread for Bred 11s
Raise yo kids so they ain’t quick to raise a weapon
The candy lady died a diabetic
She said the sweetest thing she ever known was life a blessing

[Chorus: Oliv Blu]
Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore
But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again

[Verse 2: Brittney Carter]
The spirit came and sat, it told me let’s go higher
Thought you been high before well this platform a little flyer
Sacrifice and elevation, that there go hand in hand
When you take the easy route you sabotage the Master’s plan
Don’t you give in to weakness, together we can beat this
When they look at you they see a queen that’s never been defeated
Rightfully so, all these seeds that you sown
You gon’ pick ‘em when they ripe and then they rightfully grown
Yea, you in yo head too much, ain’t being fed enough
Don’t wait ‘til you rock bottom ‘til you figure that you had enough
Fly now, if you gotta cry now then do it
Need a push well what you think that I been doing
I’ve been tryna set you… free
I’ve been tryna set you free
You’ve been running, you’ve been wylin’
You just need a little guidance
Why don’t you put your trust in me

[Interlude: Phonte]
“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they've allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply by the lives they lead.”

[Chorus: Oliv Blu]
Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore
But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again