Brother

[Intro] (Spoken Word)
I wish I could tell him that I love him
I wish I could tell them that I love them
That we love them
But how could they believe us
When they are caught between the enemies' prison systems
And their own family's criticism?
No one to counsel, nor console
Where does a young, tortured soul find its home?
When they are molested for being too young
And punished for gettin' grown
Our love for them is so conditional
Our love for them is too conditional
But the condition is not conducive to our condemnation
Pickin' out the faults like vultures
Consumin' the scattered leftovers
Once The Beast has had His fill
Our sons emasculated
And consequently, overcompensating
And unbeknownst to them
They are just waiting, for you to say
"I love you"
Not, "I love you but..."
Not, "I'd love you if..."
When love is missed, love turns to myth
So why break your heart waiting for, a myth?
Why break your heart waiting for something that doesn't exist?
Our love for them is so conditional
Our love for them is too conditional
I wish, I could just tell them that we love them

[Verse 1]
I'm alive, I'm a liar
But I deserve to die
For the things I've said
For the times I've lied
They lied when they said time flies
Time floats aimlessly, and then time dies
A broken-winged bird is slave to gravity
A broken-winged bird is slave to reality
I'm alive, but I deserve to die
For the souls I've stolen, bodies broken
The hearts of my close kin crushed by my carelessness
But my family tree has been uprooted
And the broken branches of broken marriages
Leave me out on a limb
That can barely support its own weight
Like I can barely support my own kids
Like I can barely keep my own crib
Ain't never had a piece of the pie
Just pieces of crust that don't stick to the ribs
And I'm hungry again
Ain't nobody fed us since we were kids
So by the time he had got hair on his chin
He had his ear to the street
By the time he had hair on his cheeks
He was carrying heat
By the time he got some base in his voice-box
He had rocks in his socks
Never played Pop Warner
But rode recklessly
An' pop[?]-winded
In the potholes and pitfalls of Westside avenues

I'm dead, I'm a liar
But he deserves to be alive
I should be the one to die
For the promises I've broken
He was just searchin' the streets
For a martyr[?] token
That would take him anywhere
Northbound platform towards elsewhere
The subterranean transit terminal
Who figured it could be like Cinderella's pumpkin?
Like Aladdin's carpet, like Jay-Z's Cooper, Shaq's truck
Cash, bucks, cake, cream, money, bread, flow, green?

Do you blame the dreamer, or the dream?
The trap or the fiend?
The parent or the teen?
Even when I used to tell him that we came from kings
He gonna ask me, "Have you ever seen a king wit' no bling?"
He said, "If we're royalty then we have gotta shine
"An' if I've gotta shine than I've got to grind
"An' if I've gotta grind, then never-mind all that extra you talkin'
"Unless these shoes you've walked in
"Or unless your chest my heart's in
"Unless you can guarantee that you'll hold my hand
"When it's dark an' cold an' hard an' lonely an' hungry then
"You can't hear me, see me, be me, feel me, touch me...
"Hug me, hold me, scold me, teach me, love me... Be me"

[Chorus]
We see you young brothers
Caught in hustle
Although you don't see it
Just know that we love you

You're young, strong, an' brave
An' you are born for the struggle
Forgive us for our negligence
Know that we love you

We see you young brothers
An' you're, caught in the hustle
I know you don't see it
But, know that we love you

You're young, strong, an' brave
An' you are, born for the struggle
Forgive us for our negligence
Know that we love you

[Outro]
We see you out there
Know that we love you
We see you in the prisons
Know that we love you
We see you on those corners
Know that we love you
We see you in those streets
Know that we love you
We see you in them juvies
Know that we love you
We see you on the battlefield
Know that we love you

We see you strugglin'
We see you hustlin'
We see you love

An' know that we love you