GG x SHIGETO

[Intro]
Yo

[Verse 1]
When I was a young teenager
All I did was draw in my sketchbook, a textbook failure
I went from school to school
My parents broke up next, so went from house to house too
My stepfather was abusive, my dad didn't know so I had to make excuses
Help bring up my brother and my sister, this dude he was useless
My mother she was beautiful but had a thing for losers
Sorry to my siblings for talkin’ 'bout your dad
But I gotta get it off the chest bad
I'm just trying to give some context from where I was at
It’s not that I was sad, I was just a little mad
So the prospect of boardin’ school sounded sorta cool
Part of me felt I didn't have no more to lose
I’m talkin' like it was all doom and gloom
I had a good childhood, I was just confused
So many are at fifteen years old
As I was now in this boardin’ house alone
And at this age I used to wear matchin’ tracksuits
My shoes loose, my pants low like I had to
Had a sketchbook full of graff, but my CD player
Only had Green Day and that sorta crap
So when this dude entered the room lookin’ the same as me
Knowin’ hip hop from A to Jay-Z
I was taken, and so began my education
I never woulda known it would become my occupation
Year ninety-nine I was in year nine
The year I heard the rhymes that would change my life
In the form of a compact disc
And when a bomb track hit, my whole perspective changed
Re-arrangin’ every cell within this individual
The words political, feelin’ it was spiritual
What the fuck is this imagery and audio?
Righteous as hell, but still it wasn't corny though
Caught me off-guard, I was hardly ready
Like Rocksteady sendin’ a machete into my belly
That’s when my whole fuckin’ head had exploded
The rap plus the beat equals double the dosage
My troubles imploded, and sudden emotion
Came rushing through my blood knockin’ the chip off my shoulder

[Chorus]
Hip hop helped me out
I'm never gonna let you down
I won't ever forget
I rap to pay back the debt, uh
Hip hop helped me out
I'm never gonna let you down
I won't ever forget
Hey yo, I rap to pay back the debt, it’s like this

[Verse 2]
You may wonder what happened next
Let me tell you it was somethin’ that I never expected
If you were payin’ attention you may remember
The dude that introduced me to rap that I mentioned
Became best friends, then became enemies
Then I get a call to tell me he'd been knocked off his feet
By what? By a cab, what the fuck, where’s he at?
I’m tryna tell you now bro, he's dead
I felt sick lost for words out of breath
My old best friend dead was my first encounter with death
This was the guy who taught me 'bout rap
I’d only been a listener, now time to change that
I put the pen to the pad
And I vented my crap, to end all the sadness
And in a way, yo, it kept me from madness
And so, I kept on writin’ this rap shit
And now equipped for whatever came
I had words like bullets in a clip in a chamber
So even when I found out my stepfather
Had laid his hands on the kids and my mother
I knew not to get violent
It would only make things worse, so I chose just to write it down
Even if that shit was too heavy to put out
It helps to write about every cloud
And since then I've had a lot of shit happen
So I sing my songs and I keep on rappin'
The way most [?] come and help me through
I hope this can be a help for you

[Chorus]
Hip hop helped me out
I'm never gonna let you down
I won't ever forget
I rap to pay back the debt, uh
Hip hop helped me out
I'm never gonna let you down
I won't ever forget
Hey yo, I rap to pay back the debt, it’s like this

[Bridge]
I was found by the sounds
When I was down (Uh-huh)
Now I’m lettin’ it out
(Let it out, let it out)
At times in my life
When I was blinded (You know the feelin', right?)
You gave me that sight
(True indeed)