I Am Your Future

[Verse 1]
I'm gonna take you back to 1980
People thought she was crazy for keepin' her baby
Being only thirteen, thinking how she would love her son
Barely a child herself, now she would mother one
When that had come to past some had wondered how she had made it by
Some had bets on the side that she wouldn't live to see '85
But she would prove them wrong, corazon kickin' strong
And like the calm before storm, so was mom when it was on
Back in '86 as he grew up in the mix
Watchin' his mother hang around business
Slang the 'caine to make them licks
Strugglin' year after year, switchin' daddy to daddy
Last one had him a Lincoln, this one got him a Caddy
Plus a house in the subs and apartments run by thugs
Pushin' dubs to them scrubs 'cuz he got a connect with killa bud
Little young buck seen all of that
Then the man had a hand on that crack
And he out there lookin' for tar that come black
Cuz he know that smack on a comeback
He was nothin' but 9 years old doin' nothin' but what he was told
Always the one that would have to hold
Till the man let him know when it was sold
Then he would take what wrapped in the paper sack
Make the drop and he'd make it back
Imagine that
To play the mac
And not know how one's supposed to act

[Hook]
When them hustlin' on them corners
Don't play them for weak cuz them will shoot ya
Real young killa gangsta rude-boy
Destined for death yet I'm your future
How can the youth be humble
When we live in an age of rage
Too young and naive to conceive that them diggin' an early grave?

[Verse 2]
And by the time the nineties come around
Mom's had a frown since the man went down
Kites fly penitentiary bound and lil' man's left to hold his ground
Playin' his part stayin' in school
Nothin' short of payin' his dues
Mamas heart's what made him choose
Got him a start in breakin' rules
Hittin' them books hangin' with crooks
Watchin' out when that law man looks
Money's put in them pocket books
And business good 'cuz he got them rooks
To make the run getting' it done
With the advantage of bein' so young
Nobody cared about what had begun
Then by the end of '91
He was the kid in junior high
Lookin' to get some new supply
Got him a hook up through some guy
Livin' like either it's do or die
Under the influence of the game
Already been through the love and the pain
Feelin's to him that one in the same
Gotta maintain or go down the drain
It was the life he learned to live
He never had an alternative
Most forbid the things he did
But what would you do if you were the kid
Growin' up around the cut
Only exposed to what's corrupt
Nothin' could break a boy so rough
Except the touch of his mother's love

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Around the summer of '93
Everyone's packin' artillery
So many wantin' to be a "g"
Ready to make a delivery
Whatever it took to get in a set
Not even worried about regret
It's who could pose the biggest threat
And catch the most of all respect
He can't stop, he won't stop
Even though every spot is hot
Givin' it everything thing he's got
Tryin' to keep from getting' caught
Never the one to be any place
Long enough to catch a case
After all no time to waste
When doin' your business face to face
He's comin' equipped to make the lick
Not about to play the trick
Puttin' in work to make the hit and keepin' it low to stay legit
Moms and dads I'm talkin' to you
These are the things our children do
Hopin' you listen and catch the clues
Then maybe you can see the truth

[Hook]