Lay It Down

[Verse 1]
I can count all of my blessings on a stretch of night sky
Pops told me never question any good that life supply
'Cause any fair weather come with heavy shares of downpours
And I've drowned more times than I've ever bathed in light's spot
Kept trying to shield the heart from the pressures of the market
Held the album up, triggered, now I'm aiming my shot
'80s baby, crack had cops and ADAs crawling the block
And now I turn that damage into scribbled canvas, Basquiat
Double Dutch after four, dope boy crushes galore
That was 'fore I found out they was serving base to the door
Basically that was when my childhood shattered, vase to the floor
'Cause for my folks, cocaine and vodka held a persuasive allure
I ain't never had a trust fund, gold that wasn't plated, but
Ever since the new moon, that glow been reinstated
'Cause my legacy rich, ain't got the bag yet
Just some baggage and a closet full of skeletons, crypts
The kind of blues that don't fade 'cause the stain too deep
Went from sharecrop to murder capital, range too bleak. Generation gap shrinking as the pain increase
So I'm trying to translate my trauma to whatever slang you speak
This is my life unsung, cameras on record
Memory banks is full of gems, might as well pay it forward
If that sheet music ain't been bleeding, I don't believe what you scoring
Signed your friend the tortured artist, that's the plight of a poet

[Chorus]
I'm 'bout to lay it all down, before it falls down
Ain't never had no diamond rings or the finer things, but I'm still rocking my crown
And everybody got something with 'em
I had to let it burn to get rid of 'em
And if you wanna fly right quick, gotta give up that shit tryna weigh you down

[Verse 2]
Don't know if some of this shit should be shared, to be fair
Keeping it mum is how the worst of y'all's assumptions are fed. And let the lyrics tell it, some of these rappers functionally dead
That's where I come in, hella late, but I ain't punctually led
See, the times ain't always been kind to my branch of the pear tree
Son of Virginia sharecroppers, dad tried to spare me
Went from seeing white hoods late night on the family land
To living in red-lined hoods, four babies, a family man
Street gigs twenty-four seven, we feared for his protection
Bullet scar still on his back, bruh, the ave was Afghanistan, Lord
Lord knows that they done tested the kid
Didn't believe in demons 'til I saw Pops wrestling with his
No cap, started wearing his stress like a hand-me-down
That's why I'm undressing these emotions on record to finally clear it
Getting freedom from these bars like Joanne Chesimard
Trying to sing unburied like I'm Jesmyn Ward
See, the crown ain't as heavy when the load laid bare
Heir to love unburdened, that's the light of a poet, Roc

[Chorus]
I'm 'bout to lay it all down, before it falls down
Ain't never had no diamond rings or the finer things, but I'm still rocking my crown
And everybody got something with 'em
I had to let it burn to get rid of 'em
And if you wanna fly right quick, gotta give up that shit tryna weigh you down
I'm 'bout to lay it all down, before it falls down
Ain't never had no diamond rings or the finer things, but I'm still rocking my crown
And everybody got something with 'em
I had to let it burn to get rid of 'em
And if you wanna fly right quick, gotta give up that shit tryna weigh you down