Reason

[Intro]
Yeah, I got some shit I gotta say
Check

[Verse]
Since sixteen, I had big dreams, I used to keep 'em hidden
By nineteen, shit I seen the truth up in the system
A lot of cats I hoop with end up shooting something different
Or just missing the ambition but the proof is in the privilege
There's kids I met in college only down there boozing, sniffing
Popping new prescriptions, choosing women to abuse
Until it's been four years, maybe five
So tell me why they still on corners, stop-and-frisking
But the frat house stay unlisted
Shit, you and I both know the reason
It's black, it's white, but still the power about where the green is
For real, and I done known a lot of dealers
And known a lot of interns
The main difference, hustlers get paid in the end-term
So only passion really impress me
Gangsters and scholars respect me so you really don't stress me
They get defensive when I spit but no one really could check me
They send me traps but I move past them, no one really compress me
And I know a lot of peers that try to act like rappers
But they still ain't got the heart to say that Black lives matter
See, they came for the slang and they stayed for the drugs
Me, I came for the knowledge and I stayed for the love
Millions of poor kids and we teaching them the wrong way
Think I give a fuck if Hov cheated on Beyoncé?
Children starving, cops killing people for nothing
But you think that I should worry bout who Rihanna be fucking?
That's no slight to 'em, but to the bullshit I throw AdBlock
Pops taught me 'bout this shit back when we would slap-box
'Cause while they show you the left, they hit you with the right
That's why I keep a wide perspective, so that everything's in sight
Was times I let the bleakness pervade everything in life
But now I'm thinking 'bout getting better every single night
Take the darkest of the thoughts and I try to give 'em light
And they tried to give me pills, I just told 'em "give a mic"

[Outro]
"Okay, guys, now I just came from the park, and [there's] this kid teasing me because I have Filas on. Now, mind you I am not a material person. I just wear Filas because, you know, I like the colour and I think they're cool. They might not be what's popular today, but you know, that's what I like. So, you know, I told the kid, 'It's not about what I have on my feet, it's about what I have inside my head. No matter what I'm wearing, no matter what I have on, it's about my information, the knowledgeable things in life. These sneakers are not even going to fit you in 20 years from now..."