Smoke

[Verse 1]
I remember thinkin'
We just gotta make a change
Somethin' little different from the same lame monday bus lane
Mama had money for some drink
No amount of dollar could amount to all the drama that we sustained
And daddy was nonexistent
Created an imaginary place that I can happily exist in
The new nigga she was with was as hollow as a sea shell
Didn't even follow what he preached, hell
If he was really was what it meant to be a man
Man, that would mean I put my hands on the female
The reason many nights
I didn't sleep well
Butcher knife under the pillow
And if she yell
I'm coming at this bully with everything that I got
Nosy neighbors too black to call the cops
Piss stains on the bed
Ring worms on my head from the mattresses we flipped
Aw
Really wanted to escape so I dreamed of a place I could go cus it's really all I
Had
Mama got a little raise now we can save
It was cool, it was all glad

[Chorus]
Every silver lining has a black cloud
I can see it seething
It's smoke we're breathing, breathing
Every corner street light got shot out
Woke us from our sleeping
Let the darkness seep in, seep in

[Verse 2]
I faded awful (?)
Something came over me
Moved to Victorville where the breeze carried every tumble weed
Everything all good
Moved away from the constant struggle and the pain of the hood
That's when I smiled the best
Like, "nigga, you wouldn't believe my house got spiral steps."
The bullshit ain't subsided yet
Brain still full of problem in this bitch
And we dying of stress
Something told me that the game don't change
Went from stacking up checks to the same ol' same ol' same
Man, everything started changin'
White peeps moved at light speeds so the games couldn't place em
I was confused said fuck all the rules
Started skipping out on school and hanging with the goons
But I ain't really like that life
They was planted down in the ground
I had my mind on heights
They said nigga was a weirdo
Couldn't see how I had my vision so clear, though
Spendin' whole lotta years feeling hella lonely
I'm thanking all the hard times cause they really showed me
(yea)
No matter how much hell, not a damn thing changed 'less I change myself
I ain't asking for nobody help
Gotta leave my fears with that empty bottle on the shelf

[Chorus]
Every silver lining has a black cloud
I can see it seething
It's smoke we're breathing, breathing
Every corner street light got shot out
Woke us from our sleeping
Let the darkness seep in, seep in