when i was young

I remember a time
Playing hoops with the power lines
Me and stephen
Who can relate?
Building a hoop with a crate
Plywood, nails and chalk
But who would've thought
Thats what it takes to be great

I remember being atheist
I saw a way across
But i was lost and never prayed to it
At fourteen, almost died from hives
And then i made the shift
I was so close to death
I started tasting it
Even though it wasn't my time
I celebrated it
Instead of running to fight
I started facing it
Embracing it
Holding it close
I felt the peace
His hands surrounded by light
And then i reached

When i was young
I prayed to be like this
When i was young
God made me like this
When i was young
I prayed to see the facts
And i ain't really think about it to exact
When i was young
Man i thrive to be like this
When i was young
God blessed me like this
When i was young
I prayed to see the facts
Now tell me
If you dreamed like this
You have time to relax

I'm reminiscing 'bout the days when I was young
Living life adrift, not caring where it's sprung
From the streets to the beats, we were rebels on the run
No worries on our minds, just seeking thrills, playing games under the sun
In these jungles, we were ... kings and queens
Harmonies, melodies chasing on our little dreams
Freestyling in the park, each line was our release
Every verse, it gets worse, spitting straight up disease

When i was young
I prayed to be like this
When i was young
God made me like this
When i was young
I prayed to see the facts
And i ain't really think about it to exact
When i was young
I prayed to be like this
When i was young
God made me like this
When i was young
I prayed to see the facts
And i ain't really think about it to exact

When i was young i used to dream about a life lavish
Twenty something years later, still dream about what i don't have yet
When i was young i used to cry when i would think about the caskets
Life after death was always so hard to imagine
Now add that to the fact, that i was poor
Heard some knocking at the door, i had an AR in my face
Police raiding, it was like [?]
When i was young my momma was hustling
Providing for all of us
For all the kids that made us [?]
For all the pain we've endured