Where I've Been

To all the youth in the world
That thinks nobody understands
Well I understand that
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
I grew up as a 70s baby
Brought up in poverty and sin
Makin jokes at the crazy lady
Never cared how she was dealin within
I knew all the words to
Micheal Jacksons album as a kid
And when it came to the biggest crusher
Know, he wasnt my man
At the age of seven years old
A strange thing happened to me
Before I even saw
My life had flashed before me
And Ive got the mark to show
And it became a thing of beauty
So I gotta let you know
That my life, that my life
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Now mamas workin hard all day
And she said this before she left home
Take care of your little brother
Have the place cleaned when
I get home
All these priorities
Me and Tanya had to learn to be grown
But at the time for me
Its like grown had seemed so lone
Woke up when
Im seventeen
When nothin goin for me
Except the fact that
I singYou know it hurts so much
From all the sights that
Ive seenFrom abusin the hold in trust
You probably couldnt take some of things
That Ive lived in my life
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its hard in the streets of jungle
Im tellin you,
Im tellin you
Especially with your pretty colors
Im tellin you,
Im tellin you
To stay low and keep it humble
Im tellin you,
Im tellin you
Black women hold it down, keep your feet on the ground
Black men keep searchin and youll be found
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
In this world of continuous bullshit and full clips
Seems all we have to pass down is bein useless
Broken homes, babies all alone, parents never there
No food, no clothes to wear, anger everywhere
Aint no values bein taught, no productive thoughts
Jealousy rules the world, take shit at any cost
Gotta change our state of life, keep it worth livin
God gave us voices to speak and thats our way of givin
Its so much bigger than the furs and the jewels
What about encouragin the youth to do well
What about givin back, what about unifying
Shit we all black, get it together
Everybodys got their trials and tribulations
Learn to change the negative to positive situations
Dont hold the lessons that you learn
Pass it on and accept the blessings that could earn
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where
Ive been, is no longer where
Im atAnd where
Im goin, is not where
Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me