[Intro]
Ayy ch'boogie, ha
Yo, they say everything you go through in life (Yeah, yeah)
That's what you become
Well then, if that's the case, yeah (If that's the case, yeah)
I'm becoming number one, listen (Uh)
It's Estelle, yeah
[?], Jayden, what up? (What?)
Listen, yo
(Ayy) Yeah
[Verse 1]
I grew up in the 1980s in a 4-bedroom house
My family, my Grandma, three or four aunties
Uncles and brothers, in and out of prison daily
Certain times when there was no heat, we stay under covers
There was life like you never seen (Never seen)
Granny's taking extra people in (Uh)
Come dinner time, it was tippin' eighteen
Boil a big pot of water on the stove to take a bath
Rub my face with Olive Oil, all my mates used to laugh
All my cousin's moved out, we all got divided
Started to get older, I seen God providing
I've seen £50 last for three months solid
I got my first pair of Nikes, we were still eatin' porridge (Haha)
Me and my cousin used to play Mel & Kim
Practicing dancin'
Coming down the stairs and ting
I touched Africa and came back darker
Knowing myself, feeling my roots a little bit harder
[Chorus]
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine (Get mine)
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine (Get mine)
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life
[Verse 2]
Yeah, so then we moved up
Thought I was the Fresh Prince
Dynasty was re-runs and Dallas was faded
With three beds this time and six kids still
We got a doggy, that dog loved to shit
My brother got his first pair of LA Gears
He thought they were to take pictures of instead of wear
I started hanging out, my jeans got tighter
My weird neighbours set their own house on fire
Church was all day, every day and every week
That's where I learned how to sing, hearing that pastor preach
Benediction was all we went for
So we could run home and play Connect 4
Mum worked late and we learnt to cook
Sarsaparilla and stew pea soup
In the room watching Kung-Fu films and Cleopatra Jones
Wishing we were Cosby kids and the match stick girls, mmph
[Chorus]
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine (Get mine)
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine (Get mine)
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life
[Verse 3]
The man downstairs was dead for three weeks
His own cat started eatin' him, the house starts to reek
That's when we moved out and our house was bigger
We had a large garage and the attic was killer, hmm
We used to pray for three hours in the mornin'
Sitting on the school bus, believe we was yawnin'
All our hair was stuck down to our foreheads
Jam and splits, durags and pin curls, yes
Sexy boys walking round showing interest
In what I don't know 'cause we all had flat chests
Don't think we never mastered the Kid 'n Play steps
Doing wop for days and the bogle, yep
But this is just the beginning of my life, right?
Nine kids, a house and one lifetime
Yo, the beginning of my life, right?
Nine kids, a house in one lifetime
[Chorus]
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life
1980, year that God made me
'89, I started to get mine
'99, I started to write rhymes
Come walk with me, reminisce on my life