[Intro: TU! & GRIP]

Ah, ah, ah, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh (Uh)

[Verse 1: GRIP & TU!]

You paved a lane in this rap biz, made a way for these Black kids

Paint your pain for the masses, ain't the same as these bastards

Escaped the chains and the shackles while these lame niggas baffled

This talent entangled with randomness, this game is a raffle

Could've been in this position at a younger ager

But maybe then my hunger fades

Could've signed a bad deal and be underpaid

Or made a hundred a mill' and maybe could've died a hundred ways

Cold winter nights and hot summer days

It's easy to become a slave when tryna put food on them plates

And shoes on your jits, you losin' your shit 'cause you movin' in place

Feel like you losin' the race (Ooh)

Maybe my shoes isn't laced (Ooh)

Paid all my dues and I faced (Ooh)

What only a few could embrace (Ooh)

A sinner for do-gooder's sake, I'm sparrin' and duelin' with snakes

So still keep a tool on my waist, but now they can Google me, wait

Used to be scan DeKalb (Ooh)

Life will knock you yo ass (Ooh)

If you don't land a jab (Ooh)

I played the hand I had and got my fam a bag

(Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh), yeah

[Chorus: Auni Saxton & TU!, TU!]

I know you are a star, hope you get real far (Ooh)

'Cause where you need to be is exactly where you are (Ooh)

I know that you're a star, but don't take too long (Ooh)

One day you'll see, he'll never leave you in the dark

[Interlude: GRIP & WARA!'s Son]

What you wanna be when you grow up? An NBA player

You know it's gon' be, like, you know, it's tough, but

It's somethin' that you can do, you believe in yourself? Yeah

You willin' to put the work in (Yeah) to get there?

It's a lot–, it gon' be a lot of obstacles and, uh, just hardships

And stuff that you gotta endure, but, you know what I'm sayin'

You–, you gotta know, you always gotta keep it in there

In your heart, know that you can do it, don't let nobody stop you

You know that, right? Of course, I know that

[Bridge: Auni Saxton & TU!, TU!]

Little one, here my plea, you'll be okay, just listen to me

Never change, you'll earn some grace, the world a stage

So make 'em see, just have some fun, a major key

You'll feel some hate, but you're still free

You'll feel some pain, it may seem strange

But here's some game to feelin' free (Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh)

[Verse 2: GRIP & TU!]

We 'posed to be corpses or in a penitentiary by a quarter-century

And don't no outside forces intervene

You sport the same skin as me, that's symmetry

Instead of closin' doors to limit me, more empathy, we absorb energy

So if you see me as your enemy, that's stemmin' from your inner-me

We get millies and still got poor tendencies

Support industries that don't care 'bout the war in these streets

And endorse 'em to eat, we feel forced to compete so we beef over a chorus and a beat

On a course of defeat, and of course it'll seat millions of asses in stadiums round the globe

This game pimped us, now everybody yell, "Ho!" (Ooh)

Chop of both of my feet before I ever sell soul (Ooh, ooh)

That's my word and I stick to it like Velcro (Ooh)

Had a dream I met my younger self, so I knelt low

And I told him these words (Ooh)

"You gon' go through a lot of shit that wasn't part of the plan (Ooh)

Take all them losses as lessons (Ooh)

Go as far as you can," (Ooh), uh

[Chorus: Auni Saxton & TU!, TU!]

I know you are a star, hope you get real far (Ooh)

'Cause where you need to be is exactly where you are (Ooh)

I know that you're a star, but don't take too long (Ooh)

One day you'll see, he'll never leave you in the dark