[Verse 1]
I'ma take you back to day one, livin in this New York slum
It's deaf to the dumb, only break bread with some
Moms left at 15, had no American dreams
To this day, I'm sellin to my cousin who's a fiend
No one would got me but my older brother
Little did we know the dirt we did fell back on my mother
But didn't care back then, that's why she left like that
Now my parents became the street, and it's best like that

[Verse 2]
Some nights I pray to God and ask him to pull my cord
Cuz times is hard like the opposite street'll leave you scarred
Street wise with no respect for authority and shit
A chronic hustler of crack, a typical bitch
Raised by madu who strung out on a glass dick
But every now and then I blessed her with a hit
So she don't have to trick
It's prevalent amongst kids today
Hustle krills, stack dough, and everything's okay

HOOK
It's the emancipation proclamation under the self devised guidelines
of self preservation and starvation (I gotta live)
It's the emancipation proclamation under the self devised guidelines
of self preservation and starvation (and I gotta live)

[Verse 3]
My life in this world wasn't about diamonds and pearls
It was rough growin up around the boys and girls
After daddy left, shit was a mess, momma stressed
But I give her an award, cuz damn she tried her best
Holdin down the household, barely had money to fold
Christmas time, cherished our little shit like gold
I can't front, daddy was still there for me, cared for me
But him and mommy breakin up was like a nightmare to me

[Verse 4]
Yo this is for the younger fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers
Success is nothin if it aint if it was with the othe