Life

constant invalidation of our hard work

never give up and continue for what it's worth

media upholds images of ideal and what we should aspire to.

but white america is just a window surrounded with barbed wire

 

Glorification of a lifestyle you're not able to obtain.

blatant erasure from the less worthy environment you're in.

Qualifications on a checklist that you struggle to fill in.

Always intend to go the mile but you're tired of running

to and from you crack a smile for the sake of your kids

but the smile cracks because you know that they're too young to

comprehend

why it's in their best interest to go to a school so far away

to obtain educational opportunities that just weren't put in their way

 

want to take up soccer; what's a net worth to their game?

constantly prioritizing keeps making it hard to refrain

from more enticing ways that promise to maybe lessen their pain

lessons are stained with realizations the end goal's so far away

someone tell them leave the bleachers, mom and dad their only leaders

please tell them that you believe in their abilities as winners

teacher, cheater, pumpkin eater

preacher, speaker, teaser, you're not free of culpability either

 

working 5 to 9, working overtime.

Only time you see your kids is when you're telling them goodnight.

so hard to be calm when exposure to the pain cuts like a knife

you want to scream but your composure is what gets you through this

life.

kids wanna look up to you but there's nothing to look at

remainders of a hero that burned too soon to the relapse

a failure to yourself sure, but you'll always be heroic

because even under all the pressure, you managed to

save them from the catastrophic.

 

Severed relationships several conversations

where the center of attention is severity of debt we're in

treat life as cards we're dealt with a mentality of deal with it

it's not as hard if we believe that we can interfere within

And they ask why we're angry.

And they ask why we can't make it.

but when you look at where we started

then it's obvious that we've made it.

we've made it controversial, we've made it universal

sensation to all of you

from our point of view, unattainable is understandable

 

we take the blame before they even ask us for our name

Twenty something years later and we're still fighting for our place

deal with mass incarceration

evading the deportations

live with discrimination

and poverty within our nation

 

resignation clashes with a strong will to survive

family relations will of course cause our strength to revive

we're prepared to ride; we've crashed every time we tried to drive

but hold on to your seat belts kids, restored hope has just arrived

 

we must remain hopeful for ourselves and our kids

always advance a little with each generation.

my parents made my life possible, and I will do my best to continue

i'm unstoppable