The Story so Far (Interlude)

Tryna escape this bodega with no avail

The corner store committing robbery, ripping me off

Making this agave passionfruit for sale

Tried to fight it but to no avail

Chips here are probably stale

Yet i'm with it: I'm high and I'm hungry

I see a sign and it's hung above me

It says "What does your life entail?"

Damn, my moms hasn't heard from me in a while

And my pops even longer

Need to speak to his daughter and see how she's doing

Scary world for a little melanin girl, it truly is

I need to call you, too; I know you missing me

Exit the store, cover my eyes, the sun's hitting me

But I have never seen the sky, so differently

Until the day that you died

Until the day that you died

Until the day that you

Yo

I do this 'til the day that I die

My nigga cringe when he hear fireworks in July

You ain't need to know why

I just hope he recover

His mother miss him and I miss him too

I hope he play this and he thinks of all the things we been through

But if he doesn't, I wasn't the type to stop him from getting money

My cousins is hungry; he hustling for their tummies

Is he wrong?

Dear God, is he wrong?

Son wanna be a reverend, pops clipped in 7 11

He asking his moms, "is Daddy gonna go to heaven?"

Is he wrong?

Dear God, is he wrong?"

Yeah

One step at a time

Two-step at a time

Walking through the pressure, this life make me sharper than a knife

Money gettin' tight like depression: the cost of living life

And if inside it's safe, pay attention, or later pay the price

It's always mind over matter, my nigga; get it right

No, nothing that's worth it comes easy, I'm setting piss at my toes

But I can't follow the sequence, can't go the Yellow Brick Road

I thought I'd lost all the meaning when Daddy passed off the hole

You know we rose from his semen and built foundations with soul

Yeah, it's like that

You know they make it hard for us, I come from where they fight back

I got the spirit of the tough, I'm covered, keep me guided

I'm never blinded, 2020 vision on my iris

Said we can't settle for less

And being solid don't mean "built for the test"

Just hold on to your integrity; got to breathe through the stress

Hm, or maybe sigh because we deep in the stretch

And placing bets on my guidance, this passion beat through my chest

Hm, word from the wise: the rain don't need breakin' sweat

That it supplies if you choose 'em right, ain't no need to digress

So pick a side, hah

What you decide on, yeah

When will you ride?

So can we ride?

Beloved

Paradise

Jazz