Broken Rose Window

The church participated vigorously in the underground railroad
Former slaves, who would assemble in the borough of Brooklyn
Were provided food, clothing, and refuge

Thought I'd be finished in the gutter sooner
Every other corner was crack spots
Auntie spent a pretty penny
Got really skinny from them fat rocks
She clocked me at the bus, but never rushed
Was touched, just sat, watched
Before you air the gun, don't forget where you from
Message to the black cops
Lie, plot, steal, or drive Hot Wheels
Still living in the matchbox
When you're bred brown, stay on defense
Head down till the tax stops
These are dark back blocks, shortie
How I wore these mismatched socks
Still avoid chocolate sprinkles
Looks too similar to what the rat drops
Man, they condemned his home
To get the only coat he owned he broke the padlocks
Few prostitutes on this toxic route
Late night, this where your dad shops
Not to complicate I'm what you get when consummating
Slick cat and bad fox
In beef, kept calm speech
Till in arm reach, then the jab pops

Said it adamant: Was never having it
We the have-nots

Praise the Lord, born wretched
Crazy, long-drawn epic
Made the boy a sworn-skeptic
Phrase is poised on record
(We the have-nots)
All I heard was: No, can't have that
Put it back, next time
Shit was often insufficient portion
Not until it call for less dime
Feel it's true, they wanna kill a few
And keep the rest blind
Was tough, so jumped on fire trucks
Hoping higher-ups bless mine
I share the story and effects
Was vexed, swore that we was hexed
The cost of living in this awful prison
Never afforded me the rest
From stock that's poor, as you saw
There's a lot to endure to see success
Afraid there's only scenes of failure in my trailer
Just wanted to be the best
This road long and arduous
Either froze or exposed a stronger part of us
From a section where weapons
Is definitely etched into closing arguments
In these dirty seeds
Can't see who's supposed to be here guarding us
This is more like a death sentence
If the intention was to harden us
Too young, having a starving lust
All it did was make it hard to trust
Been doomed to hatred
Human nature ain't changing
Hope the Gods adjust

Said it adamant: Was never having it
We the have-nots
Said it adamant: Was never having it
We the have-nots

'Cause like, I'm sayin' like, it don't matter how much you
You, tryna, tryna, uh, pray to God, or nothin' like that
Niggas still be in the same predicament, right?
I, I, I could've prayed the other day
But we ain't have no food in the house
Bruh, I woke up, wasn't nothing in the house
See, bruh, what I'm sayin', ain't no point of it