The funny thing about writing that pain Is sometimes you gotta search for the things to say, y'nah mean? But sometimes Sometimes the words fall from right out the sky Why do we ask "Why?" 'Cause there's gotta be more than just this, seein' with the naked eye But maybe I'm just hopin' in this part of how I'm copin' With the way that I been dealin' with trauma since I was baby-high Runnin' 'round the house full of roaches, plastic on sofas Moms and pops rubbin' they noses, hope I ain't notice 'Cause I'm focused on my green army men, settin' up soldiers Project floor cold as North Pole is, my fingers frozen Radiator broken, oven door open, the pot smokin' No hot water, so we boilin' a batch that we can go soak in The neighbors to the left crackheads, you smell the smoke in the hallway In and out all day, eyes wide open Got older, mom sent me to the store, in came the jokin' I'm in there spendin' colorful money prayin' and hopin' I don't run into Shonda and Dee Dee while I'm unfoldin' food stamps Gimme some Newport Lights and two tokens And we try, and we try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and we try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and try, and we try Try to make it by I wish my words went right up to the sky So the big guy could tell me why some of my boys had to die I had that water in my eyes before I knew how to cry Too young to process death, playin' that D.R.S., gangsta leanin' by I think about how much older I used to feel But we was just teenagers, babies out in the field Children goin' to jail with stories of how it's real Hustlin' to buy guns and throw on that Pelle Pelle I remember my first crack sale A white fiend named Fuzzy in the back stairwell Happy, he hopped on his bike right after coppin' his white, but I ain't feel well Stomach turnin', scared to death, hope my niggas can't tell I lit a L and threw some O-E back My routine for the next few years, but it was lowkey wack The wrong environment have a beautiful soul feel trapped Some stay, some make it out, some go back, damn And we try, and we try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and we try, and we try Try to make it by And we try, and try, and we try Try to make it by