(Verse 1)
In my city it's a pity brothers rarely make it out
I'm from a small town where college seldom is the route
Slaving in the oil field, dirty, sun beaming
Or either at Texas Eastman keeping your clothes greasy
I remember how we used to play
Basketball and ride bikes ‘til the end of day
Pops used to say, “Son, I hope you make the grades
‘Cause I'm working hard for you so you can make a way”
But I was daydreaming
Nodding my head to the beat, and every word I'm singing
Enter into another world through my headphones, I was clinging
To the art of expression, with a plan to write my life into a studio session
My homies asked why I quit hooping – I coulda' shined
I'd tell ‘em how I felt with a 2Pac line
Plus I was losing on the court, but I was loving my rhymes
That's all I really need to satisfy
(Chorus) (2x)
Sometimes I feel North Carolina Blue
Sittin' here reminiscing over you
We all tryna' make it through, but it's not use
Looking in the rearview, we gotta try something new
(Verse 2)
I'm not from NC, I'm from Longview, Texas
But growing up we loved the ‘Heels or the Blue Devils
Bumpin' DJ Screw, all ba**, no treble
And never knew about the east until Roc-a-fella, or actually Biggie
We kept it southern sh** strictly
Didn't know about much outside the state where we were living
But we were living good, no one was rich but our folks provided what they could
We stacking chips through side hustles off up in the ‘hood
It was a carefree life, at least to me it was
We kept a slow boogie, rarely even thinking of
The next day, then suddenly we in the 12th grade
I'm off to college a lot of my pa'tnas on to getting paid
One way or the other, we all were growing up
And now we grown, I visit home and start to choking up
When I see the ones who never learned to slow it up
I'm wondering if I had stayed, would I have lacked in focus, bruh?
(Chorus)
In this life sometimes I wanna quit
I'm too damn old not to really have sh**
That's how I feel sometimes, I'm hating working all this overtime
I should be starting but I'm riding pine, plus I know I can rhyme
So what's the use of a masters degree?
And when I pray to God, he never answers simply
It's tempting me to wanna take a different approach
Then I think of my parents, I get a lump in my throat
How they smile when they see me, my old students stop and greet me
Never could imagine I'd be teaching, but I really seemed to reach ‘em
Least I hope so, then the more I think, I know so
Yea I was mad when the district kept my dough low
But I live a life I can be proud of
Trying to follow the path that's less traveled
Though at times I may get rattled
Pursuing purpose and my music makes me happy ya'll
(Chorus)