[Verse 1] Look, long live your idols, may they never be your rivals Rakim was like Jesus, Chuck D wrote the Bible G-Rap was God, I learned to punch from Kane Lived in Queens so on Farmers we would see Todd James Remember the cover of Black Panther with the fat gold chains Then Slick Rick had a million of 'em So I wanted a million of 'em Yeah, back in my first days When we ain't know who was the nicest n***a in 3rd Base Which emcee was the worst before my emcee search Some n***as thought Pete Nice, me, I thought MC Serch This before I ever met Em, way before "Hammer Dance" This when I was asking Carrie Anne to make me Hammer pants Smooth B was dope, Greg Nice had character Before I ever knew image would even matter, bruh Ice Cube raised me, gotta mention Gang Starr Me and Premier tight right now, we in the same squad Always tell me stories on the game and how it changed, y'all Life don't always come full circle, I can't explain, God Teacher to student The overlap and the generational gap I'm seeing is prudent So when I speak of pursuing What we deemed as mere dreams and illusions Albeit a nuisance I'm brewing from eyes that have seen through it It's no time for even a body to be reclusive Execs'll feed you excuses, and if its seasoned, you chew it We got old ideologies, I think we should renew it The psychology for some of that reasoning's even stupid For me it's deeper than music, much deeper than music They stole our musical freedom, up next it's freedom of music As a tenth grade drop-out I'm watching the aftermath Of everything streaming and doing the extremist This is true sh** Don't take a genius to see the genius is stewing Ain't got the reach to do it, so let me reach you can do it It go [Hook] [Verse 2] Look, look If you live long you see your idols be your rivals Hov was like the GOAT, congratulations on Tidal Salute, you broke through many barriers for us When we couldn't move the needle you carried us for us Look forward, maybe in 30 years they'll implore us Push to the back of the red ignore us I think we nearing that border Mr. Carter, who gon' fare for the authors? They only there to extort us Who gon be there to record us, n***a? Even deeper who gon' care for our daughters? And our sons just the vultures We keep handing them the culture And the hip-hop that raised this kid is one that spoke up I'm pessimistic, I won't even get my hopes us But if it's gon' all implode before it blow up Need more than overcharging for what they did to the Cold Crush Just a PSA in lieu of the movement Can't get a quarter back now, what about future music? Really [Hook] [Verse 3] So if I'm gone when tomorrow come The mission for my only-born when tomorrow come How will we receive songs when tomorrow come? Here's my study for understudies to borrow from New Rage & Machine, n***a, we got this Is what you hear when label ideas meet a plot twist Used to be faded from the k**er talk Now we suffocating from the pillow talk Every verse like, “damn, y'all love chivalry” They offer me fame as a man, I chose dignity Guess everything ain't for everybody Maybe everybody ain't for everything It ain't a thing, I'm looking through my career I'm more the long game dude on how I choose to prepare Not the richest, just the sickest, ask the dudes in your tier Knew if I made it to the top I'd hate the views from up there We don't value the same sh**, I spoke through a despair Stood out before it was cool to be weird, my n***a, you just appear Before these n***as hit puberty I was online talking like it's just you and me The foolery, but since we hopping like rabbits Calling everything that's dropping a cla**ic With all this modern day practice Tactics that should rot in the ashes Some are cut from the same cloth Some have forgotten the fabric, listen Raised a n***a that you rather leave at bay She ain't walking in naked, she ain't fashionably late Have her bring your good shoes so you can dodge around the rumors In a suit that light the room up like Robert Downey Jr.'s Fifth to the court tell I did this before Without a Baron ask Karen, nothing civil in war It's civil war, to judging off the sh** that I saw I'm trying to leave it so our kids'll have more Tomorrow is bigger than all