[Verse 1] Slave ships, ancestors came off of them slave ships Blacks still enslaved, sh**, but my papa know that he made it From segregated schools and no running water Made it through the crack era, he missed the slaughter Know to see his young man in Japan shaking hands is a plan he feel only a God could author... I'ma make you proud, daddy I'ma make you proud, daddy Change sh** for the fam, change sh** for my people, and still have you sitting on top of the clouds daddy I'ma let 'em know that I am comfortable 'cause you hit the grind from a young age Let 'em know you you crafted a young sage Let 'em know I'm a tear from an old page I'ma make you proud, daddy Oscar level, bringing more than pennies to the table 'Cause lord knows we ain't really able Lord knows them checks ain't got sh** feeling stable Lord knows the lower and middle cla** suffering too, and you know I'm gon bring out the truth... I'm gon bring out the truth... Listen... I ain't know a time when papa wasn't there A Black American man took care Of us and his own, in a world full of hate and cold stares, a land where the knowledge was bare Calvert County, Maryland in 1950, later made a move to the city New York to be exact, funny how a young boy made a similar pact To move to a land full of promise and dreams come to life, did his music then found him a wife The love was so real but her skin was so white A mix of perception, a mix up of rights I'm the byproduct of that, and I know for a fact that my parents knew it'd be the way For me to find self in a world where society look at your skin and then tell you to stay In boxes and boxes so small that you couldn't get room to wind up and then punch out at all My skin is still black but the fact that's intact is there can't be an act, yeah I broke down the wall Papa, you told me there would be no short-cuts, and my skin would make things much harder, and my skin would give me no barter Told me that I could go farther Told me I'd have to be smarter... [Chorus] I'ma make you proud, that's on the blood beating through my heart right now, yes Dad, uh I'ma make you proud, that's on the blood beating through my heart right now, yes Dad, uh, (X2) Yes Ma, uh, I'ma make you proud, that's on the blood beating through my heart right now, yes Ma, uh I'ma make you proud, that's on the blood beating through my heart right now (X2) [Verse 2] I ain't a know a time when Mama wasn't there Her unconditional love was air To lungs full of hope in a world full of lies and despair, the woman showed me how to care Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 1963 Later a nurse-to-be '93 when she was nursin' me And now I'm out the nursery, I see That Mama, you hustled to get me the video games and the new school clothes Yeah, we had hand-me-downs from all around the town, but you done planted a love that grows I'm tryna tell you not to stress over bills, 'cause the time that we have is important, and still You worry, don't worry, I got this, I ain't gonna stop 'til we get a few mill You getting new knees That technology better be cutting edge 'cause I want them to see My Mom in a spirit of pure happiness No trippin' off debt that came from these degrees Let go of that pain from your past, we got love that'll last and trump over the times that be The fact that you're here and there's hope makes it so that the struggle ain't all that I'm able to see [Chorus] I'ma make you proud Mom and Dad, yeah I'ma make you proud Mom and Dad, with dreams I have Only 'cause you kept me from bad, gave me love from a never-ending stash, for the sweat off y'all backs I'ma make you proud Mom and Dad, yeah I'ma make you proud Mom and Dad, and I know y'all glad 'Cause I ain't have to take a wrong path The love that you give me is the love I pa** [x2] To the world... To the world...