[Turntable needle drops] [Static begins] Sixteen I earned my chops and now there ain't no turning back You wanna face the facts, then focus, know I got the fixins to Address the people listening, lemme put it more specific This ain't my stankin' job, I define the f**in business Used to lack commitment, call it Clinton and his wife Now raps are my Lewinski, why I'm doin' em outta sight – HA Used to skip cla**, and that was back in the day Still workin for next to nothing, til this record makes change Used to be bent up on what they thought of my songs Reluctance in my blood, I was stallin to get along Used to drown demons with a bottle of jack But now a pad and a pen making up my plan of attack Used to skate by, not giving a f** Then I built a balance with my sk** and occupation, facin my Fears, was an everyday occurrence til I blurred the lines And put my mind and my money where my mouth was at I found that, the old saying was true Like the birds of a feather, two and two'll flock together Overcome in any weather, now there's nothing to prove Except for to myself, see there's mountains to move Reflected on the disrespect, what they rejected “Like, Nate you'll never hack it, cause rappin' over records Is a waste of yer time,” I kept my head up high Commenced upon the grind, no permission to try Saw the hate all in their eyes, while despising my rhymes They made a full time living, claimed that I was nothing different? Stuck to my convictions like time behind bars Then I bet on my persistence, it was bound to take charge Thinkin bout the past year like “what the hell happened?” Somewhere in the middle between brain-dead and manic I threw up my hands, like f** this, I'm done with this bullsh** Then I buckled down and got my life back I was straight wasting my time, they call it bent up I been down, more times than I done been up, but that's how You learn to stand, when tha sh** hit the fan Don't let it get the better, best believe I understand These days, the good ones aren't always around Lost the better ‘o my friends, cause they wasn't all down That's fine, man, I know I'm not living it big But a hand mighta helped when I was down in the sh** Where I'm going been a long time coming and you know this I'm focused now best believe I wasn't always perfect More slumps than escalation on this ride of life Seems I found a niche to make the mornings alright For reasons unseen, they feel I'm being obscene?!? From daydreams, to drowning, I been finding my peace That means, that I'm doubted, make a fool of myself Then f** it, so be it, time I focused on self Pour another one out for all the people we lost This sh** ain't as simple as I once woulda thought Honest to god, I'm trying to stay on topic But my logic ain't so on, when the story's straight chaotic Since birth, rough and rugged, still my attitude is f** it You can't change the past, only take and learn from it - Take Nothing for granted, put advancement in the forefront Never gonna be happy, ‘less you're doin what you wanna Lesson learned that livin life is really only what you love in it Deprivin' her o' more, of course she bound to be a b**h With that being said, think we should table the topic Put focus on an introduction of the man here to rock it The function here that I started, is really more of a movement So tell me now that you're listening, what the f** am I doing? I make these tracks cause I love em, no other reason above it Though I'm known to go by fiction, this is truth that I'm spewing