[Intro: Byron]
Stay ready and you won't have to get ready, Rina
Remember that {Laughs}
Let me talk to y'all for a minute
There's a lot that I have to get off of my chest
Three minutes
[Verse: Byron]
The simplest things will cause you to lose it
Pardon me if I come off harsh, but I won't abuse this
See where you're coming from, but for me it's more than music
I'm through selling myself short, I'm going to use it
Promises kept sacred, I'm just making my bed
And I'd much rather be comfortable now before I'm dead
So please, just indulge me for a moment
Just to elaborate on a couple issues I'm going through
Evidently, a voice is the only thing we have nowadays
It's like a curse because today could be your last
How amazed would you be?
Do you feel like you've done enough?
Have you said everything that you need to say to the ones you love?
The backhanded compliments honestly don't hurt my confidence
Like I don't appeal to the radio, but that's just common sense
Bottom line is I'm reminded of my eighth grade days
They'd be like where the bars at?
But I would look at them like, “Where's your heart at?”
All that trying to be hard was never my cup of tea
I love lyricism, but I knew it just wasn't me
See, that was second nature, it just came in sporadic spurts
That just made matters worst, though battling had its perks
Y'all seemingly got addicted to it, and kept asking for more
And I was too gone to know I was falling victim to it
Often saw ventilation as my escape, but y'all were different
Truly different, that's why you ain't bother sitting through it
You have your own demons
Maybe you ain't trying to deal with them, and the bars help
You have your own reasons
One of you guys lost your brother this year, and I'm sorry
I know your soul's screaming, fiending just to have him back for a day
I think I first met you back in '08, you know its empathy
The type of void that can never be filled by tendencies of pretending we're okay
The type of feeling you get when you couldn't care less if you k**ed your enemy
I hope you can deal with it
Though we haven't spoken in years, the memory's still vivid
I just hope you're still gifted
Kind of wish I could have been closer to y'all
But you know me
I'm on my own, too anti-social for y'all
I also wish I could have been closer to Alyson
Never had a problem myself but drama was adamant
So many things I'd rather say than a punchline, but y'all ain't having it
We just want to a false reality that we can turn up to
If I don't live it, I don't speak on it, don't be so obtuse
There's something about these artists that cause them to act frivolous
Live on our screens, flossing
They'll have you thinking it's limitless
Propagating these lies, profiting from demise
Prophesying your downfall right before your eyes
So let me ask you, is that money worth it?
If you had to wear a mask instead of show the real you, would you serve a purpose?
Just rely on the money to get you by
But these blood s**ing leeches will happily s** you dry
We never take it personal, but what if it's meant to be taken personal?
We ain't worth ish unless we're alive
If you do it for the money, that's fine
I won't knock you just because my mission's different
Dawg, I do this to survive
So do you really want the best for me?
They'd rather see me dead or fighting three felonies
I know a lot of y'all are fighting temptations, fell in love with the lust
Man, its whack when you know everyone in charge is corrupt
My friends told me I'm numb, but apparently not enough
Cause when I had that blade up to my skin, I didn't cut, whoa…