Before and After

Lyrics

This is hard for me to write, it's difficult to express this Its heavy on my shoulders and the weight gets tremendous The story of brothers and a beautiful friendship And how relations get strained with pressure and tension Who's wrong, correct, it's all so subjective You look back it's hard 'cos the mind gets adventurous Dates get mixed up, facts disconnected The only thing you remember is the feeling that you're left with It started as a blessing Now you could write this off as luck or one of life's coincidences But at some point, you think, God damn, what are the chances? People with similar interests and influences Coming together at that moment to form a kinship It's like you knew that you was brothers before your conception Even if you're not a spiritual person, I admit, shit At that time I wasn't but at some point it sets in It'd be foolish to dismiss this as coincidence Now this shit is different, somewhere this is written Be part of a mission, this shit is predestined Closer than close like flesh is to tendon Share my 50 cent bag of chips with my brethren Have a half a gas station sandwich, no question Talking shit to me well then you talking shit to him then Family is sacred, it must be protected Family is sacred and it must be protected Over time, I don't know what happens something got affected People grow in different ways at different rates I guess It's ridiculous, little shit suddenly is big shit Lapses in communication, glitches in the system He said that she said, what? nobody said shit But you'll never know 'cos everyone's passive aggressive No sit downs, no pow wows, hella unsaid shit People cease to make the effort to get to the essence Peep this shit out though, this shit is really twisted Funny thing is you and I do it every minute We takin' inventory every time somebody says shit Against us, stock piling every little incident What's stupid is all the bullshit that's circulating Could be fixed in an instant with simple conversation But you know how pride is, a bitch with her fist clenched That mixed with the fact drama gets addictive Wounds need dressing and they don't receive attention It snowballs and festers and creates resentment People demonize each other, grave discontentment But nobody could've been prepared for the next step The nature of the predator is calculated, pensive Laying in the brush patiently revving they engines Despite the color of they eyes, all they see is crimson Waiting for they prey to become desperate, defenseless Outside is always over just beyond the fences Today the gate is open, though today they make an entrance Friendly at first; laughs, jokes like we best friends Slowly though you start to see they 'come hidden agendas Nine to five, one day insecure self-perceptions Shines a spotlight on all those paranoid crevices Things begin to heat up, everyone's already stretched thin (How could you be so mean?) Well how could you be so deceptive? Any second now someone will snap like a bread stick And what once was simply dissolves like a breath mint Just like that, you start to ask yourself questions (Is this really worth all the emotional depressment?) (Do the benefits and perks outweigh the pressure?) Let me step back, give this relationship assessment Let me step back, give this relationship assessment Let me step back, give this relationship assessment