Lyrics

[Intro] You can change your ways/ You can change your ways/ Elevate to date/ [Verse 1] I dropped albums in the 90s, the foundation for all of this/ I figured if I had it, then, why shouldn't I offer it/ I learned the politics of the business and stretched my limits/ Expanded my horizons and diversified my interests/ Personalized my verses instead of using gimmicks/ So I could look my children in the eye when I was finished/ It's a simple plan, from this ordinary simple man/ Raise a revolution, and forget about the fickle fan/ We built these walls on a shoestring budget/ Held our breath and decided to release it to the public/ Many loved it and moved in, strengthening these two men/ Pretty soon, we had the funds to put a roof in/ The blueprint, well that's something that we'd argued for/ Sent A and RS and labels back to the drawing board/ Regulations and rules, fine print we wasn't falling for/ You were there all along and it makes me love you all the more [Hook] Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/ Are leading you astray/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ There ain't a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/ I'll say all I gotta say then I'm a give it away/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways [Verse 2] I feel like I know you, raised you and clothed you/ With raw material I systematically broke you/ Down to the essence of your inner child/ And if you ask me for an inch than I'm the type to give a mile/ In this style of street magic, it's down to a truth/ Bathed you in the fountain of youth, in a sound that you knew/ I gave you words that dug so much deeper than music/ You ran with it, or told yourself that it was stupid/ Either way, you fool with dust beats and couldn't front/ Life captured on CD as days turned to months/ Go the way you want but stop acting like you don't know/ Speed racing 'til you see po-po then go slow/ At the show taught god wouldn't even walk blind/ Just be honest with me next time/ This ain't just rhyme, it slips into your skin/ So if you're listening to this, then I consider you my friend [Hook] Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/ Are leading you astray/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ There ain't a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/ I'll say all I gotta say then I'm a give it away/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways [Verse 3] I think about it too much, sometimes life is screwed up/ People run with cliques and clans, like the Ku Klux/ A few touch greatness but to most it's a grind/ Another race to run, another slope to climb/ And the wicked way is downhill and easier to navigate/ Travel at a faster rate with parlor tricks to fascinate/ Everybody seems to be moving through so easily/ You look in the mirror and start thinking yo what's keeping me/ You never thought to double check with the atlas/ And what really matters is where the end of the path is/ The method in my radness is deep rooted in passion/ My love for god is action and my response is massive/ Fact of the matter is days and nights clashing/ Raise the light burning my faith into practice/ No flash in the pan, no sprint, this is a marathon/ My shoulders is strong, and I'm begging y'all to tag along [Hook] Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/ Are leading you astray/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ There ain't a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/ I'll say all I gotta say then I'm a give it away/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways [Outro] If you try your best, you can change your ways/ I've seen what you think, rap is trashy/ Do you see what you could've been/ A song is garbage if it's all about cash/ You can change your ways/ Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/ A song is garbage if it's all about cash/ Do you see what you could've been, or what you've become