Things We Don’t Talk About (I’ll Finish This Later)

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark picture of Black youth facing immense pressure and a shortened life expectancy, with the recurring phrase "die by twenty-five" acting as a grim, almost inevitable marker. The narrator grapples with the systemic forces that shape their environment, noting how survival itself becomes a learned behavior, a "constant pressure." This isn't just about individual struggle; it's framed as a fight against external forces, "those that colonize," and a desperate attempt to make "ideas become reality." The central tension lies in the conflict between the drive to survive and the overwhelming odds that seem to predetermine a tragic end. The narrator questions the very purpose of their fight when the outcome feels so bleak, asking "What do we believe in?" This existential dread is amplified by the personal toll, the "tragedy is a formality" suggesting a numbing to loss that is itself a casualty of their circumstances. The outro reveals a deeper layer of the narrator's experience, detailing a childhood surrounded by peers caught in cycles of violence and evasion. The "mentality" of being the "biggest man" is explicitly called a "fallacy," a dangerous illusion. The profound weariness is palpable, articulated through the repeated act of mourning: "I'm tired of taking off work to go bury my friends."