Cordae - Shilohs Intro Lyrics

Alright look
Alright, look, I said, I said
When I was nine, that's my first time I held a .9
Put it on God, man, it must've been a sign
'Cause my mother, she was strippin', she was always on her grind
While her boyfriend, he was pimpin', he ain't have a lot of time
So he showed me where it was and showed me how to work it
Just in case a nigga run up in this bitch, gotta murk him
Thirteen, I was servin', nigga, fifteen persons
Nigga, tryna be a cocaine cowboy, Michael Irvin
Nigga, sixteen, I was deep up in the trenches, hoppin' fences
'Round that time they gave my boy a life sentence
But I still ain't learn, nigga, I was tryna burn niggas
Tryna put somebody in the grave or a urn, nigga
Seventeen, police whooped my ass just for bein' Black
No talkin' silent, guys give up, where's the friend at?
Seen my uncle in the prison, shit, now it's me in that
Couldn't break the cycle, like recycle, they wan' see us back
Eighteen, lions, tigers, bears, I was livin' with 'em (mmm)
Went to prison with 'em, doin' business with 'em
I'm twenty-one, my cellmate been down for thirty-five
He just tryna see the sun before he gotta die
So why would I go and cry? I got another passion (bitch)
You don't know the struggle, so you wouldn't understand
'Cause in my book, my mama raised a man
'Cause I could've snitched on the beat to get me out the can
But I could tell you what I seen or what I lived, it's up to you
Or let my brother tell the story from a bird's-eye view