Joey Jones - Suburbanite Lyrics

Let's tell the obvious truth of a place I was brought up and raised
Damn near only black kid in the suburbs where I grew up
So it was much harder to face
I was living with my grandma, and my grandpa with the highest of stakes
All it took was a disagreement or a falling out to be put out of their place

Everyday I had to clean shit that wasn't even mine at nine years old
I lost all my friends in second grade, so as a kid I really felt alone
All I had was the neighbors, same age as my little brother so
I was more or less to myself, there was really nowhere else to go

Once they had put me in school, that's when I knew and I really had felt the change
Assimilated quickly strictly as a coping mechanism not to feel the pain
Internet had started booming, I was watching Naruto and other anime
Then I saw an animated music video that shaped me and my destiny

Linkin Park was the backing music for the video
Felt the music speaking to me in a way that I had never felt before
That was back in '06 limewire popping hella hella hella hard
I was listening to music like an alcoholic with a personal bar

I was always f*cking nerdy, know I love to learn me some incredible facts
Being super smart and being into art was really hard
Especially when you're black
Especially when you seen the struggle first hand they don't really know about that
Inadvertent racism and social stratification on top of that

I love all of my white suburban friends very much and I hope that they know it too
But there are some issues that they cannot even begin to fathom so,
No surprise, once it came time for me to start fitting in
I was everywhere and nowhere to be found
I was just a f*cking loner, man

The harder I tried, the more I realized
That there was really no place for me
Then I was homeless, I finally noticed
That the system was actually playing me

Suburban or not, I was black in a world ruled by the whitest of men
And that's when I said f*ck it, I don't care about the race I'ma fight it then
At that moment I accepted the stereotype that society placed on me
The blackest I ever felt at that moment and I hold that til this day you see

So yes I'm a rapper, a bboy, the essence of hip hop rolled into one
Being black in the suburbs made me appreciate how far we've come
I appreciate it

You know before I really thought about it, race didn't make any difference to me
And to this day, it still holds a minimal role in how I treat
Certain situations with people
However, now, I'm not ignorant to the unique struggles
That each of these races face
Cause I realize now,
A lot of the struggles that I've gone through now are simply because of the fact of
How the system treats black people
Regardless of their education level or wealth
It's the depiction and the social narrative of all humanity that's really important
See because I believe that all people can be successful
But now I know that some people's opportunities to reach certain successes
Might be easier than others
And that's really important to recognize because
As egalitarian as it sounds to treat everybody the same
It's actually somewhat ignorant of the differences we all face