[ Featuring Common ]
On the Amen Corner I stood staring at my former hood
A land of Gods where the mosque towers above the ghost of Leon's Barbeque
A city of contraband and contradictions
The horns of Louis Armstrong wrestle with the devil's
While fireworks compete with gunshots on a hot summer night
Back in the day, we made the pilgrimage from the Deep South to our Mecca
The Southside
Yeah, from behind the burglar bars of my mama's back yard
I watched as passing cars stopped to trap hard
Black Stones in Muslim garb
Leaving the mosque from Jummah not far from Minister Farrakhan the students of Master Fard
Drive-by shootings, rapid fire uzis, cars bumping the Fugees
We smoke loose squares not loosies
Home of the Barbershop movies
Gunshots left his cap red like a Sufi
Storefront churches next to the chicken shop
Across the street from the liquor spot
That's juxtaposition, ahk
Thirty-two shots in my Glock I don't listen to Fox
My middle finger to cops, uh
Dead opps but we live on these blocks
Gram rocks for delivery
No electricity, the middle of December but the city be hot
The magic and the misery I seen it all vividly, the southside
It's just another Southside story
The hope, the soul
The Folks, the Moe's
The Southside
Yeah, uh
It's just another Southside story
Where you at?
Staring out the window of the Green Line train I dreamed I'd see my name on the wall
I was enthralled by street fame
Dope fiends going through withdrawals deep pains
White boys shooting Fentanyl in green veins
Hood films by DGainz showed the world Chief Keef Bang, many streets the same
Bodies fall when the seasons change, as sure as Easter's spring
Madea pray for me in Jesus name
I don't end up in the hands of the police or slain
Sorry granny, I got P's to slang, 'cause I need the
Three point liter on the V6 Range
Black Jesus with the VV's in the chain
Just for relief from the pain of seeing my dog on that dog food tweaking again
Reaching, I only feel peace when I'm praying
If I could wash my sins I'd sleep in the rain on the Southside
It's just another Southside story
The hope, the soul
We found God in the devil's Bible
We thrive in survival
We change quarter water to wine
We face court orders and fines for gang signs that's tribal
Canines devour you, CIA supply you
Let every day surprise you
We speak truth 'cause we been lied to
We make possible out impossible
We keep faith 'cause they denied you basic humanity
Use the God in me to guide you
This the two cities of Chicago
One, in a state of illusion
The other, the state keep refusing
Various resources
So the only recourse is to take your pipe to school
'Cause the school to prison pipeline is designed by standardized testing
And the disinvestment in the Arts has hardened shorties' hearts
So they bang fist to chest and resist arrest
He did fifteen months
Took fifteen steps, took a nice short breath
(Ayy fam, check it out)
