hood rat

"my life is in the ghetto,
it's where I's born and raised.
how's a simple hood rat s'posed to get out of this maze?"

don't blame it on the ghetto,
that's not what keeps you here.
why you crying hood rat?
dry those self indulgent tears.

you need reminding hood rat,
many years have gone and come.
do you forget your ancestors and the battles that they won?

people died in search of liberty.
you can vote, you're free to learn,
but their memory you've tarnished
your hard earned rights rejected--spurned.

what is it you're afraid of?
that maybe they were right,
are you a worthless waste of matter-
another useless social blight?

"why should i vote? why should i fight?
the man still keeps me down."
does the man not do your homework?
does the man dress you like a clown?

"don't be hatin' on my culture,
don't be hatin' on my clothes."
why should i respect your peoples
when you call your sisters hos?

oh you silly little hood rat
let me assuage your fears
and remind you of the time that's passed,
it's been 200 years

frontin' like a gangster,
acting ignorant and smug.
don't come crying on my shoulder
when they treat you like a thug.

who am i to judge your lifestyle?
how you live is personal,
but when you reject your own potential
all your arguments are null.

so there's a switchblade in your pocket.
so your mom's a hood rat wife.
why fulfill this cursed prophecy?
why be a hood rat all your life?

living in the ghetto doesn't make or break a man.
it's the choices that you make that determines if "you can".

so before you blame the system,
why don't you take a second look
forget the bling, the grills, the rims
and read a f***ing book.