I reach beneath the skin of the street with each step
Walking closer to my final destination of d**h
When I'm laying to rest I'm only saving my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs heals the pain in my chest
Take six quarters out of the pocket and drop it in the box
Hop the 48 off to pay homage
It stops often, I jot my observations
Watching, citizens walking off of the Joe Metropolitan
(Yeah) proletarians and wayward sons with old Filipino men speaking in they native tongue
And the day has just begun
Greeted by the scent of a bum smelling something like beer, barf, and dung (ugh)
A brother into prose in the back all alone marinating in a pair of half broken headphones
Mumbling rhymes, same time begin to pen mine
Appreciating God's design
Rewind sister, reminds me of a smile in the back of my memory
Wonder if I see her again, will she remember me?
I'm not trying to holler, I swear
I'm just weary of the way we hop a ride and just sit there and stare
Prepare for my 9 o'clock work meeting
A couple pale folk slide right by with no greeting
But the people with my phenotype follow with a head nod up (what up)
'Cause we acknowledge that this sh** f**ed up
North of Martin Luther King, a straight war zone detours through the concrete cranes and bulldozers
No the hill is not over, still, every block got a coffee shop it's overk**
Focus know the deal,
Dope to see Khalil back, the medicine is good again
The feeling of leaving and coming back to your 'hood again is priceless
I write this, our lives are in crisis
Most talk but don't walk the path of the righteous
Despite this, I measure each step
Walking closer to my final destination of d**h
When I'm laying to rest I'm only saving my breath
The Northwest fill the lungs heals the pain in my chest
Clutch the moment, a transfer in my hands
Still listening, looking out the window to the gold and the green
And the sun might be shining but it's colder than it seems
'Cause the weather's dialectical there's no in between
In walks an old soul, a first nation native cat, chiseled like a totem pole
No words, as he stands and looks over us
He gets off and says, "Have a good day, you foreigners"
I, crack a smile one time for the acknowledgment
Northbound, now we start to pick up more college kids
They try to study on the ride
To make up for the fact that they probably kicked it hard last night
And I ponder if it's time to save up and get a car
And pay for the gas that we're taking from the war (no)
I'd miss all the colorful faces, the places, and spaces
I've embraced with the faith that I could rest and raise kids here
Even with these cats set tripping
Bringing '95 back again, same old conditions
From Reagan, to Bush, to Clinton, to Bush the second
No matter the neighborhood in the city you repping
It's getting serious ya'll you can even hear the rebel call
Getting off, leaving hella pieces on the walls
Seen it all sitting sideways with my townmates
Only place left where majority is brown-faced
Now we headed downtown to trade our labor for cash
I thank the navigator once and walk fast
I walk past the next round of cats to jump on it
Locked in deep thought, we ride around in silence
And cross Rizal Bridge
I watch each step
Walking closer to my final destination of d**h
When I'm laying to rest I'm only saving my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs heals the pain in my chest
I remain blessed, stepping on rain with each step
Eyes heavy from the lack of the cousin of d**h
When I'm laying to rest I'm only saving my breath
The northwest fills the lungs ya'll, you know the rest
You know the rest (you know the rest), you know the rest (you know the rest)
It's like that ya'll, that ya'll
It's like that ya'll, that ya'll
And that's all