[Verse 1: J. Cole]
Let me tell you a little story about my homie Corey
Right now hes locked down serving at least forty
But excuse me, i got ahead of myself, I'm sorry son
This story starts in hes youth, he was hardly one
When hes pops got knocked for coping rocks
From under cover cops on the corner of hes block
And he never got a chance to meet him
Cause the very next year hes pops is laying still in the prison cell bleeding from stab wounds, fatal
Bad news Corey's mother and older brother already caught in the struggle
Brother barely ate tryna hustle just to carry weight
The whole family underweight cause they rarely ate
One thing my n***a never got was love
And hes whole childhood he was watching drug addicts
His brother supplying it, old mother buying it
You expect a scientist to come from this enviroment
Get real!, this sh**s hard enough brought up black
But being poor plus your mums on crack
And your brothers a hustler tryna take you under hes wing sh**, just a f**ing wonder hes breathing
[Hook: J. Cole]
If I could change the world I would
Snap my fingers and bad would turn to good
Let me change the world, I'm wishing
I promise you I'll make a difference
If I could change the world I would
Snap my fingers and bad would turn to good
Let me change the world, I'm wishing
I promise you ill make a difference
[Verse 2: J. Cole]
Age five, Corey had dreams to be a cop, but
Age six, hes older brother pa**ed the Glock, let him hold it
Plans change, he started hes campaign
Age thirteen, little boy doing big man things
And that's what he thought
He was jacking rims from mustangs
Beating down on his cla** mates for chump change
Running round with the tough gang
The older n***as he sold dope for em, they bought clothes for him
However soon he got older and selling petty dimes turned into some pretty heavy crimes
Hes sh** got to the point where he was stealing rides from hes block
Even robbing quick stops
Ladies loved him, he was crazy f**ing
Knocking boos daily, pretty soon he had a baby coming
But he didn't claim it, his baby mother was crazy loving him
She said baby lets settle down , he left her hanging
He'd rather be on the streets slanging a wild cat
But god damn i seen it coming a mile back
A drug deal gone bad guns bursting
Now Corey lying in a cell cause he merked him
Whats the moral of the story?, figure it out
So the next time you ask why n***as are wild, you know with out a doubt
Don't try and deny the sh**, a young black male a product of his environment
[Hook: J. Cole]
If I could change the world I would
Snap my fingers and bad would turn to good
Let me change the world, I'm wishing
I promise you I'll make a difference
If I could change the world I would
Snap my fingers and bad would turn to good
Let me change the world, I'm wishing
I promise you ill make a difference
[Verse 3: J. Cole]
Cause i can't stand to see my people struggling
But what we up against? tough conditions in this life
And they wonder why these n***as all get hype, get high and fist fight
Or why they live like they living, to get ice and cars
No type of jobs, income coming from dicing and robbing n***as in broad daylight
Its hard cause all they know in this life is scars
This mic is all i need to change the globe, re-arrange it and make it so
n***as ain't in pain no more
Cause they they don't pay no more mind to all youth
Till they got to locking them up and dawg that's the truth yo
Thats the truth yo, that's the truth