Chorus
If you got something to say that's real important
Just start off by screaming new Jordans, my people listen
You want my folks to wake up like it's morning
You gotta title your post, "new Jordans" real talk
Verse 1
I still want every pair
Used to try to save money up every year
My man Tor got em all, I be like "let me wear!"
Since we the same size, I try to bribe him, he won't tell me yea
I had a big bottle stacked with quarters
Took me months to fill it up enough so I could buy some Jordans
I was in my mama's basement
Riding public transportation
I ain't have all my priorities in order
I used to have a pair of red fours, I rocked my brother's sixes
My twos fell apart, and I gave away my Olympics
Had the bugs bunny joints, but my mind was so simplistic
That I played ball in 'em not thinking bout the logistics
Every pair I could've flipped 'em
And doubled on my investment
But I was so young and hungry just focused on being fresher
As a dude up in school you gotta make an impression
It starts with how you dress and this generation's obsessed
Kids thirteen, fourteen, thirty-nine and forty
They be standing online camping out from early morning
Overnight, Mike don't need the money but we support him
Is it true he doesn't care if we riot to help his fortune?
Indiana and Ohio there was bloodshed, bust heads, kids robbed everywhere, some dead
Imagine getting news that your nephew, daughter or son bled for shoes that they wore, 'nuff said
It's so wild
Chorus
You got something to say that's real important
Just start off by screaming new Jordans, my people listen
You want my folks to wake up like its morning
You gotta title your post, "new Jordans" real talk
My homie said my flow is so annoying
And when I kick that knowledge, all the youngins call it boring
I don't have to force it I don't need a catchy chorus
I just hit the stage screaming new Jordans y'all will get it
Verse 2
We put fashion way before education
It's like Nike is a soul-purging organization
Charging insane prices while extorting the Asians
We wouldn't gather like this if there was foreign invasion
But for the J's, we exploring the nation
Last year it was cop the Concords or do I go on vacation?
I understand the way he jumped and how he scored was amazing
But did it warrant these praises? It's just a sport he was playing
And we treat him like a God, it's crazy the way that Phil Knight
Signs every young black baller gives him a little light
Maybe gets his name on a shoe, feeds his fam, lives his dream out and we say he made it, but what's our real plight?
When I was young they told me be like Mike, that means reach high heights, and have a real nice life, a gambling issue, mean suits, a young, white wife
Instead of giving back to people I just lead by sight
And get money
So the average kid, can't afford his product
He's a culture changing catalyst, the top of every athlete list
Iconic figure whose name became an adjective, never been a philanthropist, But he stacked up them championships..
I love MJ
A renegade like Em and Jay
Generated billions for our race just like the 10K
Altogether I done probably gave him 10K...
Or maybe more, what the hell am I hating for?
All the rings that he won can't fit on just one hand
It's not his fault he acquired some dumb fans
Dudes dying for sneakers was unplanned
Sad that my man got jumped for the logo of the jumpman
Homie got his top rocked
Hanging on a hot block
New York City summer, number sevens on, he got stopped
Thugs drew weapons put metal in his intestines in less than twenty-four seconds he was gone before the shot clock
See how I put it all together like a Lego block
Insane cycle, we blame Michael, it never stops
Single moms spoil they kids cause they never met they pops
Don't know your father, but you know when the new retros drop?
A Poem For Mike
Years ago I did an interview and they asked me what I would be doing if I wasn't rapping
I said I would probably teach
They asked what subject
I said "I'm not sure, maybe English, language arts or health, possibly speech but
I said my ego is too big to be at just one school everyday there's so many I want to reach
So I would want to be a teacher on tour,"
Two years later I was hitting different schools as a substitute, that's deep
It's like I had a mission that I ain't even know about
When I thought rapping was my goal
When they asked why I didn't make it big, I used to say it was my fault, but really it was my soul
I started coaching and stepped away from the microphone
No not because I felt old
But because I needed some new inspiration to keep young dudes out of jail and young girls off the pole
This kid in high school I vibe with, told me he's down to do whatever it takes to get his papes up
He laughed hard when he found out I used to rhyme, saw my YouTube vids and asked why the hell I took a pay cut...
Told me he had bars too and he rhymes about his chicks that are crazy thots and straight s*uts
And all he wears is Js, I said, "You liked the way MJ played?" He said, "Played what?"
Same guys that thought Dr. Dre only made headphones, and thought Illmatic was a disease
They know Martin Luther 'cause he gave us a day off, and, they still fight each other and fear the police
He said, "If I was born back in slave times...
Or if I was there during civil rights
I would have drunk from any water fountain I wanted to
Before I picked cotton I'd have lost my life,.."
Sounds good hypothetically
Against your own kind you got that heater tucked
But anytime there's a blooming race issue, not a lot of young people speaking up
I guess I was the same way at one time
So why am I contradicting and preaching stuff?
I guess I wonder if we would march for a cause
..Or would we be too concerned with messing our sneakers up
I don't know what I expect
But my folks can barely text
Our grammar's so incorrect
We live or die by spellcheck
But know how to spell check
C-h-e-c never mind
But we're well dressed
A lot of things I say are not really safe to spit
Like the plot to push the same s** relationship
In ten years the n-word will be acceptable, Condoms might not exist and implants will be graduation gifts
So as I stand on line outside this sneaker store and I see this man whose home is on the street
And he walks up with no shoes and asks me specifically for a dollar or two so he could get something to eat
I go in my pocket to find change when I should have went inside my heart, and stopped the beat
I gave him nothing and it wasn't even funny when he and I both looked down at my feet
And saw new Jordans