Rugged One - The Good Shepherd lyrics

You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying, (X2) It is my only dream to be a star, not the money not the cars -I'd rather fly like an eagle, than only play for par Used to stay caged in bars, now I got freedom And younger blacks are falling in the trap I gotta lead ‘em They used to call me lifer, said I'd always come back My sense of self worth couldn't let my life become that I took my past experience and built myself up from scrap Stayed out of crap, searching for salvation through rap So here I'm at, proud to be the man that I've become Hungry for the upper crust, still living with the crumbs And I'm almost numb, seen a lot, heard more Written too much and popped too many Tums Still I, run from nightmares, scared to sleep Staring in the mirror, that face is barely me And then I see a kid who's just like I was, a shy thug And I bug and write, for the little good a rhyme does You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying I'm trying to reach out to the youth, speak up with the truth Seen so many hung dry, I'm trying pre-cut the noose Trying to liberate the flock through these cuts in the booth Trying help the kids grow, my speech flushing the roots Trying to lead them from the streets that keep ‘em tucking the tools Back to the cla**, because we need em stuck in the schools That information is the key to a world full of locked doors I can't count the wars, where no-one knows what they fought for Used to spend my time locked up, often I got bored Finally got sick of the game, quit and got top score And I been hot for, a minute, cause I got more tracks Than a junkie, when he can't find a spot for The next hit, I'm blessed by the Lord With this spit, a gift I could never afford To let slip, and all I had to do was believe That my cell wouldn't be the last thing that I'd see You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying I've seen good in the worst dudes, hard to believe But it's the things you don't expect that are the hardest to see And as an artist there's a burden to put your thoughts into words It's like, speak now or forever hold your verse You get one big shot, big shot, so take aim Cause a champ places first and a chump places blame Will you, carry the torch or extinguish the flame Settle for mediocrity or push for the fame And I wonder if the sheep can be shaved, thoughts of a humble shepherd Watching his flock as they peacefully graze Sometimes I wish that I could join ‘em in their ignorant daze So I'm blazed most of my days, made crutches out of the haze Still viewing life in shades of gray, changed my ways But I'm watching all the innocence in kids fade away Cause they're prey to the images they witness and the trends So they miss out on their youth, trying to fit in with their friends You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying You either make it or you don't, see your shot Take it or you won't get another one, say it isn't so Try to say I didn't tell you and you're lying I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I'm dying