Then Till Now

See it was Hip Hop that dam near changed my life
From meeting ozone in L.A in 85'
From my attempts to try and step on stage and rhyme
To my beyond 2005' state of mind
From a copy of a culture, ta teaching a tradition
From electric buguloo, to the beat that keeps my rhythm
From, wonderin' the tracks, ta the mic that's in my hand
From, wantin' to be black, to lovin who I am
From not known where your from, to the image of Sydney
From no one knowin' hip-hop, to kids thinkin' their 50
From the dramas on film, to the dramas of life
From posh clothes, to not knowin' they were half of the price
And from thinking to be king, you gotta have wealth
Ta the inner revolution i call knowledge itself
So from back "then till now" I still rap for the pleasure
Bein' rich or poor man, I'm still happy as ever

You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I gotta understand you
(I gotta understand you
so we can stand together recognize the vision,
its one love, one life, sets aside our differences
You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I got to understand you,
cause that's what gets me by, in my life

From a part of the Bronx, to the heart of the burbs
From a dyslexic, to a artist of words
From a wild child, to my parents trynna steady me
From taken my parking cue, to givin' me heave "D"
From mimicking thugs, thinking the lyrics with dope
To getting no satisfaction cause it was mirrors of smoke
From a home of hip-hop, to a land owned by rock
From rhyming to my mirror, to thousands blowin' the spot
But through all of the cheers, and the boo and the beers
Was just a kid on the bus, headphones glued to his hears
Who just grew through the years, to sewer the tears
The blood and sweat makes somethin' with his crew and his peers
See it was hip-hop that put three lost souls on a map
From showin us the country, to puttin clothes on our back
And from finding myself, in my mic's reflection
To this musical marriage that gave my life direction

You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I gotta understand you
(I gotta understand you
so we can stand together recognize the vision
Its one love, one life, sets aside our differences
You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I got to understand you,
Cause that's what gets me by, in my life

From a major label deal, to bustin' on the street
Knowing souls were for sale, when I'm fuckin' with these beats
The landlord of these lyrics, with a touch of what can be
And if it doesn't ground, You could trust it wasn't me
The deepest of minds, can't frame what I've imagined
Three eyes on the train, writin' rhymes on a napkin
See these kids don't have bentley's, they sit and take the bus
But if ya playin' this tape, ya situation's sussed
From backstage butterfly's to a passion of a debut
From not haven a path, to push past and a way through
From this rhyming release, to stress I've got off my chest
From chasing a dream, to holding the hart of the press
From shoe store days, to writing sessions at night
To a culture that ultimately taught me lessons in life
So from back "then till now" I still rap for the pleasure
Bein' rich or poor man I'm still happy as ever

And we won't stop until we get that feeling
That's why we get on up that's why we got on up
Oh we won't stop until we get that feeling
That's why we get on up (Hang on, hang on, hang on)

You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I gotta understand you
(I gotta understand you
So we can stand together recognize the vision
Its one love, one life, sets aside our differences
You gotta understand me
(You gotta understand me)
I got to understand you
Cause that's what gets me by, in my life