The Introduction

[Intro]
Well, judging from my exuberant expertise
Hey!
Oh, I like that
Hey!
Yeah
Oh, fuck you

[Verse 1]
I'm like ten years in, feels like I'm just getting started
Spent the first like six or so just trying to run from my problems
I signed a deal as a rapper, left that deal as a man
Let them songs do all the talking, let y'all gossip instead
Them problems made me an artist, shit, they developed my brand
Said that we should just enjoy ourselves before I did
I had a chip on my shoulder, every beat was my dip
And after ten whole years, I almost packed up and quit
Got that comedy itch, I want to act in some flicks
I want to wake up with a woman, not wake up with a...huh
I want to follow my dreams, not get stuck in a line
'Cause by the time I reach the front, I'll know I've wasted my time
I'm finally making a living, but think I'm dying inside
Shit's ironic, I was happier clocked in at my job
I'm not sure what I should do, just know that this isn't it
Struggles of me being me, the hopeful pessimist
And still I seem to always find a way to kill a good thing
Like, look at all the shit that I done fucked up, girls that I done fucked up
Drinks that I done drunk up, drugs that got me locked up
I wonder all the time 'bout who I would be
If I ain't ever got caught up in dumb shit, thrown into that drunk tank
Bought that fucking ticket to Miami just to escape
Fucked around and got my passport stolen in the first week
Wilding out on south-beach, rapping over phour beats
Smashing all them girls from Cuba, Honduras
Sleeping on them couches like a deadbeat, no worries
Keystone and shots of Sobieski, it varied
Wake up looking like I seen a ghost, Bill Murray
With that Young Sinatra playing, Overly Dedicated
Nothing but some Setbacks so I moved to Section.80
Man, I moved back to my hometown, just a bad kid in a good place
To a good kid in a mad city, no ass-kissing, no asterisks
No KD chips, LeBron James with no stadium
Bonneville with no radio, rocked every show in my radius
Ate twice a day call it radium, sad as hell, but still radiant
Opened up for like every artist on the fucking planet, no main event
And still can't find me a single reason that explains why I ain't famous yet
Good job, you played yourself, DJ Khaled
Snapchat on a Jet-ski PH balance
Whole lot of y'all basic, I'm acid the rapper
I'm Donald on a good day, I'm traffic in Atlanta on a bad one
Y'all ad-libs to my anthem, your best days my average
Y'all Artest to my Wallace, this rap shit is my palace
No challenge, no red flag, my last girl she waved that
I'm way past past dues, paid those in my past too
Many times to even recollect and now I just collect when I have to
Underpaid, disrespected, nowadays I'm my own Collective
President of my fan club, treat every record like a new election, I...

[Verse 2]
Still think about my Dad when I get sad
Think about how nothing good can last
Think about the future I've rejected, friends that I've neglected
And how my whip is running out of gas
I hear the engine clicking as I drive, grows louder all the time
I wonder if I should just let it crash
No passengers to be sat, no one to push a seat back
No one to make a playlist, no one to give me feedback
Wonder what it's like losing sleep, pillow-talking over dreams
Wish for everlasting cold spots and clean Supima sheets
I wish for breezes on the beach, night drives and sunny skies
I wish that I was taller, for a smile, and perfect teeth
I wish I had someone to shop with, someone to cherish God with
I wish for simple things, I wish that I believed in God
I hope you get the greatest job, to brag about at weddings
I hope you find somebody, hope you have the perfect wedding
Know that I'll never forget you, and that I'll always miss you
And that I'm self-aware and I'm still working out my issues
Treat each record like a breakthrough, reflections like they're see through
And never have no filler lines, no peek-a-boos or previews
You'll always get the real me, no matter what, the real me
And when I contradict myself, just trust I'll do the right thing
I'm confident in hindsight, but squint to see a scoreboard
Grateful this is my life, just doubt it's what I'll die for
I wish I had time for, people with no strings
Attached, but seems like everyone's a puppet in this bitch
I see the film start to unravel, I'm tripping over dreams
But most of y'all don't see 'em through, you leave before the credits
And I'm not too good at things, no not whatsoever
I just work way harder than the people that are better
Wrote a letter to a fan, while I was making dinner
Then went and made this beat and wrote the lyrics, then I spit it
Then recorded it and listened, mixed it, then submitted
I made the cover art and everything else that went with it
All the jobs that they distribute, and split amongst themselves
I studied and I practiced, now I do that shit myself
I know I could just ask for help, but then who would I be?
Another fucking artist that just sounds like other artists?
And the truth about my albums, you know, the ones I shelved?
Them shit's was kind of hot, but they were made for someone else
So by the time it came to drop 'em, I couldn't fucking do it
I promise that I tried, just wasn't happy, and I knew it
But I want you all to know, that I was dying slow
I almost killed myself to speed things up, but then I chose
To write a song 'bout being happy, I cried when it was done
Because I knew I wasn't, truth is, I was scared as fuck
But had to try and better me, I knew I couldn't die
'Cause way too many people were counting on me to survive
And there's a we in front of should because it really takes an army
And it's so fucking crazy, when I look up I'm surrounded
I know I won't live forever, but y'all my youth fountain
And every time somebody says I saved 'em, it's ironic
'Cause it's y'all that keep me going, every day's a bonus
This music is a thank you, all these songs, you really wrote 'em
Life is nothing but some moments, some we'll share together
And I just hope you know that when I'm gone, I really tried to be happy