I’m Not the Man

I've been a wretch from about three or two
Christened on the telly, it was on Channel 2
My dad was in the riots so
They came to see his yute
Growing up I was a kid that everybody knew
Moany, it's like I'm never in the mood
A true Pisces, my emotions in my tunes
It's an understatement to say
It's over being due i took a few shots but
Now I'm soldiering it through
And now I'm looking at my boys turn men
Thinking lord god we coulda been like them
Cause we ain't the type
To fear our opponents
The road door closed and
My career path opened
It's like I'm drinking more
Than I'm thinking
Celebrating as I'm crossing off my wish list
I'm sleeping with both eyes open
I'm living my dream man
I don't wanna miss this
I'm not the man you thought I should be
That's just the way we drop
Them jeans where I stay
I'm not the man you thought I should be
Just take a second, get to know me

It takes a second just to look me in my eyes
It takes an hour just to listen to my life
It took me years just to
Push me to this height
But it would take a lifetime to
Try and duplicate my vibe i'm me
Smooth with my scratches and
Scars I'm free too
Made a stamp on the charts
Now I'm sending a letter
I hope you receive it
Hand on my heart I'mma
Flow while it's beating
To put it in words, it could have been worse
From the underground so I
Could have been dirt
Took a right turn at a wrong place
Cause sometimes shortcuts are the long way
Gotta have strong faith
Now I'm pleading with my baby mamma
She tried to tell me that I'd
Turned into a lady lover
I got my eyes on the prize
And I'm bringing home the bread
Let's make a toast, you can save the butter

Hey yo Wretch
Let me get this from here, yeah
Last month a fourteen year old in
My hood got stabbed and died
I used to cruise on my bike down that
Same side road that he lost his life
I fill a cup with tears
Lick it back like a shot
Just to swallow my pride
Niggas will eat from your bowl
And lick you down
Like a pin called at a hunger strike
You don't know what it's like
Getting cheese amongst rats fam
From a town where Robin could rob Batman
Taxman underneath the taxman thinking
He could tax man
I'd rather die, it's not that fam
And everything ain't what it
Seems on these shelves
We're parting red seas and A&Ring ourselves
And you can still get a deal and get shelved
Getting signed won't necessarily help
All this fire in my tank
I've come too far to get shanked
I'm walking on water that others sank
And now I'm laughing all the way to the bank
Power of the rhymes and lord on my side
Test me, I can make a preacher man rise
From a council estate but yeah we made it
The best things all come
From the worse places