Easy For You To Say (feat. JayRock Jax)

I lived a hard life
Had to struggle through the day
I've been through hard nights
Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right
OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright
It's gon' be alright
Man, that's easy for you to say
You don't even know why I was late
And I'll probably have to do a thousand things before I get a chance to snooze today
You talking about homework
Man, my first duty in my household has always been the same
My parents ain't never home and I got two siblings expecting me to lead the way
See me, I had to walk to school this morning
Don't get me wrong, I could've took the bus
But between having to get my brother ready while combing out my sister's hair
That boat had already sailed and I had no chance of catching up
As a matter of fact, I was up before my alarm went off cause the police sirens kept adding up
And my siblings kept asking me to make them breakfast, so that's the first thing I did when I woke up
You claim it's easy for me to say like it's something I don't know
Like I ain't been where you still gotta go
Like I ain't seen what you still gotta see
Like I don't look at you and see me
You youngins think cause we older we don't know what you going through
And since you didn't listen to what I told you, now I gotta show you
In the projects where I used to live, just like you
I had to get my brothers dressed, make them breakfast, walk them to their bus then get myself to school
Not to mention there was 8 of us in a 2 bedroom crib and we had roaches
The closest thing I knew to a father was one of my high school coaches
So yes, it's easy for me to say because I've been there
Just like you, young with way too many responsibilities
I was angry and full of rage
But I wish I had a me to mentor me when I was your age
See what my high school coaches don't understand
Is that though we're lined up in the field by 2
I got homies being lined up in the field by 2
And every time I go to the courts, I'm being judged by my appearance as if I have something to prove
It's like they set us up to lose
And where I'm from, if you ain't playing ball, scoring touchdowns there's only one other path to choose
So guess what I'ma do
It's not cause I want to, but I'll do what I got to
Cause I know some days the sun won't shine but a full dinner plate will put us all in a brighter mood
I'm fixing to shed a light or two
You being from where I'm from lets me know that the struggle is both inherited and recyclable
But you being a teacher, tells me that you probably had opportunities that I consider impossible
So I say it's easy for you to say
Because the straight life and the lack of help are two things that you were never confined to
That's easy for you to say
You assume, but you don't know
I have a rebuttal for every word you spoke
but that's typical of us adults, right?
Listening to respond, but not to understand you
I get everything you said, but I need you to understand too
First, only God can judge you
It's unfortunate that the world does too
but you ain't alone
I got the same color skin on my bones
I had dreads, just like you
And you can keep them jokes
But I know what it's like to have no food
To have hoop dreams and no hoop in the neighborhood
I had to use my back pedal to help me move forward
I know what it's like to have counselors doubt you
But they wouldn't have a job without you, like me
And I got way more talent than teaching
That'll make me way more dollars
But I came back to give back
To help you understand that you can be street and scholar
You don't have to settle but you do have to listen
I may be a little older, but our lives ain't that much different
I lived a hard life
Had to struggle through the day
I've been through hard nights
Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right
OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright
It's gon' be alright
I lived a hard life
Had to struggle through the day
I've been through hard nights
Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right
OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright
It's gon' be alright
Let me paint a picture in efforts to help make a connection
You are a reflection of my younger self
You talk as if I don't know hardship
Like adversity don't split the rent with me
Like pain ain't been part of my past
Like hurt ain't held hands with my mama
Like having to bury my brother didn't create a lifetime of trauma for me
It's easy for me to say, but it wasn't easy for me to live
I'm trying to give you the gems that I wasn't given
I know you hear my voice but are you taking time to listen
This is what I wish I had
Calling on my dad wasn't an option
Having someone to tell it to me straight would have kept me from getting it twisted
You don't have to carry that weight by yourself I'm here to help you lift it
But you have to stop judging me based off who you think I am
I'm part teacher, part test me if you think I'm playing
Just take time to listen and I can help show you the way
I've been there, done that
So yeah, it is easy for me to say
If I'm being honest, I never caught it from that perspective
And I do apologize if at any point you felt disrespected
I guess it was easier for me to judge you based off stereotypes
But of course, in our culture that's expected
Reason why I never thought for a second that it'd be possible for someone like me to be successful in a society filled with obstacles
I used to actually find it comical but I'm starting to feel like maybe that's what we're designed to do
I mean technically, according to what I learned in chemistry
I'm an African American containing 1.09 points of density
Living inside a field of electricity, aka dark matter energy
But one always seems to forget that what starts off as an eclipse
Always bears light in the end of things
All I ever wanted was a bright future to hope for ahead of me
I'm starting to realize that you might just have the recipe
They call me chief, not chef
But together we can cook something up
Take two cups of confidence, an ample amount of ambition
A dose of dreams and discipline
Blend in that chip on your shoulder
Find someone a little bit older that you respect
And don't get offended when they check you
They want you to be the best you, but sometimes you can't see that
What you hear is an attack instead of seeing I got your back
They say get out the kitchen if you can't stay where the heat at
It's a cold world we live in and I'm just trying to feed that fire inside of you
I know it burns for a better day but when you fight fire with fire you know what they say
I want to help fuel it in a way that makes you believe
A way that helps you see that I've always wanted what's best for you
So you believe that you can be successful too
Sometimes there will be setbacks but when an egg cracks you can still make breakfast, lunch and dinner
You were born to be a winner
I took some L's and hoped that I could teach you those lessons
Listen, you ain't that much different from me
We can both cook the same meal with two different recipes
The last time I learned culinary lessons it included baking soda and watching the pans pressure
But I won't lie at the moment I'm currently starving so I think I like that plan better
I never really had a role model to look up to
At least a positive one
And I was taught to keep my guard up so I probably be neglectful if I ever spotted one
I think I might be too prideful towards the people at the top as I'm stuck here with the bottom ones
And I feel like I've been dying to live never knowing when the time will come
I guess I'm just tired
And I'm tired of being tired
But I'm also feeling very encouraged today as I've been living through the wire
You gave me a vision today and a feeling I haven't felt in a while
I feel hopeful
They say if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together
Well, while everything's been speeding up and spiraling down I feel like maybe there is a chance that we can turn it around
It's almost like life goes full circle
The same system that hurt me hurt you too
The same system that birthed me birthed you too
My past is your present so I know what you're going through
My present is your past I didn't realize you went through it too
We fight in the same fight
His days are my nights
It's unfortunate the plight is still the same
I guess the more things change the more they stay the same
But I want to be the difference
I want to be what's different
I want to be the one to speak and have everybody listen
Too many people told me I wouldn't make it
So I made a plan
And I can make one too
It starts with a dream
If you can see it you can achieve it
You can be it if you believe it
There's power in these words as long as you're willing to receive it
I took the time to listen
And I took time to teach it
We come from the same streets but let generational judgment jump in between
Not realizing we work better as a team
Together we can move mountains
Together we can shape history
Together we can change the world
As long as we stay true to where we're from
Open your ears to the OGs
Drop them gems on the young
And understand
Life really does come full circle
So maybe
Just maybe
It can be easily said
And done
I lived a hard life
Had to struggle through the day
I've been through hard nights
Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right
OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright
It's gon' be alright