U Let Me Grow

[Intro] Last year, we did a record, that was dedicated to all our mothers Shortly .. yeah you can give it up for that... Shortly after, doin' the record, uh my mom, my mom passed away So my mom never got to hear this record And this song means a lot to me And my big brother Masta Ace is gon', gon' help tie the story together We might get a lil, a lil emotional But y'all have to bear with us it's the first time we doing this record One month later, unexpectedly, my mother passes away And I didn't get a, she didn't get a chance to hear the song either So this song is extra special to both of us We've never performed this song before We wanna share this with y'all. Is that cool? [Verse 1: Masta Ace] Thank you momma, for everything that you've done Living in the slums, single mom, and you raised a son I wanna thank you for the sacrifice For a lot of kids in the hood, life wasn't half as nice Used to take me out to Coney Island I don't recall many tears, I remember only smiling I wanna thank you for the education The college tuition, and all of life's preparation I used to think it was the worst day When you said I had to leave by my 21st birthday I didn't get it then, I understand now All is good, your boys are grown men now I got a plan now, and I'm fine look And all my thanks couldn't fit into this rhyme book I ain't gon' wait until you can't say it back To tell you that I love you on a track, I love you [Hook: Wordsworth] Made me strong like you, wipe these tears when I cry Let your fingers wipe the cold from my eyes I'm ya baby, taught me to stand on my own But couldn't show me, some of the things I ain't know You let me grow [Verse 2: Wordsworth] Days like this, momma said there would be Ten centimeters dilated, then you pushed me Ain't psychic, but been down the paths I traveled Decisions are the roads in life, that has no arrows Became a compass, I always had home as an option You accomplished on your own, after you were adopted Knew that, only you made me a stronger person Not those R-rated movies or those songs with curses Was worth it, and it shows, but each day I'm annoyed Working to avoid, being Tyrese in Baby Boy Dated women that you didn't like, friends I defended You knew that girl wasn't the one, and those friendships ended Said your peace then let me grow Head to toe, let me know, lessons though What's best that kept me from dead below Places I begged to go Let me when bread was low Extra dough could've said no, now I'm set to go [Verse 3: Stricklin] You the best momma You definitely better than the rest momma Always did your thing to keep me freshly dressed momma And not once, did I ever see you stress momma I'm so impressed momma You was the sun on my cloudy day And if you couldn't be that, you would take them clouds away Wow, I hope you smile to what I'm bout to say I love you moms and I hope I make you proud today Lunches for school, you would always pack the nicest They was great, now I appreciate them sacrifices When I was wrong you would let me know But at times you would let it go, just so you could let me grow Basketball, I don't think you ever missed a game If we lost you would say "it's okay it's just a game" I owe you so much and I can never pay you back But I give you music, now just lay back and play the track [Hook: Wordsworth] Made me strong like you, wipe these tears when I cry Let your fingers wipe the cold from my eyes I'm ya baby, taught me to stand on my own But couldn't show me, some of the things I ain't know You let me grow [Verse 4: Punchline] Send this out to all the mothers - check it Yo, my version of a Mother's Day card; a blessing from God Our relationship left me permanent scarred Struggled with jobs, straight crazy, my main lady Your pockets was as broke as the promises you gave me Late eighties, dated men that were straight shady You partied; I was at the babysitters daily Seen rarely, stayed missing, stayed riffing I seen you fight the world, your pops, and a drug addiction Contradicting, on my mother I was calling Ignoring, grams raised your son like morning Tears falling, you missed the growth and progression I'm at the graduation, without a cheering section Harsh lessons, I would live it again Cause all of this still made me the man that I am Mother and friend, forgive you for all your mistakes I'm forgetting the past so let's start with a clean slate - love