[Part I]
[Intro: J. Cole]
Mm
That's how I see it
That's how I see it
Yeah, listen, uh
[Verse: J. Cole]
I persevered through the worst
My thirst to adhere is a curse
My life I see it in reverse
I first appeared in a hearse
The driver steered it to church
My grandkids carry the coffin to the altar as they burst in the tears from their shirts
The tears rise to the sides of their face and into their eyes is piercing with hurt
Fast forward sixty years, I got verse of the year
My purpose is clear - it's to murk whoever dare flirt with death
The best alive, what you now hear is the work
The inspiration was rare and in spurts
But when it's there, I'm immersed
My experience of being a parent dispersed
Watchin' my son disappear as I stare at his birth and he returns to the womb, wifey's stomach growing greater in girth
And then decline in every time we come here to the nurse
With each day that passes I can feel my career comin' first
Do I? Took the wedding ring off a finger and now I'm single?
Walking up the aisle backwards to an era of dirt
Fallin' clubs tipsy with a bitch I see clear through a skirt
The cameras be snappin', blogs be yappin', so I'm careful alert
Walkin' to my section, whisper right in my ear
We flirt, we part ways
I see her from a distance
She stares with a smirk
Cheers to the perks with the squad
We live for the search of new hoes
Lusty, quick to rush me, unaware of they worth
We leave a club, drive to the show, and I swear that it's Turk
It all begins with encore cheers from those wearin' my merch
Fast forward through years of rehearsal, losin', winnin', bank account thinnin', income streams nowhere near as diverse
And though I'm blessed, I see
Me stressing from hearing the turpps and
Naysayers who only days later I don't care to convert
On Cloud Nine, now I'm signed to my hero
One of the so-called kings of this rap thing
That I swear to usurp
Decade later
Mama cut on the cable
My motivation to be greater ends the moment I peer in her purse
I'm growing shorter, pampers cover my hind quarters
I watch my father walk back in my life and it clears up a hurt
I couldn't explain mama gives me my name and hands me over
To the doctor and I watch as my spirit reverts
Then I'm no longer here on this earth, mm
I'm no longer here on this earth, mm
[Outro: J. Cole]
That's how I see it
I'ma c- I'ma- I'ma come in
[Part II]
[Verse: J. Cole]
Okay
Oh- oh- okay
Oh-okay
Oh- oh- okay
Oh-
Who the fuck is you?
Who the fuck is you?
Who the fuck is you?
Who the fuck is you?
Out the way, it's a real nigga comin' through
Out the way, it's a real nigga comin' through
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
What it is, ho'
Come the style of the unibrowed Unabomber
Who maneuver through the drama with the suit of-
