Back in the Day

[Intro: Phonte]

“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply by the lives they lead.” -James Baldwin

[Verse 1: Add-2]

Hold up wait a minute now we back on that

It’s in my jeans they try to hit me but I never slack

Reaching for the title like a ladder match

I light a match for Ms. Dash and Mr. West

It all falls down and then they came back wearing MAGA hats

Dead presidents, pockets feel like a cemetery

Blacker the berry, it’s scary all the Blacks that they bury

My father’s time, my brother’s hood, my mother’s land

My family tree was uprooted by Uncle Sam

Damn, sometimes I wish I was a kid again

In a sense, all this inner sense when I was innocent

But from the start, develop from the dark like I’m Gordon Parks

Picture that, they couldn’t take 2 if this was Noah’s ark

Bread unleavens, got no bread for Bred 11s

Raise yo kids so they ain’t quick to raise a weapon

The candy lady died a diabetic

She said the sweetest thing she ever known was life a blessing

[Chorus: Oliv Blu]

Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore

But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again

[Verse 2: Brittney Carter]

The spirit came and sat, it told me let’s go higher

Thought you been high before well this platform a little flyer

Sacrifice and elevation, that there go hand in hand

When you take the easy route you sabotage the Master’s plan

Don’t you give in to weakness, together we can beat this

When they look at you they see a queen that’s never been defeated

Rightfully so, all these seeds that you sown

You gon’ pick ‘em when they ripe and then they rightfully grown

Yea, you in yo head too much, ain’t being fed enough

Don’t wait ‘til you rock bottom ‘til you figure that you had enough

Fly now, if you gotta cry now then do it

Need a push well what you think that I been doing

I’ve been tryna set you… free

I’ve been tryna set you free

You’ve been running, you’ve been wylin’

You just need a little guidance

Why don’t you put your trust in me

[Interlude: Phonte]

“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they've allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply by the lives they lead.”

[Chorus: Oliv Blu]

Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore

But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again