Branded

[Chorus]

Droppin' every Xan' and Perky, help me see my demons lurkin'

Now, I see my prayers workin'

Hopefully, this world don't hurt me, droppin' every Xan' and Perky

Help me up, baby, help me, up (Look)

[Verse 1]

And I fault nobody but myself, my admission

I'm guilty of assumin' that love is an instinct

I extended the dap and now I'm strange fruit

It's majestic from a distance, get in close, you better shoot

Couple months after convertin', grandfather go and croak

God's got a sense of humor, I'm not too fond of His jokes

Steady pressin' 'bout my deen, seen the strongest men fall victim

Not through physicality, it's like it's some' in they genes

Every Black misandric notion a hindrance in devotion

If curses can't be broken through carceral hypnosis

Why I feel the need to throw away the key?

Check, look

What you relay upon others best be ready to reap yourself

Lost my willpower to the mirrors and the parallels

I have spilled cowards, left their confidence up on they shelf

And I have killed flowers that once blossomed within ourselves

Pulled out a stack like, "How much for a second chance?", uh

[Chorus]

Droppin' every Xan' and Perky, help me see my demons lurkin' (Keep it goin', keep it goin')

Now, I see my prayers workin'

Hopefully, this world don't hurt me, droppin' every Xan' and Perky

Help me up, baby, help me up (Look)

[Verse 2]

Which personality of mine do you see a forever with?

I'll force the facade, kill the nature within me, bury the evidence

Seen myself within her, why I want her? Starin' in them rivers showed me to be tender through the jungle, yet I showed resistance

Was lookin' through you just to glimpse at my progression

Didn't notice all the bruises that was left through my possession

Thirty thousand feet up, face meltin' from congestion

As I wondered if the agony was part of bigger lessons

'Member helicopters spun the block, the yellow tape abundant, cops runnin'

Tryna save the hostages from the cunnin'

And the school locks down for the umpteenth time

They was sellin' at the papi store and, suddenly, was gunnin'

You would think we come from ashes anew

I couldn't beat it, so I'm tortured by the temptation of joinin' the crew

Oh, he a alpha? Bet, ayy, B, see what these do

Shells to his chest or to his head, whatever pleases you

Can't out-rap no bullet, saw futility at fullest, nigga

[Chorus]

Droppin' every Xan' and Perky, help me see my demons lurkin' (Let it rock)

Now, I see my prayers workin'

Hopefully, this world don't hurt me, droppin' every Xan' and Perky

Help me up, baby, help me up

[Verse 3]

And as I sat and saw the architecture of lands fantastical

I inhale and tell myself, "I'm a'ight"

May not have been the best at it all

May not have captured everyone's hearts

But I made it outta Norf, I might've won the game of life

Still they track my prints, I'm blood bound

I'm bloodied up by bullets and bloodhounds

There's no way this inescapable

Tried to recall the tales of a man, in which he gains new beginnings

Drew up a blank, wallahi, I'm finished