Son Of Yvonne (Live at NPR’s Tiny Desk)

[Intro]

The first song I wanna do and present to you guys is a dedi—a dedication that I did to my mother. She passed away in 2005 and, umm, in 2012 Idecided to put an album together over MF DOOM beats and dedicate the entire project to the memory of my mother, and so this is the title cut from that album, Son Of Yvonne

[Verse 1]

Yeah, uh huh, yeah, listen

I was born son of Yvonne

Brownsville kid that wanna be on

Hit the streets, run an' be gone

Outside with a curfew

Got lessons on honesty and virtue

And the peoplе that'll hurt you

Drug addicts, ex-convicts

Living in a world surrounded by thesе conflicts

So many, too many to mention

You can feel all the tension

A mom’s intervention

Tryna save her son from the worse fate

Getting home after eight when she works late

Thank god for nana, I was in her control

In the lobby, sitting on tenant patrol

Cause folks getting robbed on a regular

By chain snatching dudes, just in it for gold

Son of Yvonne had a fight up the street

He’s a nice kid but ain’t nothing sweet

[Chorus]

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne (Listen, yo)

[Verse 2]

Son of Yvonne, better get the best grades

Couple of B’s, a C and the rest A’s

Not top of the class, but not nearly last

I beat your ass if you think you gon' barely pass

But all my best friends, they be ditching school

Every week is like a Friday ritual

You got a mind of your own so let it be known

Son of Yvonne, sharp as a kitchen tool

[Chorus]

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne (Listen, yo)

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne

[Verse 3]

Third verse

Son of Yvonne

Grandson of Effie Clear

Heard you rap now

Duval, let me hear

I get pissed and leave

Nana upstairs, making sweet potato pie

Cause it’s Christmas Eve

Under the tree, AFX racing track

Pick up a gift, shake it then place it back

I wonder what it is, instead of taking a guess

Next morning, open gifts, making a mess

Nana always sits in the same chair

Jackson 5 singing Rudolf the reindeer

In the background, I go upstairs

To see what Mike got

Then I come back down to enjoy all

Nana good cooking

Life in the hood Brooklyn, good looking

Son of Yvonne, Brownsville born and bread

And like that quilt nana got on the bed

I’m a bunch of things all sown together

To make one man that'll be known forever

Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, come on

[Chorus]

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne (One more time)

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne

[Commentary Of Keyboard Solo]

Hit the [?] Dave

My man Dave on the keys

Uh, uh, my man Dave's on the keys y'all

Uh, yeah, he's on the keys y'all, uh

Sound good, don't it?

Sound good, don't it?

Uh, uh

[Chorus]

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne (One more time)

All I do, I do it for you

It’s for all you did when I was a kid

'Cause there's mad friends ain’t wanna be born

But I’m glad to be the son of Yvonne