Testo Endangered innocence Lloyd Banks

Endangered innocence

Uh
Sometimes I laugh and cry when thinkin' 'bout my days as a kid
Highlights was watchin' TV shows and music played in the crib
It shook my mind up; morning Soul Train, we did the lineup
Used to look forward to game from my cousin, when I could find him
Grew up in my grandma house, was the kind with the open door
Birthdays, had to appreciate, still hopin' for more
Cortez Nikes and Adidas, Reeboks held up my sneakers
Bought our bombers with the collar furred up; watch how I freak this
Gotta make it out the bottom, 'cause shit, with all these speeches
Got me questionin' if change is gon' come, could it even reach us?
Hold up, shout out my teachers that actually taught me some'n
All the influential artists that had my Walkman bumpin'? Uh
Nigga, that Havoc and Prodigy CD changed my life
Frank White and Escobar, they made me nice
That Snoop Doggystyle was worth the price
Now I feel like I gotta study, shit, I'ma begin tonight

I wouldn't change shit
Everything we went through made me who I am now
One in the same, kid
Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it
People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud
Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd
Money's callin' my name right now

Yo
Ayo, younger days, gun clickin'
Burner ruins in staircases
Bloody robberies with the bare faces
Carnation milk over Corn Flakes
Mama strugglin', plastic bowls, [?] on a hotplate
Wore-down mattresses, Thelma on Good Times
I was younger than Penny when I thought of these hood lines
We was hyper-thug swattin', smashin' all lightning bugs
Most left the concrete green, we never seen they blood (Nah)
Chip on my shoulder, I could use a hug (Hug)
My PCP days, all I seen was blood
Staten Island [?]; shootouts, my arrivals
Avenged my man's death, murdered in red Wallos (Damn!)
My Rubik's Cube got stuck, never cracked the code
At the age of 25, I done matched the gold
Big bangles and bracelets, four-fingers, ferocious
Chain so heavy, it cause osteos-perosis

I wouldn't change shit
Everything we went through made me who I am now
One in the same, kid
Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it
People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud
Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd
Money's callin' my name right now

Yo
One in a million get to make it out and still get shot
Tryin' to keep it real and come back, show some love to the block
I got my first sniff of some weed up out my mom's purse, used it
They tappin' tables in the lunchroom, wrote my first verse to it
Became a man the perfect summer day, right there around the way
To say that I was nervous would be an understatement, I prayed
Don't leave me hangin'; as quarters went by, my voice is changin'
Walk around here with my chest out now, temperature's raisin'
Took a swig of Grandpa bottle 'cause he filled it with gin
I got some new outfits for school, I'm 'bout to kill 'em again
My pop was fuckin' up, no tellin' where the crook might been
Got my ass whooped couple times just 'cause I look like him
Next time I would see his face was on the visiting floor
Correctional facilities here and there, I'm back and forth
In our pursuit to happiness, we end up 'round DC
I'm just happy to be there wit' him, hard times ain't shit to me

I wouldn't change shit
Everything we went through made me who I am now
One in the same, kid
Every day's a struggle while the bullshit piles, I got to make it
People dependin' on me, gotta make 'em all proud
Put me in any ghetto, I'll blend in with the crowd
Money's callin' my name right now