Word is Bond

Mm-mm-mm, la-la-la-la-la-la

La-la

This some shit I just need to vocalize

Arguments with the family, we scream until our vocals fry

Used to get jealous whenever one of my friends would get showered in compliments by they parents

Used to wish they were mines

Not to say I'm not grateful for what my family provided

But at times I was wishin' I had more gentle guidance

And not to be called a pussy just 'cause I envied kindness

Or be made a social pariah 'cause I enjoy the silence

My fondest memories clouded by ambiguity

'Cause most of the moments that I had cherished had felt bittersweet

You woulda thought that some progress would earn some trust in me

But it seems I'm still fightin' so they could hear me speak

Asian traditions tellin' me to respect the fam

But at what cost? Should I continue to neglect the chance

To vocalize my feelings and feelin' inadequate?

I grabbed a pen so I could vent and show 'em all how much this rappin' shit had mean to me

How much it really saved my soul and helped me and keep the peace

How paintin' pictures with these flows, I was healed with ink

How strong I felt when on the stage with my first 16

Felt like I be super powered-up, nothin' could damage me

So thank God for the Joey Bads

The capital steezs, underachieversand and A$APs

The Earl Sweats, Team BackPacks and Miller Macs

Vinny Stape, K-Dot, had me thinkin' the West was back

Schoolboy was chillin' in school, boy, was my brodie smacked

Bumpin' Pro Era, I felt fly, like, "Where CJ at?"

Doomsday comin', I hear 'em yellin' in all caps

Still remember when Logic bodied that Under Pressure track

Even Lil B had me shook with them exhibit raps

Even had an edgier era, was spinnin' Hopsin back

The way I freestyle, you woulda thought I brought Mamba back

'Cause I was gettin' hungrier every year when I wasn't rappin'

I was tryna see how to put the game in a body cast

And take 'em out if anybody wanna try me out

Then I'ma walk 'em down and show they asses where the coffin at

Like, just to show them I could rap

Like, yeah, just to show them I could rap

Like, yeah, just to show them I could rap

'Cause all the things, the diamond, the gold rings

I'm good off all of that if I could show 'em how to rap

Look, I'm tryna build me a milli' to get my brothers up

'Cause some of them don't know about a feelin' of when the sun is up

Some of them been in survival state since they was young

And I just wanna build a world where my peoples don't need to care 'bout none

I got a homie whose mind is sharp and they grindin' hard

But when you from the P's, it's hard just tryna find a start

One of my guys lost his pops and had to go to work the day right after

Back to the same routine, livin' life reversed

Don't got the time to be processin' any of the pain

Numb the pain just to pass the days off minimum wage

A numbin' cycle, he wakin' up just to end the day

In the same place he woke up in, and shit don't change

I thank God one of my guys made it out the mud

I pray his company earn him a million in funds

One of my guys gettin' extorted by his landlord

I wish I had a crib, I could swing 'em to keep 'em up above

I'm always movin' with love in my heart

Strength in my steps, never waver, I never forget

For those I cherish, you should know, I'm forever in debt

Within my soul, I'm a rap 'til we can all take a breath

'Til we can all eat together

'Til we can all take that flight out to Japan, like we said, without all the pitfalls of life

'Til we can feast without stressin' 'bout what we eatin' at night

But 'til then, I'll be grindin' until we all eatin' right, alright

So when the party dies, I'm hopin' I still got time

To build me a legacy, and my name be immortalized

I'm hopin' my circle flourish, no stressin' pennies or dimes

I pray my brothers succeed with bidnesses multiplied

I pray one day I could look at my pops and tell him I love him

Despite the fact that I've never embraced him or vocalized it

I'm hopin' my mom retires, she overdue for vacation

The trauma that she been through, she be the toughest one alive

To my sisters and my cousins, I'm grateful for they support

Even though affection is a luxury we can't afford

But despite all of the clownin' and jokin' and back and forth

I wouldn't change it for a thing, they still my family, of course

This the life I been livin', keep it true to a T

I wasn't cappin' when I said I'll move my guys out the P's

Think I'm actin' when it's culture, it's the reason I breathe

So when I say that these my brothers, that's the shit that I mean, word is bond