Not Like Before

(Not li-, not li-, not li-, not like before) not like before (Not like before) we're gonna tell a little story It's about me, about he, about we, alright? (Not like before) Not like before Check this, what? (Not like before) Yeah, yeah, take me back, The Owls (not like before) Man, I only went to school to sell weed at lunchtime Two gerners on the tarmac crushed up fine Losing my mind, sniffing lines, no attendant sign Made the habit mine of any drug I could find All I knew about was crime until I dropped a few shrooms Made a few tunes, me and BVA coming real soon And then it dropped, and nobody listened Lost but not forgotten was the beginning of this mission I used to be living on the floor with Filly G One of the reasons for the malnourished Leaf that you see He gave me the PC, I used to make the beats 'for this CD Got passed the torch from Iz and Cool G Much respect for that, and high focus is the future See, I've got your back, no shotty in my back-pack Got my queen, no need to chase rat, your behind While I slowly take over the map, watch the owls attack, ah! Many things have changed since the old school days Runnin' 'round on train tracks, sprayin' up the trains Picking up an eighth bag to blaze it in a day Now I smoke a little less, but it's indie kush haze I'll take you back for a lesson Way back to the Brixton mass' open mic sessions Avarice spotted me, thought that I was reppin' Then we met a little later at the speakers road in mecka He took me to a studio in Queens Road, Peckham Recorded force-fed imagery it seemed that it was destined I ain't seen him in a couple years, but 'cause he's still my bredrin Can't forget about the man who put you in for a second Like verb T, certified G the mic veteran Runone blessed me with beats from his collection Got mad nice on the decks at every damn event, son Whores and cash, have your back, we rinse up the shows n' that Supported R.A. The Rugged Man, that was classic fact Reminisce, reminisce Remember Lacey Shooz wit' Kimo up in Brixton lab Then he moved it down to white chaple place, was nang Late nights was rammed, man it went to plan Since then, I'm high-focused on the prison fam Make music, move units, stay reppin' that Make music, move units, stay reppin' that At school, I never used to go and stay at home high That stoned in zone guy, the same, and you know why Then college, I wasn't really concerned with that Mainly went to sell ten pound sacks, and chase rats Dropped out and went back, but I still wasn't focused Started rappin' on beats about how we be the brokest For lost but not forgotten, then there was world war three Then the war ended and we still hadn't dropped the CD But now things are different cos kids still pump and listen To the CD that we give them three years ago on the mission Still leave the page written, hit the stage with our spitten Got a contract and learnt how to make our shit thicker Cleared our own path like a snowplow Gained the know how on how to get exactly where we want And never go down, and now we're that storm on your horizon With more tracks laid down than a 50-year-old whore that's still riding Ayo, it started back, when I heard Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh I was eight, used to play the vinyl when I dub cassettes I spent my teen years weeded out past high With Gang-sta, Wu-Tang, Tribe and The Pharcyde I can't lie, I was shy hittin' open mics as a kid But the studio I was smashin' it I had my first record out, I was 18 Touring with Phi Life, cypher for that was like a daydream Shedded my innocence then started to grow wise Grow flow wise, I hooked up with low-life Got some guidance and applied it, had confidence With Kashmere and ghost toured the country and the continent But still I had to keep a nine to five to keep the bills paid And quit the weed just to try and keep my mind alive 16 bars is not enough time to write my entire life This is just one installment Now I'm a proud father, grown responsible Learnt over years, hate kills love conquers all So, I look to the future after steppin' back Make music, move units, stay reppin' that Make music, move units, stay reppin' that (Not like before) not like before (Not like before) not like before (Not like be-)