Hood Anthems

Uh Oh-oh, oh (yeah,

yeah, yeah)

Why would I worry?

I came from the famine Garnished my scars 'til they look like

a banquet Trust me,

you watchin' the smoke in my jacket Like I ain't been calm

with the storm in my canvas Pimp and the priest in the

same rearview

Dreams you can't see got my lens brand new This year I

can't miss, I got proof in the silence You jockin' the peace

that I found in the violence

Back years, ribs talkin',

cupboards held echoes Mama kept faith with a flame in the kettle

I learned dark luxury from lights gettin' cut off Velvet in my

mind while the hallway was rough cloth Rollin' my worry like leaves

in the evening Not for the image,

for rooms I was leavin' First love saw gold in a boy

with a bruise But broken men shadowed the women I knew Took

me through cycles I couldn't pronounce Tide miss heavy,

still countin' me out Mirror got foggy,

I dodged my reflection Fine boy trapped in a hood-built confession Laps

in the static, fake love on reception I mixed my escape with

a little correction Now every loose eye I had sounds like a

warning Kick hit my chest like debt in the morning Why would

I worry? I came from the famine Garnished my scars 'til they

look like a banquet Trust me,

you watchin' the smoke in my jacket Like I ain't been calm

with the storm in my canvas Pimp and the priest in the

same rearview Dreams you can't see got my lens brand new This

year I can't miss,

I got proof in the silence You jockin' the peace that I

found in the violence

I don't tell it straight,

I let fragments testify Gold chain memory,

cold rain, pepper sky Hands in the pocket with lint and a

promise Now I talk crisp over drums with no polish Dry snare

crackin' like judges on porches Slidin' eight away,

draggin' names out the forges I seen envy dress up as concern

for my health Seen love turnin' voice when I bet on myself

They said, "Ain't you worried?" I smiled through the question I survived

lessons that never had blessings Trenches had sermons,

corners had choirs Priest sold hope,

street king sold desire I rearranged lenses,

made grief cinematic Turned every panic to posture and static If they

call it luck, let the record keep spinnin' I was down to

a crumb, now the hunger is winnin'

In the dream of my mama,

she birthed the precision

Ngempela my grandma would laugh at division When they give me directions,

I flip all the schemes Now I ride on the rhythm,

rewriting my dreams Loved my sweet Mia,

but slipped in the mist

(yeah) Still I woke up with her beautiful sis So come my

lil brother, you think you can judge?

Ucabanga ukuthi ungangigweba with a grudge?

When ten of them hear it,

they think it's addressed To the secrets they carry inside of their

chest But I simply sing from the holes that I dug In

their hearts, in their souls,

with a comforting hug Now I rearrange accounts,

stacking up the amounts (let's go!)

Smoke rise slow, soul sample bleedin'

Triple it hats flicker when doubt start speakin'

I can't stare long at the mirror I carry

But I see clear

through the love that was borrowed

So trust me, it's you jockin'

I made free out of locked in

F sharp minor, heart knockin'

No more worry, just watchin'