smiling anyway

Yeah, let me take y'all back to when I was 13

Back when Hip-hop wasn't ever even a dream

When Obama was the Prezzy, and happiness was an afterthought

We never had much, but at the time we had a lot

We never knew about the stress and the debt and the moola that my daddy owed

Mailbox full of hell notes instead of envelopes

The potent stench of beer,

Young enough to understand, but too young to interfere

We were kids, right?

We never knew about none of that

We were kids, right?

We shouldn't worry 'bout all of that

We were kids, right?

Yeah, I could see, I could hear,

Young enough to understand, but too young to interfere

Playing footy in the yard, feel like CR7

2-for-2 meal after class, walking to 7-Eleven

Pastu lepak bawah kolong, our perfume was cigarettes

Then I got call from Mama, she was asking "Where you at?"

The sun was setting soon, I had to go home in a rush

And take shower quick because the lights were getting cut

Then go to school, play it cool

The bills are due tomorrow but tonight our hearts are full

Wear our hearts on our sleeves

It gets hard, we get weak

Pray to God we'll be free,

'Til then, we gon' be smiling anyway

Grew up with two brothers, and we shared everything

A bedroom, no bed, mattress on the floor

Took turns on the GameBoy playing Pokémon, you see,

We never had much, but at the time we had a lot

Violence was a family affair

I thought it was normal to be beat until you bled

"Stop, Daddy, stop, Daddy, stop, Daddy, stop"

And when I took a beating all they could do was stare

We were kids, right?

Don't let all that get to your head

We were kids, right?

You should be going out to play

We took turns,

Sleeping on Mama's bed

'Cause Dad was out a lot

So one of us slept there instead

And on one of those nights,

My Mama got a call,

It was the cops

Saying that we found your husband on the floor

We went to pick him up,

Barely conscious and drunk,

And on the way home I felt something in my gut

We got him changed,

We put him on the couch,

I didn't know a lot

But I think I saw enough

When we got back to bed,

I turned to her and said,

"Mama, I think it's time that you and Dad got a divorce"

Wear our hearts on our sleeves

It gets hard, we get weak

Pray to God we'll be free,

'Til then, we gon' be smiling anyway

Wear our hearts on our sleeves

It gets hard, we get weak

Pray to God we'll be free,

'Til then, we gon' be smiling anyway

Single mother, absent father, you know how the story goes

We didn't have a lot of clothes when we were dressing up

But we wore a smile, even though we was piss broke

We didnt have much, but at the time we had a lot

Let me y'all take back to the year 2020

I just signed my first deal, studio nights on the daily

Then one day I got a call, my mother sounded worried

"Son, your dad is 'bouta go, you better run, better run"

Now the hospital was a family affair

Relatives that I'd never seen for years were over there

The doctor said he's not responsive, but he can still hear you

I leaned into his ear and whispered, "Daddy, I forgive you"