Wicked Ways

[Intro]
You can change your ways/
You can change your ways/
Elevate to date/

[Verse 1]
I dropped albums in the 90s, the foundation for all of this/
I figured if I had it, then, why shouldn't I offer it/
I learned the politics of the business and stretched my limits/
Expanded my horizons and diversified my interests/
Personalized my verses instead of using gimmicks/
So I could look my children in the eye when I was finished/
It's a simple plan, from this ordinary simple man/
Raise a revolution, and forget about the fickle fan/
We built these walls on a shoestring budget/
Held our breath and decided to release it to the public/
Many loved it and moved in, strengthening these two men/
Pretty soon, we had the funds to put a roof in/
The blueprint, well that's something that we’d argued for/
Sent A and RS and labels back to the drawing board/
Regulations and rules, fine print we wasn't falling for/
You were there all along and it makes me love you all the more

[Hook]
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways/
The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/
Are leading you astray/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/
There ain’t a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/
I'll say all I gotta say then I’m a give it away/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways

[Verse 2]
I feel like I know you, raised you and clothed you/
With raw material I systematically broke you/
Down to the essence of your inner child/
And if you ask me for an inch than I’m the type to give a mile/
In this style of street magic, it's down to a truth/
Bathed you in the fountain of youth, in a sound that you knew/
I gave you words that dug so much deeper than music/
You ran with it, or told yourself that it was stupid/
Either way, you fool with dust beats and couldn't front/
Life captured on CD as days turned to months/
Go the way you want but stop acting like you don’t know/
Speed racing ‘til you see po-po then go slow/
At the show taught god wouldn't even walk blind/
Just be honest with me next time/
This ain’t just rhyme, it slips into your skin/
So if you're listening to this, then I consider you my friend

[Hook]
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways/
The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/
Are leading you astray/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/
There ain’t a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/
I'll say all I gotta say then I’m a give it away/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways

[Verse 3]
I think about it too much, sometimes life is screwed up/
People run with cliques and clans, like the Ku Klux/
A few touch greatness but to most it's a grind/
Another race to run, another slope to climb/
And the wicked way is downhill and easier to navigate/
Travel at a faster rate with parlor tricks to fascinate/
Everybody seems to be moving through so easily/
You look in the mirror and start thinking yo what's keeping me/
You never thought to double check with the atlas/
And what really matters is where the end of the path is/
The method in my radness is deep rooted in passion/
My love for god is action and my response is massive/
Fact of the matter is days and nights clashing/
Raise the light burning my faith into practice/
No flash in the pan, no sprint, this is a marathon/
My shoulders is strong, and I’m begging y’all to tag along

[Hook]
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways/
The decisions you make the roads you take and the games you play/
Are leading you astray/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/
There ain’t a minute a day I don't think how you feeling today/
I'll say all I gotta say then I’m a give it away/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you’ve gone wicked ways

[Outro]
If you try your best, you can change your ways/
I’ve seen what you think, rap is trashy/
Do you see what you could've been/
A song is garbage if it's all about cash/
You can change your ways/
Tried my best to raise you right, but you've gone wicked ways/
A song is garbage if it's all about cash/
Do you see what you could've been, or what you've become