Lyrics

Concrete Pearls

Yo I’m from the inner city just in case you’re guessing
Not a product of environment, a result of prayer and blessing
Had to fight the urge of falling victim to the stressing
Cause every day alive comes with hard knock lessons
Reality is cold oh so many of us never see the light of day
Never see a brighter day but I’m a fighter all the way
Derrick Rose out the ashes to smash this
Avoided the major crashes expose it to the masses
Grew up in the midst of many talented individuals
Most of whom would never see a glimpse of a residual
From all that we invented from our swagger to our talk
To our music people use it they rip off and they prof
Its coming full circle cause of all of our creativity
Turned profitability from all the negativity
Ghetto to the boardroom streets to the suites
Trailer park to skyscrapers broke to elite
Took the pain and made it pleasure inner city treasure
Got the skills off the charts and the heart you can’t measure
The gifts may be hidden but with time, and determination
Lift the Giver spread it worldwide all across the nations we like

Chorus:
Concrete pearls, pain across our faces, beauty from hard places
Concrete pearls, someday I will be, shining for all to see, concrete pearls

They portray the hood as negative like nothing good can come from there
Then they see the recipe steal it, sell it everywhere
Yeah they try to imitate us copy us and bite us
Duplicate the flavor but they can’t do it like us
We the definition of taking lemons making lemonade
Took the cards that were laid then we skillfully played
Gotta be a beast in this jungle on this concrete
Life is kill or or be killed get eaten or you eat
Henderson to MLK we ran the 2000’s
Came up out the gold mine known as public housing
Athletes, entertainers, scholars, and essentials
In every hood you find talent, trouble and potential
Humble beginnings are where great endings originate
So many they hate cause they simply cant relate
Taste the fruits of our labor, treat us like we a neighbor
Then pay us all you owe us when the flavor get major
I coulda been another one in a grave or a prison
Chose entrepreneurship business and vision
Surroundings can be everything, influence catastrophe
For us it’s a thin line between success and tragedy
Minute that we make it out auto pilot turn around
Work it like Harriet, railroad, underground
Way too many funerals over looked boys and girls
Focus on the concrete then you see the pearls
I’m a precious stone from the asphalt I came up poor
My young life blind sided me, Michael Orr
Now I’m Jay Z’d out I rock a lotta fellas plus the ladies
Try to show the up and comings how to get the gravy

Chorus