Apr 2015
By: Cedric McClester
Daddy was an absentee
Momma was on crack
Although I love the both of them
They didn’t love me back
I grew up the hard way
Ya see that’s just a fact
So maybe that explains
Why I act the way I act
They say if you don’t learn from it
History just repeats
So I spent my adolescent years
Runnin’ in the streets
I was selling dope
Where the junkies came to meet
And I’ve seen homies gunned down
In front of my feet
Ya had to watch yo’ back
Even as a little kid
Depending on of course
The people you hung with
I was with a fast crowd
Guess it was obvious
They only worshiped money
And no one did they trust
I learned to be like ‘em too
And do the things I saw them do
Like being loyal to a crew
While hoping no one got to you
Especially someone that you knew
Oh you’d be paranoid too
If you went through
What I’ve been through
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to selling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
Maybe it was preordained
From the very start
Who knew that I’d turn
Drug dealing into an art
Or have an ozone layer size
Hole inside my heart
That can make it very difficult
For an EKG to chart
I had to make a living
So I don’t apologize
For certain aspects of my life
That you may well despise
What gives you the right
To judge me or criticize
Or determine where I go
Straight to hell or if I rise
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
I’m a victim of circumstance
A brother from the hood
Who decided to take a chance
Because I thought I should
Do whatever I had to do
Almost anybody would
Come up with an escape plan
For their greater good
You don’t have to agree with me
Or the methods that I chose
You don’t have my history
As everybody knows
See you didn’t have to struggle
From the depths from which I rose
And you don’t have to constantly
Make sure you’re on your toes
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
I’ve got lots of cash machines
To count the wages of my sins
I’m a man of means by all means
And I have lots of ends
I drive all around this town
In a chauffeured Mercedes Benz
Though you can view me if you like
Through a magnifying lens
And I’ve beat more court cases
Than Jackie Robinson
Has stolen bases
I’ve made mistakes but keep your places
That’s why pencils have erasers
And some folks take their drinks
With chasers
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
(c) Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester. All rights reserved
Daddy was an absentee
Momma was on crack
Although I love the both of them
They didn’t love me back
I grew up the hard way
Ya see that’s just a fact
So maybe that explains
Why I act the way I act
They say if you don’t learn from it
History just repeats
So I spent my adolescent years
Runnin’ in the streets
I was selling dope
Where the junkies came to meet
And I’ve seen homies gunned down
In front of my feet
Ya had to watch yo’ back
Even as a little kid
Depending on of course
The people you hung with
I was with a fast crowd
Guess it was obvious
They only worshiped money
And no one did they trust
I learned to be like ‘em too
And do the things I saw them do
Like being loyal to a crew
While hoping no one got to you
Especially someone that you knew
Oh you’d be paranoid too
If you went through
What I’ve been through
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to selling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
Maybe it was preordained
From the very start
Who knew that I’d turn
Drug dealing into an art
Or have an ozone layer size
Hole inside my heart
That can make it very difficult
For an EKG to chart
I had to make a living
So I don’t apologize
For certain aspects of my life
That you may well despise
What gives you the right
To judge me or criticize
Or determine where I go
Straight to hell or if I rise
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
I’m a victim of circumstance
A brother from the hood
Who decided to take a chance
Because I thought I should
Do whatever I had to do
Almost anybody would
Come up with an escape plan
For their greater good
You don’t have to agree with me
Or the methods that I chose
You don’t have my history
As everybody knows
See you didn’t have to struggle
From the depths from which I rose
And you don’t have to constantly
Make sure you’re on your toes
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
I’ve got lots of cash machines
To count the wages of my sins
I’m a man of means by all means
And I have lots of ends
I drive all around this town
In a chauffeured Mercedes Benz
Though you can view me if you like
Through a magnifying lens
And I’ve beat more court cases
Than Jackie Robinson
Has stolen bases
I’ve made mistakes but keep your places
That’s why pencils have erasers
And some folks take their drinks
With chasers
Why I act the way I act?
Is that a question or attack?
Why did I give up selling smack?
How come I turned to hustling crack?
Here’s a word to the wise
Don’t take the time to analyze
I have my reasons and besides
I’m not the kind who confides
(c) Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester. All rights reserved
