Tough to let go of the lessons I learned in the ghetto, my grandma taught me city water is tainted, filled with the heavy metals Don't let them see you wilted, go out and get a filter They try to slow your education Used to watch her thumb through the pages, used to swear by the paper TVs lie she said, she didn't care for how they talk The **** they pettle Pretty foreign dialect from where she came from She used to say baby, the sweetest juice Get squeezed from the fruits of your labor Hate to hear me talk about a rap career Asked me how one dreams of being caught under a label? Independence is a strength Ain't **** to fear Besides, in her day real poetry was soft on her ears She'll still go to church on Sundays Barely a believer Comes home and will drink you under the table She might stumble to bed, but she still hold her head high and graceful I often woke to piano when the bills weren't paid We'd read sheet music-by the candle light No excuse for ****** grades Life is about hope She won't stand to see that vandalized She told me she really hate rap What if it help me feed my kids that she can get down with that