Why I Am

This isn't about money.
This isn't about fame and fortune
and all that crap that most of you
think you need.
Nah, homie,
this ain't about none of that.

This here's about a slang that frees me,
about a way I walk and talk
that let's me be me,
becoming what I can be
whether or not ya'll understand me.

This ain't no talent-show-style,
this is buck-wild-freestyle
that you can't put parentheses on;
I abolish your brackets.
This is psychosis without a straight-jacket
but directed intentionally,
this is all emotion spit plentifully
out the mouth of a sinner,
out of the mouth of a man
who's doing his best to grow
despite obstacles clogging the follicles of growth
derived from an oath -
he swore to the world that he'd be better.

But I was Fucked Up Beyond Belief
before I laid the Foundation,
before the Understanding that was
Based on Benevolence...
I cannot abandon my inheritance.
My upbringing does not define me,
my genetics do not define me,
my past does not dictate me
but it plays an unalterable role
in affecting who I am.

Nah, son,
this ain't no excuse or rationalization,
it's merely an interpretation,
an explanation of why I am...

I fear I do not have another path.