Sons (Young Kings)

Yeah

Young kings

It all starts

Humble beginnings

Young kings

Young, young kings, yeah

Head on a swivel, loaded lead in a nickel

The devil holding a sickle, wanna sever your tissue

That's forever the issue, then candlelight at a vigil

They say jail is both a rehab center and a homeless shelter

And life and death is as close as tonic and seltzer

Never fold under pressure, give you my manifesto

Every man is a vessel, my son is my reflection

He from the highest Heaven, I try not to possess him

Allow him to be tested

One day the words may come out the mouth of a reverend

By the power vested in me, loud at his wedding

Gift flowers while you can smell 'em, I try to tell 'em

All the diamonds and foreigns, all the finest of garments

It's really how it ends and not how it started

Filthy rich, scuba diving in your wealthy pockets

Louis, Prada, but health is my most valuable stocktip

Y'all 'bout to run things to my young kings

To my brothers with sons, let him run

To my brothers with sons, so fun

I pray y'all both share the most powerful bond

A little different from him and his mom

To my sisters with boys, the joy

To my sisters with boys, enjoy

Tell 'em stand tall, know he should go for it all

Meet the glorious king

Plenty stuff I used to see I often thought was an image of us

Getting off the city bus, all the memories rush

I used to look up at the crossing sign

A child with a grown-up hold in his arm while I was walking with my mom

I pointed at it, automatic

I saw it as a little boy who was the baddest

Like don't let him run in traffic

I really thought the crossing sign was me and my mom

Like who thought we was that important for a street sign

One year, she told me that sign was for everybody

I'm like, "We ain't everybody, nah, we special, Mommy"

Playin' with toys, yo, she got us Atari

Those is Miss Ann's boys, Nasir and Jabari

Our youth was constantly fightin' institutional racism

In school, we question the bias, two little future lions

Haile Selassies in training

Y chromosome, in no time they grown

Firstborn be like the mom, second born is usually like dad

Then you add the other siblings

Hold each other down 'cause love brings

The world at your feet, my young kings

To my brothers with sons, let him run

To my brothers with sons, so fun

I pray y'all both share the most powerful bond

A little different from him and his mom

To my sisters with boys, the joy

To my sisters with boys, enjoy

Tell 'em stand tall, know he should go for it all

Meet the glorious king