[Hook]
If I was gonna tell somebody
I wanna make it clear that they see
Ain't no room for hidin'
I want it to be you that would know

[Verse 1]
Yo, I gotta give a shout out to my mom
Yo, Miss Pam you the bomb
You all that miss lady
Yeah, look at your baby
I'm all grown, representin' my home in a zone
I'm proof that the ghetto has more than crack
Man, I'm a black American dream
And I work off pure, self esteem
Just a lump of coal, pressure and time
Changed to a diamond
Out shinin', out rhymin', out climbin'
And once I hit the mountain, spit like your main squeeze poutin'
Fall like the Vatican can stop me
Point the finger if you want, but I don't know who you got
I rose to the top, fresh out a bottomless pit
And clawed my way, churned, crawled, balled and spit
And every brother is the same as Dice
Cause we all from the streets, we all have the same lighting
Yo, the hoods bug, it's time to make things right
From north Philly to north Memphis to Cabrini Green
To all the wards, East L.A., y'all know what I mean
We from the same place as MJ and Martin Luther
Hip hop changed corner boys to producers
And if you look at it like that, It don't seem that bad at all
You wanna know how to make it? Just ask the Raw
No matter fact, the truth is dawg
Yo, you ain't gotta ask at all, 'cause
[Hook]
If I was gonna tell somebody
I wanna make it clear that they see
Ain't no room for hidin'
I want it to be you that would know

[Verse 2]
So I can describe my frustrations, or describe my love
Or describe the feeling, of looking up at a judge
Or describe the girls playin' double dutch
When we play kick ball
Or play catch a girl, get a girl
I know y'all remember that y'all
The hood that I love is the one without drive bys
Aye yo, the one we all love seen through a child's eyes
I watch Happy Days, everyone was happy with glee
That's when you think
"Why wasn't it like that for me?"
But it's all good because inside me is all hood
Now when I ride inside all leather and wood
Yo, make something out myself?
Didn't know that I could 'cause livin' with poverty
Used to really bother me deep down inside
My tears never dried, anger kept me grounded
I never used my wings to fly
But I ain't tell you how I felt about the hood, so y'all can hate it
I told you this so you can love it, and embrace it
[Hook] (x2)
If I was gonna tell somebody
I wanna make it clear that they see
Ain't no room for hidin'
I want it to be you that would know