$outhside Story (feat. Common)

On the Amen Corner, I stood, starin' at my former hood

A land of gods, where the mosque towers above the ghost of Leon's Barbeque

A city of contraband and contradictions

The horns of Louis Armstrong wrestle with the devil's

While fireworks compete with gunshots on a hot summer night

Back in the day, we made the pilgrimage from the Deep South to our Mecca, the Southside

Yeah, from behind the burglar bars of my mama's backyard

I watched as passin' cars stopped to trap hard

Black Stones in Muslim garb

Leavin' the mosque from Jummah, not far from Minister Farrakhan, the students of Master Fard

Drive-by shootings, rapid fire Uzis, cars bumpin' the Fugees

We smoke loose squares, not loosies

Home of the Barbershop movies

Gunshots left his cap red like a Sufi

Storefront churches next to the chicken shop

Across the street from the liquor spot

That's juxtaposition, ahk, thirty-two shots in my Glock

I don't listen to Fox, my middle finger to cops, uh

Dead opps, but we live on these blocks

Gram rocks for delivery, no electricity

The middle of December but the city be hot

The magic and the misery I seen it all vividly, the Southside

It's just another Southside story

The hope, the soul, the folks, the moes, the Southside

Yeah, uh

It's just another Southside story

Where you at?

Starin' out the window of the Green Line train, I dreamed I'd see my name

On the wall, I was enthralled by street fame

Dope fiends goin' through withdrawals, deep pains

White boys shootin' Fentanyl in green veins

Hood films by DGainz

Showed the world Chief Keef "Bang", many streets the same

Bodies fall when the seasons change, as sure as Easter's spring

Madea pray for me in Jesus name (Lord)

I don't end up in the hands of the police or slain

Sorry, granny, I got Ps to slang

'Cause I need the three point liter on the V6 Range

Black Jesus with the VVs in the chain

Just for relief from the pain

Of seein' my dog on that dog food tweakin' again

Reachin', I only feel peace when I'm prayin'

If I could wash my sins, I'd sleep in the rain on the Southside

It's just another Southside story

The hope, the soul

We found God in the devil's Bible

We thrive in survival

We change quarter water to wine

We face court orders and fines for gang signs that's tribal

Canines devour you, CIA supply you

Let every day surprise you

We speak truth 'cause we been lied to

We make possible out impossible

We keep faith 'cause they denied you basic humanity

Use the God in me to guide you

This the two cities of Chicago

One, in a state of illusion

The other, the state keep refusing

Various resources

So the only recourse is to take your pipe to school

'Cause the school to prison pipeline is designed by standardized testing

And the disinvestment in the Arts has hardened shorties' hearts

So they bang fist to chest and resist arrest

He did fifteen months, took fifteen steps

Ayo, bitch

Took a nice short breath

Aye, fam check it out