Hometown Hero

The voice of my ancestors bearing through the darkness

Racism, genocide, and gang violence is part of sickness

Before you question my people or my religion

Let me ask you something before you make a decision

When you can’t act are you still a leader

When you can’t live are you still deceitful

When you can’t fight are you still fearful

Tell me

Are you really a villain or a hometown hero

This boy, in school he gets called at

For starting the Twin Tower attacks

He's so startled and angry that he tries to fight back

Hes looking for patience but he's steering a clear path

Young and afraid, age of 5

His mother died from cancer, his father barely alive

Nobody to guide him nobody to be a parent

His aunt that despised him was the one that took care of him

He got resented, picked on, and hated for his accomplishments

Daily whippings for a reward, and burning as minor punishments

Bullies on the block, bullies in school

Throwing books and rocks at him calling him a fool

But hes not weak, he stands up and fights. Ruthless

But when hes asked about fractions he stays being clueless

Fast forward 17 years, the kid a crack dealer

Juvenile delinquent, alcoholic and gang leader

He attacked his bullies seeking for revenge

The rival gang chasing after him for killing their close friend

He hears gunshots in his block

Bottles thrown in the street

He doesn't know how to cope

His knowledge of life is obsolete

As he stand there with despair

Knowing that he lost

With that gun in his hand

His arms are fully crossed

He believed in a dream

But he only thought of death

He thought of morality, spirituality,

But he's breathing the devil’s breath

Bank account 0, nobody there to listen

Pain and fury, the walls in him are his minor addition

He grabs the gun and points it at his head

Before the rival gang shoots him down, he shot himself instead.

The voice of Malcolm bearing through the darkness

Racism, genocide, and gang violence is part of the sickness

Before you question my people or my religion

Lemme tell you something before you make a decision

Do you believe in me did i earn your trust

Do you treat me as a regular specimen or agony’s lust

understanding that i am exempt from the sinner but we were all once a prisoner

Ur jealousy marks me as a villain in the unethical media

I couldn't comprehend society oppressing me and my muslim brothers

calling me a terrorist, attempting to remove the hijab from my mother

corruption hypocrisy only one eyes in these peoples ideology

they witness Syria Nigeria, Rohingya

But they turn the other cheek in this chronology

They wanna walk in their idol’s shoes but they peacemaking seldom

They wanna be remembered as the ones delivering the message

That considered the blessing of everyone

Revenge in the system

Penitentiary falsetto, where they command they stay hissin

College dropout, oh are they influencing the next generation

They aint doing nothing their words is far from the revelation

They think they are true heroes but they often forget

Their past and how they came to be

They forget that the real heroes are the one who raised and shaped them

Their parents and family tree

But they stay naive to the fact that they worship celebrities

Neglecting their feelings toward their caring family

They praise the violence and drugs in their own community

Smoking and drinking instead of reading books in the library

And then there are people that are fighting for liberty

But when it comes to different races they desire superiority

They drawing swastikas on the snow but they want equality

Hypocrite!

The real the hometown heroes are the parents who raise us

The doctors who healed us, the teachers that taught us,

the preachers that guided us, the friends that helped us,

And all the people that had the willpower to believe in us

What role models do the new generation speak of

Would they worship a poster on their wall or cherish a preacher

Would they die for a signature or would they die for a prayer

Would they accept for forgiveness now or would they stay as a hater

What will they say when I ask them who do they respect

Is it Moses, Malala, Gandhi, or Malcom X

Is it Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, or Abu Bakr

Is it Kareem, Muhammad Ali, oh I know it's Chris Tucker, Oh!

The voice of my people bearing through the darkness

Racism, genocide, and gang violence is part of sickness

Before you question my people or my religion

Let me ask you something before you make a decision

When you can’t act are you still a leader

When you can’t live are you still deceitful

When you can’t fight are you still fearful

Tell me

Are you really a villain or a hometown hero