Progress

I was six years old when my ma said to me Look what I've built. Now, you'll be better than I'll ever be Go out into the world, and make some good friends But don't turn and run when you make a few enemies As Dylan lit a cigarette, kept the view Along the watchtower, World War III blues We packed up our shit, Codeine times two And ran, ran, ran, put miles on our shoes I never been one to shy away from conflict Never been a fan of getting my throat slit This life is hard times I welcome hardship To know your own strength, you gotta' get your gut checked Got my arse kicked, I'm still here livin' Pick up my pen and I put my soul in it Pitch 'n toss, lose, start again at the beginning This life is a game, and one day, I'm gonna' win it I get depressed I get stressed I get tested Put my bars into a press I depress this Put on a setlist Life's essence Let my poetry do the rest I'm restless It gets complex, don't matter the context Straight up emotion's part of the process Keep on the contest Call it "progress"... I'ma condense the nonsense Free newspaper, knife crime Here we go again Youts be picking up a blade Instead of picking up a pen When you're making dirty money Ain't no time for making friends We tell 'em This is progress This is progress We hail from the C Block You know from how we talk Back when the beef was over Nike or Reebok Playing outside was life - so we thought Until your boy bussed a knife Now he's shot - or in prison Or fancies himself christened by the Lord above But don't listen when the Church don't call him a Christian Cause his enemies shot down don't get risen Kill six days a week, rest on the Sabbath Eat your Sunday roast, work on the adlibs Growing up back then It was madness Full names and dates in the Evening Standard I'm surprised we managed Some vanished Others got trapped between drugs and stabbing South East Borderlandish Filled with panic and old habits Life is demanding Everybody getting their piece Trying to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat When kids do better than those they compete with It's progress When so many of us can't eat It's progress In pittances on every timesheet It's progress With people living out on the street Prices always increase So keep your fucking receipts Free newspaper, knife crime Here we go again Youts be picking up a blade Instead of picking up a pen When you're making dirty money Ain't no time for making friends We tell 'em This is progress This is progress Free newspaper, knife crime Here we go again Youts be picking up a blade Instead of picking up a pen When you're making dirty money Ain't no time for making friends We tell 'em This is progress This is progress This is progress Free newspaper, knife crime Here we go again Youts be picking up a blade Instead of picking up a pen When you're making dirty money Ain't no time for making friends We tell 'em This is progress This is progress Free newspaper, knife crime Here we go again Youts be picking up a blade Instead of picking up a pen When you're making dirty money Ain't no time for making friends We tell 'em This is progress This is progress