Don't Make Me Leave

Like, damn I been here for so long
How can this be?
If I gotta go
I'm gon' go, I ain't gon' kick or scream
Just promise one thing
Don't let them forget about me
Because this place is all I've known
And I ain't ready to let this go, no

I ain't goin' nowhere
I'ma be here forever
When it all fall apart
I pull it back together
Went and followed my heart
But they couldn't measure
So, if this all I ever knew, I could never let up
Off the madness and booty's bouncin' at popular functions
OG's posted at the liquor store
Complainin' we hustlin'
Claimin' that we been sufferin'
From the dreams they were sold
Still reflectin' on the glory through all the stories they told
Of the early days
When it was dreamer's tryna be kings
Trapped inside the same predicament
That haunts the scene
Of a black man who mind
Too confined to shine
He too blind to find
He too broke to dine
Who would I be if I was to leave 'em while they were starvin'?
With nothin' in return like an injured Percy Harvin
He too hurt to go
He too strong to show
Could've ran a 4
But wasn't goin' pro
'Cause my Mama wasn't havin' that
She'll probably have a heart attack if she knew I rapped
I let Jehovah be my witness
While I speak the facts
And make a promise to my city while it's on my back, that I'ma never leave
Never believed in better days from relocation
I'll rather think ahead inside the hood
Than be complacent
Rather fall on the side of good
But the city dangerous
I'll let fate decide what's best for me
But still I'll never leave

Like, damn I been here for so long
How can this be?
If I gotta go
I'm gon' go, I ain't gon' kick or scream
Just promise one thing
Don't let them forget about me
Because this place is all I've known
And I ain't ready to let this go, no

Sometimes we gotta make decisions with no conversation
Mama had the sit and listen like a congregation
Am I trippin' though?
She said we gotta get to packin'
I heard her speakin'
But my mind just went and switched dimensions
I started thinkin' 'bout the homies in high school
What's poppin'?
And all the weekends we would wake up early
Just for shoppin', for all the
Late night flexin', night club hoppin'
Started feelin' like this was better, don't let me miss it
Asking God, "Am I the only one in this position?"
Gotta leave the only home I've known since 7-years-old
Reminiscin' 'bout the motherland
That never gets old
I let fate decide what's meant for me
But still I had to leave

Leave me in the motherland
Covered up the roots with the soil that was implanted
Before we landed by bloody hands
Bloody water
Avoidin' conquer, the trauma
That follow me to this day
'Cause they took me away from mama, hope she
Don't start to treat me different
(Nah bro, we all the same)
Village mentality, traveled with me along the waves
Porch conversations
Early mornin' sipper
Started feelin' this can't be better, I know you miss her
Takin' risks that I would used to take a whip for
Mama hands grippin' on my wrist
To make me sit more
Could that be the reason why we too afraid of leavin'?
They took us out that village
Givin' nothin' to believe in

Like, damn I been here for so long
How can this be?
If I gotta go
I'm gon' go, I ain't gon' kick or scream
Just promise one thing
Don't let them forget about me
Because this place is all I've known
And I ain't ready to let this go, no

I look myself into the eyes and I question if this is me?
If I blame it on my surroundin's
Then would somebody agree?
Would they give me a pass?
Or would they pass up on me?
If my past determines my future
Then hopefully, they can see
The common route was nowhere near commonwealth
It was more of that common trap
Where the conscious don't seem to sell, you know me well
We need mo' inside this town that we facin'
We all Dennis Edwards
Tryna fight the temptation