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