Otara (Misunderstood)

It's the home of the brave

You can tell where I'm from
If you take a look into my eyes
'Cause it's 274 that I rep
'Til the day that I die
If you see the boys out on the streets
You already know why
'Cause it's 274 that I rep 'til the day that I die

Uh, Otara raised me
Turned me from a boy into a man
As a youngin' comin' up
My parents always had a plan
Raised in the city of the faithful
We didn't have much
But gah' damn we were grateful
From Sandbrook to Flatbush down Preston to E.T
Bring it back around the long slide is where you'll find me
Kickin' it with the USOs jamming tag down at Ngati
Otara you already know what's f***in good g
Stereotypical views is what we're fighting
The typical news about the place that I reside in
The gangs, the violence is all they care about
It's like you'll never make it far
If you're a kid from the South
There isn't a place on this earth that's so similar to heaven
But they paint a different picture when you watch that Ten 7
THERE'S NO WAY
Just shows how little they know
When all they see's a kid screamin' out AYO
From the 274 to the 685
Reppin' my city like I'm reppin' my tribe
Straight chillin' on this high
Hittin' rhymes right off the mind
Sippin' on this lemon lime while I ride the 49
Forever loyal to the soil I was raised on
Never forgetting where I came from
I'll always keep it in my heart
And I'm reppin' my city Lua Fiku to the Fa
Cheeehooo

It's that love and it's tuff
You can tell where I'm from
If you take a look into my eyes
'Cause it's 274 that I rep
'Til the day that I die
If you see the boys out on the streets
You already know why
'Cause it's 274 that I rep 'til the day that I die

My home my heart that's Ōtara
History made foundations laid
Through the Dawnraid of my forefathers
Fighting for our rights
Shedding light upon our people
Creating opportunities to make sure that we're equal
I'm talking 'bout the hood with so much pride
And minimal praise
And most people just get by on minimum wage
Though it's a given
Individuals no matter the age
Will have their cover judged
Without the person reading the page
Is that a ploy g saying I ain't from the hood to annoy me
Boy out the hood but you can't take the hood out of the boy
See, all these dudes should know better
See I moved out but always got the hood on my mind
Like my New Era
Parents they been go-getters from the get go
Made a change - though it wasn't presto
One thing remains they taught me respect those
People that deserve to be respected
My elders and show love to the neglected
Now tell the world that we ready steady comin' up
If there's a problem we'll put our your light like ciggy butts
Channel that inner Ruben Wiki when we run it up
Lisone when it's up the guts
But if it's uppercuts then that's the inner Uncle Jake the Muss
'Cause we Warriors to the E N D
Otara Flea Markets right next to the M.I.T
Listening to freestyles that have the peeps like O M G
Feelin' Bizarre like they was listening to OMC
It's the H.O.B
Or the home of the Scorpion
Double check the colours that you walking in
Or the tone that you talking
No gawking or acting staunch
I see it clear in my eyes
We from the same hood so put the hate and ill feeling aside, yeah
Said it's that 274 buzz
And if I'm eatin'
We all eating
'Cause it's all love
There ain't no changing where you came from
'Cause at the end of the day I reckon we'll be singing the same song
Like, aye

You can tell where I'm from
If you take a look into my eyes
'Cause it's 274 that I rep
'Til the day that I die
If you see the boys out on the streets
You already know why
'Cause it's 274 that I rep 'til the day that I die

Shoutouts to all the boys from the hood
New Zealand's Inglewood
And big shoutouts to the USOs that make noise in the hood
Bring stories to the hood
Bring glory to the hood
If you're a stranger there's some places to avoid in the hood
See we were raised in the hood
Getting blazed in the hood
And if somebody got beef
Scoop up the boys and we're good
Ain't nothing changed in the hood
Still full of rage in the hood
And you can leave but you never really get away from the hood
It just stays in the hood
Nothing fades in the hood
So when I die you can scatter my remains in the hood
'Cause even though there's so much pain in the hood
There's so much good buried just beneath the surface - misunderstood