Keep Your Head Up

I remember nights thinking days like this didn't exist
Especially for someone with this color skin
See I looked at how my momma struggled looking just like them
But every hood got a Kesha
That can barely pay her bills
Our story ain't no different, four kids, different niggas
And they don't know nothing to do with their children
Got tired of having less, so I started taking more
Ay cuz it ain't locked shit, open up the door
Man, what the fuck they got that brand new Carter two
And I just stole a walkman so I can bump this shit to school
Lemme grab this lil change for the mason jar just tucked away
Cause grand daddy said pennies
Gotta make dollars one day,
And he in lying playing spades man, I dumped the sock
They used to clown me for Abraham, but he changed a lot
Now I ain't got to call Tay to switch shoes in the parking lot
Envied that nigga cause he had designer and his pops

I know hard times gon' come someday, yeah, yeah, yeah
And I know it's hard to keep your faith, yeah, yeah, yeah
But through those dark clouds the sun gon' shine
Keep your poker face, your smile
Keep your head up, don't hold it down, no, no, no

If I wasn't next to Danielle, I was sleeping in the car
Or laying on the hood looking
Up at the stars
Parked in Faye's front yard, when I knew she was a sleep
Her baby boy but I didn't want her worried about me
Cause me and my mama had beef, and I ain't had nowhere to sleep
Remember nights running out of gas so I could have heat
Now a nigga hotter than Satan in the summer with a fever
Married to the baddest diva with private islands for our leisure
Look, one mill ain't enough
Need a meal for every day I ain't eat it if it wasn't school lunch
We were down bad, on our luck
And if you judge a book by its cover, you couldn't see we had it rough
Back then I felt like money was a myth
Cause we ain't never have it so I thought it didn't exist
Now a rose gold presidential compliment my wrist,
And I ain't trying to brag, I say that to say this

I know hard times gon' come someday, yeah, yeah, yeah
And I know it's hard to keep your faith, yeah, yeah, yeah
But through those dark clouds the sun gon' shine
Keep your poker face, your smile
Keep your head up, don't hold it down, no, no, no