Obstructed Path

Born and raised
In a warmer place
Sunny days
Son of Africa
His parents moved to Europe, growin' up would be tough
Roy, the only black kid on the block, strugglin' to adjust
He couldn't speak the language at first
Damnit it hurt
He didn't know the norms
He got belittled, people bickered and they scorned
He's treated as inferior
By his classmates, neighbors and even at the school eatin' cereal
Whenever it gets dark and he walks the street it gets eerier
One time I saw him passin' by me
Again, he got stopped by the police and they asked for his ID
He begins to self loathe and doubt himself
Teachers frown at him
Some of the older kids clownin' him
Don't attempt to get to know him
In Africa he had friends, now he's alone and
Always last to get attended for a cold when
At the doctor or even mendin' his two broken
Fingers at the hospital
Roy realizes they're judgin' him
For his looks, they think helpin' is optional
He feels like a stranger in the country ever constantly

Whatchu wanna do when you're grown?
Whatchu gonna do when you're old?
How to get by?
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Pick your style
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Feel alive
How you gon' get paid?
You ain't getting saved by no one else but yourself
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Pick your style
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Live your life

The teacher called on Roy and asked
What you wanna be when you're grown? He said doctor
The other boys just laughed
He was mad
All the white kids starin'
After school he hugged his mother who he cherished
Seven days advanced and he'd never tell his parents
That some of the kids used racist slurs
The day emerged
When his senior year began
White females he befriended touched his hair, petted his skin
Grades were kinda average
When his final year came he remembered his embarrassment
His former teacher laughed when Roy said he'd climb Mount Everest
So, he put that work in
Improvin' his grades
He knew he could make
More of his life if his school work was great
More than what all the other students would make
Other kids were slackers, smokin' that haze, he couldn't relate
He wanted wife, house, kids, dogs - prove he got brains
No longer to school being late
He knew he'd be paid
First class flights
He worked at night
Picked his favorite college to go to
Friends and neighbors acknowledged his focus
Headed to campus, pen and paper, clutchin' his notebook

When you're grown
Whatchu gonna do when you're old?
How to get by?
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Pick your style
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Feel alive
How you gon' get paid?
You ain't getting saved by no one else but yourself
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Pick your style
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Live your life

Roy was tired of being labeled, overlooked and hated
For no reason but race so he debated
Other students in debate clubs
Workin' part time while studyin', doin' sports, kept his grades up
Not wastin' time, chasin' dimes
Applied twenty times before findin' work in sales and climbed
Way higher on the ladder to success
Feeling challenged to be best
At everything that's next
Not even fed up with the stress
But fed up with negativity and prejudice
Tired of havin' to dress up but he did make it look effortless
Meet Jake, white boy filled with hate
As of late
He has looked into conspiracies on the internet
Hopin' Trump would get acquitted and again become the president
Ever since the insurrection Jake is feelin' militant
No one really is a friend to him
He's got equipped with a new pistol he's now brandishin'
Walking in the direction of a BLM protest
They march for peace, wantin' the violence to cease
At the intersection
They see Jake with his .38
Takin' aim at Roy's face

Whatchu gonna do when you're grown?
Whatchu gonna do when you're old?
What if you can't get by?
Choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Or pick your style?
Can't choose your path, hustle hard, sleep, repeat
Or feel alive
How you gon' get paid?
You ain't gettin' saved, not even by yourself
No path, no hustle, no sleep
Can't even eat or live your life
Can't even eat
Can't even live your life