Baptism By Fire - Radio Edit

I was born in the deep end
Baptism by fire, no warnings or briefings
No support, I couldn't form an allegiance
Nothin' but a crust of bread and a corner to sleep in

Odds stacked against me, would've sworn
I was beaten
Well I was, in the name of the Lord and his teachings
But on the field, I performed undefeated
When everyone thought that I would've been torn into pieces

Nope, I was molded by the flame
Notice I ain't change when I could've folded from the pain
I'm a wine, gettin' better as I'm older in the game
As I climb, so I lift, lettin' go of all the chains

That's how you get liberated That's how I eliminated all the thoughts that penetrated
I innovated til all my problems disintegrated
Maybe, just maybe, that's where my ambition originated

That's life, you take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price, only get half what you should
Even that, only if you paid twice

And that's life, you take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price, only get half what you should
Even that, only if you paid twice

Well, I was raised by the village
Same place where they raped and they pillaged
Took names, made claims ee were slaves and descendants
Not kings, they omitted I'm a god, I was made in His image

Now, wait up a minute, cause they didn't get it So let me explain it for kids
There's a place for religion and atheism but I ain't okay with the hate that you
give in the name of religion, with blanketed statements and take the defense on the basis of it
It's makin' me sick, it don't make any sense
Only way we can fix it is breakin' the system

Holy mackerel, homie, it's only natural
When men of the cloth wove the fabric for social capital
And actual dough with "God We Trust" wrote on the back of it
With buildings and statues that were built on the broken backs of who?

Oh, Black people
I guess it makes sense
We made this impressive nation, placed in a lesser station
We need restoration, reformation, and reparations
Only way for a better nation Is collective liberation
That's life

Take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price
Only get half what you should Even that, only if you paid twice
And that's life
You take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price
Only get half what you should
Even that, only if you paid twice

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble
And never a laugh, but the moans come double and that's life
A crust and a corner that love makes precious
With the smiles to warm and the tears to refresh us
And, joy seems sweeter when cares come after
And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter
And that's life

Take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price
Only get half what you should
Even that, only if you paid twice
And that's life
You take the bad with the good
Don't be mad and you could be alright
Pay the whole price
Only get half what you should Even that, only if you paid twice