Not Like Before

(Not li-, not li-, not li-, not like before) not like before
(Not like before) we're gonna tell a little story
It's about me, about he, about we, alright? (Not like before)
Not like before
Check this, what? (Not like before)
Yeah, yeah, take me back, The Owls (not like before)

Man, I only went to school to sell weed at lunchtime
Two gerners on the tarmac crushed up fine
Losing my mind, sniffing lines, no attendant sign
Made the habit mine of any drug I could find
All I knew about was crime until I dropped a few shrooms
Made a few tunes, me and BVA coming real soon
And then it dropped, and nobody listened
Lost but not forgotten was the beginning of this mission

I used to be living on the floor with Filly G
One of the reasons for the malnourished Leaf that you see
He gave me the PC, I used to make the beats 'for this CD
Got passed the torch from Iz and Cool G
Much respect for that, and high focus is the future
See, I've got your back, no shotty in my back-pack
Got my queen, no need to chase rat, your behind
While I slowly take over the map, watch the owls attack, ah!

Many things have changed since the old school days
Runnin' 'round on train tracks, sprayin' up the trains
Picking up an eighth bag to blaze it in a day
Now I smoke a little less, but it's indie kush haze
I'll take you back for a lesson
Way back to the Brixton mass' open mic sessions
Avarice spotted me, thought that I was reppin'
Then we met a little later at the speakers road in mecka

He took me to a studio in Queens Road, Peckham
Recorded force-fed imagery it seemed that it was destined
I ain't seen him in a couple years, but 'cause he's still my bredrin
Can't forget about the man who put you in for a second
Like verb T, certified G the mic veteran
Runone blessed me with beats from his collection
Got mad nice on the decks at every damn event, son
Whores and cash, have your back, we rinse up the shows n' that

Supported R.A. The Rugged Man, that was classic fact
Reminisce, reminisce
Remember Lacey Shooz wit' Kimo up in Brixton lab
Then he moved it down to white chaple place, was nang
Late nights was rammed, man it went to plan
Since then, I'm high-focused on the prison fam
Make music, move units, stay reppin' that
Make music, move units, stay reppin' that

At school, I never used to go and stay at home high
That stoned in zone guy, the same, and you know why
Then college, I wasn't really concerned with that
Mainly went to sell ten pound sacks, and chase rats
Dropped out and went back, but I still wasn't focused
Started rappin' on beats about how we be the brokest
For lost but not forgotten, then there was world war three
Then the war ended and we still hadn't dropped the CD

But now things are different cos kids still pump and listen
To the CD that we give them three years ago on the mission
Still leave the page written, hit the stage with our spitten
Got a contract and learnt how to make our shit thicker
Cleared our own path like a snowplow
Gained the know how on how to get exactly where we want
And never go down, and now we're that storm on your horizon
With more tracks laid down than a 50-year-old whore that's still riding

Ayo, it started back, when I heard Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh
I was eight, used to play the vinyl when I dub cassettes
I spent my teen years weeded out past high
With Gang-sta, Wu-Tang, Tribe and The Pharcyde
I can't lie, I was shy hittin' open mics as a kid
But the studio I was smashin' it
I had my first record out, I was 18
Touring with Phi Life, cypher for that was like a daydream

Shedded my innocence then started to grow wise
Grow flow wise, I hooked up with low-life
Got some guidance and applied it, had confidence
With Kashmere and ghost toured the country and the continent
But still I had to keep a nine to five to keep the bills paid
And quit the weed just to try and keep my mind alive
16 bars is not enough time to write my entire life
This is just one installment

Now I'm a proud father, grown responsible
Learnt over years, hate kills love conquers all
So, I look to the future after steppin' back
Make music, move units, stay reppin' that
Make music, move units, stay reppin' that

(Not like before) not like before
(Not like before) not like before
(Not like be-)