Hoodwinked

See, options aren’t options when raised in the hood

You’re the gangster recruited today

For you, what is possible seldom is good

Easy money just tempts you away

Frustrated completely, you give up the fight

A gangbanger you will become

Stuck in a culture where nothing is right

You’re the product of where you are from

You mortgaged your future by rolling the dice

Where achievements are measured in tears

It seems your ambitions were sold for a price

They were caught in a drive-by of years

The past as the future will likely persist

Education’s the only way out

A “role model gangster” just doesn’t exist

It’s time we try ending this drought

Slavery’s the agent that tilted the field

Reparations are hailed as a cure

But handing out cash nets a negative yield

And how long would those handouts endure

See, money would ruin what’s already shot

For sure, crime would increase overnight

The thugs would come after whatever you got

So to keep what you got means you fight

It’s gonna take Congress to finance a deal

If there’s progress ahead to be made

If ever the hamster stops spinning its wheel

It’s through college or learning a trade

Now those with an interest can chart a new path

Single mothers, you won’t be alone

For those without interest, there’s poverty’s wrath

The decision you made was your own