(feat. Eve)    [Spoken]  (To all the youth in the world that thinks nobody understands...   Well I understand that)    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    I grew up as a 70's baby  Brought up in poverty and sin  Makin' jokes at the crazy lady  Never cared how she was dealin' within  I knew all the words to  Micheal Jackson's album as a kid  And when it came to the biggest crusher  No he wasn't my man  At the age of seven years old  A strange thing happened to me  Before I even saw  My life had flashed before me  And I've got the mark to show  And it became a thang of beauty  So I gotta let you know  That my life, that my life    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    Now mama's workin' hard all day  And she said this before she left home  Take care of your little brother  Have the place cleaned when I get home  All these priorities  Me and Tanya had to learn to be grown  But at the time for me  Being grown had seemed so lone  Woke up and I'm seventeen  With nothing going for me  Except the fact that I sing  You know it hurts so much  From all the sights that I've seen  From abusin' the hole in trust  You probably couldn't take some of things  That I've lived in my life    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's hard and the street's a jungle (I'm telling you, I'm telling you)  Especially with your pretty colors (I'm telling you, I'm telling you)  So stay low and keep it humble (I'm telling you, I'm telling you)  Black women hold it down, keep your feet on the ground  Black men keep searching and you'll be found    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at    [Rap by Eve]  In this world of continuous bullshit and full clips  Seems all we have to pass down is being useless  Broken homes, babies all alone, parent's never there  No food, no clothes to wear, anger everywhere  Ain't no values being taught, no productive thoughts  Jealousy rules the world, take shit at any cost  Gotta change our state of life, keep it worth livin'  God gave us voices to speak and that's our way of givin'  It's so much bigger than the furs and the jewels  What about encouragin' the youth to do well  What about givin' back- what about unifying  Shit we all black- get it together  Everybody's got their trials and tribulations  Learn to change the negative to positive situations  Don't hold the lessons that you learn  Pass it on and except the blessings that could earn    It's been hard for me  Trying strugglin' in the streets  But where I've been- Is no longer where I'm at  And where I'm going- Is not where I'm stoppin' at