J.Cole, Omen - Caged Bird lyrics

Yeah, caged bird some'n' like a caged bird
Caged bird yeah, look

You ain't a man till you
Stop chasing your friends, my nigga
Think for yourself, make your own plans
My nigga
I'll be lying if I said I ain't understand
My nigga 'Cause who you gon' follow when
The leaders all get swallowed
By reefer clouds and bottles
In and out of county jail this is hell
See the young black males in packed cells
With they heads down
And they fists clenched tight
Thinking, "I could bust a
Hole through this wall
And, bitch, I just might"
It's just like the caged bird I sing a song
Hoping they open up these bars
And send a nigga home i cry when I'm alone
I'm wondering why would God send me here
Knowing that they hate us
Knowing that they make us feel like we
Evil so we kill our people
Without a second thought
In every lesson taught by OGs
We full of real nigga wisdom, so we proceed
Like real niggas who been
Stripped of our humanity
I see the judge's eyes
I know that he ain't understanding me

A caged bird (yeah, a caged bird)
(Let this little caged bird sing) Caged bird
Yeah, caged bird freedom's just an illusion
That's my conclusion and if it ain't
Then how my niggas keep on losin' theirs?
This goes out to childhood
Friends that's doin' years
Prison tats on they backs like souvenirs
We wish that you was here
A mother's tear spilled on this page
A brother's tear spilled on this page
How many days left?
And can you find peace when you released
Still filled up wit' rage
Back on the streets just to peep
That you still in the cage

Well, it's the oratory vet
Turned down king slash poet laureate
Used to paint a picture with
A story of neglect
I could've been a shorty drinking
40s on the steps with a shorty on my lap
With a shorty on the way
Coming shortly to protect
I could've been a dealer in
The party with the X
But I'm hardly in the mix
And I partially confess
I definitely got a couple parts
In me that I regret
Is the cup half-empty or is it half-full?
I fill mine up with Hennessy
Then get back to him
I'm just a jazz musician trapped
In a rap form
You think you standing for something
You on a trap door
I'm a dreamers dream, a sort of an inception
I never fiend for the scene but
I dreamed of the things
That a Mercedes brings
Like slow sex with fast women
Drinking cognac I'm past grinning
A sexy dress, fat ass in it
But still hit it till I'm half-winded
Cause niggas tell me I'm the shit when
I be hitting all these dimes
See I'm caged by the visions of the blind
I started as a king turned to a slave
Put us in our chains
We was forced to entertain
Thinking bout the present day I'm
Living off the stage
Wonder if a nigga ever get up out this cage
As I sing

A caged bird (yeah, a caged bird)
(Let this little caged bird sing) Caged bird
Yeah, caged bird freedom's just an illusion
That's my conclusion and if it ain't
Then how my niggas keep on losin' theirs?
This goes out to childhood
Friends that's doin' years
Prison tats on they backs like souvenirs
We wish that you was here
A mother's tear spilled on this page
A brother's tear spilled on this page
How many days left?
And can you find peace when you released
Still filled up wit' rage
Back on the streets just to peep
That you still in the cage