Talib Kweli, John Legend - Around My Way lyrics

Around my way around my way
All the corners filled with sorrow
All the streets are filled with pain
Around my way

People let me paint a picture
You know I ain't a Christian
I ain't a Muslim, ain't a Jew
I'm losing my religion
I speak to god directly
I know my god respect me
Cause he let me breathe his air
And he really blessed me
I ain't knocking you
But I don't fuck with hospitals
Spit the gospel
Truly knowing jesus like apostles do
Return like the prodigal son
To honor Mohammed too
Stay away from ham like Abraham
Lord I follow you
Even when you took my man Chaka
God and what I'm a do
You gave the hood a modern
Day martyr in Brother Amadou
I'm on the block, I'm tracing your footsteps
I keep the faith in you
Your love, plus hard work and ambition
We gonna make it through
My songs is psalms I'm
Spiritual when I'm lyrical
This is for my soldier niggas
Looking in the mirror who
Sitting home scratching off
Serials eating cereal
The way we find a way to survive
Shit is a miracle we got mice in the crib
And roaches in the toasters
Rice in the fridge
Bread in the oven by the roaster
We be takin' gypsy cabs and chasin' 50 bags
They be laced with shitty swag and
It really get me mad
The way we saluting flags
Wrapping them around our heads
When niggas ain't become American till 9 11
Feeling like you gotta sneak into heaven
When the reverend looking like a pimp and
The pimp look like the reverend

These conditions make us strong
And we create our own businesses so later on
Our children have things in their name
That they can say they own
A mix tape freestyle become
Your favorite song
No place like home when the cops
Ask you about your neighbors
Beat on you, threaten to incarcerate you
Till you spill your guts like
You a Garcia Vega
We roll blunts not the papers
Cop the greatest take it coast to coast
LA to Chicago like Smooth Operators
Cop the Dro and cop the blacks
Cop the four, cock it back drop the flow
Rock a hat on top a stocking cap
Be a doctor or a lawyer or
Make your momma a promise that
You'll finish school
But when you got a dream
You gotta follow that
And make sure when you make it out the hood
You always holler back
Think about what you got from that
And always put your dollars back
On top of that
This is a legacy and we a part of that
The hood is where my heart is at
Catch me around my way