[Intro: Marina Esmeralda & Byron Henderson]
Coins for the boatman if the reaper creeps up
Turned the four walls in your mind into doors, and went alohamora
Yeah yeah
[Verse: Byron Henderson, Marina Esmeralda]
The innocence of a child, eyes wide, wonder's kiss
Peering through the lattice of a world built on bliss
But beneath the creaks and cracks that exist
A city's shadow, 7th Ward's twisted myth persists
I saw the ills of life before I knew what to call them
Witnessed in the summer heat the block parties dissolved in
Fisticuffs, then gunshots—a carnival of violence
Euphoria to entropy, from laughter to silence
Elders preaching resilience and resistance
But their sermons were drowned by the beat of persistence
In the cycles of chaos, peace non-existent
Quite ironic how I had to watch them tear down their block with them bricks
For a profit that went to G-Nikes or products that glisten
So I shut myself in, recluse in the making
From the shouts of despair, to the love I knew they were faking
Wondered if isolation was salvation or mistake
If the price of self-preservation was too steep for me to pay
Saw the streets swallow dreams and regurgitate tomorrows
Liquefied hopes trickling down the gutters of sorrow
Watched fiends chase phantoms in the echo of hollows
And silhouettes whisper secrets that no child should follow
Never formed bonds, kept my distance from the kin
Ulterior motives in their eyes, masked behind a grin
Canvases of abandonment, so every tie was severed
Meri hanging by a noose so long, could use the moon as leverage
Shadows of my future in the streets where they would play
Every corner had a story, every block had its prey
Predators in baggy clothes, kids in shells, but their gaze was a cage
Eyes empty, but their hearts had a rage that’s engraved in the pages
Of life’s book, flipping chapters in a cycle of pain
Lack of trust in the world, so I stayed in my lane
Never because I was different, but the difference I made
Was seeing through cracks in the masks that they’d wear every day
So who's to blame when folks saying they tried their best is further proof of the insane?
Ain't enough words to explain the uncomfortable revelation of predatory behavior from often familiar faces
That day, back in my youth when the hues of truth were new to me
Shadows cast in my class, with silence used as a eulogy
Two empty desks, like the void in my soul that slowly grew in me
One girl caught a stray and a boy disappeared fluently
My seven year old brain filling with anger that's brewing brutally
Peers moved on, but I couldn't with images looping ruthlessly
Mourning two strangers I offered a sheet of paper once
Potential halted, pondering bout the homes they were taken from
Breathe in the essence of a world that’s out of sync
Where ego’s on the rise, and empathy is on the brink—
They painted the world in strokes of vanity and ink
The sky's stained with greed as the stars begin to shrink
Divide the masses by classes, shackles that we can’t unbind
Blinded by our own reflections, we’re deaf to the planet’s cries
I’ve seen the crumbling pillars, thrones ambition built
But what’s a kingdom to a king with a scepter filled with guilt?
When frustration collides with hope
Dreams I was convinced met their demise awoke
So to our journey, from the darkness to the light
From the whispers of a child to the roar of the night
What they're witnessing forged is a bond not to be broken
They have a better chance of killing God, but I wouldn't risk it even with Rinnegan
Learn to cherish what's meant for you, and protect who you love like the Bloodhound of Florencia
RiRi, keep your defenses up
Cause without you, what’s the worth of all these rhymes, huh?
Without you, every verse would crumble with time
You’re the reason I shine, encouragement easing my mind
Without you, I’d much rather leave it all behind
I’m forever grateful, but the weight of all these truths
It’s heavy, I can't lie, as I think about our youth
We want a better future, but we’re stuck within the past
Chained to all the habits that our elders built to last
What good is a cry for help if they just want to seal the cracks
Putting band-aids on emotions they’ve been burying in stacks
Either they're too scary to try and heal or misguided
So trauma just trickles down through projection and misfires, yeah
(Jesus)
[Outro: Byron Henderson, Marina Esmeralda]
Hi, RiRi
Well if it isn't Mr. Secret Silent Sneaky. I've actually been wanting to ask you something
What's up?
What are the first three things that come to mind when you think of unconditional love?
Um. Lil' Bit, you, and maybe the idea that it isn't as black and white as people make it out to be
What do you mean?
Like, Aaliyah and I have more of a dad/daughter dynamic. But at the end of the day, we're really just cousins. That's kind of it. The sort of affection I have for her though is completely unconditional in a way that hypothetically, a parent's love "should be". Yet that isn't always the case. A parent's love can absolutely be partially and even completely conditional
Tell me about it. Does it make you feel anything?
Uh huh. I'm not entirely sure what the feeling is though. It's unfamiliar. But I can say, someone like me, as inexperienced as I am, being capable of giving an ideal sort of love that even a parent might be unable to isn't something that's lost on me. Even with everything you know I'm dealing with
It's crazy you say that, because I swear I feel like the unconditional love I have for you has a lot to do with having a lot of faith. Which explains so much. All of this other stuff just made our connection stronger
