[Intro:]
Let's take it back in time man
Here's a glimpse into my childhood

[Chorus: x2]
I want you to see everything that I've been through before

[Verse 1:]
When I was just a little kid I lived in a fantasy
'Cause I needed to escape all of the insanity
Had to find a medium, a mode to express
The heavy load on my chest that made me totally stressed
Eight years old with no siblings or father
He never bothered to help me and my mother get started
Every six months there was a different apartment
Shame from being poor almost left me broken hearted
No joke, crooks would try to crawl through my window
In the middle of the night while I was sleeping in limbo
Paralysed by fear, still I had to get up
And try to scare them face to face 'till their asses give up
When mom's was at work, I'd hear bangs at my door
And look through the peephole at gangs in the corridor
I saw hookers, drunks, arrests, and drug raids
All the finer things in life witnessed at a young age
Can't even tell you all the times I got chased
By glue sniffing scum targeting me as prey
And one time I remember I just barely got away
When I snuck through that door and slammed it right on his face
I've seen suicide, homicide, friends die of aids
Stuff that makes you awkward so I just don't ever say it
For your sake, that's why I write it down on these pages
Then release it in studios, ciphers, and on stages

[Chorus 1:]
Judge a book by it's cover (What's inside)
My name's Cale Sampson, I've got nothing to hide
And I ain't gotta be nice, you don't know where I've been
If you can't tell who I am, or recognise what I've seen

"I want you to see everything that I've been through before" [x2]

[Verse 2:]
In grade one, they thought I was a problem kid
Who wrote her honour's essay on the mind of little Cale
And published in some academic journal is my tale
When I'd go to set the table for breakfast or supper
There would be cockroaches crawling all over the kitchen cupboard
In my cereal bowl, plus inside my shoes
When I'd try to put them on in the morning for school
And not to mention, that I've got an older brother
Who I've never met before born to another mother
Probably never see him 'till the day my father dies
Man he lives in London England where he's struggled all his life
Most of us have had it rough, ain't looking for no pity
Moved across town to the other side of the city
To start fresh again, where I didn't know no one
It's where I discovered music and these rhymes started from

[Chorus]

[Verse 3:]
I was nine years old when I wrote my first rhyme
Inspired by these dreads in my lobby freestylin'
Didn't care I was young, or the fact I was white
Little did I know how that moment would change my life
With words of encouragement they told me to write
Could have shattered my dreams, instead they helped me get tight
And a couple years later after I moved away
I saw their video on TV, then they faded away
("Put your guns down, put 'em down! ") that's right
Cale became a monster when placed behind a mic
While all the other kids drew pictures in class
I would stand up at the front during show and tell and rap
Been working ever since through tears, sweat and blood
I've crawled through mud, now all I feel is love
So anyone that's doubted me and wondered why I do this
Hope you've found a medium that's equally as therapeutic

[Chorus]

[Outro:]
Yeah, so now you know
It feels good to get that out
And even if I could
I wouldn't change anything
I'm thankful