[Verse 1]

How should I begin?

This is the story of a boy named Lonnie Lynn

As I said it, the spirits enwhip me

He was raised in the belly of the city

Chicago

Discovered by du Sable

A Black Frenchman

That I had to mention

Extensions of a young man livin' on a low end

47th and Michigan, lackin' a little discipline

Grandma Mable did the best she could

You know how young brothers want a testy hood

There he stood, taller than most Black boys

One of the best ballers out of Illinois

Collagen, Ohio, this is like his bio

Talks that we had, man, they was never idle

He talked about readin' the Quran and the Bible

He talked how he smoked dope and sold it for survival

He talked about the ancestors, in our lives; they're vital

He said y'all boys love the bang 'cause you tribal

Spiral of life, Chicago to Denver

Anywhere he went, of attention, he's the center

6'9", big heart, big mind

He he spent his whole life tryin' to be big time

He did in a way, he made to the ABA

And the things he say on my record

When I was a shawty, he bought me "The Message"

It was his messages in life I would step with

Didn't see him much, spirits are connected

Father creates it, the son can reflect it

His perspective: sometimes seemed crazy

His perspective: sometimes seemed brilliant

His perspective: somehow it shaped me

His perspective: undoubted I feel it

He'd walk around in them Air Jordans I gave him

I said, "Pops, them from Mike, man, you better save 'em"

The fight that he had with cancer was a brave one

Took Dr. Sebi's herbs instead of medication

Breathing heavy, he talked reparations

He said, "Son, we live through our generations"

Offspring, coughing, Gene Ammons was playing

In the background, he was talking, I was praying

Our Father, take care of my father

As far as he went, may I go farther

May our dreams and legacies live through our children

Though I can't touch him, I can still feel him



As Pops would always say, "Keep the peace"