Easy For You To Say ft. JayRock Jax Lyrics

I lived a hard life

Had to struggle through the day

I've been through hard nights

Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right

OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright

It's gon' be alright

Man, that's easy for you to say

You don't even know why I was late

And I'll probably have to do a thousand things before I get a chance to snooze today

You talking about homework

Man, my first duty in my household has always been the same

My parents ain't never home and I got two siblings expecting me to lead the way

See me, I had to walk to school this morning

Don't get me wrong, I could've took the bus

But between having to get my brother ready while combing out my sister's hair

That boat had already sailed and I had no chance of catching up

As a matter of fact, I was up before my alarm went off cause the police sirens kept adding up

And my siblings kept asking me to make them breakfast, so that's the first thing I did when I woke up

You claim it's easy for me to say like it's something I don't know

Like I ain't been where you still gotta go

Like I ain't seen what you still gotta see

Like I don't look at you and see me

You youngins think cause we older we don't know what you going through

And since you didn't listen to what I told you, now I gotta show you

In the projects where I used to live, just like you

I had to get my brothers dressed, make them breakfast, walk them to their bus then get myself to school

Not to mention there was 8 of us in a 2 bedroom crib and we had roaches

The closest thing I knew to a father was one of my high school coaches

So yes, it's easy for me to say because I've been there

Just like you, young with way too many responsibilities

I was angry and full of rage

But I wish I had a me to mentor me when I was your age

See what my high school coaches don't understand

Is that though we're lined up in the field by 2

I got homies being lined up in the field by 2

And every time I go to the courts, I'm being judged by my appearance as if I have something to prove

It's like they set us up to lose

And where I'm from, if you ain't playing ball, scoring touchdowns there's only one other path to choose

So guess what I'ma do

It's not cause I want to, but I'll do what I got to

Cause I know some days the sun won't shine but a full dinner plate will put us all in a brighter mood

I'm fixing to shed a light or two

You being from where I'm from lets me know that the struggle is both inherited and recyclable

But you being a teacher, tells me that you probably had opportunities that I consider impossible

So I say it's easy for you to say

Because the straight life and the lack of help are two things that you were never confined to

That's easy for you to say

You assume, but you don't know

I have a rebuttal for every word you spoke

but that's typical of us adults, right?

Listening to respond, but not to understand you

I get everything you said, but I need you to understand too

First, only God can judge you

It's unfortunate that the world does too

but you ain't alone

I got the same color skin on my bones

I had dreads, just like you

And you can keep them jokes

But I know what it's like to have no food

To have hoop dreams and no hoop in the neighborhood

I had to use my back pedal to help me move forward

I know what it's like to have counselors doubt you

But they wouldn't have a job without you, like me

And I got way more talent than teaching

That'll make me way more dollars

But I came back to give back

To help you understand that you can be street and scholar

You don't have to settle but you do have to listen

I may be a little older, but our lives ain't that much different

I lived a hard life

Had to struggle through the day

I've been through hard nights

Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right

OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright

It's gon' be alright

I lived a hard life

Had to struggle through the day

I've been through hard nights

Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right

OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright

It's gon' be alright

Let me paint a picture in efforts to help make a connection

You are a reflection of my younger self

You talk as if I don't know hardship

Like adversity don't split the rent with me

Like pain ain't been part of my past

Like hurt ain't held hands with my mama

Like having to bury my brother didn't create a lifetime of trauma for me

It's easy for me to say, but it wasn't easy for me to live

I'm trying to give you the gems that I wasn't given

I know you hear my voice but are you taking time to listen

This is what I wish I had

Calling on my dad wasn't an option

Having someone to tell it to me straight would have kept me from getting it twisted

You don't have to carry that weight by yourself I'm here to help you lift it

But you have to stop judging me based off who you think I am

I'm part teacher, part test me if you think I'm playing

Just take time to listen and I can help show you the way

I've been there, done that

So yeah, it is easy for me to say

If I'm being honest, I never caught it from that perspective

And I do apologize if at any point you felt disrespected

I guess it was easier for me to judge you based off stereotypes

But of course, in our culture that's expected

Reason why I never thought for a second that it'd be possible for someone like me to be successful in a society filled with obstacles

I used to actually find it comical but I'm starting to feel like maybe that's what we're designed to do

I mean technically, according to what I learned in chemistry

I'm an African American containing 1.09 points of density

Living inside a field of electricity, aka dark matter energy

But one always seems to forget that what starts off as an eclipse

Always bears light in the end of things

All I ever wanted was a bright future to hope for ahead of me

I'm starting to realize that you might just have the recipe

They call me chief, not chef

But together we can cook something up

Take two cups of confidence, an ample amount of ambition

A dose of dreams and discipline

Blend in that chip on your shoulder

Find someone a little bit older that you respect

And don't get offended when they check you

They want you to be the best you, but sometimes you can't see that

What you hear is an attack instead of seeing I got your back

They say get out the kitchen if you can't stay where the heat at

It's a cold world we live in and I'm just trying to feed that fire inside of you

I know it burns for a better day but when you fight fire with fire you know what they say

I want to help fuel it in a way that makes you believe

A way that helps you see that I've always wanted what's best for you

So you believe that you can be successful too

Sometimes there will be setbacks but when an egg cracks you can still make breakfast, lunch and dinner

You were born to be a winner

I took some L's and hoped that I could teach you those lessons

Listen, you ain't that much different from me

We can both cook the same meal with two different recipes

The last time I learned culinary lessons it included baking soda and watching the pans pressure

But I won't lie at the moment I'm currently starving so I think I like that plan better

I never really had a role model to look up to

At least a positive one

And I was taught to keep my guard up so I probably be neglectful if I ever spotted one

I think I might be too prideful towards the people at the top as I'm stuck here with the bottom ones

And I feel like I've been dying to live never knowing when the time will come

I guess I'm just tired

And I'm tired of being tired

But I'm also feeling very encouraged today as I've been living through the wire

You gave me a vision today and a feeling I haven't felt in a while

I feel hopeful

They say if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together

Well, while everything's been speeding up and spiraling down I feel like maybe there is a chance that we can turn it around

It's almost like life goes full circle

The same system that hurt me hurt you too

The same system that birthed me birthed you too

My past is your present so I know what you're going through

My present is your past I didn't realize you went through it too

We fight in the same fight

His days are my nights

It's unfortunate the plight is still the same

I guess the more things change the more they stay the same

But I want to be the difference

I want to be what's different

I want to be the one to speak and have everybody listen

Too many people told me I wouldn't make it

So I made a plan

And I can make one too

It starts with a dream

If you can see it you can achieve it

You can be it if you believe it

There's power in these words as long as you're willing to receive it

I took the time to listen

And I took time to teach it

We come from the same streets but let generational judgment jump in between

Not realizing we work better as a team

Together we can move mountains

Together we can shape history

Together we can change the world

As long as we stay true to where we're from

Open your ears to the OGs

Drop them gems on the young

And understand

Life really does come full circle

So maybe

Just maybe

It can be easily said

And done

I lived a hard life

Had to struggle through the day

I've been through hard nights

Say life's gamble I just hope I play my cards right

OG told me don't you worry cause it's alright

It's gon' be alright