man up above

J. Cole

Never would have made it
Never could have made it
Without You
Without You (Uh)

Whole lotta O s gettin sold on the block
Don t go outside a lot, ain t tryna get popped
12 bustin in while we scrapin out the pot
We runnin out the spot, we runnin out the spot
Singin , Don t be fooled by the rocks that I got
Somebody s gettin knocked while the bodies gettin dropped
I used to have a little, now, a nigga got a lot
I pray the Lord watch, I pray the Lord watch

Another year goes by, another nigga slayed
At the West Indian Day Parade when perpetrators sprayed
You got the nerve to ask why I stay in the house more
Get paid for goin in; the fuck I m goin out for?
When niggas stretchin shit like a new school power forward
Naz Reid range
But when these boys is shootin
Niggas start breathin strange
Heartbeat is faint, now, it s auf wiedersehen
I m not German, but the wheels currently turnin
On my mama s automobile certainly are
While y all prefer to be hard
Memories of my dawg s wake, it s hurtin me, y all
The windows to his soul closed, saw his curtains be drawn
Innocent as a child, but weren t we all?
Before the hoes and the smoke that arose
From the Black and Mild cigarillos
Triggers lift the biggest fellows
Put seven on his torso and turned him into Melo, uh
But no midrange iso, back to the basket
The streets raised him a bastard, wrapped in a casket
Best beware, don t you dare go laugh at the tragic
Passing of somebody s son by somebody s gun
Give a fuck if you opps
When dissin the dead, the karma tends to come at you hot
I promise you
Pray for forgiveness, the Lord s wrath can astonish you
I d rather admonish you on this record
Than impress with perceptions of a designer shoe
Fuck Gucci, fuck Louis, fuck Chanel
Fuck Balenciaga, how we gon excel?
Soon as niggas make it out, they turnin Hollywood as hell
I knew buddy caught that body
But hell, I probably shouldn t tell
Or else, I

Never would have made it
I mean, I
Never could have made it (Yeah)
Without You

Got a soft spot for the man up above
Eastside, Westside, show me love (Without You)
Niggas duck shots and some niggas catch slugs
Northside, Southside, show me love

Whole lotta O s gettin sold on the block
Don t go outside a lot, ain t tryna get popped
12 bustin in while we scrapin out the pot
We runnin out the spot, we runnin out the spot
Singin , Don t be fooled by the rocks that I got
Somebody s gettin knocked while the bodies gettin dropped
I used to have a little, now, a nigga got a lot
I pray the Lord watch, I pray the Lord watch, uh

Someone that s close to me is facin time
My mind s racin for some way
To find hope that he may be fine
He got a son the same age as mine
I can t imagine spendin days in a cage not raisin mine
These are the years with our kids where we strengthen bonds
I paid his bond, but the trial s comin
Yo, rain or shine, I know his child love him
But he s too young to understand it
If the outcome is incarceration
The charges facin bring the possibility
Of long vacations and complications
With his baby mom
She daily cryin , sayin her heart is vacant
He tryna make it work
He wanna fake it for the sake of family
But she keep throwin old shit right in his face, apparently
Remindin him bout how he tried to make her take a plan B
And abort the seed
Threatenin him with child support
So that the court can seize and garnish wages
And all this was before he caught this case
That s brought the latest
Pile of stress to add to all this mess, it s hard to face it
His thoughts deflated
Somewhere long the way, he lost his faith
But now he reads the Bible
Hopin God ll see him contemplative
Never would have made it
He prayin now, even threw some gospel on his playlist
Never could have made it
Tears fallin , Marvin Sapp
Never Would Have Made It (Without You)

Man up above
Eastside, Westside, show me love (Without You)
Niggas duck shots and some niggas catch slugs
Northside, Southside, show me love

Whole lotta O s gettin sold on the block
Don t go outside a lot, ain t tryna get popped
12 bustin in while we scrapin out the pot
We runnin out the spot, we runnin out the spot
Singin , Don t be fooled by the rocks that I got
Somebody s gettin knocked while the bodies gettin dropped
I used to have a little, now, a nigga got a lot
I pray the Lord watch, I pray the Lord watch for me

Never would have made it (Oh, I never could have made it)
Never could have made it
Without You
Without You