16 @ War
Karina Pasian Lyrics

Ain't no daddy's where I'm from,
Growing up there were no fathers around, just mothers who were stressed and overworked.

It's just mad mothers.
The mothers in my community were struggling and angry, and understandably so.

And eyes that still seem,
Despite progress in society, people still see things through the lens of race and judge people accordingly.

They can't look past color.
People are so prejudiced that they judge each other based on their skin color.

Why am I disrespected by
It's hurtful when someone who is supposed to be like a brother disrespects me for no reason.

Someone I should call brother?
Why does this person act like they are against me when we are supposed to be brothers?

And why girls feel unpretty
It's hard to understand why girls constantly put each other down and feel bad about their appearance.

And constantly hate each other?
Why can't girls support and uplift each other instead of constantly spreading hate?

Bad air in my lungs,
Growing up in this type of environment, the air is often polluted and harmful to breathe.

Man I can't breathe.
It can be hard to catch your breath when you are surrounded by so much negativity and toxic behavior.

My eyes burnin' from all the dirt and the debris.
The things I see and experience around me make my eyes burn and feel sore.

And it's third degree.
Sometimes it feels like it's so bad that it's like a third degree burn.

Emotionless on the scene.
People seem to be numb and emotionless to the pain and suffering around them.

It's like a disease
The way people are hurting and killing each other seems to be spreading like a disease.

The way y'all killin' me.
All of this negativity and violence is literally killing my spirit.

I'm 16 and I shouldn't have to feel like this.
I'm young and shouldn't have to deal with all of this negativity and pain.

I'm 16, every young boy out here wanna kiss.
Despite all of this, I am still a teenager with normal desires and feelings.

I'm 16, and me and my mama goin' through it.
My mother and I are going through a tough time right now.

16 on the block
Just another kid out here trying to survive and make it through each day.

Around here cool is another word for fool
In this community, people see acting tough and foolish as cool.

If he smoke then she smoke,
Peer pressure is everywhere, with people trying to get others to join in on harmful behaviors.

I gotta smoke too.
I feel like I have to fit in and be like everyone else to be accepted.

Now what would I do if I didn't have a clue?
I often wonder what my life would be like if I didn't have to conform to fit in.

I'm 16 Y.O.
I'm only 16 years old and still figuring out who I am.

Asking God oh Why, OH
I often ask God why things are the way they are and if there is a way out of this cycle of pain.

If my clothes ain't tight,
I feel like I have to dress a certain way to be accepted.

Then he ain't gone like me.
If I don't dress a certain way, the guy I like won't be interested in me.

Eyes on the prize,
I'm trying to focus on my goals and what's important in life.

So the next girl dress just like me.
I hope that other girls can see that they don't have to dress a certain way to be accepted.

I'm so full of promise,
I have so much potential and promise for the future.

But why promise if I'm gonna just be rewarded
It feels pointless to work hard and have promise if all I'll be rewarded with is negative outcomes.

By bad actions.
There are too many people around me engaging in harmful behaviors and it's discouraging.

To him I'm just a transaction.
The guy I like treats me like an object instead of a person.

I want you to love my mind,
I wish people would value me for who I am on the inside and not just based on appearance.

My smile, my style
I hope people can appreciate my personality and sense of style.

I want you to know the best of me
I hope people can see the best in me and appreciate me for who I am.

I want to belong without being treated
I want to be accepted and belong, but not at the expense of being treated poorly.

Like property
I don't want to be treated like an object that can be owned and controlled by someone else.

Why does this seem like a fantasy?
It feels like this kind of acceptance and love is almost impossible to find in my current environment.