Yeah grew up with killers, I didn't know they was killers
We was just together man, playing Mega-man on Sega man
Your mama loved me to death, she reminded me of Afeni
Yeah real black queen
If I had a genie,
I wish that she ain't struggle no more
Y'all wouldn't have to go to sleep with all the roaches if she wasn't so poor
You told me when you came to my house
This shit was like a timeout from reality
One night you asked me what I'm crying about
'Cause you was staying over for the weekend
I woke up from out my sleep
When I heard mama and my stepfather beefin
I don't know if he been drinkin
But I know this shit got loud and I heard rumbling from struggling
And rolling on the ground
Could never get used to that sound
My mama saying get off me
My tears is tumbling now
I wish that you never saw me
'Cause I felt like a coward, so powerless I was only 12
I wish I would'be bust through that door my fucking self
And grab the Glock right off the fucking shelf
If nothing else scared a nigga shitless
There goes two of my wishes
Forever scarred, determined to get some heart
No matter how big the nigga, no matter how small you are
Fast-forward to our older years
Two different paths
You used to talk to me about college but that shit didn't last
Waste of potential, getting cash, what could I say?
So tired of not having things, you never see it my way
Too proud to fold
Your demise
One day to my surprise, my nigga called me, told me you just caught a body twice your size
I asked if it was self defense, he said it was defense of pride
And that they trying to give you ten, but if you lucky you'll do five damn
Not my nigga
The same one that told me that things always get better
Just trust me, don't cry my nigga
The news call him a killer, but he my nigga
Sad shit
Ay yo genie last wish, free my nigga

Overall Meaning

The Boom Bap Project paints a vivid picture of growing up in the inner city through their song Welcome to Seattle. The opening lines of the song, “Yeah grew up with killers, I didn't know they was killers. We was just together man, playing Mega-man on Sega man” highlight the idea that the artist grew up around people who were living a lifestyle that was normalized for them. They were unaware of the danger lurking around them. They go on to reminisce about their childhood friend’s mother who was a hardworking woman faced with poverty. The lyrics express a heartfelt desire to make things better for her and end her struggle. The song then takes a dark turn as they recall a traumatic experience where they overhear their mother and stepfather fighting violently.

Throughout the song, the lyrics also reflect on the choices that people make and how they shape their lives. The artist refers to their friend who they used to discuss going to college with but instead ended up going down a different path. They express sadness for what happened to their friend but also acknowledge that they made their own choices which led to that outcome. They end the song by asking three final wishes from a genie, the last one being to free their friend who is now in prison for murder.

The song Welcome to Seattle highlights the harsh realities of living in the inner city and the choices people are forced to make in order to survive. The Boom Bap Project provides listeners with a glimpse into their lives and the lives of those around them, painting a picture of a world which is often overlooked.

Line by Line Meaning

Yeah grew up with killers, I didn't know they was killers
I grew up with people who later turned out to be killers, but at that time, we were just kids who loved playing games.

We was just together man, playing Mega-man on Sega man
We were just hanging out together, playing video games and having fun.

Your mama loved me to death, she reminded me of Afeni
Your mother was like a mother to me and always took care of me, just like Afeni Shakur did for her son Tupac.

Yeah real black queen
Your mother was a strong black woman, and I admired her greatly.

If I had a genie, I wish that she ain't struggle no more
If I had a genie who could grant me a wish, I would wish that your mother didn't have to struggle anymore.

Y'all wouldn't have to go to sleep with all the roaches if she wasn't so poor
If your mother wasn't so poor, you wouldn't have to sleep with roaches at night.

You told me when you came to my house This shit was like a timeout from reality
You once told me that coming to my house was like taking a break from the harsh reality of your life.

One night you asked me what I'm crying about 'Cause you was staying over for the weekend
One night when you were staying over at my house, you asked me why I was crying.

I woke up from out my sleep When I heard mama and my stepfather beefin
I woke up from my sleep when I heard my mother and stepfather arguing.

I don't know if he been drinkin But I know this shit got loud and I heard rumbling from struggling And rolling on the ground
I don't know if he had been drinking, but I could hear them struggling and rolling on the ground.

Could never get used to that sound My mama saying get off me My tears is tumbling now
I could never get used to that sound, and I could hear my mother crying and telling him to get off of her.

I wish that you never saw me 'Cause I felt like a coward, so powerless I was only 12
I wish that you never saw me because I felt like a coward for not being able to protect my mother, and I was only 12 years old at the time.

I wish I would'be bust through that door my fucking self And grab the Glock right off the fucking shelf
I wish I had the courage to bust through the door myself and grab a gun to protect my mother.

If nothing else scared a nigga shitless There goes two of my wishes Forever scarred, determined to get some heart No matter how big the nigga, no matter how small you are
If that experience didn't scare me enough, then there goes two of my wishes. I was forever scarred by that incident and became determined to become stronger and braver, no matter how big or small I was.

Fast-forward to our older years Two different paths You used to talk to me about college but that shit didn't last
Now that we are older, we have gone down different paths. You used to talk to me about going to college, but that didn't work out for you.

Waste of potential, getting cash, what could I say? So tired of not having things, you never see it my way
I think you are wasting your potential by just trying to get money, but you are so focused on having material things that you can't see my point of view.

Too proud to fold Your demise
You are too stubborn to give up, even if it leads to your downfall.

One day to my surprise, my nigga called me, told me you just caught a body twice your size I asked if it was self defense, he said it was defense of pride And that they trying to give you ten, but if you lucky you'll do five damn Not my nigga
One day, my friend called me and told me that you had killed someone who was twice your size. I asked if it was self-defense, but he said it was because of your pride. They are trying to give you a ten-year sentence, but if you are lucky you might only serve five. This is not the friend that I used to know.

The same one that told me that things always get better Just trust me, don't cry my nigga The news call him a killer, but he my nigga
This is the same friend who used to tell me that things always get better and not to worry. He is trying to console me now and telling me not to cry. Even though the news is calling him a killer, he is still my friend.

Sad shit Ay yo genie last wish, free my nigga
This is a sad situation. My last wish, if I had a genie, would be to free my friend from his prison sentence.

Contributed by Ian Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it