Blown Away )
Akon Lyrics

This shit is crazy
This is an insane situation

It's one of those things, man
This is the kind of situation that you have to experience to understand

You gotta experience to know what I'm talkin' about
You need to have gone through this to truly comprehend what I mean

It's where the goin' get rough
This is where things get tough

The tough stay tough
The strong are the ones who persevere

Up front
Let's get things moving

We in too deep to turn back now, D
We're already committed and can't back out now

Watch yourself
Be careful and aware of your surroundings

Before you get
Or else you will be

Blown away
Caught up in the violence and lose everything

You know where I come from
I grew up in a certain environment

The place where your fate is a mic
It's a place where you can make it in the music industry

Or a bull, or a dum dum
Or you end up getting killed or in jail

A jail cell, a pine box
Either way, you end up in jail or dead

And brothers is dumb young
And the sad thing is, a lot of young people are making bad choices

Young boys
Teenagers who haven't yet figured out the world

Still bustin' guns for the slum
Still engaging in violence despite it being harmful to their communities

That they come from
The place where they grew up and learned their values

Cops is the only ones they gon' run from
They only run from the police, as it's the only authority they recognize

They puttin' they hood up
They are banding together as a community, but it may not be enough

But nine out of ten of us ain't got good luck
Most people don't get out of these neighborhoods or end up in jail

You gon' ride on a man and catch twenty-five
If you engage in violence, you'll likely end up in jail

Or get hit and get sent to the other side
Or you'll get shot and die

You lose both sides of the coin
Either way, you lose

So me, I play the hood, baby
I stick with my community despite its drawbacks

Not in the
Though I could join a church or mosque, I haven't yet

Mama got a little church I could join
I have a religious option available to me via my mom's church

But I didn't go yet
I haven't taken advantage of this opportunity yet

Man got a mosque I could join
I could also join a mosque, but haven't

Cool with the devil on my back
I'm not afraid of whatever evil may come my way

I'm in cold sweats
I'm anxious and nervous about what I'm about to do

'Bout to do some dirt
About to engage in something bad

In some dirty black old sweats
In old and worn out clothes

If you known, you should've shown the way
If you've made it out of this environment, you should be helping others do the same

Most of the hood 'bout to get blown away
Many people from this community are in danger and may not make it out alive

'Cause I was raised up to show no fear
I was taught to be brave

Cowardly hearts'll never last long here
Those who are scared won't survive in this environment

If you ain't man enough to make shit clear
If you can't handle conflicts directly and maturely

Guaranteed you'll get blown away
You'll get caught up in the violence and lose everything

'Cause I done seen the block break down tears
I've witnessed the community suffer and fall apart

And I done seen the cops break my peers
I've seen people from my community get arrested and sent to jail

Tryin' to hold on to a couple more years
Trying to survive and stay out of jail for a little while longer

Tryin' not to get blown away
Trying to avoid getting caught up in the violence

See, I ain't never shot nobody
I haven't killed anyone

But I'm known for fightin'
But I'm not afraid to defend myself

So when I strike, man
When I fight back

You'll think you been struck by lightning
It'll feel like a sudden and powerful force hit you

Shouldn't have to prove myself by killin' a nigga
I shouldn't have to resort to murder to prove myself

Even a child could take a life by pullin' the trigga
It's easy and doesn't require much skill to take someone's life with a gun

Retaliation only takes anger mixed with passion
Acting out of anger and passion can lead to violent retaliation

So you target in the distance and keep on blastin'
You'll keep shooting until you hit your target, no matter what's in the way

They say guns don't kill people, people do
The problem isn't the guns, it's the people using them

So when you're hit, man
When you get shot

You feel that shit the evils do
You feel the full force of evil and the consequences of your actions

Can't see myself get beat down
I refuse to back down and let someone else defeat me

My eyes swollen
I'll fight back until I can no longer see

Mom's cryin', they don't know what happened
My family will be devastated and confused

My pride's stolen
My dignity and self-respect will be taken away

If I ain't got my heat, then I got a blade
If I don't have a gun, I'll use a knife instead

That hit ya off
To defend myself and strike back

Keep my eye out for jakes
I'm watching out for the police

Ears to the streets
I'm always listening for any news or gossip

Other eye out for snakes
I'm also wary of betrayals from people I thought were friends

And these scandalous freaks
Those who use others for their own benefit

If we ain't on good terms
If we're not on good terms with each other

Don't bother to speak
Don't try to initiate conversation with me

Don't smile and try to spark a convo with me
I won't respond kindly to attempts at friendly conversation

Same thing'll make ya laugh will make ya cry
The same situation can bring joy or pain

And while this nigga quiet nigga, he'll take ya life
Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I won't take action if I feel threatened

Hate for it to be the world's sacrifice
I don't want to be the one who causes harm to others

If somebody else could travel
If someone else could make it out of this life

Through the tunnel of life
Through the same difficult path that we're all on

'Cause I'm that type of guy I'll be there
Because I'm the kind of person who will lend a helping hand

When you're ridin'
When you need support or help

But I'll stay to myself
I'll remain introverted and quiet

So if you see me out there
If you see me around

With a bear we fightin'
I'm fighting against a powerful and dangerous opponent

Then, nigga, go help the bear
If you see me struggling against something big, help me out