Grits
Rza Lyrics

When I was small
During my childhood

We had nothing at all
We were very poor and had no luxuries

We used to eat Grits, for dinner
We had Grits for dinner because it was the only food we could afford

It was pain
It was extremely difficult to survive

Almost drive a man insane
The struggle was so hard that it could break someone's spirit

What we could find for
Whatever food we could find

To survive another day
To make it through another day alive

An old killa bee once hummed me a tune
An experienced and respected gang member sang a song to me

Stay up at night, don't sleep on ya moon
Stay alert and be on guard at all times

Four seeds in the bed, eight seeds in the room
There were many people in a small living space

Afternoon cartoon, we would fight for the spoon
We had to compete for utensils to eat with

Old Earth in the kitchen, yell "it's time to eat"
My mother called us to come eat

Across the foyer, ya hear the gather of stampeding feet
Everyone in the house would rush to the kitchen to eat

One pound box of sugar, and a stick of margarine
Our food supplies were very limited and basic

A hot pot of Grits got my family from starvin'
Grits helped to sustain us when there was no other food

Loose with the welfare cheese, thick wit' the gravy
We put cheese from government assistance on our food

Used to suck it, straight out the bottle as a baby
I used to drink the milk from the bottle as a baby

Steamy hot meal serve less than five minutes
Our meals were usually quick and simple

Big silver pot, boilin' water, salt in it
We cooked our Grits in a pot with salted water

House full of brothers and sisters, the pop's missin'
We had many siblings but our father was absent

Pillsbury box on the stove in the kitchen
We had Pillsbury food on the stove

Young shorties in my hood started hustlin'
Young people in my neighborhood started selling drugs

Packin' bags at the neighbourhood associate
Working at the local supermarket

Growin' up, not as fortunate to have that fly shit
We didn't have access to nice things

I'm too young, no jobs'd hire me legit
I was too young to get a legal job

You walkin' down the street with ya gun in ya hand
Carrying a gun for protection

Drinkin, thinkin' of a masterplan
Scheming how to make money or get ahead in life

Your Old Earth can't afford what ya friends got
Your family can't afford what your friends have

So you roll up to the spot, with ya thing 'pon cock
You go to the drug dealing spot with your gun ready

And it seems worth the takin', stomach achin'
It seems worth the risk, despite the fear and uncertainty

Morning star Reggie makin' go good with the Grits
Smoking weed made Grits taste better

Now let's take it back for real
Let's go back to the past

When we used to build at ghetto big wheels
We made homemade bicycles out of materials we could find

With the shoppin' cart wheels, and wood to nail the seat on
We used shopping carts and wood to create the bike

Girls skippin' rope in the street
Girls playing jump rope outside

The Summer heat, left the jelly prints stuck to they feet
The hot weather caused jelly to stick to their feet

Skelly chief, flippin' baseball cards for keeps
Playing Skelly and trading baseball cards

Momma said it's gettin' late, and it's time to come eat
My mother called us to come eat dinner

But I said nah
I refused to succumb to the negative circumstances and chose a different path for myself