“Two Sides”

I got bars like prison, keys like vision,

Locked in with God, still made boss decisions.

I don’t need a crown when the pressure fit,

Diamonds don’t shine ’til the dark get lit.

 

I got two sides, both of ’em dangerous,

One pray for peace, one came with arrangements.

Pretty in the picture, but the frame got bars,

I don’t chase stars — I became my scars.

 

They say I got nerve — I call that survival,

Bible on the dresser, blade in the title.

Not for violence, for the cut in the writing,

I split every lie ’til the truth start lighting.

 

I’m from where love got limits and rent got raised,

Where mama made miracles out of microwave trays.

Now I cook with the pen, let the beat get seasoned,

If I ate off pain, then the pain had reason.

 

I got soul in the soles of these gold stilettos,

Stepped over devils, still danced through ghettos.

If my past got dirt, then my roots got depth,

I don’t fear death — I already buried myself.

 

Came back grown, came back cold, came back chosen,

Ocean in my chest, but my face stayed frozen.

They thought I was washed, I was tide-shifting,

Now every bar got weight like I’m rhyme-lifting.

 

Two meanings in a line, two lives in a woman,

One survived the fire, one learned how to cook in it.

One smile for the room, one plot in the dark,

One hand on God, one hand on the art.