Silver Lining - Blueprint

So much more than a rapper

they only write rhymes

while I’m a writer that

use rap to capture the times

My songwriting’s so exciting

like riding a bike

but speed, never exceed

what you can catch in a line

On rainy days

you never see me fightin' a vibe

my brainstorm can write

before the lightning strike, blow

Lost for days, moms taught me bout honest ways

I saw that crime don’t pay at the youngest age

just a southside kid from around the way

most of my friends did bids and extended stays

you just an animal once you get inside that cage

that’s why I fuck with basketball

I’m out there workin' on my J

Got some letters from some schools askin' me to play

it seemed to be the way to escape the inner city maze

a brave scholar, that loved art and praised knowledge

but got shot at, the summer 'fore he went to college

I never told my moms that, she had enough to bear

she sacrificed everything just to get me there

to see her baby boy graduate and shed a tear

computer science major, the math added an extra year

Found a sampler and put it on layaway

spent my Christmas break makin' beats every day

things I saw at high school told me stay away

but my love for the music never gon' fade away

High price to pay for degrees even then

five years of school the debt added an extra ten

but came home makin' more dough that all my friends

so when my fam needed my help, I could finally give

Moved to Cincinnati, couldn’t be stationary

fell out of love with the girl I moved there to marry

programmer first, local rapper secondary

battle anybody, wanted to be legendary

Try hard to get promoted but I wasn’t able

havin' better luck with the mic and the turntables

all we wanted was attention from a little label

kept pushin' even though my family wasn’t stable

Lost my big sis, hardest year of my life

pops got sick and told me not to stop by

makin' papers, still didn’t have a decent car

paying two mortgages cause mom got hurt on the job

Had to slow my roll from out there gettin' mine

to understanding how the family is intertwined

they all sacrificed so we could live a better life

so you gotta step up to the plate, when it’s your time

Remember this when you’re racin' towards the finish line

credit towards your fam should never be minimized

lotta people lean on them when they on the rise

see some success, then they wanna break the ties

Flippin' through the channels, landed on Charlie Rose

interviewin' Sting about all the songs he wrote

Charlie asked how a songwriter keep his hope

when Sting answered, I never dare forget the quote

He said the music get dark whenever things get bad

but artists gotta understand, it’s easier to paint with black

if you feel it coming on you gotta reel it back

cause people turn to us to hopefully escape from that

I try to think of that, time to time when I’m writing

responsibility that come along with the rhyming

don’t be the guy always talkin' bout the sky falling

don’t paint the dark cloud unless you paint the silver lining

That’s why I’m rhyming

to be that silver lining

to be the silver lining