Another Struggle - Joell Ortiz

Another day, another struggle

Another day, another struggle

Joell Ortiz, that’s me

V.I.C on this track baby, I see

Another day, another struggle

Everytime it rains in p’s, I seem to walk in the puddle

God as my witness, I don’t want to hustle

But that phone bill is payed if I finish that last bundle

It’s gettin' cold, and I make sure my son, Bundle

He gettin' big, can’t fit his clothes from last year

That’s new shirts, new pants, new footwear

New Coatward coat for me to cook yeah

I know exactly what them housing letters look like

Don’t pink slips look bright on that brown door

That means you going out of business like Caldor

Moms riffin' like what they’re trying to put me out for

Face to face we had to fight it like a south paw

Them case workers to busy runnin' their mouths off

We down all day from 7 to 3, just for them to reschedule everything for next

week

You can’t fit in my shoes, if you never had to hustle

And live by the words another day, another struggle

You can’t fit in my shoes, if your life wasn’t real

And you ain’t live check to check tryin' to catch up to bills

You can’t fit in my shoes, if you’ve never been broke

And bang yourself looking for something to kill that roach

You can’t fit in my shoes, if you’ve never asked god

Why we live like this, why is life so hard

Remember that white money with the staples

The only reason there was something occasionally on the table

Remember that month you felt good you was able to turn on that cable,

they turned off the cable

The next month the cable been knockin' but you stayed shush

You burned Papi down the hall to get it hooked up

My moms sent me to the neighbor with a letter and told me not to read it

I read it trying to keep my head up

Walked in the crib like ma here’s the ketchup

Ran to my room, facing the sheets, I wet the bed up

They wouldn’t let up, in tears that is

Wish I was there 15 years ago to hear that kid

Just to let him know that he ain’t the only shorty going through it

In 15 years from then he’ll be finally flowin' stupid

But ain’t no time machines, so ya’ll can give shorty all my rhymes

Every line is mean

Look Mami they built an ice cream truck

Joell get your but over here you don’t need any ice cream

What, that ain’t the good truck that ice cream sucks

That was the excuse, Mami ain’t had a nice clean buck

But listen Mami I hold nothing against you

We was all alone on our own when pops left you

And that vanilla and sprinkles was nothing special

You sprinkled Vicks on my chest and said bless you

Sneezin', and wheezin', and asthma speechin'

You ain’t leave my bed side til I was fast asleep

And when I was coughin' up in the middle of the night

I looked up and you was there and you made hard livin' all right