Verse One
Check it, I can’t talk about gold chains and diamonds,
sitting on the beachfront for whole days admiring the beautiful skies,
drinking a glass of Long Island iced-tea
and watching the sunset expiring,
I come from the inner city, tarmac and concrete,
gravel under my feet and ain’t no sign of palm trees,
speeding cop cars, ambulances with they sirens,
rooftop bars, ain’t no chance of getting silence,
I can’t talk about hedge funds and equity from land ownership,
stocks and shares at jeopardy and black poker chips,
back-handed donations, corrupt politics
and getting standing ovations from sly dirty tricks,
I come from public housing tenements,
where most of the residents surviving on benefits
and a damp interior, pollution increased,
but the motto of the city is we all deserve peace,
I can’t really talk about trust funds, inheritance,
antiques, private school, trademarks and dividends,
gold bars, private jets, sports cars,
champagne from the finest fruits of the vineyards,
I come from nothing in the bank,
high interest rates, credit cards and a blank chequebook,
fresh page, never written, still attached to the stub,
yeah that’s how I came up.


Chorus
Yeah that’s how I came up, yeah that’s how I came up (raised),
yeah that’s how I came up, yeah that’s how I came up (raised),
yeah that’s how I came up, yeah that’s how I came up (raised),
yeah that’s how I came up, yeah that’s how I came up (yeah, yeah, yeah).


Verse Two
I can talk about the faith of the seed from a mustard,
living with the hope and belief that I trusted,
working seven days of the week til’ I’m flustered,
remembering the hand-me-downs appropriately adjusted,
I can talk about seeing someone on they face,
giving them a helping hand so they can get back in the race
and I let them use my shoulder,
so they got a firm place they can trust and can lean on,
they know that won’t break,
I can talk about the lack of fear that I live with,
responsibilities as I control my own business,
taking care of everything so my ship don’t sink,
vigilant with details, wide eyed, don’t blink,
I can talk about staying calm in a storm,
adapt to situations, but reluctant to conform,
remember my uniqueness is my greatest ammunition,
remember preservation just as much as acquisition,
I can talk about my whole life as I’ve lived it,
every accident and everything I did deliberate,
the failures, success, shortcomings, victories,
tomorrow is the future and the past is my history,
I can talk about me, maybe not you,
but there are things collectively that people go through,
so everybody different, equally we are the same,
I just got my perspective from the way that I was raised.


Chorus


Outro
Raised (repeated multiple times).