When I first met you I was intrigued I was in Gangster’s Paradise Then I’d see you were down with a lot of guys But not in a bad way It was an art-making pathway You were lovable So I had to get to know you were discoverable I saw how you switched it up and that you were smart Grew like a kid up then I’d take part We became great friends You met some of my friends, but mostly I met yours And they were nice as sure as sure can be In fact I took after them Together we all listened to Nas and Eminem, Pac and Biggie then Xzibit The wildest men, if you can call them men as they were back then We listened to Common So much in common Lupe Fiasco was awesome It was said around that time to be dead Though I promised to you that you would always be a part of who I am until I’m dead I didn’t know back then that it was love but it was So we got much deeper Not many people had what we had We met many people, they touched us deeply And also we touched them deeply We picked up cds of Wayne and TI Thrift stores we hit those to get more We became fiends in the best way possible We made music and pressed play non-stoppable if you will When we hit a rough patch, you stuck around Truth be told, you were too in the muck all along, but we stayed together ‘cause it was something much greater at play than either of us could have anticipated In it for the long haul We committed to make it happen I said some cruel things, but it didn’t get to you And your mood swings I took cool whenever you had on your mood ring I saw deep down you were human and soothing I started changing myself for the better We stayed strong and stayed close I focused on the love inside of you, not the little flaws, that’s trivial We were inseparable Then we had more people come into our lives SkyBlew and O’hene Savant Lady Paradox and Hopie was raw Reconnected with Illogic and K-Rino the god Kristoff Krane Killah Priest was still doing his thing As it turned out I happened to check out Replicator and the group Futurology But now there’s Miles Better and Atlas Works, respectively We would surge with the Insurgent Xidus Pain was still bringing the pain in a wise way How could I not say something ‘bout Alex X? Was a lot like me Johnny Cypher, such a raw emcee and honest as can be Mindbender, Expand The Mind Encouragement Kid, Tom from Australia Frankie D, Pet Nico Hard as ever, smart and clever And on the hall of fame is Savan DePaul’s name probably So lovely So through thick and thin we’re still the best of friends Holding hands ‘cause we’re soulmates Damn, it feels so great Compared to this there is nothing so nice ‘cause hip-hop, you’re the love of my life
