All I Had by Tarod RaShon Lyrics
Welcome
To Better Than Yesterday
Tarod RaShon
Unnnnh! Finally did it, y'all
Yeah
Yo
Listen...where I'm from
What I've seen and heard
From the neighborhood that first inspired me
It's all real
Too real...but despite the gunshots, the drugs, the robberies, the fear
One thing never changed
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 1]
Eleven. When I first got the taste for wordplay
The first day I wrote my first verse
I bursted through the curtains of my mind only to find rhymes
Ready to fly high from the confines of their birdcage
We burned tapes, still got the old radio
Speaker mic, capturin' saliva and the way we flowed
Every day we'd go harder than the day befo'
Rappin' to beats beat-boxed like "we done made it, bros"
Kentrel's porch. East Eubanks
I drive by, sometimes, just to give you thanks
This young soldier was deployed and joined new ranks
But this artist ain't changed, just gained new paint--
To paint a picture of the hood that raised me
The music that saved me. On the canvas of Yah, who gave me
A second chance at the tender age of twelve
So when I make it, I'ma get up on that stage and yell
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 2]
I'm glad I could experience
Hood experience
Because I know it shaped me for my good experience
I worked for my paper on that wood experience
But rappers make it misunderstood experience
Lies are glorified, while lives are horrified by reality
Honestly thinkin' they're gonna die
Stray bullets are gonna fly, them stoves are gonna fry
But them concrete roses, they're gonna survive, yeah
And that's the message I'ma feed to the masses
You wanna know the streets? Walk in, through, and past it
The blocks need surgery, preferably not plastic
The streets ain't gastric. We can't bypass this
The fact is
There are many more like me
Full of promise, hope and talent, PRAYING that they might be
Free from it all. Free from the fall
So I will speak for y'all. Stand tall, because
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 3]
Keep your head high. Reach for the sky
As long as you try. You will fly
You will succeed and you will fail
Take both in stride and you will prevail
Keep people Near. Keep Yah nearer
Open up your eyes and your vision will be clearer
Believe what's right. Neglect what's left
Give it your all...'till your last breath
Put it on the line. Prove them wrong
Speak your message. Sing your song
Eyes on the prize. Make 'em realize
That you won't buckle. You will rise
Be that one. Overcome the odds
Trust yourself. Trust in Yah
Fight for freedom. Fight for love
Believe in yourself and rise above
To Better Than Yesterday
Tarod RaShon
Unnnnh! Finally did it, y'all
Yeah
Yo
Listen...where I'm from
What I've seen and heard
From the neighborhood that first inspired me
It's all real
Too real...but despite the gunshots, the drugs, the robberies, the fear
One thing never changed
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 1]
Eleven. When I first got the taste for wordplay
The first day I wrote my first verse
I bursted through the curtains of my mind only to find rhymes
Ready to fly high from the confines of their birdcage
We burned tapes, still got the old radio
Speaker mic, capturin' saliva and the way we flowed
Every day we'd go harder than the day befo'
Rappin' to beats beat-boxed like "we done made it, bros"
Kentrel's porch. East Eubanks
I drive by, sometimes, just to give you thanks
This young soldier was deployed and joined new ranks
But this artist ain't changed, just gained new paint--
To paint a picture of the hood that raised me
The music that saved me. On the canvas of Yah, who gave me
A second chance at the tender age of twelve
So when I make it, I'ma get up on that stage and yell
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 2]
I'm glad I could experience
Hood experience
Because I know it shaped me for my good experience
I worked for my paper on that wood experience
But rappers make it misunderstood experience
Lies are glorified, while lives are horrified by reality
Honestly thinkin' they're gonna die
Stray bullets are gonna fly, them stoves are gonna fry
But them concrete roses, they're gonna survive, yeah
And that's the message I'ma feed to the masses
You wanna know the streets? Walk in, through, and past it
The blocks need surgery, preferably not plastic
The streets ain't gastric. We can't bypass this
The fact is
There are many more like me
Full of promise, hope and talent, PRAYING that they might be
Free from it all. Free from the fall
So I will speak for y'all. Stand tall, because
[Hook]
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
I never needed a gimmick, never hustled a bag
All I had
Was my love for music, a pencil and pad
And a will to keep goin' and goin'
Improvin' my flow and showin' my people light
'cuz some don't know it
[Verse 3]
Keep your head high. Reach for the sky
As long as you try. You will fly
You will succeed and you will fail
Take both in stride and you will prevail
Keep people Near. Keep Yah nearer
Open up your eyes and your vision will be clearer
Believe what's right. Neglect what's left
Give it your all...'till your last breath
Put it on the line. Prove them wrong
Speak your message. Sing your song
Eyes on the prize. Make 'em realize
That you won't buckle. You will rise
Be that one. Overcome the odds
Trust yourself. Trust in Yah
Fight for freedom. Fight for love
Believe in yourself and rise above