A Note For Ray

Kin to the mill but raised in the city/ (Excuse Me) *pause* Can I have a number two and a side of self pity?/

Pop covered the spread, he was young and impetuous/ Mama pushed textile, and did what was best for us/ I was nine or ten when mom met a lawyer/ I needed a constant, he seemed to support us/ I was playing ball, Bulls head like a Taurus/ We bonded over life and switched up the decorum/ He spoke about his ex and the child that they lost/ Told him I'm here and that we'd weather the frost/ Got to know his dad, we were treated as family/ It all seemed real and I savored the sampling/ Mike, or Dad as I had grown to call him/ Would take me round with him, be laughing and talking/ Would go by the office then might see Paul/ Said he used to box and stuttered when he talked/ We'd never stay long, didn't think much of it/ Just knew my new dad and how I loved him/

Used to bump 'Pac and make believe he was thuggin'/ I was down with it, though of rap I knew nothin'/ I'd visit my neighbor, help strengthen my game/ And me and Mike would play, and he would show me some things/ Tryna be 2-3, I ball at the rec league/ My game was stiff, B's smoother than Pepsi/ Soon Auburn passed and Michael was crushed/ Mike lost his dad and was bout to combust/ See Mike had moved out, though I ain't know why/ Was trying to be cool, thought I was gon cry/ To paraphrase dude, it felt like the song died/ You know, the one inside, plays thru long nights/ Last time we spoke, he picked me up from the house/ I said I missed him and what's the problem about/ He shot me a story and drove over to BJ's/ Copped a No Limit and kept it on replay/ But Mike fucked up at the expense of a client/ Soon came the news, state suspended his license/ The paper ran a piece, thus the tensions were heightened/ And what would followed that were anger and violence/ Woke to the first, cops questioning Michael/ They put him in cuffs, made sure he was liable/ He was bi-polar, though we didn't know it/ And Mom had kicked him out after finding him coking/ He came once more, though I was at Terry's/ Then he fled to Three Rivers, all shaken and scary/ After his discharge, he's facing charges/ Six to a year and the state disbars him/

Year and some change, Mom marries up Ray/ We hardly ever spoke, had nothin' to say/ Shit after two, I'm dealing with pain/ That's why close never happened, just a nod with a name/ Been here since eleven, and I feel it a shame/ That I didn't say I 'preciate that you stayed/