How An Electronic Device May Be Eradicating Hip Hop Radio

Basking in the glow of the Steelers sixth Super Bowl title and the Penguins’ march to their first Stanley Cup since 1992, Pittsburgh natives were brimming with civic pride this spring. That glow dulled ever so slightly on May 15, when Steel City residents learned they were about to lose a local institution that some cherished as much as the city’s illustrious professional sports franchises.

WAMO 106.7 FM, Pittsburgh’s only hip-hop radio station, had unexpectedly been sold to a Catholic organization. Founded in 1948 by a white Navy cadet who dreamed of providing a voice for all of the city’s races and ethnicities, WAMO was to be rededicated to religious programming by its new owners.

But why, many asked, would a radio station that had so ably filled a niche in Pittsburgh for more than half a century suddenly decide to give up on itself and its listeners and cash out for a modest $8.9 million?

The answer was just as mysterious: according to WAMO management, a cell phone-sized device known as the Portable People Meter (PPM) was mostly to blame for the station’s demise. Although many listeners had never heard of the PPM, radio executives around the country were already engaged in a pitched battle against a device they claim is slowly driving out of business radio stations that enjoy popularity with minorities.

The PPM is used by media marketing research firm Arbitron, Inc., to compile listener data relied upon by advertisers wishing to reach the largest audience possible. Introduced earlier this decade, the PPM is given to select individuals by Arbitron so that the company can track and record the radio stations they listen to over an extended time period. The PPM achieves its purpose by collecting inaudible codes embedded in the audio of the programming to which the listener is exposed and relaying the data back to Arbitron. The use of PPMs replaced the previous method of collecting such data, which was based on the more unreliable written journals kept by selected listeners.

Although one would expect PPMs to produce more accurate marketing data than the paper journals, critics argue that Arbitron’s deployment of the devices has resulted in discrimination and dire financial consequences for radio stations with audiences comprised largely of minorities.

Specifically, critics point to Arbitron’s heavy reliance on public telephone directories for solicitation of potential PPM carriers. Statistics show that Hispanics and African-Americans represent the largest number of cell phone-only households, which means that members of these households are more often excluded from participation in Arbitron’s studies than other ethnic groups. That wouldn’t seem to bode well for radio stations such as WAMO, whose listeners are less likely to show up in the Arbitron ratings used by advertisers to determine which radio stations will receive their lifeblood revenue. For its part, Arbitron claims that it has instituted a “Feet on the Street” campaign in an effort to attract more minority participants for its data collections.

In response to the controversy, the Federal Communications Commission opened an official inquiry (read the full inquiry here) into Arbitron’s use of PPMs. Comments by interested parties (akin to administrative amicus briefs) were filed on July 1, and comments on the initial round of comments are due to the FCC today.

As for WAMO (named after Pittsburgh’s three rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio), the station could still be heard broadcasting hip hop to the masses on Thursday night despite its recent change in ownership. However, other American radio stations enjoyed by a large number of minority listeners could face a more unceremonious end without changes to Arbitron’s PPM regime.

Marc Lynch, Hip-Hop, and Foreign Policy

Hip-Hop and law took a new direction recently with some astute analysis on hip-hop and international relations theory. In the most recent Foreign Policy, readers will find an article by Marc Lynch, a professor of international relations at George Washington University. You can find the link here. In this article he applies international relations theories as diverse as "rogue nations," "hegemony," and "unipolarity" to the Jay-Z/The Game feud. In my experience with the literature on hip-hop, this is an exciting new direction for scholarship.

Prof. Lynch's work isn't a complete tome on the subject, but does move hip-hop scholarship forward. He provides insightful commentary on the beef between Jay-Z and The Game, while perhaps providing an opening for those who might be interested in international relations to read up on hip-hop.

Lynch's work isn't without fault or beyond inquiry, however. One wonders if the theory could be applied to other artists and if it should. One also wonders where message-oriented rappers fit into the puzzle. Is Common Canada? An important ally of mainstream hip-hop (the hegemonic US), but with a soulful introspective stance (perhaps akin to Canada's environmental and social welfare policies) that often positions him at odds with mainstream commercial success (US hegemonic discourse). Do countries that veer toward more socialistic or environmental policies equate with message-oriented artists? If we take Lynch's analysis and apply it to early hip-hop does it still hold true?

You can listen to Marc Lynch's interview on NPR here. The theory might not be complete, but Lynch has the ball in his proverbial court. It will be interesting to see what develops from this new discussion.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

henry louis gates and hip hop

Perhaps the most consistent theme in hip hop discourse is its bold critique of the criminal justice system in the United States. From its roots in the South Bronx through today, hip hop artists and culture have denounced crime and punishment in the United States in a way that essentially defies the underlying penal philosophy that has been adopted and championed by U.S. legislators for decades. Since the inception of hip hop as a musical genre, hip hop artists have rhymed in a narrative format that starkly informs listeners and fans that the entire fundamental regime of law and order in the United States is suspect, illegitimate and profane. Another example of U.S. law and order as unequal, illegitimate and suspect is currently before the American public yet again.

In another dreadful example of race and profiling in America, we learned yesterday that perhaps THE most respected African American public intellectual in the United States, Skip Gates, had been pulled from his own home and arrested. Returning home after filming a documentary in China, the renowned Harvard Professor found his front door jammed and forced his way into his house. Neighbors called police. When the police arrived, they questioned Gates, requested identification, and then, according to Gates, refused to acknowledge that his home address on his ID matched the address at the home they were tipped to respond. Once Gates became upset and repeatedly asked for the officer's name and badge number, calling the police line of questioning what it was, harassment, racial profiling and modern day bullying, the police arrested him for disorderly conduct. Police claim that Gates exhibited "loud and tumultuous behavior." According to Gates, the loud and tumultuous behavior was the repeated requests for names and badge numbers of police officers.

The news today is that the Cambridge police have dropped the charges against Professor Gates, but we are left with vexing questions:

First, if Professor Gates can be pulled from his home and arrested, based on a neighbor's call (how did the neighbor not know Gates?), then that essentially proves what the hip hop nation has proclaimed all along -- no black or brown face is safe from racism, profiling or discrimination in the United States. Henry Louis Gates was ARRESTED IN HIS OWN HOME for alleged disorderly conduct.

Second, while we listen to unending loops of U.S. citizens claiming that we have entered a post-racial place in America, we witness a hugely important African American intellectual, that spends his life examining and writing about issues of equality and justice, arrested, handcuffed and dragged down to the police station on what charge? Breaking and entering? No, he was inside his own home. Burglary or theft? No, again, he was inside his own place. Assault or battery upon a police officer? No, merely challenged the police verbally and requested their identification. No, he was arrested, charged and detained for disorderly conduct. And, on this charge, you can add Skip Gates to the number of African American citizens in the United States that have encountered the criminal justice system from the inside. Gates himself said:

"There are one million black men in jail in this country and last Thursday I was one of them," he said in an interview with The Washington Post Tuesday morning. "This is outrageous and that this is how poor black men across the country are treated everyday in the criminal justice system. It's one thing to write about it, but altogether another to experience it."

Arrested for loud and tumultuous behavior?!

Third, the Cambridge police have dropped charges against Gates, but have unequivocally claimed that race had nothing to do with the arrest. Of course, the police must claim that the arrest had nothing to do with race, but who are they kidding? A black man using his shoulder to free a jammed door in Harvard Square in Cambridge? A neighbor not recognizing one of the most important public intellectuals in the United States? The police refusing to leave as soon as Gates provided them his identification where the address on the ID matched the address at the home? The police refusing to leave once Gates started giving it to them for racially profiling him, but instead asking him out of his house so that they could arrest him? All of this has nothing to do with race?

Last, the hip hop nation knows all too well what Professor Gates experienced last Thursday. To a person, my money says that those among us with brown or black faces, have experienced something very much like Gates just has. Hip hop describes this discrimination in raw and exacting detail. Henry Louis Gates, a fan and supporter of the hip hop nation, has now experienced what the nation knows. He said:

"I am appalled that any American could be treated as capriciously by an individual police officer. He should look into his soul and he should apologize to me," Gates said. "If so, I will be prepared to forgive him. I think that poor people in general and black people in general are vulnerable to the whims of rogue cops, and we all have to fight to protect the weakest among us. No matter how bad it was going to get, I knew that sooner or later I would get to a phone and one of my friends would be there to help. . . . I want to be a figure for prison reform. I think that criminal justice system is rotten."

We have so much more work to do before we can claim that we have arrived at a post-racial America.

The Bar Exam

Artist: Nas featuring Lauryn Hill
Track: If I Rule the World
Album: It Was Written

Yo, it'll be paradise life relaxin' Black, Latino and Anglo-Saxon
Armani Exchange to Range
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz, free at last
Brand new whips to crash then we laugh in the iller path
The Villa house is for the crew, how we do
Trees for breakfast, dime sexes and Benz stretches
So many years of depression make me vision
The better livin', type of place to raise kids in
Open they eyes to the lies history's told foul
But I'm as wise as the old owl, plus the Gold Child
Seeing things like I was controlling, click rollin'
Trickin' six digits on kicks and still holdin'
Trips to Paris, I civilized every savage
Gimme one shot I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisoner set free, stress free
No work release purple M3's and jet skis
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I make Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse fiends to Willies
It sounds foul but every girl I meet to go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica send 'em to Africa

TNT – Tiny N Toya are Dynamite

We have yet another reality show that is not reflective of how most of us live. Do we have to continue to be inundated by the excess and carelessness of the celebrity lifestyle? We get a glimpse inside hip hop star T.I.’s mansion as his girlfriend, who is now rumored to be his wife, capitalizes on his incarceration. Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, a former member of the 90s hip hop soul female singing group Xscape, is talented in her own right, but for the most part was forgotten. With renewed media interest in all of the “T.I. goes to jail” hoopla, Tiny is back in the spotlight. Antonia “Toya” Carter, the ex-wife of Wayne Carter a.k.a. superstar rapper Lil’ Wayne, uncovers the unknown side of the musician’s family.

As much as I despised that Black Entertainment Television was airing a program that would hurt rather than uplift the community it was created to serve, I decided to watch the sneak preview out of pure curiosity. I was apprehensive at first that the Tiny and Toya show would only enforce the stereotypes that Black women often fall victim to in the media, especially the baby mama, gold digger persona. I discovered that while the show had its ignorant moments, the stars surprisingly shared their personal stories with the audience – including the good and the bad. It showed that celebrities and their families are not invincible, nor immune to everyday problems. It made clear that money cannot buy happiness. As Toya drove a Honda through the streets of New Orleans searching for her mother, I was pleased that we were viewing her conservative and practical side in this economic recession. The display of raw emotion was also refreshing.

In the first episode, we witness Tiny coming to terms with her father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and Toya who is battling with her drug addicted mother to get off the streets. The story begins with Tiny who recounts losing the father of her first child to a ten year prison sentence while she was left all alone to raise their daughter. We also find out that Tiny was a sugar mama to T.I. before he was discovered. To contrary belief, Tiny was initially the one with the money in their relationship due to her songwriting and performance royalties. Then Toya goes back into her childhood to explain how and why she became a pregnant teen with Lil’ Wayne’s child at the age of 14. These young ladies displayed courage and opened their hearts to let us in. The topics are relevant – real love, real life.

Both Tiny and Toya appeared to honestly divulge the details of their failed relationships right before our very eyes while uncovering their human side. We have yet to see what is to come in subsequent episodes, but they are off to a good start. Even if you do not agree with their approach, Tiny and Toya are explosive in that they allow the cameras to film their joy and pain. Let us hope for the best, as the haters are already on the horizon.

Microphone check 1-2, 1-2…is this thing on?

- Kamille Wolff

The Bar Exam

Artist: Joe Budden
Track: If I Die Tommorrow
Album: Mood Muzik 2: Can It get Any Worse?

If I died tomorrow then what would it mean
Already feel like I'm livin' my dream
Came across some pretty interesting folk
I met some new people
Ain't move a lot of units, but touched a few people
So I might get frustrated fuckin' wit' the hood son
But everyday above ground is a good one
Walk out the door and leave it in God's hands
If I go it's just part of God's plan
If I died tomorrow
Will life carry out the same?
Well at least my little man can carry out the name
And look, I can say I lived my life without stress
If I died tomorrow, I'm fine, I been blessed, Yes!
I made some money, and true I could've had more
But he's happy and what more could he ask for?
If it was no diamonds and no begets
I still would have no worries, I got no regrets
I made my mom proud, and pop feels the same way
But he's a man so he probably got too much pride to say
Can't count my blessings on one hand, more than a handful
And God ain't send nothin' my way I couldn't handle

Where's my money? Jay-Z didn't pay his lawyers

News recently broke that Jay-Z, who is embroiled in legal troubles stemming from alleged New York labor law violations, is in need of legal representation. The law firm representing him in his wage dispute with his 40/40 club employees has asked to be withdrawn from the case. It's seldom that an attorney asks to be withdrawn and when it happens it's usually because there's a serious issue at play.

Too often attorneys, agents, and consultants have to track down the money they are rightfully owed. It's not simply attorneys waiting for court appointed work fees. It's not only solo practitioners representing everyone who comes through the door. Even large firms with well paid clients (Jay-Z makes about 80 million dollars a year) are sometimes in the weeds when it comes to collecting on bills.

Attorney Michael DiMattia wrote the letter asking to withdraw to Manhattan Federal Court Judge Loretta Preska. No decision has been made at this time.

Will Jay-Z pay? We'll have to wait and see.

Today's lesson: Pay your professional.


-- Nick J. Sciullo

My Reflections on Michael

Icon. Legend. Visionary. All of these words describe this generation’s number one show stopper – none other than Michael Jackson. As the world mourns his death and the courts sift through his estate, we are left to savor all that MJ left behind. In witnessing the marathon of tributes to his songs on the radio and his videos on MTV, we finally realize the true impact that Michael had across decades. His half-century of life was filled with intrigue and turmoil, but he never left us hanging. There was always a hot MJ tune to shake my body down to the ground to. We are all indebted to Michael for his musical genius. As a friend stated, he gave up his childhood so that we could be entertained throughout ours. He was a true entertainer as he dazzled us with his performances, leaving us in awe.

The songs that comprise Michael Jackson’s catalogue of music are for the most part all classics. With his portfolio of winners, questions are surfacing as to why we no longer have artists who are true performers in every sense of the word. Who is our next Michael Jackson? How will anyone ever match the star power of the number one selling artist of all time? Will we ever have another album to play all the way from the first song to the last? Can any music video in this day and age ever match the creative cinematography of Thriller? All of these questions have us asking, where is the real music? The unknown leaves us suffering from our loss. As I reminisce about the moonwalk and the white glove, I’m holding back the tears. He was magical, our very own Peter Pan.

It is undeniable that Michael changed the world, but he had a particularly strong impact on hip hop artists, music, and culture. From the “ABC” Jackson 5 sample that Naughty by Nature used for “You Down Wit OPP” to the “Human Nature” sample used by Nas in “It Aint Hard to Tell,” Michael Jackson had a direct and indirect influence on hip hop. Michael was the first to bring edgy, street-inspired dance moves to MTV as the only Black artist to be in heavy rotation during the early eighties on the network. Like hip hop music and culture, Michael broke through racial and economic barriers as people from all walks of life listened to and enjoyed his music. Michael was international, just like hip hop. At his concerts, there were faces of all hues, much like a Jay-Z concert in middle America.

Like a hip hop artist at heart, Michael Jackson was not afraid to be vocal about oppression and the need for equality in tunes such as “Black or White” and “Man in the Mirror.” Michael was about peace and love. He was compassionate and giving. Michael made a “better place for you and for me” along with the entire human race while toppling racial stereotypes. We could all come together to enjoy great music – every race and ethnicity. Michael Jackson was a visionary. He was before his time as he seamlessly reinvented himself with every album. We were glued to the television for his video premiers as he stayed relevant throughout time. He was always fresh and ground-breaking. He was a leader, not a follower. In other words, he was and still is a trend setter. His originality was priceless and he always gave back. A true humanitarian, he never forgot where he came from. Michael Jackson is hip hop. Microphone check 1-2, 1-2…is this thing on?

- Kamille Wolff

The Bar Exam

Artist: Common with Hi-Tek, J-Dilla, Marsha Ambrosius, and Nas
Track: Music For Life
Album: Hi-Tecknology Vol. 2: The Chip

Keep the music alive
The good and the strong survive
I closed my eyes and imagined I was Jackson Five
Randy and Michael goin' through life's cycle
Music allowed me to let life go
So vital to a youngster, comin' up amongst street hustlers
The big b to touch us, such a special place
Givin' the ghetto a taste of what freedom is like
I reached a point in my life where I was needin' the mic
No second guessin', self-expression in lessons learned
Aggression, became sessions where sessions burned
Put my soul into it, noww my feet is firm
And the game, where name is hard to earn
And hot cat's careers get scared and burn
Through the years, mine took a Godly turn
This is the story of my life here trapped in a verse
No matter the money or the movies, music is first, yea...

Hip Hop Artist, MBA, MPA

We don't often hear of hip-hop artists with advanced degrees, but that phenomenon is becoming slightly more regular. We've read a lot about hip-hop artists taking college classes, earning college degrees, and even speaking and performing at colleges. The next logical step would of course be to get a Masters degree. What hip-hop artist wouldn't be a compelling student in an M.A. in sociology, cultural studies, or even political science program? The experience artists have with culture, travel, and business likely rivals some more traditional graduate students and even the teachers in those graduate programs.

Here's a brief list of hip-hop community members who have dabbled in if not successfully completed graduate education, with a brief look at the dues they've paid:

Sicari: Sicari Ware is a Detroit artist most closely associate with D-12 (Eminem's conglomerate). He's an experienced DJ and successful-break dancer. Education: M.P.A. completed at Kentucky State University.

E-PROPS: A Haitian-American hip-hop up-and-comer born in Brooklyn. Also and independent scholar with an interest in cultural theory. Education: Masters in political science completed at Brooklyn College.

Mick Boogie: By far the most famous member of this list (that I'm aware of). Mick Boogie is the unofficial Mixtape King. He's worked with everyone from Jay-Z to Talib Kweli. Education: Masters in marketing from John Carrol University.

DJ Shy: Popular Korean-American DJ in the LA area, unfortunately better know by the masses as a sex symbol than as an important feminist voice in the male-dominated DJ industry. Education: Masters in Heath Administration from University of Southern California.

David Banner: Popular southern rapper with a strong educational background. He's also an actor. Banner testified before Congress on African America Stereotypes in the Media. Education: M.Ed. from University of Maryland (although sources are conflicting, he either is one course short or is a class and a thesis short from earning the degree).

Other updates to the list? What is graduate education's place in hip-hop? How do degrees impact street cred?


-- Nick J. Sciullo

Hip Hop and Fathers

We all know that urban youth have often had difficult relationships with their fathers many whom have been absent, if not abusive. There are important public policy concerns that must be dealt with regarding fatherhood and urban communities. No matter how much the issue is researched or what disciplines are utilized as ways to engage fatherhood, we'll never have an answer or a set of policies that appeases everyone. But, discussions have not been confined to academic journals. Hip-hop has made countless references to fathers--some good and some bad. Here are several hip-hop quotables that seem particularly relevant on Father's Day:

"Favorite father?
How you gonna ask me that knowin' most of my click grew up without one?"
-- Saigon, Favorite Things

"I hope you grow up to become that everything you can be
That's all I wanted for you young'n, like Father, like Son
But in the end I hope you only turn out better than me
I hope you know I love you young'n, like Father, like Son"
-- Busta Rymes, on The Game, Like Father Like Son

"You see I deal with the premise that all children are ours
And that we all travel the same path
It's just that we don't get there at the same time"
-- Pops, on Common, Pops' Rap

"I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn't've pulled me back an said yo"
-- Nas, Bridging the Gap (featuring Olu Dara)

"Now dad this is a very sensitive subject
From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms
I knew I'd meet death before I'd let you meet harm"
-- Will Smith, Just the Two of Us


-- Nick J. Sciullo

The Bar Exam

Artist: KRS One
Track: Classic (Better than I ever been) (featuring Nas, Rakim, and Kayne West)
Album: Released as a single.

How many y'all got criminal minded?
You? You? You? Y'all don't be blinded?
Me, I got no jewels on my neck
Why? I don't need 'em I got your respect
KRS One, for 20 years I rock
I do it for J&J and Scott LaRock
This hip hop
And we's a nation
Don't you want to hear more KRS on your radio station?
Instead of broadcasting how we smoke them trees,
On the radio we need to hear more local MC's
Where you at? Come on where you at?
This is the difference between MC'ing and rap
Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal,
MC's spit rhymes to uplift they people
Peace, love, unity, and havin' fun,
these are the lyrics of KRS One

Hip-Hop Scholarships a Reality?

Recently, one of the top selling R&B groups of all time, Boyz II Men, came together to talk about the initial planning of a hip-hop scholarship. They spoke at the Institute of Production and Recording in Minneapolis and discussed everything from their high school days at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts to Will Smith and Jodeci.

Like Boyz II Men or not, the vast majority of folks listened to them in the early and mid-90's. It would have been difficult not to. While the R&B group in general has become a less marketable entity than the R&B soloist today, R&B groups dominated much of the 1990s with acts like Public Announcement, Next, 112, Silk, Shai, Mint Condition all holding strong fan bases. Boyz II Men was really out in front of this phenomenon

This marks a positive development for hip-hop that often hasn't been perceived as promoting traditional methods of education. This presents an encouraging development in hip-hop's giving back to the community. Because Boyz II Men are a mainstream voice in the larger urban music movement with cross-generational and genre appeal, this could greatly enhance the reputation of hip-hop and R&B artists especially as it relates to education.

Will other artists and groups follow suit?

For the full story and to watch a video of the interview, click here.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

(Photo of Boyz II Men from http://www.famemagazine.co.uk/.)

Hip-Hop and Kids

Not all hip-hop fans or even people influence by hip-hop were born in the hip-hop generation, a contested time period roughly between the mid-60s and the mid-80s. Today children of all ages are listening to hip-hop, the demographics of hip-hop's audience has changer, and hip-hop has become increasingly international.

Two recent stories provide interesting spring boards to a discussion of hip-hop and age. Bob Marley's eldest son, Ziggy Marley, released a kid-centric reggae album entitled Family Time. The album is a departure from his more traditional reggae products which have addressed issues as diverse as relationships, violence and parties. Not many artists are willing to depart from their bread and butter to branch out into new and unexplored territory. Common, of course, gave us the critically praised, but commercially unsuccessful highly experimental album Electric Circus. The Rugrats Movie CD did not exactly fly off the shelf, even though it features songs that included Mase, B Real, Busta Rhymes, and Loon. Ziggy Marley has a bit more ethos, being a father of five, but it's difficult to imagine a platinum-selling kids album.

What role does hip-hop have in raising children? If playing classical music into the womb is supposed to create smarter children, what affect might hip-hop have? Is Ziggy's decision to do a kid-centric project admirable?

I applaud Ziggy's choice and have always been a fan of his music. I hope that he'll inspire other artists to address children in their music. Hip-hop and reggae can and often have positively affected the lives of many. Hip-hop is a pedagogical tool. Why not begin to teach children through hip-hop, not just about it?

Also in the news, Akon recently spoke to a small gathering of teenagers in Poughkeepsie, New York. Akon's no stranger to trouble, and in this talk he helped educate teens about making the right decisions and the dangers of gun violence. The appearance was not part of the community service he was ordered to complete as a result of his KFest fan-launching incident in 2007. Unfortunately, we do not see enough hip-hop artists talking to youth. It happens here and there, but relatively few young people can claim to have listened to hip-hop artists other than on a CD.

As a powerful social movement, hip-hop must take a more forward-looking stance on its relationship with children of all ages.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

(Photo by Ann Johansson/LA Times)

The Bar Exam

Artist: Black Rob
Track: Life Story
Album: Life Story

Never had a dime, my life a crime
Had me when I was nine, mom drunk off of wine
Ran with all kinds, her mind stayed wit the stupor
'til a point she paid no mind to the Super
Stay mad but stay frontin' with smiles
Stayed on the ground once and a while
First day of school never had nuttin' to style
Mister Colondre stressin' I ain't come in a while
It was a bummer, rocking the shit I rocked all summer
On the first day I was feeling some kind of way
and she wasn't trying to do nuttin'
You would think for the sake of the kids
she would enroll in school or somethin'
Now I know then was even harder
Especially for a single mother raising me with no father
Shit living up in this tenement, eating stale M&M's
Talking wild shit to Spanish immigrants
I speak in codes,
man "tu sabe"
Always "calle te" then “bendición” to mi madre
Even though she did nuttin' for me

Acknowledge me as I run down my life story