Mary J. Blige

[Spoken]
[To all the youth in the world that thinks nobody understands...
Well I understand that]
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
I grew up as a 70s baby
Brought up in poverty and sin
Makin jokes at the crazy lady
Never acred how she was dealin within
I knew all the words to
Micheal Jacksons album as a kid
And when it came to the biggest crusher
No he wasnt my man
At the age of seven years old
A strange thing happened to me
Before I even saw
My life had flashed before me
And Ive got the mark to show
And it became a thang of beauty
So I gotta let you know
That my life, that my life
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Now mamas workin hard all day
And she said this before she left home
Take care of your little brother
Have the place cleaned when I get home
All these priorities
Me and Tanya had to learn to be grown
But at the time for me
Being grown had seemed so lone
Woke up and Im seventeen
With nothing going for me
Except the fact that I sing
You know it hurts so much
From all the sights that Ive seen
From abusin the hole in trust
You probably couldnt take some of things
That Ive lived in my life
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its hard and the streets a jungle [Im telling you, Im telling you]
Especially with your pretty colors [Im telling you, Im telling you]
So stay low and keep it humble [Im telling you, Im telling you]
Black women hold it down, keep your feet on the ground
Black men keep searching and youll be found
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
[Rap by Eve]
In this world of continuous bullshit and full clips
Seems all we have to pass down is being useless
Broken homes, babies all alone, parents never there
No food, no clothes to wear, anger everywhere
Aint no values being taught, no productive thoughts
Jealousy rules the world, take shit at any cost
Gotta change our state of life, keep it worth livin
God gave us voices to speak and thats our way of givin
Its so much bigger than the furs and the jewels
What about encouragin the youth to do well
What about givin back- what about unifying
Shit we all black- get it together
Everybodys got their trials and tribulations
Learn to change the negative to positive situations
Dont hold the lessons that you learn
Pass it on and except the blessings that could earn
Its been hard for me
Trying strugglin in the streets
But where Ive been- Is no longer where Im at
And where Im going- Is not where Im stoppin at
[ Where Ive Been Lyrics ]