And you could tell, by how her titties hung

I met this girl, when I was ten years old
And what I loved most she had so much soul

When I was ten years old, I was in the fifth grade. It was my second year at Buist Academy. I still have the yellow yearbook from that yea and I look back through it with mixed feelings. I can remember a lot of what happened that school year, but cannot quite pinpoint why I have certain notations next to people's name. Or in some cases, why I scribbled and 'slandered' a few folks. Ok, well I do know why that happened, but let's just say things went over better in middle school. But the real reflection for me is how much life changes. In my quest to reconnect with those I've lost touch with, I've found some old friend and family and friend of the family that were older and younger than I who have gone to do their thang as adults. My cousin Chris is doing his thing at school in NC, my younger cousin Jen is doing her thing at school in FL, her big brother (who is fuqing huge) finished school and is now doing his thing as a teacher, and family friend Shirrell is doing her thing at school playing d2 ball. I like it when we go out into the world and let our creative juices flow. It's even iller to see that they all still have a strong sense of self and awareness of where they're from and where they're headed.

She was old school, when I was just a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me

I guess I kinda strayed there, huh? What I thought would be a hip-hop related post turned into a run-of-the-mill reflective paragraph on life. But hey, hip-hop and life go hand-in-hand with me so it's not that much of a disconnect, now is it. But yeah, back to the fifth grade. I can remember rocking the four-M (Malcolm, Martin, Mandela, Marcus) shirts and the africa joints on my neck. I had a high-top fade (flatop) and even a step (which ended up in the yearbook). If you are clueless as to what I mean by a step-flatop, don't bother googling. Just give up now. But seriously, I look back and wonder wheer all the time went and how the mystery of life would be diffrent if we could retrace our steps to do things just a little bit differently.

She didn't have a body but she started gettin thick quick
DId a couple of videos and became afrocentric
Out goes the weave, in goes the braids beads medallions
She was on that tip about, stoppin the violence
About my people she was teachin me
By not preachin to me but speakin to me
in a method that was leisurely, so easily I approached
She dug my rap, that's how we got close

So I guess this is simply a night-time lament on how things were, could be, should be, can be, and will be. Life is what you make it and I'm trying to do what I can to live it up, have fun, and meet my maker with something to show for my time here amongst the living. Just trying to make sure my word is bond and that bond is strong....

Stressin how hardcore and real she is
She was really the realest, before she got into showbiz

...Not to mention keep my shT straight so that the midget knows what to do and what not to do, and possess the ability to think critically at all times and be able to weigh options and make choices based on alternatives and consequences, because that's what it all boils down to me. Recognize real, respect the realness, but live in reality. Whether it's a gut feeling, split-second decision, or a well thought-out vetting process, actions speak louder than words. So I'll make my pledges, promises, vows, scheduled meetings, appointments, field trips, workshops, and the like, but at the end of the day I just want to always be able to look back and say, 'yo, you know what, I came, I saw, and I repped like a mutha, son. word up.'

Legendary Status: I Used to Love H.E.R.