WAR CRY

WAR CRY
by Bobby Bishop


Here’s a little story/I’ve got to tell/about a brother suffering under a horrible spell/pouring his heart into making a living/flipping to beats/from the beginning/he didn’t lay down/and bow to defeat/it began with a love affair/far and between/with the streets/and a pull/to heal other’s suffering/he didn’t see too many colors in his community/his mother started wondering/what her son was doing/his room was cultural/covered/smothered/with magazine covers/while you were out/hosted by Dr. Dre and Ed Lover/and Fab 5/the classics of MTV Raps/past his bedtime/trying to catch an hour of that/this was what he’d been waiting for/a stork at the door/delivered hip-hop adoption/to nurture and grow/filling a void/for a little boy/to identify/no looking back/as he belted out his War Cry

Hip-hop became life/the rest were the details/influencing his decisions/socially and retail/a sub-cultural fad/it had a tight grip/he vowed to love it/not abandon it/like the other kids/he started writing down his own life experiences/his pen became the most cherished possession to him/he was neglecting/the lessons his father would give/he didn’t recognized the blessings he was gonna miss/every night he spoke to his dad/before going to sleep/in reality he seeked to please him so desperately/this night he had a request of his son/so he asked/do you love me son?/did he love him?/that was his dad/then please hand over your raps/and not just a song/I want it all/do you think you can do that for me/son?/ Hand over my precious raps/is that what you’re asking/ I’m too attached/I can’t imagine/life would be drab/without that boom-bap/hi-hat/line of my life/his father replied/it’s okay/son/it’s alright/goodnight/sleep tight/don’t worry/everything’s fine/he fell asleep/dreaming of his war cry/it went

This little boy grew and matured to a man/and mapped a career path/as fast as he can/hitting the road/full-steam with a dream/demos went to all the influential industry peops/every night he still spoke to his dad/before going to sleep/and every night his dad would have the same request of his seed/son/I’ll hand you the world/as sure as I’m king/assure me/hip-hop is not as important as me/but one night after a show/his spirit had broke/he gripped the mic with high hopes/but he totally choked/he awoke to the reality/that who he was determined what he did/and that was the key/so he called up his father/said/would you come over/I’ve made a decision to follow your course/I know you want the best of me/I know that/of course/so I’m handing over hip-hop/take it/it’s yours/with tears in their eyes/yo/they warmly embraced/he said/finally you’re seeing clearly/make no mistakes/reached in his pocket/said/I’ve had a better path from the start/now get to rappin’/and he handed him a record deal from Beatmart