( Ride to it, ride to it ) x7
Ride to it (Uh)

[Verse 01]

Young Jermaine walked the straight and narrow
Minimum-wage jobs for dinero, but still, my mind was on the zeros

I fiend for the perks that was seen flippin’ birds, so

We was skipping church, but my eyes was on the sparrows

Niggas flippin’ pies, spendin’ thousands on apparel

Shit, I wanna shine too, I want dimes too
Jealous niggas wanna know just how my rhymes blew

Mano a mano, I’m Bono, I’m you times two
Now I’m bougie, I done outgrew the fountain blue

But never forgot the spot where I developed my plot

The dwellin’, the top, the Ville, where all my skeletons locked

If I could do it all over, then I never would swap
I’ve seen good, I’ve seen bad, had my melanin mocked

I’ve seen lifelong friends turn to devilish opps
I was Mike in red leather, tryna tell him to stop

You better beat it ‘fore you see the heavy-metal get popped

He was a mean-ass wing with a hell of a shot
But if no team draft King, he gon’ bet on the block

He wanna ball ’til he fall or ’til the federals knock
And sit his ass on a bench for movin’ careless with rock

You can’t relate, ‘less your father was not around
And your mother went out and found someone else and then brought them ’round

And they salaries then combine, when they married, it brought you out

Of that poverty, then you moved to a soft little part of town

So that when you back in the hood, you feel awkward about it now (Damn)

And your confidence start to drown
But the rappin’ gave you some positive thoughts, and you jot ’em down

You jot ’em down
( Ride to it, ride to it ) x4

[Chorus]

( Y’all niggas ain’t stoppin’ me ) x7
Yeah, uh

[Verse 02]

Benjamin Button, Cole flows reverse time
To find deliveries good as mine, you gotta search primes

I’m scaling heights higher than birds can perch
Tryin’ to be something, hopin’ that peace comes to my cursed mind

One thing’s for sure, that I’ve matured from my first rhyme

I learned long ago, you can’t please ’em all, and it hurts trying

In this game, where all you’ve got is your name
Like Durk, I’m smirkin’ at niggas tryna besmirch mine

Absurd times, where the fake get toted as wise
I can see hate in both of your eyes but the third’s blind

So you search lines
But you struggle, which explains the puzzled look on the dull face as the word finds

I hate what raps become but like do-not-disturb signs

Can’t knock it if I see it’s ’bout the dough
They instigate the fuckery because it’s profitable

But singin’ “stop the violence” tunes when dudes in hospitals

I pulled the plug because I’ve seen where that was ’bout to go

They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow

They see this fire in my pen and think I’m dodgin’ smoke

I wouldn’t have lost a battle, dawg, I woulda lost a bro

I woulda gained a foe, and all for what? Just to attain some mo’

Props from strangers that don’t got a clue what I been aimin’ for?

Since the age of fourteen, Jermaine is no king
If that means I gotta dig up dirt and pay the whole team

Of algorithm-bot niggas just to sway the whole thing

On social media, competin’ for your favorable means

To be considered best of live and rest, the weight of both things

I understand the thirst of being first that made ’em both swing

Protecting legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably

My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me

Now some will discredit me, try wipe away my pedigree

But please, find a nigga out that’s rappin’ this incredibly, uh

My dawg texted me, I’ll share the words he said to me

“If you refuse to shoot the gun, don’t mean the gun ain’t deadly,” uh

I guess in that metaphor, hypothetically, the gun is me

I text him back like, “Guess a gun ain’t what I’m tryna be, my nigga”

They strip me of my spot, and now I’m finally free, my nigga

They say I’m pickin’ sides, ayy, don’t you lie on me, my nigga

Then start another war, ayy, Drake, you’ll always be my nigga

I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my nigga

Fuck all the narratives
Tappin’ back into your magic pen is what’s imperative

Remindin’ these folks why we do it, it’s not for beefin’

It’s for speakin’ our thoughts, pushin’ ourselves, reachin’ the charts

Reaching your minds, deep in your heart, screamin’ to find

Emotions to touch, somethin’ inside to open you up

Help you cope with the rough times and shit
I’m sendin’ love ’cause we ain’t promised shit
My nigga

[Chorus]

( Y’all niggas ain’t stoppin’ me ) x7