They say the good die young, I see now that's very true
Miss those days as shortys [[trying to be like the OGs on the block]]
Hustling, banging, doing things kids our age shouldn't do
No future in that lifestyle so we started [[dribbling the rock]]
Both fell in love with the streets, you more than me
Couldn't blame you, [[coming from a place where there's nothing to be]]
The potential was there and you never let me slack
[[Something I failed to do, something I can't take back]]
[[Made a way to get myself out but you decided to stay]]
The city got rougher by the minute so I begged you to leave,
Could never forget that night, the horrific news left me in disarray
[[“Never leaving the hood,”]] how could we be so naïve?
You may be gone but your legacy will live on forever
Keeping your name alive is something I’ll always endeavor,
[[Can’t bring you back so I refuse to dwell on the past]]
I promise to always go by your words, “Live it up every day, I don’t know when it’ll be my last.”
In our neighborhood, the people that had been around for a minute were referred to as "OGs." My brother and I saw how they lived and how much money they were getting so we start trying to be like them at an early age.
I always played basketball but I didn't take it serious to start. Once I realized how good I was, I began to take it more serious. Then I realized it was keeping out of the streets, so I urged my brother to start playing with me.
I'm from St. Louis which is a city that has a high crime rate. As young black men, we were expected to be in jail or dead before turning 21.
Once my brother saw how talented I was in basketball, he wouldn't let me slack and always pushed me to my full potential. I didn't do the same with him and now I have so many regrets because it's too late and now I can't take that back.
By the time I got to high school, I had my mind set on playing college basketball. This was not only because of my love for the game but also to get out of my hometown. My brother was very talented in football, so I tried to persuade him to go play college ball because I knew what our city had to offer. He decided to stay home and get involved with the music business.
When my and brother and I were in middle school, we always told each other we would never leave our neighborhood no matter what. That was just pride talking, we didn't want to abandon the place that made us who we were.
Of course there isn't a day when I don't think about my brother and what I could've done to prevent this situation. However, since there's no way to get him back, I just try to think about the positive aspects of it all. I believe everything happens for a reason and I just look at this situation as my brother living in a better place. This was God's way of getting my brother out of the "hood."