Kobe to Philadelphia

In a parallel universe

I might never have to spit this verse

But God had other plans for us

Disbelieve that and I might discuss

What follows

What if Kobe went to Philly

With first pick back in ‘96

And never flew the chopper

He might be here selling kicks

Red and blue colorways

Man, would that be strange

2020 would just mean vision

That doesn't show its age

We may never have estranged

The relationships and friendships

That all got rearranged

In the days of the pandemic

The epoch of distortion

We blew out of proportion

Made moves we didn’t realize

Would change the world before our eyes

Bob Marley might not be

Rolling in his grave

One love, one heart

Boy, we couldn’t save them

Changes, Pac was right

Still, I haven’t seen none

Strangers, among each other

A war that may not be won

A war that may not be won

War, there may not be one

What if Kobe B and D Wade

Were swapped instead of Diesel

Would I ever even care to sing

Or would turn more toward the easel

Painting to express myself

The words may not come out

But the colors, shapes and landscapes

Would tell the world about

The chaos and calamity

Observed over the years

Visual depictions

Of my innermost fears

Or if I gravitated to the ring

Instead of baseball fields

Might I fight my way up to the top

While danger makes most yield

Bob Marley may not

On the silver screen

One Love, one scene

Cashing in the green

Changes, Pac demanded

Justice for his peers

Right now, I fear

The future’s so unclear

What if Cassius Clay

Went to Vietnam against his will

What if Premo wasn’t joking

When he strove for Mass Appeal

What if Snoop was never smoking

Breaking stereotypes

What if Cole gave in to pressure

Quit and married “yo’ type”

What if all my heroes stopped,

Dropped from the face of the earth

What would I become 

If I never even tested my worth

What if I packed my bags and moved to

Kobe, Philly or Perth

If I never stopped running

From the place of my birth

I’d be a lost soul

Yeah I’d be a lost soul

(That’s the butterfly effect)

I’d be a lost soul

Yeah I’d be a lost soul

(When cash rules everything around me)

I’d be a lost soul

Yeah I’d be a lost soul

(That’s the butterfly effect)

I’d be a lost soul

Yeah I’d be a lost soul

(That’s the butterfly effect)

Ain’t, for the record, I wasn’t born in Miami
But here my spirit came alive

Like a seed replanted at 6 months old

It was here I learned to thrive

And for as much I disparaged it

Growing up and growing out

It was the love I only found here

That made me what I’m all about