My grandfather, Laotian general
Met a school teacher which gave a drip of poetic soul/
to future children but war around it would let it never grow/
but it flourished inside of me, most artistic they'd ever known/
Let me dig through my components while I write this shit/
'cause it's been a minute since I've gone over analyzed my shit/
Busy being the future of my fam that I am wireless/
I've lost connection with them, not clear on pieces that I've equipped/
My fam sailed overseas on a fucking boat/
tired of being woken up by explosions that clutch your soul/
Shake you up, make you run, if you quick, tuck and roll/
to be greeted by men with machetes with steel that touch your throat/
Out of the pan and into the fire/
To know and truly understand is my single desire/
When I feel close to my fam it only gets me inspired/
and helps me find a way to be a man who's gon' live for tomorrow/
Out of the fire and into the elements/
is where I found myself, and the cold is as hellish and/
I'm wiping off this dirt, and the soot and the sediment/
Strength in both my shoulders that be carrying elephants/
I'm embellished with reminders of my heritage/
and all the wisdom that I hope I won't simply be buried with/
but rather, passed down to, members of my lineage/
who needa draw strength in all the ways in which that he had lived/
The way my grandpa lived/

I spilled my own blood today/
It's the last time, I let it go to waste/
Because I know where it comes from/
My blood, I know where it comes from

I tasted my own blood tonight/
It gave strength, to get me through that fight/
From a soldier to his grandson/
That's from where my blood's from/

And I've been tracing down my bloodline/
hearing all the stories of my grandpa on them front lines/
Tales told, by my mother, planes flown, bombs dropped/
nonstop, mortar smoke, blocking out the sunshine/
That same sun, I look for when the pain comes/
and helps to fortify just what I need to see the day won/
The things my grandpa went through in that path of violence
I need to take it in and breathe I need to close my eyelids/
Sweet silence for my pa-tu/
I got the news this morning that this world has lost you/
That first verse I wrote about 4 years ago/
I'm trynna finish this song for you before more tears'll flow/
And maintain, you didn't fight for nothing/
Swearing by the name I carry through you I'll be something/
strong like you, live my life to honor you/
and go by your example when I choose to be a father too/
And think of what of you, trickles down to me/
to help in what I'm going through and where I'm bout to be/
I swear, you didn't fight for me to be so cold and homeless/
Alone and hopeless, I wrote this just so you could notice/
that I went through some shit, but it's so close to over/
...And I'll be moving forward/
Finally free, not bound or tethered/
and I put it on our name, that, 'imma do better/

I spilled my own blood today/
It's the last time, I let it go to waste/
Because I know where it comes from/
My blood, I know where it comes from

I tasted my own blood tonight/
It gave strength, to get me through that fight/
From a soldier to his grandson/
That's from where my blood's from/