Look, you ain't a man till you stop chasing your friends My nigga, think for yourself, make your own plans My nigga, I be lyin', if I said I ain't understand My nigga, cause who you gon' follow when the leaders All get swallowed by reefer clouds and bottles In and out of county jail, this is hell See the young black males in packed cells With they heads down and they fists clenched tight Thinkin' I could bust a hole through this wall And bitch, I just might, cause just like the caged bird I sing a song, hopin' they open up these bars And send a nigga home, I cry when I'm alone I'm wonderin' why would God send me here Knowin' that they hate us, knowin' that they make us feel Like we evil, so we kill our people Without a second thought, in every lesson taught by OGs We full of real nigga wisdom, so we proceed Like real niggas who been stripped of our humanity I see the judge's eyes, I know that he ain't understandin' me A caged bird Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Caged bird Yeah, caged bird Freedom's just an illusion, that's my conclusion And if it ain't, then how my niggas keep on losin' theirs This goes out to childhood friends that's doin' years Prison tats on they backs like souvenirs We wish that you was here, a mother's tears spilled on this page A brother's tears spilled on this page How many days left, and can you find peace when you release Still filled up with rage back on the streets Just a peep that you still in a cage Well, it's the oratory vet Turned down king slash poet laureate Used to paint a picture with a story of neglect I could've been the shorty drinkin' forties on the steps With a shorty on my left, with a shorty on the way Comin' shortly to protect I could've been the dealer in the party with the ex But I'm hardly in the mix, and I partially confess I definitely got a couple parts of me that I regret Is the cup half empty or is it half full? I fill mine up with Hennessy, then get back to him I'm just a jazz musician trapped in a rap form You think he's standin' for somethin', you on a trap door Well, it's the Mr. Introspective I'm a dreamer's dreamer, sort of an inception I never fiend for the scene, but I've dreamed of the things That a Mercedes brings, like slow sex with fast women Drinkin' cognac, I'm past squinnin' A sexy dress, fat ass in it But still hit it till I'm half-winded Cause niggas tell me I'm the * when I be hittin' all these dimes See, I'm caged by the visions of the blind I started as a king, turned to a slave Put us in our chains, we was forced to entertain Thinkin' bout the present day, I'm livin' off the stage Wonder if a nigga ever get up out this cage, cause I'm Caged Bird Yeah, we out here still, Caged Bird Caged Bird Yeah, Caged Bird Freedom's just an illusion, that's my conclusion And if it ain't that, how my niggas keep on losin' theirs? This goes out to childhood friends that's doin' years Prison tacks on they backs like souvenirs We wish that you was here, a mother's tears spilled on this page A brother's tears spilled on this page How many days left? And can you find peace when you're released? Still filled up with rage back on the streets Just a peep that you still in the cage Man Caged Bird