[Verse 1]
Dear Hip-Hop, it's me, your foster child
I'm writing this 'cause I feel we should sit and talk awhile
It may sound like I'm crazy, but I feel like your baby
Spend more time with you than my own folks, so it's just like you raised me
You taught me to walk, said I should have swag
You taught me how to dress, that's why I let my pants sag
You taught me how to be a man like I ain't have a dad
You taught me how to talk, that's why my grammar bad
You taught me self-defense, a little rule of thumb
You said, "You never wanna fight, son, use a gun"
See, when you use a gun, you don't have to respect 'em
You can just talk to 'em how you want, then pull out and check 'em
You told me "Women ain't ish but hoes and tricks"
And never to love them just cut 'em move on and dip
You never told me what to do if I slipped and had a kid
All I remember is "Move on and dip"
And make it rain when she get on the pole and strip
But if she respectable, I ain't supposed to trip
And if I see my brother get done wrong and just
Turn your back and let it happen, but "don't you snitch"
You had me thinking heart and real were the same thing
Like you're real if you have the heart to kill in your gang bang
You never told me if I take his life
His pain is for a second, but it's ever present in his babies' life
You carried the spirit of banging across the nation
And they embraced it because you put it in song formation
You taught me I don't need school, I can rap
And while waiting for my music to move, I can trap (Yeah!)
I used to wanna be one, you told me to hate the cops
Now they can only beat and mistreat us 'cause we ain't the cops
I thought you had my best interest, maybe not
So I'm writing this letter to tell you, thanks alot!
[Hook]
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop

[Verse 2]
Dear Hip-Hop, I met my real Father
He said He loved me and He missed me and I'm not forgotten
He left me tons of messages but I must not've got 'em
I guess you must've lost them, but, anyway, I found them
When I was just a youngin', you told me daddy left
I ran and checked, and it says He's always been at that address
He said it's me who left Him, He just respected my choice
You showed me candy and toys and I was just a boy
He told me wait for sex, but we ain't wanna wait
Now it's abortion and broken homes, plus a bunch of aids
He told me to love my woman, protect and provide
You told me if I love her, do it for only a night
He said, if you love her, then wife her and go in for life
Like a lifer and man up, and make sure your family tight
I'll never withhold good from you, but it has to be right
And, if it ain't, then you may have to wait until after this life
He said to speak up when you see injustice
It's thinking you're weak when you speak on evil, and these are what the streets are becoming
He told me our children were innocent
You teach 'em a sexual dances, re-tape it and place it on the internet
He told me love my brother, almost like what you said
But you said if he looked at me wrong, I could bust his head
He said His Son is over everything
You either serve God or money, you told me money over everything!
He said it's never to late to come and join the family
He said they all been waiting for me, they'd rejoice to have me
And that's the point of this letter, I wrote it so you know
That, as sure as you know it, I decided I'm going home
[Hook]
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop
Dear Hip-Hop