[Intro: J. Cole]
This shit just be like journals
Journal entries, journal entry
Dedicated to the n***as that switched
Dedicated to the women I miss
Dedicated to the one that I love
Never strayin', I ain't fuckin' up this
Dedicated to my n***as that stayed
With me even through my questionable ways
Dedicated to the seeds that we grown
World revolve around this family we raised

[Chorus: J. Cole]
Dedicated to the n***as that switched
Dedicated to thе women I miss
Dedicated to thе one that I love
Never strayin', I ain't fuckin' up this
Dedicated to my n***as that stayed
With me even through my questionable ways
Dedicated to the seeds that we grown
World revolve around this family we raised

[Verse 1: J. Cole]
I ain't a killer but don't slip up and tempt me
I paint a picture like I mentored da Vinci
The rain done filled up on 'em, India and Sicily
I was young and not developed yet mentally
Mommy, daddy arguin' in the livin' room
I would come to learn that some things ain't meant to be
Guess I'm destined for a childhood of solitude
Introverted 'cause there's nobody listenin'
Father figure wasn't on television screens
Told me stories every day that were riveting
Homicidal n***as die over anything
All my idols either rapping or pivotin'
On the sofa every day, I resemble Macaulay Culkin while my momma deliverin'
Home alone without the mansion, I'm glancin' out windows, makin' sure no robbers is visitin'
Paranoid, 'cause I know the city is wild, I seen that shit with my own eyes
First time I 'member a n***a try break in our crib late at night, I was five
Dead tired, I called for my momma, somehow in that moment I realized
We was sittin' ducks, no man in the house, just two kids and her
And nowhere was her n***a, don't give a fuck, better toughen up
[Pre-Chorus: J. Cole]
And it seem like that shit stuck with me
Keep your guard up, don't fuck with me
N***as better know what's up with me, what's up with me
And it seem like that shit stuck with me
Keep your guard up, don't fuck with me
N***as better know what's up with me

[Chorus: J. Cole]
Dedicated to the n***as that switched
Dedicated to the women I miss
Dedicated to the one that I love
Never strayin', I ain't fuckin' up this
Dedicated to my n***as that stayed
With me even through my questionable ways
Dedicated to the seeds that we grown
World revolve around this family we raised

[Verse 2: Bas]
Still recall coldest nights, dodging bullet showers
It ain't all black and white like a Kurosawa
Got the money and fame, but we took the power
Spent it all, made it back, blew a million dollars
Went to school scholarship, but I weren't a scholar
I dropped out, I was hustlin', didn't tell my father
He was proud, I'm ashamed, I had broke my honor
Duckin' jack boys and D-Tecs, they tuckin' collars
T&T twice a week was a fuckin' problem
But you reap what you sow, I made coats of armor
GCP, L-I-E was my road to karma
Sleepless nights, droppin' loads off from home to Harlem
Though my pockets was hungry, my soul was starvin'
Didn't reach my potential 'til Cole came callin'
Gave me space to reflect when the tour was startin'
Couldn't waste and neglect, had a bigger callin'
Almost died, saw the flash of life, callin' home from the afterlife
Crime pays, almost paid the price
Momma told me she prayed that my life spared
Devil on my shoulder like a boulder
But just when I needed you, God, you was right there
In my corner like Cus D'Amato, Iron Mike from a city where nobody fight fair
Yeah, yeah
[Pre-Chorus: J. Cole]
And it seem like that shit stuck with me
Keep your guard up, don't fuck with me
N***as better know what's up with me, what's up with me
And it seem like that shit stuck with me
Keep your guard up, don't fuck with me
N***as better know what's up with me

[Chorus: J. Cole]
Dedicated to the n***as that switched
Dedicated to the women I miss
Dedicated to the one that I love
Never strayin', I ain't fuckin' up this
Dedicated to my n***as that stayed
With me even through my questionable ways
Dedicated to the seeds that we grown
World revolve around this family we raised