[Hook 1: Lyricks]
This feeling I'm sure you know, my parents are growin’ old
I told my dad, before you go, "한번은 보여줘야죠"
He wanted pastor, doctor, maybe a lawyer too
I told him I'm a rapper and he cried inside his boiler room
He told me "Never forget what I been told ya
When you on a roll, you pick up more dirt like a lint roller
I trusted in your vision since the very start
It's just a parents heart don’t bend easy like heavy starch"
They made the move to the states, changed how they maneuver
My father's hands and brain decayed 'cus of stain remover
So when I rap, it's deeper than money and double taps
I wanna show my dad where my love was at, this is facts
Re-position my life and treat him a little
My mission became the hyphen, so I could meet in the middle
I had to change the narrative, the truth became imperative
Step inside the shoes of a cleaners, Korean-American

[Chorus]
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen in my name
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen in my name
[Verse 2: JL]
Word to the hyphen, in the words that they type in
To describe us in the title of their write ups, Asian-American
First generation born in the states
Parents made their escape so we could be born to be great
From a war torn country to a country full of dreams
In a place they never seen with a language they couldn't speak, uh
Left a position of pulling strings, to putting things
To the side simply so their kids could get by
And passing on traditions that their kids could live by
And its up to them whether traditions live or they die
And they could have had ambitions bigger than mine
But they put it all behind and put it all on the line
Asians in media seemed to be running in place
But lately I'm seein' our dreams is comin' to shape
And it’s up to me to believe that it wasn’t a waste
And in time they can retire in a comfortable place

[Chorus]
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen in my name
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen
Word to the hyphen in my name
[Verse 3: Lyricks]
As you get older you'll understand, man I guarantee this
I couldn’t see this, I got angry when my parents beat us
And then I went over to Terrence and his parent's the sweetest
And my parents still at the cleaners they weren't there to feed us
And as a young child, that just meant bad ratings
That's how the trial and error era for us translated
And due to distance the communication drowned slowly
Over time the kind words turned to 잔소리
And this is our story, couldn’t decide for me
But I'm not livin' wonderin, yo man if I only
I'm gonna make it here 'cus my mama deserve it
She tried to make my life perfect with some laundry detergent