Listen Ave Maria, I hold on to my rosary We come and go like we leaves As it was written, shall it be done I was born in the Croix-des-Bouquets slums Light a candle, it's my birthday No velvet, just a dirt cake Cemetery was my play pen Come meet my imaginary friends My daddy, he Haitian like Basquiat father So every time I write, I'm painting a picture Some family took a boat to get to Brooklyn But they never made it, I cried me a ocean I went from boys to men overnight So hard to say goodbye on a flight Two twins look like God pillars First time seen the skyscraper Tall woman with a big torch Welcome to Liberty, New York God city with the devil's alley Keep the crucifixion 'cause the demon on me Headed to the projects where we made it We don't gotta walk to the well Got a faucet, a toilet, a bed, and a sheet Crowd around a oven just for the heat Though life could be bittersweet I'm Kool G with the symphony Best friend standing next to me Soul shift, watch him quantum leap Mikhael with the angels Deep sleep like he Michael Never knew he was mental 'til the Joker put one in de Niro, yeah Things change, stay the same Stand still as the Earth spins Cold world, codeine Prom queen, prom fiend She leans, party girl Wake up in the underworld In the City of Angels Demons, lovers Killers, sinners Tell me who you are Uh, uh Uh, Ave Maria, hold on to my rosary I'm keeping it close to me, working my sorcery I need love like Courtney, most importantly Santa Maria, got blood on my rosary But that's how it's supposed to be, birth of a culture I walk out of the delivery room with blood all over me I love you, Miss Cita, like Mother Theresa And every time I pray, I never forget her My daddy a heathen, he beat on my mama So every time I see her face, I kiss it They love you this evening, they hate you mañana Can't nothin' come between me and money but commas I don't need the drama, you don't need the violence Highway to heaven, I'm calling the driver I went from boys to men overnight Now ask all these boys who the prototype I light up some wedding cake, smoke a slice Got all this wedding cake with no wife Light a candle, it's my birthday No party, it's a workday Gotta work harder, that's the cliché And there's no tomorrow, said that yesterday And though life can be bittersweet No company for the misery I just light me an L'y and cut on Bocelli Like take me straight to Sicily Feeling free like a bird, no words, Kenny G Never knew I was mental 'til I shot myself unaccidentally But things change, stay the same Stand still as the Earth spins Cold world, ice cream Prom queen, prom fiend She leans, party girl Wake up in the underworld In the City of Angels Demons, lovers Beginners, finishers Tell me who you are