This is the closest thing to a street song on the album but I still wouldn't really call it that. While the 2nd verse is about surviving the streets, the 1st is about money and the 3rd is about mindset (which has actually changed a bit since this was written.) It's the only song on the album with any curse words and they're not even in the street verse. My son composed a pretty nice piano part for the 3rd verse, though.

Survive

Hello, fellow human. I’m your friendly neighborhood Doc Deuce: a lyricist from the golden era of Hip Hop that valued lyrical skill and stylistic originality. Bone Thugs inspired me to rap with speed and melody. Busta Rhymes showed me it was okay to be weird. Eminem schooled me on complex rhymes while Gift of Gab was my professor of patterns. Put it all together and I get compared to Tech N9ne.

“I was born and raised in Texas, that's my home state.” The first line of my song “Thankful” states it plainly. By age 19, I was a college dropout and teenage dad. Since age 26, I’ve been a single parent; prioritizing raising my son over pursuing a music career. When my son was 19, he graduated from college with a Bachelor's degree focused in music production. So, not only did we both do a hell of a job, now we can make music together. He’s basically at the same age Metro Boomin got going and I’m pretty much J. Cole's age. Like I say in our song “D2xMH,” “If it's not too soon, it's not too late.”

We released two albums at the same time because I was approaching age 40 with 20 years of songs collecting dust. I wanted to get my music out there before I become dust myself.

Moving forward, there are still a few things left for me to say, artists to work with, and ideas to explore. However, for the most part, I’m here for others. I want to help my son reach his goals and contribute both of our skillsets to other storytellers of all types. I want more people to understand that Hip Hop lyricism is one of the most clever and useful forms of writing that has ever existed. I want to see my son's name in the credits of movies, video games, and VR experiences. I want you - yes, YOU - to reach your creative potential. And I want my music to be the soundtrack to your success.