(Verse 1) Hallway echoes, lockers bangin', smell of bleach and pizza crust Senior class readin' levels sittin' somewhere 'round Toys "R" Us Ask 'em "Name your state capital," they answer "Capital One" Know the catchphrase from a jingle, not the land they standin' on Netflix doc about a cult? They'll binge it for thirteen nights But hand 'em thirteen lines of text, they tappin' out by line five Curriculum's a cryptogram that no one teaches how to crack If knowledge is power, then what we raisin'? Henchmen with dead pens (Hook) Where we goin'? 'Cause I'm starin' at the map like it's written in flame Lines burn off, all that's left is a name Where we goin'? Every sign on the road just glitch then fade And the kids in the back can't read that anyway Where we goin'? Somebody tell me before this ride end, Before the last light dim and the page stay blank (Verse 2) Ask 'em "How many states?" they freeze like the screen on FaceTime Ask "Who fought the Civil War?" they scrollin' Wikipedia We got Google in our pockets, but we ask it what to think External hard drives for a brain, but all the files corrupt in sync History reduced to Marvel movies in a group chat Rosa Parks is "that bus lady," MLK's "the speech app" We've been groomed on fifteen seconds, shrinking context, stretching lies Every clip a guillotine that chop the nuance from both sides (Hook) Where we goin'? I'm watchin' all the roads get replaced by screens GPS reroute straight into a meme Where we goin'? Every sign on the road just glitch then fade And the kids in the back can't read that anyway Where we goin'? Somebody tell me before this ride end, Before the last light dim and the page stay blank (Verse 3) Birth rate droppin' faster than my trust in what I see Empty playgrounds, swing sets swayin' like they prayin' in the breeze Who wanna bring a kid to this? A planet on probation Where cereal costs more than therapy and health care's a donation It's "Man or bear?" in every thread, like that's the only path we get He'd rather date an A.I. voice that never calls him on his shit My grandpa held my grandma's hand through bills and cancers, heavy stress Love's a Netflix trial-you hit "Cancel" before it's next (Bridge) We got kids that can't read, adults that can't feel Leaders that can't lead, and a globe that can't heal Scrollin' past warnings like terms of a deal We hit "I agree" on a fate that ain't sealed Is this the epilogue written in invisible ink? Or the first rough draft of a pivot we ain't willing to think? If we illiterate in spirit, what's a library of laws? We could tattoo the Constitution, still forget who we are (Verse 4) I see a classroom with one kid that still cares in the back row Black hoodie, headphones, notebook full of mad flows Kid at the register can't count change without the screen He learned interest rates before he learned to read a verse We cut art, cut music, cut shop, cut truth Then act shocked they can't cut through the noise of the booth We build prisons like they playgrounds but let schools fall apart Still, I see a route out in the margins of these tests (Hook) Where we goin'? Depends who hold the pen when the credits roll We ill or we evolve, there's a thin threshold Where we goin'? Is it straight off a cliff or a bend in the road? Do we scroll to the end or extend this code? Where we goin'? I don't know, but I know this ain't it Either we wake up now or stay a canceled script (Outro - Spoken / half-rap) Maybe the question ain't "Where we goin'?" but "Who we teach to drive?" We handed kids a world on fire, then we mad they fear the ride So I rap this like a flare gun shootin' through a smokey sky If you hear it, if you feel it, that's your literacy of life You don't need a perfect sentence to rewrite a crooked fate Just enough letters left to spell: "Too early to be late."
