[Intro — spoken low, almost conversational] Look… You ever carry a name your whole life… Then find out it was never yours? Yeah… Sanford, North Carolina… Polomac… [Verse 1 — calm, reflective pocket] Mama told me, “Yo daddy Joe C. Powell,” Aunties co-signed while they laughing loud. Little bad kid running all through the house, Thinking one day maybe dude would come around. Used to write the name down on looseleaf paper, Wonder if I looked like him now or later. Kids talking fathers, I ain’t have data, So I wore fake pride like a new pair of Gators. Whole time that lie sat deep in me, Like cold steel tucked underneath misery. Confusion started eating at me mentally, Probably why them fights came so instantly. Couldn’t tell me nothing once anger got fed, Started swinging on dudes over words that was said. Teachers saying, “Use your talent instead,” But I’m outside wilding with pain in my head. Started moving like nobody could tell me right, If the truth was fake then what was life? Good heart… still did grimey things at night, Young menace outside trying hard to survive. [Pre-Chorus — layered background vocals] [Background Vocal Stack: “Trying hard… trying hard…”] I was hurt for real… Did dirt for real… Smiled in they face while I burned for real… [Chorus — catchy, repetitive, melodic rap cadence] Joe C. Powell… That’s who they told me. Whole hood knew the name before the old me. Joe C. Powell… That lie controlled me. Young wild dude moving like nobody owed me. Joe C. Powell… I wore that weight heavy. Good kid, bad choices, mind gone messy. Joe C. Powell… Till the truth came and met me. Now I see clear, can’t no fake name break me. [Verse 2 — more aggressive pocket, drums hit harder] By my teens I knew something felt strange, Every time I asked questions folks changed. Mama switched subjects, aunties looked away, Like everybody guarding some old family shame. That mess turned me reckless for real, Started using drugs just to lessen the feel. Smile for the family, stressing for real, Trying not to drown but I’m sinking for real. Lost good women ‘cause I ain’t trust nothing, Turned little problems into loud discussions. Disappear for days, came back cussing, Family saying, “Boy, you ain’t good for nothing.” Nah… I was moving with confusion and rage, Like a young G trapped in a grown man cage. Couldn’t trust love from the people that raised Me off a story that was never all the way straight. Still… I ain’t hate Mama for it though, Life hard, pain make people move slow. Black families hide hurt deep below, Then pass it down till somebody explode. [Bridge — beat strips down to bass + vocal sample] [Chipmunk Soul Sample: “Whooooo am I… who am I…”] Late nights scrolling DNA results… One cousin changed everything… [Verse 3 — emotional climax, calmer delivery] Found a cousin through Ancestry DNA, One little match flipped decades in a day. She connected me to my uncle one day, Then uncle linked me to Dad right away. Standing there looking like, “Man… this real?” Certain facial features hit different for real. Whole life carrying fake history still, Now the real bloodline standing right here. I told my Mama, “Ma… I know the truth.” Long silence… then she finally came through. Told me everything in a tired voice too, And I felt all the years she been dragging that through. I wasn’t mad though… nah, not me. By then I understood broken people and grief. We all imperfect trying hard to keep peace, Sometimes survival bend honesty. Then my fiftieth birthday came around, Both my biological parents in the crowd. Met face-to-face… crazy thing now? They ain’t even remember each other somehow. And that right there took the weight off me, All them old chains lost they place on me. No more letting lies put rage on me, No fake name got power over me. [Final Chorus — fuller instrumentation, choir-style backing vocals] Joe C. Powell… That’s who they told me. Whole hood knew the name before the old me. Joe C. Powell… That lie controlled me. Young wild dude moving like nobody owed me. Joe C. Powell… I wore that weight heavy. Good kid, bad choices, mind gone messy. Joe C. Powell… Till the truth came and met me. Now I see clear, can’t no fake name break me. [Outro — spoken softly over fading soul sample] Yeah… That name raised me… But it don’t define me no more. I forgive y’all… And I forgive myself too… Polomac1914.
