Judge Me Shh— Judge me Who judge you? South Central, Section 8 Smoke in the ceiling Same stairs, same stares Same sickness breathing CCTV blink City see sideways Soft smile split When the sirens hit Friday Somebody switched Somebody slid Somebody said my name Then nobody did Smoke shop glass Saints in reflection Sinners outside Selling resurrection Sirens sing slow Sidewalks listen Shells got swept But the scuffs still glisten Same small circle Suspicion spreading Smile too soft Now the whole set shifting Smoke shop imam said “Son, stay distant” Same block hissed back “Show us commitment” Street don’t need a gavel Street got guesses Street don’t need facts Street got lessons Everybody saw it Nobody witnessed Judge me Who judge you? Judge me Who judge you? All my judges Need a judge too Who judge you? Who judge you? Who judge? Who judge you? They saw it They said shh Same whisper walked Where the docket was waiting D.A. talked clean Mint in his cadence Metal detector Denim, dime in the tray Mother counted minutes Till the name turned gray Date got moved Debt got doubled Defendant got numbered Then the man got shuffled Mandatory minimum Metal on denim Ten men named Truth missing in ’em Testimony trimmed Till the damage had manners One typed sentence Made the whole thing look planned out Motion denied Mother still standing Minute hand twitch Like it knew what was landing Twenty years printed From a ten-minute ending One bad night With a lifetime pending Street made smoke State made ink Street said “snitch” State said “think” Names turn numbers Men turn missing Judge me Who judge you? Judge me Who judge you? All my judges Need a judge too Who judge you? Who judge you? Who judge? Who judge you? Street saw skin State saw name God saw both And looked through mine Street said shh State said sign God said nothing That scared mine Gun went quiet When the guilt grew teeth Gold grip cold Grave dirt underneath Quran on the rug Coke dust by the counter God weighs things That the scale don’t count up Prayer rug crooked Where the gun oil leaked Grace stayed still When the trigger didn’t speak I kept that code Till the code got greedy Kept that crew Till the crew couldn’t see me Kept my mouth shut Watched a mother lose years Called it loyalty So I didn’t call it fear Gavel in heaven No cousin, no counsel No camera cut No crowd, no angle Street wanted fear State wanted names God wanted weight And I came with stains Judge me Who judge you? Judge me Who judge you? All my judges Need a judge too Who judge you? Who judge you? Judge me Who judge you? Street saw skin State saw name God saw both And knew my weight Who judge you? Shh—