Yeah I wanna share some shit with y'all All truth, all truth Like I'm standing inside a Tabernacle I promised not to lie in not one of these verses I started out as a battle rapper All I knew was Maxells, ADATs, DATs and gats My name is Ryan Daniel Montgomery Recovering alcoholic, I grew up on 9 Mile I'm not a gangster, drug dealer or thug nigga Just an MC who made a name with his rhyme style Sometime around '95 I found my calling And that all coincides with the time that I found my darling Now later on in the story I tell you her significance But now let's talk about me, specifically Three brothers and one sister see My daddy taught me consistency with his fucking patterns Hallelujah I'm the son of a addict My addiction was music All I would do is go to the studio and The Shelter Listening to Redman and Heltah Skeltah Aye y'all remember that one joint from the Heltah Skeltah album called Sean Price be like, "I'm not sure any" yeah that was my shit I used to bump that shit all day By this time I knew I wanted to be an artist, I didn't want to be anything else You know, but my mom had plans for me, she wanted me to go to school, so you know To make mom's happy I took some general courses in college Took the bus until I got hella bored with that Because the bus stop I had to walk to Was right across from the first studio I ever recorded at Now I would have to assume that It was either meant for me to be rapping Or meant for me to be laughing at God's Geographical humor As soon as I stepped foot in the open-mic it was like a reunion I was a shoe-in I met Kino there too And he asked me to manage me And that was back in like, let me see '97, my girl was pregnant Hurdles was prevalent And nigga it therapeutic just for me to breathe into my mic Started learning why the Lord put certain people in my life And the way he started blessing me, uh I guess before my inner-demons got the best of me Like sneezing was my vice Needless to say that December 29th was the day I became a believer in fate Okay now it's December 28th, my day is goin' great Kino booked me a show under contract to do that night I got a call from my girl's people saying she in labor in the hospital right now 9th floor. I get on the elevator Elevator stops on the 5th floor, elevator opens up, my uncle's standing there crying Now I'm caught off guard, I'm like, what the fuck? My uncle standing there like "Ryan, they that way" I walk out, I see my momma and that entire side of my family Looking like it's some kind of drama happenin' I said "what happened" They like "Granny's been in a bad accident, and it ain't looking good" I'm like "man, what?" I'm having a baby four floors up Before I froze up I'm trying to figure out why the Lord chose us Or maybe chose me To ride in this emotionally roller coaster My momma said "the baby here yet?" I'm said "maybe" She like "maybe? Baby, go see" I walk away feeling like a good father, the same time as a terrible son Get to my girl, she 5 centimeters dilated so I waited She got to get to 'bout nine 'til it's that time And meanwhile I'm more popular in this hospital than the doctors Nurses watching, whispering like "that's the one right there Who got the lady in labor on 9 and the other lady dying on 5" By this time I don't even fuckin' remember that I got a show Somebody had to remind me. The doors was already open at the venue I got emotions runnin' every which way All the nurses and stuff is like, "We'll keep you posted about the baby, we'll keep you posted about your granny" I didn't like seeing my mama like that, so I had to get out of there Yeah, I hit the stage at 11:50, killed it I got off at about midnight With about six types of different emotions floatin' around inside me Hopeless, tryna find me Hopin' in time God'll guide me In the future, just as I was about to leave out I saw Kino talkin' to Marshall and then he introduced us We talked about collaboratin' and how chasin' this rap thing is aggravatin' But I'll get back, I got the family waitin' I get to skatin' As soon as I get to the hospital they tell me that my granny didn't make it She just died, I'm feelin' helpless, it hurt me On the flip side, my little boy is healthy in the nursery I picked him up, looked in his eyes for the first time and just cried Ain't no denyin' this is the power of God I said, "I love you, Granny" and looked to the sky Like even though he just got here, goodbye This is how the story goes Powerful day Powerful day Most significant day in my life I mean, aside from meetin' my man Marshall, My son bein' born and my granny dying on the same day My grandma didn't live anywhere near that hospital I learned a lot this day I learned that the universe has this way of balancing itself out For me to lose such a beautiful soul in my granny And gain such a beautiful soul with my first born son Little Royce, it showed me that God is real God is real And you know what they say, God giveth, God taketh away