Lyrics Screens - Joell Ortiz

Screens

Kids, man, they just ain’t the way they used to be when we was comin' up, man
These lil' motherfuckers don’t even wanna go outside
They stay in the house
I don’t give a fuck how broke you are
You could be on food stamps, you got a Sega Genesis at the house
Damn, was it that long ago?
Thought it was, bro
Man, I used to run down on a chick
Introduce myself, she’d give me her name
I’d pull out a pen
Write her number down on a piece of paper
Woo
We used to actually interact with each other back then
Word
Damn screens
Kids don’t come upstairs with grass stains on they jeans
No playin' tag at night, no more sundown freeze
No more fallin' off they bike, peroxide on knees
Jeez, I ain’t seen a Double Dutch in years
What happened to skelly, no more tops hitting squares?
I used to front flip off of the fence, back flip off the swing
Somebody dared, you had to do it to be playground king
Walked across monkey bars, rubber mat so far
Somethin' crazy drove by, screamed, «That's my car!»
Threw rocks up on the roof, they couldn’t match my arm
And manhunt lasted long, we couldn’t catch Daquan, shit
Red quarter water, ask your man to have a sip
Pack of Now & Laters and a quarter bag of chips
Never would I ever thought a game of catch a kiss’ll be
Somethin' that these kids would have to miss, imagine this
Phone screen, tablet screen, computer screen
Eighty-inch TV screen, I never seen
So many ways to look away from the world
These screens raisin' ya sons, babysittin' your girls
So many screens
Everyone say hi, you’re on a screen
I used to wanna go out in the rain
Moms would say no so I complained near the window pane
She always gave in to that look on my face
Those days I got chased, cops and robbers in the staircase
Where they at, in the front or the back?
It was quiet, and then «pap» 'til you run out of caps
Every basketball court in the summer was packed
Every winter was tackle football, don’t fumble the snap
Now every time I look, another app, man, what’s up with that?
It’s like every single day involves a double-tap
Used to beg moms, «Can my boys have some fun with me?»
Off the top rope was the dresser, WWE
Now my son wear headsets, runnin' through the trees
Playin' Call of Duty, guess that’s what they callin' company
Was known everywhere, couldn’t front on my team
These kids don’t go anywhere, man, they front of them screens
Phone screen, tablet screen, computer screen
Eighty-inch TV screen, I never seen
So many ways to look away from the world
These screens raisin' ya sons, babysittin' your girls
So many screens
Everyone say hi, you’re on a screen
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Catch a piggy by the toe
If it hollers, let him go
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
You it!
Haha, damn
I can still see those days clear as hell in my head