MOG

So, I hop off the bus, and I'm trudging through the snow to the gym (Yes, there's still snow on the ground in Cleveland. We got almost 3 feet last weekend) happily listening to the last track on Esthero's album, completely expecting it to loop back to track 1 at the end. Surprise! I didn't have the album on repeat this time, so it rode straight on into Fort Minor. Since I've got the tracks from The Rising Tied in alphabetical order instead of ordered by track, "Back Home" opens it up with Common on the first verse.
I'm originally from Chicago, and every time I go back (which isn't much) it just depresses me. To me, the city looks so drab and run-down. I see the same people doing the same things they were doing 5...10 years ago. At the same time, there's a lot of culture. There are a lot of people making moves. Just two sides to a coin, I guess. This verse pretty much hit the nail on the head.
[Common:] Back home they holler "disciple" and "blackstone" Same block they freebase yo we trapped on Where our grandmothers marched The guns clap on There's liquor stores, beauty supplies, and rap songs I travel the world just to come back to it The crib got a lot of soul like black music I'm attached to it In many ways the city raised me and gave me The drama, honor, and bravery The streets seem hollow when I go to Chicago It's cheap wine and sorrow Times is hard to swallow In search of God's tomorrow I borrow words from the Bible and use them for survival gangs rival Signs painted on walls like hieroglyphics I tell 'em that this is all tribal Used to do dirt shorty's goin' through the same cycle And trials like Michael tryin' not to stay idle