Screens - Joell Ortiz

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