12 Days

A black man's true nature is peace We ain't the animals the media would claim us to be And we hate the police, not all, but some Cause they treat us the same whether we are or ain't from the streets This situation was a mountain to climb The past is the past and I promise I'm fine Now sit back on your couch with some wine As I explain to y'all what happened in 2009 Now it started like any day, Thursday September 24th I'm 19 with dreads at the shoulder length Sitting in class with poker face Daydreamin bout the studio, and tryna get my vocals laid Class dismissed, I go to work at the Prudential Rappin for co-workers, they said we had potential My man Milly didn't know that we rhyme, he was impressed with us Went to his spot, he set up a session up We did a record called "No Life," I promise it's so nice My homie lost the file I was so tight Whatever, one of the best we did together Quickly written, I noticed we gettin better 11 Turned to 12, now its 1am Wrappin up the session gotta come again I slide my phone up, it's bout 1:50 We gotta start busting some moves Tomorrow morning we got something to do But Kid Allik said he gotta type up something school So we pack up in the car, 7 in a 5 seater Make the drop offs, until the next time see ya Me and Kid hit the studio in East Orange, that 604 Central, owned by his parentals Ran into the homie Chad Piff, who was there working When Kid finish typing, we could get a verse in So I'm amped now, ready to do another track But let's grab a bite, iight we comin back We hit Central walking to Dunkin Donuts around 2AM And this is where the trouble begin Alright, I see two young black males walking on Central Avenue and Evergreen Wearing all black from head to toe One of them is about 6'3", the other around 5'11" Both have dreadlocks They fit the description of three armed robbers we're looking for All we need to do is find the assault weapon and stolen vehicle and we have our guys And so we keep walking, not a soul on the streets Look forward to a bagel and a donut to eat But as we strolling on the right side A cop drives by real slow staring at us with the wide eyes That look would have a grown man shook And Kid Allik grabbed my wrist, like he know that look Yo let's dip, go back to the studio, do a couple songs I'm like chill my brother, we ain't do nothin wrong We hit Dunkin, and Kid placed his order I ain't even worried, I ain't lookin over shoulders But the minute I approach the counter East Orange police had the whole damn stop surrounded Put your hands up! Put em where we can see 'em These cops really ran down on us, couldn't believe it I'm confused, like what did we do Kid Allik dumb as hell, told the cook man keep making my food The cop said there was an armed robbery and we're in pursuit To find the robbers and we think that it's you The victim identified you down to your boots So please step to the side and don't make any moves Now first it was just me Then they got the word on the talkie that they got 2 positive IDs So they cuffed us, take us to the station 1 Day in the holding cell, separated and my mental shakin No food for 24 hours The shock left me with no appetite I called my father in tears, a soul crippled with fear Saying yo, please find a way to get us outta here I'm sittin in jail, every minute is hell And they sayin put house up to give em the bail And they think I did it, everybody around me And threw us in the car now we off to the county Good news gentleman, we got them We haven't recovered the stolen vehicle or assault weapon But I'm sure these are our guys Both suspects are in route to Essex County Correctional Facility I know three guys committed this crime but I'm sure these two were a part of it Alright, good work everyone So we pull up the county They uncuff us in the back, watching niggaz mean mug us through the glass Now we gotta be more aware Wanna know something funny? My family knew the cop that even drove us there Now we gettin processed Afterwards a cold shower, orange jumpsuit, I'm beyond stressed And I'm praying this will all stop Then I find out the total bail number and my heart dropped Almost a milly is what it'll cost them To get us out and we ain't know bout the bondsmen And right there, I felt that I became a man Because I sat back accepted it Leave school, no job, that's definite Heavy charges goin keep me from my relatives Just get comfortable in your residence And when God wants to solve this, He'll get it fixed Lemme paint a picture real quick Imagine 30 niggaz livin in a bull pit One toilet in the open, no privacy Laying on a cold floor, tryna sleep One time I saw a CO kick a small old man in the head, cause of something he said And he wasn't even talking to him He was addressing someone else in the room as he was walkin to him And this other dude got beaten bloody 'Cause his cellmate lied and he said, yo he tried to touch me And so we in the bullpen kicking it And then we found out other niggaz are innocent And we when we told other people our story I seen they jaws dropped and they were supportive They moved me quarantine with a cellmate Several days past, still in shock with the stale face Speaking to my mother on the phone Galvanizing all of our people, they tryna get us home And they made it happen, on a Wednesday early 6am, felt I was dreamin I got bailed out, so I'm racing outside It was raining outside, but I'm embracing the shine You know the first thing that came to my mind Ayo my class start at 10, I can make it in time But I went home, got settled, took a long shower And took a rest for a couple hours Saw my mom, the embrace was consoling She said that I'm so sorry that something you had to go through She worked hard raising me well Just for me still spend a few days in a cell And she felt defeated, but still praising the Savior My cousin came home about 2 days later September 25th to October 7th Me and my co-defendant, saying we stealing cars and toting weapons With no confessions, even though we had plenty fears The max for this charge was 20 years But God told me to keep the faith About 7 months later, we beat the case And then kids who committed the crime Got caught, we was locked up at the same time All of this trauma and pain For 25 dollars and a gold chain It's whatever, just speaking my peace this where the story end But I feel I can never trust cops again Some say they were doing they job Well if there job entails that, what they're doing is wrong Tryna get me to confess, said they got it on tape Cop to 10 years, with good behavior get 8 And even though it was a brief jail stay My life will always be affected by those 12 days Sergeant, please call the parents of Sebastien Francois and Carlee Bey We got the wrong guys, dammit. I don't know we gotta apologize or something I know I wouldn't want my kids in jail for nothing. But uhhh, it's no big deal Stuff like this happens all the time