A Quick 16 for Mama
by De La Soul
From the album: Cabin in the Sky
Duration: 3:00
Lyrics for A Quick 16 for Mama
Alright, y'all Mama said if you want things I need y'all to kick a quick verse on this for your moms You gotta hustle for Nothing long, like a sixteen, you know? You gotta hustle for You gotta hustle for Shout out and honor Mrs. Mercer and Mama Niecy Mama always say Merc, you got your sixteen? Yeah, I'm ready If you want things bad enough Mike, you ready? Man, I got twenty-four Nah, King, keep it short and sweet You gotta hustle for So Merc, you go first You gotta hustle for Well, see, my mama was from Waynesboro, Georgia Where a glass of struggle life'll sure pour ya So she migrated up to New York where I was born The BX, where burnin' buildings seemed to be the norm Her heart was filled with love and kindness And kept family in front and never behind us And her words had a compass in 'em To help course correct and move us 'round the world without venom In her heart, and ain't no surprise She made us walk with humbleness in her eyes She said, "No wantin' this and that, be clear on what you need And know sweat and tears may accompany the bleed" And she would rather us not Send prayers up for things our own hands could gather And since we all sprouted up from out of God's good dirt She valued gettin' dirty if God was in the work Thank you, mama Mama said if you want things No doubt, now that's love You gotta hustle for Love and miss you, Mrs. Mercer You gotta hustle for Let me take this moment to show my mama some love You gotta hustle for I love you, mommy Mama always say Alright, killer If you want things bad enough You got that sixteen ready, fam? You gotta hustle for You already know, King shit You gotta hustle for Let's get it I'm rollin' and smokin' easy, I'm thinkin' 'bout Mama Niecy I told her that I'ma be an MC and mommy believed me Smokin' a joint, makin' a point, she tell her friends "My baby gon' be a rapper," point at me, say, "Go again" I was tryna be Brother Marquis from 2 Live I grabbed the microphone, tell my tall tales and my true lies I was a gangster and a scholar and I ran my own world I had the money and the power and the cars and the girls My mommy told me, "One day, baby, but right now you just nine And when you finally find a girlfriend, make sure she more than fine Make sure she got a beautiful heart, intelligent mind A caretaker, not just a taker, gotta take care of mine" You see, Niecy was my Afeni, my Voletta, and more She was Mama Wade, I was Rico, in my cup, she would pour I thank the Lord for her Only sixteen when she had me, had to be hard for her So I move like a man on a mission from God for her Mama said if you want things Nice and quick You gotta hustle for But not lackin' in the love Love you, mama You gotta hustle for I know you both high for your lovely mothers You gotta hustle for Know that they both lookin' down proud, my brothers You gotta hustle for Salute, salute to rings You gotta hustle for Salutations You gotta hustle for Love your mothers, y'all You gotta hustle for Because they mean a lot You gotta hustle for Yeah, my mama wasn't no saint Word? They didn't call my mama Mrs. nothing They called my mama OG Mama Niecy You know what I mean? No doubt And I love her Dope You know, all that sinnin', man, came from women 'Cause she raised some children filled with integrity Oh, indeed, brother, indeed