“Build 'Em Strong”
(Intro - Spoken)
Yeah…
From the voice of wisdom — Frederick Douglass
Truth still rings today...
Listen up.
(Hook)
🎶
It’s easier to build ‘em strong from the start,
Than mend a man who's carryin’ a broken heart.
Raise the youth with truth in they soul,
So they ain’t out here just tryna feel whole.
Teach ‘em love, teach ‘em pride, give ‘em light again,
‘Cause it’s hard to fix what’s broken in a grown man.
Build ‘em strong, yeah, build ‘em strong,
That’s the message, the mission, the whole damn song.
🎶
---
(Verse 1)
Mama cryin', daddy gone, streets became the crib,
Lil’ homie fifteen, already seen what death did.
Taught survival but never taught peace,
Just pain, chain links, and crooked police.
Now he hardened, don’t trust, don’t talk,
Walkin’ with that chip and a hand like a hawk.
But what if way back, he had a shot at joy?
Books in his hand, not clips for the noise?
Give ‘em tools, not trauma, not fear,
Not a cell for his bed or a judge in his ear.
We break cycles when we plant in the youth,
Frederick said it, now I'm rappin' the truth.
---
(Hook)
🎶
It’s easier to build ‘em strong from the start,
Than mend a man who's carryin’ a broken heart.
Raise the youth with truth in they soul,
So they ain’t out here just tryna feel whole.
Teach ‘em love, teach ‘em pride, give ‘em light again,
‘Cause it’s hard to fix what’s broken in a grown man.
Build ‘em strong, yeah, build ‘em strong,
That’s the message, the mission, the whole damn song.
🎶
---
(Verse 2)
See the system profit off our pain and cries,
So we gotta be the ones to help our children rise.
Mentors not monsters, healers not hustlers,
Role models not robbers, builders not busters.
Every lesson, every hug, every book you read,
Could be the armor a young soul need.
So don’t wait till he thirty with regrets in his pen,
Start now — let the future begin.
‘Cause men who are whole don't pull others down,
They lift as they climb, wear purpose like a crown.
So hear me loud, I’m just echoing Douglass —
Let’s raise warriors with hearts full of justice.
---
(Hook - Final)
🎶
It’s easier to build ‘em strong from the start,
Than mend a man who's carryin’ a broken heart.
Raise the youth with truth in they soul,
So they ain’t out here just tryna feel whole.
Teach ‘em love, teach ‘em pride, give ‘em light again,
‘Cause it’s hard to fix what’s broken in a grown man.
Build ‘em strong, yeah, build ‘em strong,
That’s the legacy, the anthem, the lifelong song.
🎶
(Outro - Spoken)
Frederick Douglass knew what was up.
Let’s not wait to fix what we could've built right.
This one's for the children… and the grown who still hurt.
Let’s build.
