Yah, in the streets we would kick it, cricket
Worn down bat street light as the wickets
Had a cul-de-sac in the middle
Where the big kids would put us to fight
Not tryna brag, but I was winning
When the ice cream truck rolled around
I was wishing for a buck 10, thats how much it was then
The house I lived in, the grownups ran a mucking
Disputes on the daily, fam feuds, crazy, leave it at that
Its too insane for me to rap about
I used to wanna be like my big brother
Draw rap sag, rag, everything
From the hair do to the toughest
I remember one day I tried to follow him
And caught a boot to the stomach
Thats my roots as a younging
I mean before i hit, form two, form two
Academic mind, same time naughty too
Argue with whoever wanted didnt care
I wouldnt change that for anything
Cause I was raised out the south side of Auckland
As soon as you hit 13 you're considered a grown man
A lot of buses stuck in that same rut
Dysfunctional families parents running a muck
But still I love the place I was raised in
Representing to that very day when I pushed a couple blazes
Its the place that made me strong
Otara to the world in this song, lets go
I guess its true what they telling me
Home is where the heart beats
Stand tall for my streets even if it starts beef
Thats beside the point though, Im a grown man now
Inspiration for the kids on how my life's planned out
How my wings have spanned out, through goals I have set
Elevated to a better man now foes aint a threat
You can touch me in the flesh, Im real, see me round my hood
Hit a living legacy presence, so Ill be round for good
The place flowing through my veins be through up and downs with you
Through no matter what, I stay chasing that crown for you
Just hope the next generation follow through
To know whats possible to do bigger and better things that I can do
Where I can rest, no matter what, my people know my name
Cause Ive never looked down on them so theyve treated me the same
Yeah, its the place that made me strong
I got love for my hood, Beach Haven is home
Yeah I was raised on the north side of Auckland
Beach Haven valley, only place I see important
To me the streets Im holding to my very last breath
Where a lot of us fell off, so I may give it my best
Thats to the end, a place that never changes
The kids bring us hope to break the chain
That weve bring into this game its
Its the place that made me strong
I got love for my hood so I show it in the song
We happy even though we hardly had a thing
Karaoke have a sing, sounds pumping hard
Man, its over powerin' my chattering
Gutterboard battling, Sherberts and the hennessy
Skin board, double time
Sweet brother, have a seat
Serving them up like Agassi
West side horis be the handball kings
Too broke to be athletes, couldnt pay the fees
But give me 50 cents and Ill show you all the fatalities
Man street fighter had to be, where the brother started at
Uniform worn with my nomads at my starter camp
Home is where my heart is at
Kapahaka, harder slaps
Whakapapa preserving te reo like an artifact
High crime rates, cholesterol and heart attacks
But if you in a scrap every hori's got your back, yeah
We bout to put every hori on the map
Sidney, Sir T, Tipene chh-ch-chyeah
I was raised on the west side of Flaxmere
And when Im in the hood I reminisce on how we were back then
Swear everybody stuck in the same rut
We didnt have much but it was always just enough
I swear, everybody knows your name
The place to call home where we all learned to grow through the pain
Its the place that made me strong
I got love for my hood so I show it in the song.