Cash Rules
Written and performed by Bom "Mondega" Siu

(chorus 2x)

I remember selling weed just to buy food
And sometimes I need a drink just get through
See I know I can do it but I'm struggling
Cause everywhere I go, they tell me cash rules

(verse 1)

So here's an introduction for those that don't know me
You pass by everyday and might not even know it
I was born in Vietnam, my father was a soldier
My mother was a farmer, raising the kids on her own
In the midst of war and poverty, somehow they stayed together
Even when he was imprisoned, she would stay up writing letters
Funny how the rich talk and poor people die
And everyday I watch it unfold before my eyes
There's a devil in disguise, I turned and flipped the page
Reading Malcolm X and realized we are the same
My name is Bom Siu and to you it might be strange
But it's my God given name and not a label for a slave
I got a baby on the way, who is a quarter Philippine
And a hundred percent American despite what they say
I'm not black, not white, I'm everything in between
I am everything they hate and everything they wish to be
I wish that you could see from my perspectives
How I spent my whole life just trying to fit in
I'm not the subservient model minority
I'm the high school drop out who just got out of prison
I got a brother and sister who suffer from autism
And maybe I am too, but I keep on pushing
Cause life is too hard and I'm tired of playing victim
Rather die like a man than to sit around bitching

(chorus 2x)

(verse 2)

Imagine the pain of a single mother losing a son
To the jail cell or bullets leaving a gun
Tears falling from her eyes thinking she failed as a parent
But the streets raised her baby, she just made an appearance
Busy trying to make a living and put food on the stove
While her child is ditching school to be cool and sell dope
Inhaling marijuana smoke, busting guns and pulling licks
Thinking his friends really love him until he had to do a bid
See I know cause I've been through that position before
And out of all of my friends, only one came through that door
No matter how much love you show, some people will not understand
I know it's cold, but that's just how it goes in the end
You either win or pretend that you got it
I'm so tired of these so called gotti's who ain't really about it
Dropping the ball every time that you pass it
Living just a short stop away from reaching a casket
I'mma just charge it to the game, keep this shit moving
Rather have my respect than my reputation ruined
Going legit, forget about this illegal shit
I rather make you a song and sell a beat for a brick

(chorus 2x)