DEE

I'll tell you why I’m so strong.

Because growing up I seen a lot of things.

Because I went through multiple situations.

Because I came into this world in a very powerful way.

Because growing up, I was made fun of.

Because I had to step up and be the man.

BecauseI had to adapt to all situations in life.

Because I lost people who were close to me.

I am from Homan and Maypole

From the pole where its cold.

I am from Maypole where they leave you where you stand.

I am from the windy city.

Where the mind is strong.

I'm from Melvin and Andrea .

From being brought into this world.

And from a strong black woman who raised us.

Im form you ain't gon be nothing in life.

And from being told i was ugly.

I'm from proving people wrong.

I'm from Chi-raq.

Cheaters never win, winners always prevail these streets ain't a game play ya cards right.

I'd rather grind to get what I want, than to have it handed to me. Life is like a puzzle, grab all the pieces and make art learn to control your emotions then you create the outcome.

Growing up in Chicago on the West Side, I saw a lot of shit. See, like me, a lot of African American kids don't get the chance to live as a child in their childhood days. Growing up in the hood, you ' re faced with many different scenarios of life at a young age: drugs, violence, death, police brutality, racism and family issues. It's not about what happens to you in life, it's about how you get up and bounce back.

As a child, it started off as a nice fairytale world with happiness, but that quickly changed. Back then, growing up in the hood was cool because the hood was protected by the gangs. Yeah, they sold drugs on the block but they also protected the block. They built bonds with the people of the hood, gave the kids money and food, threw block parties, and just overall had a good time.

Death hit me in a number of ways at one time. I couldn't understand at the time, and that's what shaped me. I lost my Dad, my great great grandmother, my uncle and one of the block big homies. The very first time I was smacked with death in the face, I didn't know how to cope and didn't know what to do. I already had it hard coming into the world, cause when I was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck, but I showed no fear and persevered. This was not the first or the last thing I faced.

As a toddler, no one was watching me and I ate paint chips out the wall causing me to get lead poisoning. I was hospitalized for several weeks and it didn't look too good, but once again I persevered. Fast forward past that, I started to do martial arts. Everything I dealt with, I could now release and deal with it. With me doing that, I overshined and made crazy accomplishments.

I did tournaments, soared through the rankings and was a walking weapon. Then I later fell in love with sports, mainly basketball.

Basketball overshined martial arts but I still had it in my back pocket. I started seeing life differently. I became more disciplined, more awake and understanding. I could see my black people hurting off drugs, mental health, violence, beef and a lot of other things. I started to carry myself in a different manner, as in wanting to be the future and change my community to help my black people. It's not about what you get out of life, it's about what you put in.