Justice Smith On Always Finding Ways To Persevere

The Get Down - The One

Justice Smith while playing Ezekiel in the hit show "The Get Down" expresses the struggle's he's faced losing both his parents as a kid, and how he doesn't let the pain and hardships he's faced get to him.

Transcript:

Boom, then crash. The shattering of glass.

I dived to the floor, busting my ass.

The hell was that?

Was all that I said.

Then I see the pool of blood.

Then I see my mom was dead.

No emotion in the commotion,

I wasn’t even sad, even when I learned the bullet was meant for my dad

Vietnam made pops crazy, he was already half-dead.

So why couldn't that’ve been him that they shot in the head?

All the news that fits the print.

Mamma’s death went unreported not a whiff, word or hint.

They don’t care about us niggers is how my pops explained it

But I didn’t know I was a nigga until my dad proclaimed it

Six months later, my pops was dead too.

Drug-related shots fired, his skin turned cold blue.

On the news that night the President’s wife got a new hairdo.

The news guy said “I like it how about you?”

No word about my pops in the Post or on CBS.

Why was that you ask?

Take a fucking guess.

And yeah why is that? That's what politicians should be asking.

But who got time for questions when y’all skiing up on Aspen?

Broads get gunshots to the head and all y’all swerving us as hasbeens.

My momma was so lovely she would’ve made your head spin

Level the playing field and y’all will see who’ll really win

And yeah I got anger

But I don’t let it take me down, ’cause my momma taught me better.

And she holds me up when I fall down.

Rest in peace moms, don’t worry about your son.

Some day I’ll make you proud because yeah I am the one.