This was probably the quickest song I wrote on the album. I wrote it in front of everybody at Jim Jonsin’s house while they were making the beat. I don’t know what the fuck was going through my head. I took a deep breath, exhaled and jolted. I woke the fuck up and the whole song was done. I was like, “Oh my God, this is some of the best storytelling I’ve ever done.” That shit was fucking weird.

My first job was a cart boy at Dave’s Supermarket in Shaker Square.. The guy in the front or back of the grocery store that helps the older ladies to their car, load up their groceries. You collect all the carts, help the frozen foods people carry stuff in, hit on the cashiers. I loved it. It was tight.

I was making a song that would be relevant today, in 15 years, and in 50 years. That was my main goal when I was writing this.

Sometimes life’s answers will hit you when you’re high on shrooms. That was one of life’s answers that hit me: If all of us just fucking loved each other or opened up more positivity within ourselves, and pushed that energy off onto others, then war seems unnecessary. If everyone felt the way I felt right now, we’d all be OK.

That actually happened during my first year at Shaker Heights High School. This pretty, very normal girl hung herself with her shower curtain. Her parents found her in the bathroom.

She wasn’t someone close to me. She was older than I was. But obviously it was someone we all knew. And to see it repeat itself over and over again everywhere else is an issue we should talk about.

The first song of mine that I heard on the radio doesn’t count because I was like 15 and I won a rap battle competition to get your song on the radio. It was a horrible song.

First real song of mine I heard on the radio was called “Cleveland.” I have a video of like the first 50 times I heard myself on the radio. I was like spazzing out.

A true definition of happiness is that video clip of seeing myself on MTV for the first time. It wasn’t even a music video. I got to spit a freestyle in between a bunch of freestyles on Sucker Free Countdown. When you watch that video you see the happiest kid in the entire world. Pure excitement and joy. We were broke, living at Ashleigh’s mom’s house watching it on a big fat-back TV. It was a priceless moment.

Originally the song was actually called “Mother.” That was too intense. So then I was like, Let’s paint the portrait of me sitting on the stairs waiting. I’m like, Oh shit, man. 20 minutes. Here we go.

I didn’t even want that song to be on the album because I felt it was too personal. I didn’t know if I was disclosing too much. By the time I made the decision to not put it on my album, the album was submitted and it was too late.

That first line says a lot—I’m saying somebody you haven’t seen. I’ve seen my mom since I was 9, on occasion. But to see somebody is a whole different thing than looking at somebody.

I hated and resented that situation so much that the last time I fucking remember her was from when I was 9 and she was with my father. And here I am at 25 finally confronting it all.

The feeling before I opened the door—it’s crazy. It’s a lot of emotion for me because she looks so much like me.

When my mother came to visit me, this was the first time we’ve seen each other in a long time. We said we would reconnect, but she left and we never did. I think I was 21 when she gave me that package.