This picture says a lot about where I’m at. Standing in the middle, trying to stay whole, while life pulls at me from both sides. Man, it’s eating me up inside knowing I can’t help everybody I love. Some of the people closest to me are pulling from me, and I don’t think they understand how much it’s tearing me down. The little things count in my life. How you treat me counts. How I feel counts. Feeling appreciated counts. Hearing words of affirmation counts. You being the best version of yourself counts. You sleeping on your abilities, knowing how incredible you are, counts too. It hurts watching people I love give up on themselves. And it hurts feeling like none of that matters to you when it weighs so much on me. I’m trying to stay whole, but it’s hard letting go of what’s pulling me apart when I love the people attached to it. At the same time, I have the best woman, the most beautiful baby, and a strong Black family that I’m proud of. Mentally, financially, and spiritually, I’m at the highest point of my life. So much is going right. And I’m grateful for every bit of it. But that doesn’t erase what hurts. People close to me are dealing with health problems, and knowing I can’t fix everything they’re going through is heavy. Man, it’s a lot to carry. Then I step on that stage and give y’all my all. Because right there, with my fans, is one of the places I feel the most joy. So to all my fans, thank y’all. Every time you come to a show, you truly don’t understand what you’re giving me. It’s not what’s going in my pocket. It’s y’all filling up my soul.

They be like, “Yo, I want that old Waka. Go back to that old Waka.” What you mean, go back to that old Waka? The Waka that used to pull up 100 deep and stomp niggas out? The Waka that used to shoot at people? The Waka that would slap the fuck out of somebody anytime they said something crazy? You want the sound of the old Waka. Think about the life you asking me to go back to. Ain’t shit changed about who I am. I just evolved. Then you hear, “Man, bro be talking all day.” A lot of that comes from young adults who only know what they see online. Your big brothers, your uncles, the older people know me. They know what I lived through. Some of what you hear happened. Some of it’s exaggerated. But I don’t need to keep proving my past by repeating it. For you young niggas running around misguided, misunderstood, lost, feeling like nobody got you, I want you to see where growth can take you. I evolved because I wanted to be a better leader, a better example, a pathway for y’all. For my family, my friends, my kids, and ultimately for me. One day I had to ask myself, “Waka, why you keep chasing money when you don’t even understand it? What is money? How does it work? Where does it come from? Why was it designed? Is spending it all you know how to do?” That’s where financial literacy started for me. With questions. I knew how to make money. I had to learn how to understand it. A lot of the tools I’ve built for myself came from living, making mistakes, asking questions, and being willing to learn. Now I want to pass them along to the people I love. I know I’ve been writing a lot lately. But if you follow me and take the time to read, something I share might help you find your way through the chaos you’re dealing with mentally, spiritually, or financially. It takes patience. It takes discipline. It takes faith. That’s the Waka you’re hearing now. A man who lived enough to have something to say, and cares enough to share it.