My name's Lakisha, named after my Dad His name's Lakostia, goes by Coz (that's his name) I go by "Kish" because it's shorter And, to me, a lot less obvious (not the same) At home, my momma, she calls me Kisha (Kisha) But at the school yard, there were a million (million) When I was young, I needed freedom And to feel I stood out in this world (too many girls) Just stand out When I was sixteen, I wanted money I put Lakisha on my resumé, how funny It was a joke, I found that nobody Would call me back because of it (oh, shit) Tell you the truth like when I moved to New York Nobody knew my name, I put my head down and worked Like two jobs at a time, learned to read between the lines I'll say I'm Kish on my resumé this time Meant to be named "India" After my greatest grandmother (that's her name) But someone had a baby first And the name was given right to her (what a shame) I'd probably end up a lot more conscious I'd burn some incense, I'd pray to rocks and It's hard to say who you would be If you were named after somebody else ♪ But I feel guilty stereotyping Would have me leave it out of all and everything Some people like to assume different But in truth, I'm not a bit ashamed (it's my name) When I sign my signature It's with an "L" and never with a "K" You call me Kilo But Lakisha forever will be my name