"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living.
Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up of familiar but limiting patterns, safe unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning. As Dostoevsky put it: 'Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.' The real fear should be the opposite course."
- Gail Sheehy
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Why I Am
This isn't about money.
This isn't about fame and fortune
and all that crap that most of you
think you need.
Nah, homie,
this ain't about none of that.
This here's about a slang that frees me,
about a way I walk and talk
that let's me be me,
becoming what I can be
whether or not ya'll understand me.
This ain't no talent-show-style,
this is buck-wild-freestyle
that you can't put parentheses on;
I abolish your brackets.
This is psychosis without a straight-jacket
but directed intentionally,
this is all emotion spit plentifully
out the mouth of a sinner,
out of the mouth of a man
who's doing his best to grow
despite obstacles clogging the follicles of growth
derived from an oath -
he swore to the world that he'd be better.
But I was Fucked Up Beyond Belief
before I laid the Foundation,
before the Understanding that was
Based on Benevolence...
I cannot abandon my inheritance.
My upbringing does not define me,
my genetics do not define me,
my past does not dictate me
but it plays an unalterable role
in affecting who I am.
Nah, son,
this ain't no excuse or rationalization,
it's merely an interpretation,
an explanation of why I am...
I fear I do not have another path.
This isn't about fame and fortune
and all that crap that most of you
think you need.
Nah, homie,
this ain't about none of that.
This here's about a slang that frees me,
about a way I walk and talk
that let's me be me,
becoming what I can be
whether or not ya'll understand me.
This ain't no talent-show-style,
this is buck-wild-freestyle
that you can't put parentheses on;
I abolish your brackets.
This is psychosis without a straight-jacket
but directed intentionally,
this is all emotion spit plentifully
out the mouth of a sinner,
out of the mouth of a man
who's doing his best to grow
despite obstacles clogging the follicles of growth
derived from an oath -
he swore to the world that he'd be better.
But I was Fucked Up Beyond Belief
before I laid the Foundation,
before the Understanding that was
Based on Benevolence...
I cannot abandon my inheritance.
My upbringing does not define me,
my genetics do not define me,
my past does not dictate me
but it plays an unalterable role
in affecting who I am.
Nah, son,
this ain't no excuse or rationalization,
it's merely an interpretation,
an explanation of why I am...
I fear I do not have another path.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Myth of Self-Worth
Sometimes I still see myself there
with that bottle in my hand,
screaming to the world,
“I don’t give a damn!”
trying to convince them as I try to
convince myself.
Sometimes I still see myself there
holding that pipe,
holding that bag, that bong,
that bloody knife,
wondering why nobody cared
when I could’ve cared less about their lives.
It’s hard to understand,
hard to fathom, let alone explain,
how I got to that point,
that jumping-off place where
I wished for the end,
when I see where my life is today.
A seed becomes a tree
when it’s nourished right,
given enough water and light—
I thank God every day
that I somehow came to life.
Because people believed in me
when I hated myself,
they told me I’d come through
while I berated myself,
desecrated myself as if I weren’t alive,
treated myself like I didn’t deserve
a damn thing;
man I had a lot of nerve.
Because nobody ever told me I was worthless,
nobody ever told me I was nothing;
I told myself that for years…
and thank God, thank whatever or whoever it was,
that allowed me to open my ears
to hear what I was being told
despite the fact that I chose not to listen:
that you are precious,
you are loved,
you are a child of God and nobody,
no circumstance,
not the face of evil itself
could ever take that away from you.
Nobody can ever take that away from you.
with that bottle in my hand,
screaming to the world,
“I don’t give a damn!”
trying to convince them as I try to
convince myself.
Sometimes I still see myself there
holding that pipe,
holding that bag, that bong,
that bloody knife,
wondering why nobody cared
when I could’ve cared less about their lives.
It’s hard to understand,
hard to fathom, let alone explain,
how I got to that point,
that jumping-off place where
I wished for the end,
when I see where my life is today.
A seed becomes a tree
when it’s nourished right,
given enough water and light—
I thank God every day
that I somehow came to life.
Because people believed in me
when I hated myself,
they told me I’d come through
while I berated myself,
desecrated myself as if I weren’t alive,
treated myself like I didn’t deserve
a damn thing;
man I had a lot of nerve.
Because nobody ever told me I was worthless,
nobody ever told me I was nothing;
I told myself that for years…
and thank God, thank whatever or whoever it was,
that allowed me to open my ears
to hear what I was being told
despite the fact that I chose not to listen:
that you are precious,
you are loved,
you are a child of God and nobody,
no circumstance,
not the face of evil itself
could ever take that away from you.
Nobody can ever take that away from you.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Lyrics from "History" (collab with Crossword, K.G., Noyz)
Chorus:
Girl, it’s hitting me, our history is tearing us apart
you used to call me your (lover)
now I’m sitting here in fear of breaking up your heart
and calling you just another
Verse:
we used to be together like peas in a pod
the way you used to move, girl, got me so hard
fantasy into reality like, MY GOD!
used to think we’d be together forever but – nah!
I heard times change and rearrange us
now I think it’s true because nowadays we acting like strangers
instead of telephone tag, tryna catch me on the phone
nowadays, I find I’m spending more nights alone
I’m out of phase, confused, wondering ‘how did we lose touch’
a fruit so sweet, I gripped too tight, it bruised much
now I spend nights pondering
our history wondering
through the broken pieces of a fractured past
but one thing I’ve learned is that pain, it don’t last
so I’ve moved on, now I feel that I’m truly free
I guess lust can make us blind to the realities
now I know that we can never be
it’s sad to see
Girl, it’s hitting me, our history is tearing us apart
you used to call me your (lover)
now I’m sitting here in fear of breaking up your heart
and calling you just another
Verse:
we used to be together like peas in a pod
the way you used to move, girl, got me so hard
fantasy into reality like, MY GOD!
used to think we’d be together forever but – nah!
I heard times change and rearrange us
now I think it’s true because nowadays we acting like strangers
instead of telephone tag, tryna catch me on the phone
nowadays, I find I’m spending more nights alone
I’m out of phase, confused, wondering ‘how did we lose touch’
a fruit so sweet, I gripped too tight, it bruised much
now I spend nights pondering
our history wondering
through the broken pieces of a fractured past
but one thing I’ve learned is that pain, it don’t last
so I’ve moved on, now I feel that I’m truly free
I guess lust can make us blind to the realities
now I know that we can never be
it’s sad to see
Another Rapper
Another rapper.
Just what we need: another rapper.
Another wack-kat who thinks he can rap on tracks,
lacking facts behind his lyrics,
who acts with no tact –
get your mind out that trap.
Get your mouth un-bittered by that taste,
un-chase that rat-race of judgmental space,
T-Dot: unscrew your face!
Another rapper?
Nah, not just another;
not black but I’m still a brother,
your brother,
your son, your father, grandson and gradfather –
don’t waste your time trying to classify me,
don’t bother.
Don’t type-cast me;
white rapper, back-packer, conscious rapper –
don’t gas me,
stand with me for a minute instead of moving right past me.
A rapper?
Not just a rapper – an MC.
Master of Ceremonies,
Microphone Controller,
Move a Crowd like I’m pushing a boulder.
MC:
Masterfully Crafterd,
Magnificently Captured,
Monumental Creations,
Mental Commander,
do you understand the
devotion that I put into my work?
My dedication to making it work?
I doubt it.
I don’t think most take the time to listen,
steady bitchin’ like they’re trapped in a prison
with no vision;
that’s why I’m on a mission.
To tell ya’ll to reach a little higher,
I ain’t tryna preach but teach,
if I can reach even one with what I beseech
then I could peacefully retire
‘cause is my mind the truth is burning like a fire.
No, I’m not just another.
I am not “the other” and neither are you,
no matter what they told you,
let your future unfold you,
let my lyrics hold you,
forget that bullshit they sold you,
your potential is infinite, the future is gold too,
take back your life –
who stole you?
Where did you go away to?
What happened to the God you used to pray to?
That banging beat you used to sway to?
Do not let this world decay you!
We are not just rappers,
DJs and breakers,
graf artists, MCs and beatmakers.
We are hip-hoppas,
nonstoppas,
the one’s hated by parents of 16-year-old daughters,
refusing to be lambs to the slaughter,
not asking for a drink but finding our own water,
wreck-shoppas,
Afrika Bambaataas,
Lil’ Kims and Big Poppas,
the one’s who rock mics proper,
shining like there’s no sun hotter –
the real hip-hoppas.
See I’m not just another rapper; I’m a poet.
It’s in my lyrics on tracks when I flow it
but some act like they don’t know it;
sometimes I even gotta spit it acapella to show it.
Plant a seed, hope to grow it;
I trust in the mic further than I could ever throw it.
I trust in the future being better, I’m wishing
that we open up our eyes to realize what we’re missing,
I trust that I come across as hopeful, not dissing
and I trust that when I speak from the heart
that ya’ll listen.
Just what we need: another rapper.
Another wack-kat who thinks he can rap on tracks,
lacking facts behind his lyrics,
who acts with no tact –
get your mind out that trap.
Get your mouth un-bittered by that taste,
un-chase that rat-race of judgmental space,
T-Dot: unscrew your face!
Another rapper?
Nah, not just another;
not black but I’m still a brother,
your brother,
your son, your father, grandson and gradfather –
don’t waste your time trying to classify me,
don’t bother.
Don’t type-cast me;
white rapper, back-packer, conscious rapper –
don’t gas me,
stand with me for a minute instead of moving right past me.
A rapper?
Not just a rapper – an MC.
Master of Ceremonies,
Microphone Controller,
Move a Crowd like I’m pushing a boulder.
MC:
Masterfully Crafterd,
Magnificently Captured,
Monumental Creations,
Mental Commander,
do you understand the
devotion that I put into my work?
My dedication to making it work?
I doubt it.
I don’t think most take the time to listen,
steady bitchin’ like they’re trapped in a prison
with no vision;
that’s why I’m on a mission.
To tell ya’ll to reach a little higher,
I ain’t tryna preach but teach,
if I can reach even one with what I beseech
then I could peacefully retire
‘cause is my mind the truth is burning like a fire.
No, I’m not just another.
I am not “the other” and neither are you,
no matter what they told you,
let your future unfold you,
let my lyrics hold you,
forget that bullshit they sold you,
your potential is infinite, the future is gold too,
take back your life –
who stole you?
Where did you go away to?
What happened to the God you used to pray to?
That banging beat you used to sway to?
Do not let this world decay you!
We are not just rappers,
DJs and breakers,
graf artists, MCs and beatmakers.
We are hip-hoppas,
nonstoppas,
the one’s hated by parents of 16-year-old daughters,
refusing to be lambs to the slaughter,
not asking for a drink but finding our own water,
wreck-shoppas,
Afrika Bambaataas,
Lil’ Kims and Big Poppas,
the one’s who rock mics proper,
shining like there’s no sun hotter –
the real hip-hoppas.
See I’m not just another rapper; I’m a poet.
It’s in my lyrics on tracks when I flow it
but some act like they don’t know it;
sometimes I even gotta spit it acapella to show it.
Plant a seed, hope to grow it;
I trust in the mic further than I could ever throw it.
I trust in the future being better, I’m wishing
that we open up our eyes to realize what we’re missing,
I trust that I come across as hopeful, not dissing
and I trust that when I speak from the heart
that ya’ll listen.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Dream
They told us not to believe
in fairytales and happy endings.
They told us not to shoot for the stars
because missing the mark
is just too damn painful.
They told us to behave and
bite our tongues
and sit back, be quiet, and watch the show.
They told us to do what we were told
and get results.
They told us how to think.
They told us not to dream.
THEY TOLD US NOT TO DREAM!
I’m telling them all to shut their mouths
and only open them to breathe or cheer.
I’m telling you all that you’re telling yourselves
the same things they told you to believe
and that you need to STOP.
I’m telling you to stop standing polemically
and start standing affirmatively
in the name of something that inspires you so much
that the thought of its fruition
brings you to tears.
I’m telling you because I was told
by Something, Someone, Somewhere so great
that all reasons and arguments scatter to dust
in the face of what really matters to us.
I’m telling you that you and I and he and she
are not so different.
I’m asking you to give up all you’ve been holding onto,
I’m asking you to give up knowing,
I’m asking you to imagine,
to go out on the limb and risk falling down,
to venture into the unknown, knowing the risks,
and trudge that path you’ve been yearning to walk upon.
I’m asking you,
I’m pleading with you,
I’m begging you to DREAM.
in fairytales and happy endings.
They told us not to shoot for the stars
because missing the mark
is just too damn painful.
They told us to behave and
bite our tongues
and sit back, be quiet, and watch the show.
They told us to do what we were told
and get results.
They told us how to think.
They told us not to dream.
THEY TOLD US NOT TO DREAM!
I’m telling them all to shut their mouths
and only open them to breathe or cheer.
I’m telling you all that you’re telling yourselves
the same things they told you to believe
and that you need to STOP.
I’m telling you to stop standing polemically
and start standing affirmatively
in the name of something that inspires you so much
that the thought of its fruition
brings you to tears.
I’m telling you because I was told
by Something, Someone, Somewhere so great
that all reasons and arguments scatter to dust
in the face of what really matters to us.
I’m telling you that you and I and he and she
are not so different.
I’m asking you to give up all you’ve been holding onto,
I’m asking you to give up knowing,
I’m asking you to imagine,
to go out on the limb and risk falling down,
to venture into the unknown, knowing the risks,
and trudge that path you’ve been yearning to walk upon.
I’m asking you,
I’m pleading with you,
I’m begging you to DREAM.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I write poetry at 3am
I write poetry at 3am because
I’m not trying to tell you a story
about the dramas of life that we tend to
fall into and out of like
so many little kids obsessing about
the next fad.
Veins bulging through thin skin on the hands
of the poet as he types on a laptop
wondering why
he’s writing poetry at 3am.
It’s because while most of the city is asleep,
in a city sleeps all day as it appears to be awake,
my soul is screaming through the corridors of my brain
and demanding that I tell you something.
Like a jagged piece of rusty iron
tearing through animal flesh,
these words rip their way through me
out of God knows where and tell me to
get up at 3am and tell you all to
wake the fuck up
wake the fuck up
wake the fuck up before we blow ourselves up
again.
I write poetry at 3am because
I have this strange belief that
I need to pick up the slack for
everybody else who isn’t pulling their weight
to advance the evolution of the consciousness
of the human race.
I write poetry at 3am because
that’s just part of who I am.
I’m not trying to tell you a story
about the dramas of life that we tend to
fall into and out of like
so many little kids obsessing about
the next fad.
Veins bulging through thin skin on the hands
of the poet as he types on a laptop
wondering why
he’s writing poetry at 3am.
It’s because while most of the city is asleep,
in a city sleeps all day as it appears to be awake,
my soul is screaming through the corridors of my brain
and demanding that I tell you something.
Like a jagged piece of rusty iron
tearing through animal flesh,
these words rip their way through me
out of God knows where and tell me to
get up at 3am and tell you all to
wake the fuck up
wake the fuck up
wake the fuck up before we blow ourselves up
again.
I write poetry at 3am because
I have this strange belief that
I need to pick up the slack for
everybody else who isn’t pulling their weight
to advance the evolution of the consciousness
of the human race.
I write poetry at 3am because
that’s just part of who I am.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Choosing
She shivers off a painted lie
as if to say she never cared for all
the pretense and the bullshit that
she let pass between her lips.
As if an entire life of persona
could be shifted in a single moment
and all that came before it would be
just another memory.
I guess that’s the only way that anyone
can live with themselves,
when the pain of living another day
inside a façade becomes too much,
when that little voice inside screams so loud
that no amount of rationalization can ignore it,
to be able to make that choice to just
give up all the anger, the fear, the pride;
it’s when we refuse to make that choice,
when we choose cowardice over courage
or when we forget that we have a choice at all
that we suffer from what seems to be
the greatest of defeats.
as if to say she never cared for all
the pretense and the bullshit that
she let pass between her lips.
As if an entire life of persona
could be shifted in a single moment
and all that came before it would be
just another memory.
I guess that’s the only way that anyone
can live with themselves,
when the pain of living another day
inside a façade becomes too much,
when that little voice inside screams so loud
that no amount of rationalization can ignore it,
to be able to make that choice to just
give up all the anger, the fear, the pride;
it’s when we refuse to make that choice,
when we choose cowardice over courage
or when we forget that we have a choice at all
that we suffer from what seems to be
the greatest of defeats.
Shift in Direction
I was surviving,
not living.
I was struggling,
not striving.
Vegetating,
not producing.
Sleeping and never waking.
Now I am awake.
My eyes are wide
open to the moon, stars, sun
and all that they illuminate.
Now I can learn
instead of faltering;
grow instead of withering.
I will love instead of
running in fear,
walk instead of stumbling
and live instead of dying.
Now I can be.
not living.
I was struggling,
not striving.
Vegetating,
not producing.
Sleeping and never waking.
Now I am awake.
My eyes are wide
open to the moon, stars, sun
and all that they illuminate.
Now I can learn
instead of faltering;
grow instead of withering.
I will love instead of
running in fear,
walk instead of stumbling
and live instead of dying.
Now I can be.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Breaking the Silence
You’re in a bad situation, why you making it worse?
break your neck with the mic. so you can break in the Hearse
this ain’t what I wanna do, man, it’s what I gotta do if you provoke me
your arm’s too short to choke me
this ain’t a hoax, B
writing down the facts that you won’t see
cuz you think that I’m joking
what the fuck you smoking?
my rhymes leave your pride broken
yo, you better wake up
now here’s a parable:
you try to mess with me and that’s a terrible idea
my rhymes send you straight to hell
I’m MC FÜBB, get to know the name well
I rebel on the mic., I give a fuck if this will sell
most fiending to get played on radio and TV
be infecting the game like an STD
next to me, they’re in a false state of ecstasy
I spit ‘em rhymes that they’re far too perplexed to see
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
When I’m spitting the writtens, I start foaming like rabies
what I write for the mic could be inspiring babies
to resist, raise a fist to the mass assimilation
mediocrity of minds is destroying the nation
political lies are pitiful, with ridicule
heads follow it and swallow it like brainwash videos
but I ain’t gonna pout – that’s not what I’m about
living in revolutionary times, no doubt
the greatest evil that a good man can do is sit back and do nothing
while hatred goes un-confronted
let me tell you something
better put down the blunt and stop frontin’
cuz this ain’t a joke cousin
this is in your face shit
not some outer-space shit
write my rhymes in ink so that nobody can erase it
spit so much truth in one rhyme, I make your brain sick
like heroin withdrawal, I know your dying to taste it
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
When I’m wilin’, freestylin’, I start breaking the silence
rhymes freeing and flying out the cell, like Riker’s Island
filing and piling these rhymes, as I start smiling
multiplying rhyming while these people crying and dying
how many people lacking the choices
‘cause they ain’t got voices?
still they dream of owning Rolls Royces
they focused on situations hopeless
the motive for most is to find where the dope is
like players with no coaches, lost in the scramble
trying to manage lives that they just can’t handle
struggling to live, yo – how does that make sense?
trying to make it big when they can’t even pay rent
here is my statement:
everybody’s gotta live for something;
if we don’t create meaning then our lives mean nothing!
subdued long enough, now I write these rhymes to free minds
we live in revolutionary times
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
Bridge:
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, we breaking the silence
Are you breaking the silence?
or are you causing the violence?
I start hearing those sirens
and it’s telling me we gotta be breaking the silence
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
break your neck with the mic. so you can break in the Hearse
this ain’t what I wanna do, man, it’s what I gotta do if you provoke me
your arm’s too short to choke me
this ain’t a hoax, B
writing down the facts that you won’t see
cuz you think that I’m joking
what the fuck you smoking?
my rhymes leave your pride broken
yo, you better wake up
now here’s a parable:
you try to mess with me and that’s a terrible idea
my rhymes send you straight to hell
I’m MC FÜBB, get to know the name well
I rebel on the mic., I give a fuck if this will sell
most fiending to get played on radio and TV
be infecting the game like an STD
next to me, they’re in a false state of ecstasy
I spit ‘em rhymes that they’re far too perplexed to see
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
When I’m spitting the writtens, I start foaming like rabies
what I write for the mic could be inspiring babies
to resist, raise a fist to the mass assimilation
mediocrity of minds is destroying the nation
political lies are pitiful, with ridicule
heads follow it and swallow it like brainwash videos
but I ain’t gonna pout – that’s not what I’m about
living in revolutionary times, no doubt
the greatest evil that a good man can do is sit back and do nothing
while hatred goes un-confronted
let me tell you something
better put down the blunt and stop frontin’
cuz this ain’t a joke cousin
this is in your face shit
not some outer-space shit
write my rhymes in ink so that nobody can erase it
spit so much truth in one rhyme, I make your brain sick
like heroin withdrawal, I know your dying to taste it
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
When I’m wilin’, freestylin’, I start breaking the silence
rhymes freeing and flying out the cell, like Riker’s Island
filing and piling these rhymes, as I start smiling
multiplying rhyming while these people crying and dying
how many people lacking the choices
‘cause they ain’t got voices?
still they dream of owning Rolls Royces
they focused on situations hopeless
the motive for most is to find where the dope is
like players with no coaches, lost in the scramble
trying to manage lives that they just can’t handle
struggling to live, yo – how does that make sense?
trying to make it big when they can’t even pay rent
here is my statement:
everybody’s gotta live for something;
if we don’t create meaning then our lives mean nothing!
subdued long enough, now I write these rhymes to free minds
we live in revolutionary times
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
Bridge:
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, I’m breaking the silence
Yeah, we breaking the silence
Are you breaking the silence?
or are you causing the violence?
I start hearing those sirens
and it’s telling me we gotta be breaking the silence
Chorus:
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
breaking the silence is my contribution
A generation screams for revolution
blood and guns just ain’t the solution
vengeance and violence only brings police sirens
my contribution is breaking the silence
Thursday, December 3, 2009
To Be
When you’ve gone through hell
and come out on the other side, alive,
part of the hell that you’ve gone through
stays with you.
It doesn’t matter how far you walk past the threshold,
how many obstacles you overcome or mountains you climb,
at the end of the day,
when you’re alone with yourself,
everything you’ve ever been, done, possessed or lost,
all the things you thought you’d forgotten and
gotten over,
all those tiny scraps of hell that you thought
you’d left behind on your path
are still with you,
still holding on for dear life;
and experience has shown me that
we can never fully get rid of them.
But human beings can live despite anything.
We can grow and learn to reinterpret our pasts,
to frame or experiences so that they don’t determine
who we are,
so that can we choose who we are going to be
in the face of all that we’ve ever known.
It takes work.
It takes courage.
It takes telling the devil whispering in your ear
when you’re cold and tired and angry and lonely
to just fuck off
and let you be the person you were born to be.
Sometimes it’s a struggle,
sometimes it seems like a fight for your life,
and sometimes it actually is.
This is what it means to me
to live a life of purpose,
to walk humbly under God’s grace,
to fulfil a destiny and shape one’s karma,
to keep on walking when the weight of the world
seems to be dragging you down by your ankles,
to fight the good fight
to be a hero,
to be courageous when nobody’s watching
and be the human being you really want to be –
this is what it means
to be.
and come out on the other side, alive,
part of the hell that you’ve gone through
stays with you.
It doesn’t matter how far you walk past the threshold,
how many obstacles you overcome or mountains you climb,
at the end of the day,
when you’re alone with yourself,
everything you’ve ever been, done, possessed or lost,
all the things you thought you’d forgotten and
gotten over,
all those tiny scraps of hell that you thought
you’d left behind on your path
are still with you,
still holding on for dear life;
and experience has shown me that
we can never fully get rid of them.
But human beings can live despite anything.
We can grow and learn to reinterpret our pasts,
to frame or experiences so that they don’t determine
who we are,
so that can we choose who we are going to be
in the face of all that we’ve ever known.
It takes work.
It takes courage.
It takes telling the devil whispering in your ear
when you’re cold and tired and angry and lonely
to just fuck off
and let you be the person you were born to be.
Sometimes it’s a struggle,
sometimes it seems like a fight for your life,
and sometimes it actually is.
This is what it means to me
to live a life of purpose,
to walk humbly under God’s grace,
to fulfil a destiny and shape one’s karma,
to keep on walking when the weight of the world
seems to be dragging you down by your ankles,
to fight the good fight
to be a hero,
to be courageous when nobody’s watching
and be the human being you really want to be –
this is what it means
to be.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thank You
Thank you for teaching me how
important it is to play,
even when I don’t feel like it.
Thank you for teaching me to be
excited about the world;
to view every walk as an adventure,
every stroll as a journey.
Thank you for showing me
who I was
in your eyes,
at those times when I couldn’t see myself.
Thank you for teaching me to
take in every part of the world
with my God-given senses,
to taste the winter ice,
to smell the autumn breeze.
Thank you for showing me the value
of an enthusiastic greeting.
Thank you for teaching me patience
and for teaching me to look at myself
when I blamed you or made you wrong for anything.
Thank you for teaching me
that personhood need not be defined
by the shape of one’s bodily frame.
Thank you for letting me know
what it might have been like
to have a little brother.
Thank you for teaching me
that we can create family
and that committed love can bind us together.
Thank you for teaching me
to laugh at myself.
Thank you for showing me
what it means to be loving
in the face of difficult circumstances.
You showed me what it means for me
to care about someone else before myself,
to put someone else’s well-being before my own,
to take responsibility when I wanted to run
and the value in being there for someone
when I wanted to be selfish.
You showed me how we all grow old
and how we don’t ever need to suffer in the process.
You showed me how to walk
despite being weak,
how to keep moving despite stumbling—
you taught me how to face life in the face of death.
Thank you for teaching me how to grieve,
how to bear pain with dignity,
and how to choose to be grateful
when the allure of self-pity is strong.
Thank you for teaching me
that sometimes doing what’s right
is the hardest thing to do in the moment,
that loving unconditionally
means accepting the unacceptable;
that sometimes to love completely
means to shoulder a terrible burden
so that the person one loves
can be free.
important it is to play,
even when I don’t feel like it.
Thank you for teaching me to be
excited about the world;
to view every walk as an adventure,
every stroll as a journey.
Thank you for showing me
who I was
in your eyes,
at those times when I couldn’t see myself.
Thank you for teaching me to
take in every part of the world
with my God-given senses,
to taste the winter ice,
to smell the autumn breeze.
Thank you for showing me the value
of an enthusiastic greeting.
Thank you for teaching me patience
and for teaching me to look at myself
when I blamed you or made you wrong for anything.
Thank you for teaching me
that personhood need not be defined
by the shape of one’s bodily frame.
Thank you for letting me know
what it might have been like
to have a little brother.
Thank you for teaching me
that we can create family
and that committed love can bind us together.
Thank you for teaching me
to laugh at myself.
Thank you for showing me
what it means to be loving
in the face of difficult circumstances.
You showed me what it means for me
to care about someone else before myself,
to put someone else’s well-being before my own,
to take responsibility when I wanted to run
and the value in being there for someone
when I wanted to be selfish.
You showed me how we all grow old
and how we don’t ever need to suffer in the process.
You showed me how to walk
despite being weak,
how to keep moving despite stumbling—
you taught me how to face life in the face of death.
Thank you for teaching me how to grieve,
how to bear pain with dignity,
and how to choose to be grateful
when the allure of self-pity is strong.
Thank you for teaching me
that sometimes doing what’s right
is the hardest thing to do in the moment,
that loving unconditionally
means accepting the unacceptable;
that sometimes to love completely
means to shoulder a terrible burden
so that the person one loves
can be free.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
To Know God
To know the will of God
is no meager task.
How to pray is
not something that one person
can determine for another.
Some pray on their knees,
full of fear and awe,
some pray on their feet,
some while walking,
some lying down.
I pray through my pen,
and through lyrics I speak in music I make.
I pray in my bed each night
before I go to sleep
and each morning
before I rise.
Some mothers pray during labour
while giving birth to their children,
some fathers pray
while tossing a ball with their sons.
No matter how I choose to pray,
I pray with the hopes of knowing God,
with a yearning to learn
of his will for me,
to feel the presence of his divine force.
I pray for the insight, intuition,
awareness and consciousness
to know God’s will,
for the courage, strength, wisdom,
integrity, decisiveness and willingness
to carry out God’s will,
and for the motivation, determination
and perseverance
to make my will coincide with his.
is no meager task.
How to pray is
not something that one person
can determine for another.
Some pray on their knees,
full of fear and awe,
some pray on their feet,
some while walking,
some lying down.
I pray through my pen,
and through lyrics I speak in music I make.
I pray in my bed each night
before I go to sleep
and each morning
before I rise.
Some mothers pray during labour
while giving birth to their children,
some fathers pray
while tossing a ball with their sons.
No matter how I choose to pray,
I pray with the hopes of knowing God,
with a yearning to learn
of his will for me,
to feel the presence of his divine force.
I pray for the insight, intuition,
awareness and consciousness
to know God’s will,
for the courage, strength, wisdom,
integrity, decisiveness and willingness
to carry out God’s will,
and for the motivation, determination
and perseverance
to make my will coincide with his.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Six Million Not in Vain
Six million Jews
were killed
in the Holocaust.
My Grandparents all survived
being targets
of the putrid
Nazi regime.
They survived
and so I live.
Today
it is said that
thirty wars
rage all over the world.
Answers, in midst
of lost answers,
in mysteries that will never be solved,
with atrocities unspoken,
leave me only to imagine
the fates of those six million Jews;
of those 1.5 million children.
60 years ago
I would either be dead
or in a concentration camp,
and still today there are children
locked up in sweat shops,
wrongfully imprisoned,
in cells, in cages.
Nazis with different faces,
different skin colours,
but all of their minds
are the same:
infected with lies,
protected by guns and money,
shadowed and driven by hate.
The walls are bloody
and closing in.
The ceiling is weak
and soon will fall.
I drift
and remember what my grandparents
told me about the concentration camps.
Somewhere in 1942
Jews were forced to build
giant crematoriums
where their families’ and friends’
bodies would be burned.
When my Zaidy Ziggy
was in his third concentration camp,
he was given the inhuman task
of loading rotting
dead bodies
into the giant ovens.
My Zaidy John
had the horrendous job
of sweeping away the ashes.
The Nazi tyrants
told him to be careful
not to sweep away any
gold teeth.
“Lest we forget,”
people say,
“what happened in the Holocaust,”
but by saying that alone
we do not truly remember.
We do not remember
each of those unlived lives;
each of the horrible atrocities
that befell the Jewish people.
Lest we forget
that six million Jews
did not die in vain.
Lest we forget
that if not for the tremendous amount
of Germany’s war resources
being used to build gas ovens
and concentration camps,
if not for the Nazi “final solution” of genocide
to wipe out all fifteen million
Jews in Europe,
if not for all his racism,
malice and hate,
Hitler may have won the war.
were killed
in the Holocaust.
My Grandparents all survived
being targets
of the putrid
Nazi regime.
They survived
and so I live.
Today
it is said that
thirty wars
rage all over the world.
Answers, in midst
of lost answers,
in mysteries that will never be solved,
with atrocities unspoken,
leave me only to imagine
the fates of those six million Jews;
of those 1.5 million children.
60 years ago
I would either be dead
or in a concentration camp,
and still today there are children
locked up in sweat shops,
wrongfully imprisoned,
in cells, in cages.
Nazis with different faces,
different skin colours,
but all of their minds
are the same:
infected with lies,
protected by guns and money,
shadowed and driven by hate.
The walls are bloody
and closing in.
The ceiling is weak
and soon will fall.
I drift
and remember what my grandparents
told me about the concentration camps.
Somewhere in 1942
Jews were forced to build
giant crematoriums
where their families’ and friends’
bodies would be burned.
When my Zaidy Ziggy
was in his third concentration camp,
he was given the inhuman task
of loading rotting
dead bodies
into the giant ovens.
My Zaidy John
had the horrendous job
of sweeping away the ashes.
The Nazi tyrants
told him to be careful
not to sweep away any
gold teeth.
“Lest we forget,”
people say,
“what happened in the Holocaust,”
but by saying that alone
we do not truly remember.
We do not remember
each of those unlived lives;
each of the horrible atrocities
that befell the Jewish people.
Lest we forget
that six million Jews
did not die in vain.
Lest we forget
that if not for the tremendous amount
of Germany’s war resources
being used to build gas ovens
and concentration camps,
if not for the Nazi “final solution” of genocide
to wipe out all fifteen million
Jews in Europe,
if not for all his racism,
malice and hate,
Hitler may have won the war.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Bonus Track verses
MC FÜBB sensation coming right across your nation
I surpass assimilation, lyrical assassination
of the bullshit conversation seeking annihilation
and death and desecration to my verbal transformation
I developed it through patience, through my wilful dedication
bring emancipation to the soul incarceration
to people of races I will make association,
grow a plantation to the enforce the foundation,
this rapping federation isn’t basing on the hating
or sedation of elation to the vocal elevation
here’s the demonstration, you don’t like it, change the station
this is not a connotation, feel the intonation, what I’m saying:
we don’t need to bring our own destruction,
meeting at the junction to get the brain suction,
lose the mind function so the game can’t operate,
turn hip hop to a mockery? this I can’t tolerate
It’s no upside-down kingdom or a castle in the sky,
I’m laying the foundations for the future here’s why:
without a foundation, your house will collapse
likewise, with no foundation, most these rappers are spitting crap!
been through hell and I’m not going back
I’ma stay on my track
mind sober, can’t afford to relapse
so if I hear ‘em spit wacks, I’ma melt ‘em like wax
turn the heat up on these iced-out rappers, their bound to crack
writing like a titan, like a sniper I be sighting
the words that I’m reciting gonna tell you why I’m fighting
for the greater wrong to righten, yo the cause is so inviting
clench my verbal fist, make the dark world brighten
I penetrate to infiltrate, through the cracks I percolate
rhyming start to circulate, never to impersonate
hating isn’t worth the hate, they violate to compensate
violence come to bring the fate, silence to emancipate
the symptoms of another state that dealers wanna instigate
I descend through the valley-great so rappers can retaliate
eliminate the bitter taste dictating the race
to sit and wait until the date that we will pass through golden gates
unto a place you never heard, make your life swerve
talking shit like you the man, but you do not deserve
to even be called a rapper, you just get on people’s nerves
might not like the taste, but your dinner is served
couldn’t wait for fate cuz I surpassed passed that mind-state
had to create, like De La Soul set a grind-date
sometimes when I rap, I sound irate
but that’s only because I think that society tries to dictate
the way we livin’, way we’re raising our children
the way we’re driven, all of this just to prevent us from building
a new foundation, here’s a new revelation,
conversation some don’t want us to have,
yo I start getting mad
it’s like that mic., they don’t want me to grab
sharp with the vocab, hours spent in the lab
just so I could get my message across,
so many lost, thinking that ice to floss is the endgame?
ha! a platinum chain around your neck is still a chain
even free physically, we’re locked down inside our brains
it’s a crying shame, man I’m sick of the crying game
gone through the growing pains, passed through the glowing flame
despite it all, yo, I overcame
now you’ve gotta know the name
I don’t have time to listen to the criticism
my mission requires precision, I got a vision
I can grip it in my hand, it’s unmistakable ‘cause
I’ve seen images of what we are capable of
the potential force pounds like my heart ventricle
possibilities wrap my brain like a tentacle
try not to be cynical, believe in the miraculous
but negative states of mind are constantly attacking us
smacking us, telling us that we’re insufficient
but the myth of self-worth has got us trapped in a prison
so that’s why I’ve risen up, to get ya’ll to listen up
hittin’ up your ears with the message that’s it’s enough
of sitting and waiting for the world to get better
while we’re hating on each other instead of building together
acting like we’ll be living forever
but we only live forever through our deeds
we satisfy our needs, then we drink and smoke weed
succumbing to greed, yes indeed
it’s a sad state of affairs
but no-one seems to care, content to just stare
out our skulls, we’re drifting like ships with no hull
in shark infested water, like lambs to the slaughter
sometimes I wonder about our sons and daughters
all these little kids, boys and girls
it’s for THEM that we gotta make a difference in the world
I surpass assimilation, lyrical assassination
of the bullshit conversation seeking annihilation
and death and desecration to my verbal transformation
I developed it through patience, through my wilful dedication
bring emancipation to the soul incarceration
to people of races I will make association,
grow a plantation to the enforce the foundation,
this rapping federation isn’t basing on the hating
or sedation of elation to the vocal elevation
here’s the demonstration, you don’t like it, change the station
this is not a connotation, feel the intonation, what I’m saying:
we don’t need to bring our own destruction,
meeting at the junction to get the brain suction,
lose the mind function so the game can’t operate,
turn hip hop to a mockery? this I can’t tolerate
It’s no upside-down kingdom or a castle in the sky,
I’m laying the foundations for the future here’s why:
without a foundation, your house will collapse
likewise, with no foundation, most these rappers are spitting crap!
been through hell and I’m not going back
I’ma stay on my track
mind sober, can’t afford to relapse
so if I hear ‘em spit wacks, I’ma melt ‘em like wax
turn the heat up on these iced-out rappers, their bound to crack
writing like a titan, like a sniper I be sighting
the words that I’m reciting gonna tell you why I’m fighting
for the greater wrong to righten, yo the cause is so inviting
clench my verbal fist, make the dark world brighten
I penetrate to infiltrate, through the cracks I percolate
rhyming start to circulate, never to impersonate
hating isn’t worth the hate, they violate to compensate
violence come to bring the fate, silence to emancipate
the symptoms of another state that dealers wanna instigate
I descend through the valley-great so rappers can retaliate
eliminate the bitter taste dictating the race
to sit and wait until the date that we will pass through golden gates
unto a place you never heard, make your life swerve
talking shit like you the man, but you do not deserve
to even be called a rapper, you just get on people’s nerves
might not like the taste, but your dinner is served
couldn’t wait for fate cuz I surpassed passed that mind-state
had to create, like De La Soul set a grind-date
sometimes when I rap, I sound irate
but that’s only because I think that society tries to dictate
the way we livin’, way we’re raising our children
the way we’re driven, all of this just to prevent us from building
a new foundation, here’s a new revelation,
conversation some don’t want us to have,
yo I start getting mad
it’s like that mic., they don’t want me to grab
sharp with the vocab, hours spent in the lab
just so I could get my message across,
so many lost, thinking that ice to floss is the endgame?
ha! a platinum chain around your neck is still a chain
even free physically, we’re locked down inside our brains
it’s a crying shame, man I’m sick of the crying game
gone through the growing pains, passed through the glowing flame
despite it all, yo, I overcame
now you’ve gotta know the name
I don’t have time to listen to the criticism
my mission requires precision, I got a vision
I can grip it in my hand, it’s unmistakable ‘cause
I’ve seen images of what we are capable of
the potential force pounds like my heart ventricle
possibilities wrap my brain like a tentacle
try not to be cynical, believe in the miraculous
but negative states of mind are constantly attacking us
smacking us, telling us that we’re insufficient
but the myth of self-worth has got us trapped in a prison
so that’s why I’ve risen up, to get ya’ll to listen up
hittin’ up your ears with the message that’s it’s enough
of sitting and waiting for the world to get better
while we’re hating on each other instead of building together
acting like we’ll be living forever
but we only live forever through our deeds
we satisfy our needs, then we drink and smoke weed
succumbing to greed, yes indeed
it’s a sad state of affairs
but no-one seems to care, content to just stare
out our skulls, we’re drifting like ships with no hull
in shark infested water, like lambs to the slaughter
sometimes I wonder about our sons and daughters
all these little kids, boys and girls
it’s for THEM that we gotta make a difference in the world
F.U.B.B.
There were times in my life only the beat could comfort me
I meditate and wait for the lyrics to come to me
like 1, 2, 3…I start writing
in a world of clenched fists, the poet with his pen fighting, reciting
raps from the depth of his soul
through a hole in his flesh, he spits the vocals
dice rolls, switching flow from ordinary to bold
like the difference in lustre from bronze to gold
cuz what’s sold and on the radio, not biting of those
with a pen in my hand, I be fighting my foes
sprouting life from a desolate landscape
God transforms a small part of himself into a man’s shape
and manifests in the rhythm
saying “FÜBB, hit ‘em!”
shift their minds to an alternate position
so the rhymes get written,
subsequently I’m spittin’
to the beat,
vocals fittin’ with heat to bend iron wills into submission
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
The rhetoric’s pathetic
I’m real, never synthetic
I’ma spit the truth just one time, so don't forget it
through struggles, I came from days of spitting with a muzzle
no words could escape from society’s bubble
fuck the trouble it brings, I got songs, not to sing
but to rap, I rep the mic. not the “bling-bling”
or the claps of guns, people fucking with the funds
tryna make a living? hell nah, yo, they tryna run
this whole rap game and dominate the industry
they look like grown men but their minds are in their infancy
and literally lyrics are stretched like ductility
in the heart of the facility, they have no stability
mental infertility, they can’t see my ability
I would try to reason but they have no civility
so I’m left with this responsibility:
I got a destiny to fill ‘cause it won’t be fulfilling me
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
Check the way I put it up when I come up to set it up
make them look impotent like men who can’t get it up
got a federation, you best believe I’m setting up
rap: my occupation, I’m sure the fuck not letting up
the mic. is like an empty bottle, with my spit I’m filling it
not at all sadistic yo, but on the mic I’m killing it
people sit in shadows or they dwelling in the dust
when everybody cowers, tell me, who can you trust?
so I get up and I bust, pick up the mic. and thrust it
to the air, ‘cause I care, phony emcees should beware
got the skill to make the competition stop and stare
elevating mental stairs, getting grizzly like a bear
this is my dream, I’d be damned not to follow it
my rhyme is revolution in a pill, can you swallow it?
it’s not about the killing or the dawn of the apocalypse
the message that I’m sending you is that you won’t be stopping this!
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
I meditate and wait for the lyrics to come to me
like 1, 2, 3…I start writing
in a world of clenched fists, the poet with his pen fighting, reciting
raps from the depth of his soul
through a hole in his flesh, he spits the vocals
dice rolls, switching flow from ordinary to bold
like the difference in lustre from bronze to gold
cuz what’s sold and on the radio, not biting of those
with a pen in my hand, I be fighting my foes
sprouting life from a desolate landscape
God transforms a small part of himself into a man’s shape
and manifests in the rhythm
saying “FÜBB, hit ‘em!”
shift their minds to an alternate position
so the rhymes get written,
subsequently I’m spittin’
to the beat,
vocals fittin’ with heat to bend iron wills into submission
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
The rhetoric’s pathetic
I’m real, never synthetic
I’ma spit the truth just one time, so don't forget it
through struggles, I came from days of spitting with a muzzle
no words could escape from society’s bubble
fuck the trouble it brings, I got songs, not to sing
but to rap, I rep the mic. not the “bling-bling”
or the claps of guns, people fucking with the funds
tryna make a living? hell nah, yo, they tryna run
this whole rap game and dominate the industry
they look like grown men but their minds are in their infancy
and literally lyrics are stretched like ductility
in the heart of the facility, they have no stability
mental infertility, they can’t see my ability
I would try to reason but they have no civility
so I’m left with this responsibility:
I got a destiny to fill ‘cause it won’t be fulfilling me
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
Check the way I put it up when I come up to set it up
make them look impotent like men who can’t get it up
got a federation, you best believe I’m setting up
rap: my occupation, I’m sure the fuck not letting up
the mic. is like an empty bottle, with my spit I’m filling it
not at all sadistic yo, but on the mic I’m killing it
people sit in shadows or they dwelling in the dust
when everybody cowers, tell me, who can you trust?
so I get up and I bust, pick up the mic. and thrust it
to the air, ‘cause I care, phony emcees should beware
got the skill to make the competition stop and stare
elevating mental stairs, getting grizzly like a bear
this is my dream, I’d be damned not to follow it
my rhyme is revolution in a pill, can you swallow it?
it’s not about the killing or the dawn of the apocalypse
the message that I’m sending you is that you won’t be stopping this!
Chorus:
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
a lot of kats be talking shit but lacking any relevance
Let me tell you about the self you can’t see
let me tell you why this emcee’s F-U-B-B
Foundations of Understanding Based on Benevolence
show me reverence, I’m taking rap back to its elements
God Shines Through
God shines through
when we least expect him to.At times when all seems
desolate and cold,
in times of despair and strife,
in times when we squeeze all we can
out of this life.
God shines through like
the sun beams through the clouds.
When all is black
there emerges white
and makes this life
to be shades of gray.
God shines through
pity, guilt, depression and shame
and shows us wiser ways to think.
Life is not a mere game to be played,
nor is it to be taken as seriously as death.
God shines through,
God shines through,
in every pulse, in every breath.
Eyes Wide Open
Little girls and boys
with once gleaming faces
who looked to the world
with eyes wide open.
Locked up in cells
with older men,
with dirty men,
with dirt walls.
Somewhere,
someone miscalculated
and decided that a cubic room
four meters by
four meters
accommodates
eighteen people.
A tin can shitter
sits in the corner.
A tin can
if you’re lucky.
Cold spaghetti in
dirty shopping bags
for dinner again
and again...
Locked up for years
from a world of closed ears
and eyes focused
on lesser, material things.
Locked up
and beaten and molested,
for theft,
for smoking,
or for nothing at all.
Judge and jury nonexistent,
the executioner:
time.
And still they sit,
now,
still they cry
with salty tears
that will never be seen,
still they look,
out of hellish cells
through hellish bars
at a world
that has forgotten them
and their constant nightmares.
Still,
with emotions that have
lost their meaning,
with fears that consume them,
without faith,
without friends,
without the basic fundamentals
of a human life.
Still they sit,
still they wait,
bearing pains that no one
should ever feel.
Still they are there
staring at the dark sky.
With eyes wide open.
with once gleaming faces
who looked to the world
with eyes wide open.
Locked up in cells
with older men,
with dirty men,
with dirt walls.
Somewhere,
someone miscalculated
and decided that a cubic room
four meters by
four meters
accommodates
eighteen people.
A tin can shitter
sits in the corner.
A tin can
if you’re lucky.
Cold spaghetti in
dirty shopping bags
for dinner again
and again...
Locked up for years
from a world of closed ears
and eyes focused
on lesser, material things.
Locked up
and beaten and molested,
for theft,
for smoking,
or for nothing at all.
Judge and jury nonexistent,
the executioner:
time.
And still they sit,
now,
still they cry
with salty tears
that will never be seen,
still they look,
out of hellish cells
through hellish bars
at a world
that has forgotten them
and their constant nightmares.
Still,
with emotions that have
lost their meaning,
with fears that consume them,
without faith,
without friends,
without the basic fundamentals
of a human life.
Still they sit,
still they wait,
bearing pains that no one
should ever feel.
Still they are there
staring at the dark sky.
With eyes wide open.
Love and Hate
There once existed a world
of lost souls.
These souls would drift aimlessly,
no purpose, no emotions;
nothing.
One day there emerged
two strange entities,
unlike all the others.
These beings had purpose.
One was named, “Hate,”
the other was named, “Love.”
Hate’s purpose was to spread
all that is evil
and corrupt the innocent souls.
Love’s purpose was to share
all that is good
and give the souls happiness.
Some souls found Hate
and became demons of hell.
Some found Love
and became angels of heaven.
A small fraction of the souls
found both Love and Hate,
and they became
human.
of lost souls.
These souls would drift aimlessly,
no purpose, no emotions;
nothing.
One day there emerged
two strange entities,
unlike all the others.
These beings had purpose.
One was named, “Hate,”
the other was named, “Love.”
Hate’s purpose was to spread
all that is evil
and corrupt the innocent souls.
Love’s purpose was to share
all that is good
and give the souls happiness.
Some souls found Hate
and became demons of hell.
Some found Love
and became angels of heaven.
A small fraction of the souls
found both Love and Hate,
and they became
human.
Foundations blurb
Post-apocalyptic warzone. The earth is covered with craters, the trees are shattered into shards of burnt wood, garbage is strewn across the ground as far as the eye can see. The radio stations, buildings of record labels and commercial distributors, promotion headquarters and luxury mansions have all been reduced to rubble. And beneath all the rubble of all these buildings lay cracked and broken foundations.
Under the ground, under the layers of trash, dirt and filth, there lay piles of scratched CDs, warped records, busted tapes ranging from 8-track to cassette to DAT, snapped turntable needles, broken canvases and soiled sketch pads, empty aerosol-paint cans, melted linoleum and pulverized cardboard, soaked oversized T-shirts and ripped baggy jeans, pages upon lined pages of torn, forgotten rhyme books, and a plethora of destroyed microphones.
But all is not lost. At the corner of one of the dilapidated structures, a graffiti artist begins to paint, making use of the dozens of nearly empty aerosol cans he has managed to scrounge together. A DJ is spinning a scratched record on an old monograph with the needle from an addict’s syringe. A b-boy and a b-girl start breaking over layers of cardboard gathered from the surrounding area. An old man sitting on a lawn chair begins to beat-box. And in the center of it all stands an MC with a shovel in his hands.
Under the ground, under the layers of trash, dirt and filth, there lay piles of scratched CDs, warped records, busted tapes ranging from 8-track to cassette to DAT, snapped turntable needles, broken canvases and soiled sketch pads, empty aerosol-paint cans, melted linoleum and pulverized cardboard, soaked oversized T-shirts and ripped baggy jeans, pages upon lined pages of torn, forgotten rhyme books, and a plethora of destroyed microphones.
But all is not lost. At the corner of one of the dilapidated structures, a graffiti artist begins to paint, making use of the dozens of nearly empty aerosol cans he has managed to scrounge together. A DJ is spinning a scratched record on an old monograph with the needle from an addict’s syringe. A b-boy and a b-girl start breaking over layers of cardboard gathered from the surrounding area. An old man sitting on a lawn chair begins to beat-box. And in the center of it all stands an MC with a shovel in his hands.
His name is MC FÜBB. The words of dead and forgotten MCs and poets ring loudly in his mind and he drives the shovel into the ground and begins to dig. His goal: to journey through the rubble, reach the underground, and once there to lay new foundations in order to materialize an idea called, Hip Hop...
I Start to Think
“I start to think, and then I sink into the paper, like I was ink…” –Rakim
Fill the pen with blood
and pump ink through my veins.
Through fatigued eyes,
a mind looks out
in a brain that begs
for sleep.
Blowing of a cold breeze
pierces the skin,
embraces the spirit,
while the welcomed rain
chills the body
and frees the mind.
When will I dance again
in the roaring sounds
of a thunder storm?
Fill the pen with blood
and pump ink through my veins.
Through fatigued eyes,
a mind looks out
in a brain that begs
for sleep.
Blowing of a cold breeze
pierces the skin,
embraces the spirit,
while the welcomed rain
chills the body
and frees the mind.
When will I dance again
in the roaring sounds
of a thunder storm?
Life is a Blessing
It’s undisputable;
there’s something about this world that’s inherently beautiful
so I try to express it through rhymes suitable
to explain
how I can see the sun through the rain
how I can find God’s love in the midst of the pain
but there’s an essence even poets can seldom touch
the unexpected rush of God’s presence
it’s a universal beauty that’s perceived by millions
like the innocence reflected in the eyes of children
or the force that flows through my pen when I’m building
these rhymes, to make my words etched in time, still I’m
searching for solidarity in broken glass
‘cause the material shatters so fast
and I won’t pretend to know what the future holds
so I’m living for today ‘till the days that I’m old
and I refuse to take life for granted
even with my head in the clouds, I keep my feet firmly planted
CHORUS:
Because life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah – because life is a blessing
Yeah, life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah, baby – because life is a blessing
Sometimes I tune out the world, put my headphones on
‘cause I get cynical, hearing all the shit that goes on
if all men are really created equal
then why’s there so much slander directed against my people?
represent .02 percent the world population
but get 80 percent of media discrimination
realities like this, make me insist
that utopia cannot exist
and it’s easy to get pissed
spitting rhymes is my form of clenching of fist
I ain’t endorsing the violence
in the chill of the breeze, I feel my soul in the silence
praying that God gives me guidance
so I can move mountains inside of myself and maybe become
the type of man that someday might raise a son
but for now I just strive to enjoy what I’ve been given
I’m living for today so I don’t need to be forgiven
CHORUS:
Because life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah – because life is a blessing
Yeah, life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah, baby – because life is a blessing
there’s something about this world that’s inherently beautiful
so I try to express it through rhymes suitable
to explain
how I can see the sun through the rain
how I can find God’s love in the midst of the pain
but there’s an essence even poets can seldom touch
the unexpected rush of God’s presence
it’s a universal beauty that’s perceived by millions
like the innocence reflected in the eyes of children
or the force that flows through my pen when I’m building
these rhymes, to make my words etched in time, still I’m
searching for solidarity in broken glass
‘cause the material shatters so fast
and I won’t pretend to know what the future holds
so I’m living for today ‘till the days that I’m old
and I refuse to take life for granted
even with my head in the clouds, I keep my feet firmly planted
CHORUS:
Because life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah – because life is a blessing
Yeah, life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah, baby – because life is a blessing
Sometimes I tune out the world, put my headphones on
‘cause I get cynical, hearing all the shit that goes on
if all men are really created equal
then why’s there so much slander directed against my people?
represent .02 percent the world population
but get 80 percent of media discrimination
realities like this, make me insist
that utopia cannot exist
and it’s easy to get pissed
spitting rhymes is my form of clenching of fist
I ain’t endorsing the violence
in the chill of the breeze, I feel my soul in the silence
praying that God gives me guidance
so I can move mountains inside of myself and maybe become
the type of man that someday might raise a son
but for now I just strive to enjoy what I’ve been given
I’m living for today so I don’t need to be forgiven
CHORUS:
Because life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah – because life is a blessing
Yeah, life is blessing
and I’m learning through its lessons
asking the right questions
realizing that my life is my most valuable possession
yeah, baby – because life is a blessing
Piece of Mind
I’m not Superman, Spiderman or Batman
hold a microphone instead of holding a gat, man
understand, that I got this phat plan
to blast through industry brains like splat! man
now that I’ve got your attention,
let me mention
the way my rhymes relieve tension
similar to distension in the stomach,
these kats stretch wacks on tracks, but can’t run it
a lot of ya’ll talk that bullshit
about busting off with a full-clip
but one thing you’ve gotta realize
that’s the reason Biggie and Pac died
time to reflect that inward eye
locate the truth, dispel the lies
realize what’s been circumscribed
in your mind are signs to coincide with the times
no it’s not fine, and I’m not ok with it
am I sincere? yes, check the cadences
so many profess that banal faithlessness
won’t talk about a dream, let alone go chasing it
a glorious life, most folks ain’t tasting it
truth defacing it, love erasing it
running from life instead of embracing it
lost true faith so we try replacing it
with drinks and drugs, props and hugs
timbs and lugz
gold chains, fake tits and thugs
I fit you with the truth like a hand to glove
in tryna act cool, we lost the love
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
Without the love, what you got to live for?
If it’s all about me, what I got to give for?
Like I’ma take mine, you can take yours
and if I’m stronger, you take a loss
and while I get richer, you can get poor
you can just rot while I’m rockin’ on tour
that’s an attitude I refuse to adopt
refuse to cop, like Q-Tip Breathe and Stop—
and show me what you got
if you follow so far, I can thicken the plot
we’re consumed by selfishness,
lost in senselessness,
straight defencelessness
to the censorship
locked down like we serving life sentences
pleading to the lord for our repentances
wonder ‘bout my lifestyle, was I meant for this?
should I enter this, or put an end to this?
topic I rock it, you can knock it or cop it
I’ma hold it I got it, hands out of my pockets
mic. grippin, no bitchin, heavy hitting I pop it
out the park, while I trench thru the dark section
taking bold strides cuz ain’t no half-steppin’
some give me daps but still disrespectin’
I don't really care, stay my learning my lessons
know-it-all kats can burn in mic sessions
I’m guessing, sophistry they professin’
instead of just talking, try asking the question
two eyes and ears, what’s that about?
look and listen before that shit comes out your mouth!
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
(2x)
peace of mind I seek, thru these rhymes I speak
right on time with beats, for mics. I’m a freak
I keep droppin shit, they keep talkin shit
say one thing and do the opposite
I don’t got time for that, bullshit lying crap
I find the truth where my brain fibres at
I hear one more wack track, I’ma snap
mission in rap’s to put T-dot on the map
most don’t capitalize, time, they fraternize
rap, they patronize, rhymes, they bastardize,
hip hop, scandalized, sex, tantalized,
meanwhile, with these skills I maximize
my potential, dent you with rhythm I sent you
if I bent you with the force message I meant to
not offend you, but to mend you, whether or not you consent to
with the pencil, I wrote down, barriers I broke down
rap about hope now, people get choked up
sleeping in misery? time that we woke up
people rather smoke up, drink and get doped up
instead of smelling flowers they be sniffing the coke up
noose around our own necks as we pull the rope up
time bombs ticking in our chests to blow up
still I rhyme so sick that you could throw up
it’s time for rappers on the mic to grow up
instead of rapping ‘bout how you’re so fly
talking that you can dress better than I
look into the mirror into your own eyes
and ask yourself where your true self lies
my appeal, is simply to keep it real
cuz most headz won’t just say what they feel
it’s not about sense, it’s ego and nonsense
slaves to our pride, we should listen to our conscience
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
(2x)
hold a microphone instead of holding a gat, man
understand, that I got this phat plan
to blast through industry brains like splat! man
now that I’ve got your attention,
let me mention
the way my rhymes relieve tension
similar to distension in the stomach,
these kats stretch wacks on tracks, but can’t run it
a lot of ya’ll talk that bullshit
about busting off with a full-clip
but one thing you’ve gotta realize
that’s the reason Biggie and Pac died
time to reflect that inward eye
locate the truth, dispel the lies
realize what’s been circumscribed
in your mind are signs to coincide with the times
no it’s not fine, and I’m not ok with it
am I sincere? yes, check the cadences
so many profess that banal faithlessness
won’t talk about a dream, let alone go chasing it
a glorious life, most folks ain’t tasting it
truth defacing it, love erasing it
running from life instead of embracing it
lost true faith so we try replacing it
with drinks and drugs, props and hugs
timbs and lugz
gold chains, fake tits and thugs
I fit you with the truth like a hand to glove
in tryna act cool, we lost the love
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
Without the love, what you got to live for?
If it’s all about me, what I got to give for?
Like I’ma take mine, you can take yours
and if I’m stronger, you take a loss
and while I get richer, you can get poor
you can just rot while I’m rockin’ on tour
that’s an attitude I refuse to adopt
refuse to cop, like Q-Tip Breathe and Stop—
and show me what you got
if you follow so far, I can thicken the plot
we’re consumed by selfishness,
lost in senselessness,
straight defencelessness
to the censorship
locked down like we serving life sentences
pleading to the lord for our repentances
wonder ‘bout my lifestyle, was I meant for this?
should I enter this, or put an end to this?
topic I rock it, you can knock it or cop it
I’ma hold it I got it, hands out of my pockets
mic. grippin, no bitchin, heavy hitting I pop it
out the park, while I trench thru the dark section
taking bold strides cuz ain’t no half-steppin’
some give me daps but still disrespectin’
I don't really care, stay my learning my lessons
know-it-all kats can burn in mic sessions
I’m guessing, sophistry they professin’
instead of just talking, try asking the question
two eyes and ears, what’s that about?
look and listen before that shit comes out your mouth!
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
(2x)
peace of mind I seek, thru these rhymes I speak
right on time with beats, for mics. I’m a freak
I keep droppin shit, they keep talkin shit
say one thing and do the opposite
I don’t got time for that, bullshit lying crap
I find the truth where my brain fibres at
I hear one more wack track, I’ma snap
mission in rap’s to put T-dot on the map
most don’t capitalize, time, they fraternize
rap, they patronize, rhymes, they bastardize,
hip hop, scandalized, sex, tantalized,
meanwhile, with these skills I maximize
my potential, dent you with rhythm I sent you
if I bent you with the force message I meant to
not offend you, but to mend you, whether or not you consent to
with the pencil, I wrote down, barriers I broke down
rap about hope now, people get choked up
sleeping in misery? time that we woke up
people rather smoke up, drink and get doped up
instead of smelling flowers they be sniffing the coke up
noose around our own necks as we pull the rope up
time bombs ticking in our chests to blow up
still I rhyme so sick that you could throw up
it’s time for rappers on the mic to grow up
instead of rapping ‘bout how you’re so fly
talking that you can dress better than I
look into the mirror into your own eyes
and ask yourself where your true self lies
my appeal, is simply to keep it real
cuz most headz won’t just say what they feel
it’s not about sense, it’s ego and nonsense
slaves to our pride, we should listen to our conscience
HOOK:
I hear these people talking all this bullshit on the daily
I think if I keep listening to it I might go crazy
I try to silence all the voices echoing in my mind
no wonder why this peace of mind I seek is so hard to find
(2x)
Metamorphosis
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
Don’t tell me people can’t change
I’ve seen change occur with my own eyes
experienced my own ties severed,
done things that I once swore never would I do—
I guess I thought I was clever
In my endeavours pursued my desires
without paying my dues, wanted to be admired,
walked through fire
emerged on the other side, scathed and burned,
had to learn, there’s reasons to be showing concern
when you dance with devil, best not to get close
cuz the poison that you love can also hurt you the most
I learned that the hard way, believe me there’s a better way
saw my share of pain, but prayed for a better day
I believe that we find what we’re looking for
and if we’re looking for trouble, that’s what’s in store
operating from a theory that we gotta prove
and if we’re open to love, then we can have it too
we all do what we gotta do to get by
years ago, I would do anything to get high
but then I, opened my eyes, I realized
that I didn’t have to live that way, I metamorphosized
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
I metamorphosize dreams into reality
It seems today to do that’s an abnormality
Although rocking mics doesn’t pay a salary
it’ll take more than financial fears to rattle me
and shake me off the path that I’m determined to
walk upon, regardless of the topics that I talk upon
stalking on, these beats, ain’t got time for toking chron
spoken on, truths sharp like the pain of broken arms
now we can face our fears or just run from ‘em
so many dreams go up in smoke, get done from ‘em
that’s the virtue in being courageous
to act despite fear is a force that amazes
with the wisdom of sages, to do it at the right time
gotta make the picture clear, I guess that’s why I write rhymes
I hear some of ya’ll claim that you’re never scared
you’re either lying through your teeth or you’re unaware
of the world that you’re living in, without a care
which makes you crazier than a schizo in a rocking chair
this whole egocentric way of life has gotta stop
I metamorphosize in every single line I drop
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
metamorphosizing, cuz I’m rising to a better day
I’ma walk this path, regardless what the weather say
rain, hail, or snow, I’ma still go,
I’ma bust my flow,
and given the chance, then I’ma blow
up, like a mushroom cloud that is atomic
so sick, I make these pussy MC’s straight vomit
like gin with no tonic, burning suckas like chronic
I’ma hit you with the rhythm ‘till you staring catatonic
I rock it, over ranges of topics, mastering my ebonics,
while these dumb rappers hooked on phonics
my flow, they can’t stop it or block it,
even at the end of my rope,
I still cope, dope, like narcotics
so you can take in your vein,
just to ease the pain
ya’ll can get aboard the train,
of thought inside my brain
I’m not just here to entertain,
or spit a lot of game
I’m here to send a message in the hopes that some of ya’ll will gain
some perspective and insight
so you can ignite the light inside your soul and shine it bright
love, hope and faith aren’t weak, that’s all lies
we can learn the truth if we learn to metamorphosize
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
Don’t tell me people can’t change
I’ve seen change occur with my own eyes
experienced my own ties severed,
done things that I once swore never would I do—
I guess I thought I was clever
In my endeavours pursued my desires
without paying my dues, wanted to be admired,
walked through fire
emerged on the other side, scathed and burned,
had to learn, there’s reasons to be showing concern
when you dance with devil, best not to get close
cuz the poison that you love can also hurt you the most
I learned that the hard way, believe me there’s a better way
saw my share of pain, but prayed for a better day
I believe that we find what we’re looking for
and if we’re looking for trouble, that’s what’s in store
operating from a theory that we gotta prove
and if we’re open to love, then we can have it too
we all do what we gotta do to get by
years ago, I would do anything to get high
but then I, opened my eyes, I realized
that I didn’t have to live that way, I metamorphosized
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
I metamorphosize dreams into reality
It seems today to do that’s an abnormality
Although rocking mics doesn’t pay a salary
it’ll take more than financial fears to rattle me
and shake me off the path that I’m determined to
walk upon, regardless of the topics that I talk upon
stalking on, these beats, ain’t got time for toking chron
spoken on, truths sharp like the pain of broken arms
now we can face our fears or just run from ‘em
so many dreams go up in smoke, get done from ‘em
that’s the virtue in being courageous
to act despite fear is a force that amazes
with the wisdom of sages, to do it at the right time
gotta make the picture clear, I guess that’s why I write rhymes
I hear some of ya’ll claim that you’re never scared
you’re either lying through your teeth or you’re unaware
of the world that you’re living in, without a care
which makes you crazier than a schizo in a rocking chair
this whole egocentric way of life has gotta stop
I metamorphosize in every single line I drop
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
metamorphosizing, cuz I’m rising to a better day
I’ma walk this path, regardless what the weather say
rain, hail, or snow, I’ma still go,
I’ma bust my flow,
and given the chance, then I’ma blow
up, like a mushroom cloud that is atomic
so sick, I make these pussy MC’s straight vomit
like gin with no tonic, burning suckas like chronic
I’ma hit you with the rhythm ‘till you staring catatonic
I rock it, over ranges of topics, mastering my ebonics,
while these dumb rappers hooked on phonics
my flow, they can’t stop it or block it,
even at the end of my rope,
I still cope, dope, like narcotics
so you can take in your vein,
just to ease the pain
ya’ll can get aboard the train,
of thought inside my brain
I’m not just here to entertain,
or spit a lot of game
I’m here to send a message in the hopes that some of ya’ll will gain
some perspective and insight
so you can ignite the light inside your soul and shine it bright
love, hope and faith aren’t weak, that’s all lies
we can learn the truth if we learn to metamorphosize
CHORUS:
Rock with me, if you’ve had enough sorrow
Walk with me, and believe in a better tomorrow
Talk to me,
if you wanna face the truth and won’t resist
when it’s time to experience the metamorphosis
Foundations Intro. verse
Foundations, because they are the basis of creation
and all I hear is bullshit on the radio station!
it’s all about drugs, ice, and carrying fire-arms
if rappers spit flames on tracks, this is a fire-bomb
wack emcees get me vexed, that’s why I hittin’ you
and everyone I talk to says that they’re sick of you
best rhymes are pitiful, intellectually minuscule
in a world full of pretense, consider this an interlude
(that) ya’ll can just listen to
ya’ll can just move to and groove to
(and) learn something from it if you choose to
(while) most hustle aimlessly, tryna get paid
right here, this is where the Foundations get laid
and all I hear is bullshit on the radio station!
it’s all about drugs, ice, and carrying fire-arms
if rappers spit flames on tracks, this is a fire-bomb
wack emcees get me vexed, that’s why I hittin’ you
and everyone I talk to says that they’re sick of you
best rhymes are pitiful, intellectually minuscule
in a world full of pretense, consider this an interlude
(that) ya’ll can just listen to
ya’ll can just move to and groove to
(and) learn something from it if you choose to
(while) most hustle aimlessly, tryna get paid
right here, this is where the Foundations get laid
Devoted
my pen touch the paper, I explode with emotion
rise like the tide carries waves in the ocean
don’t care about clout, can’t doubt my devotion
boom-baps with original rap, catch my notion?
I’m floating, high above the limits that were dictated to me
refuse to be jaded, conveying what was related to me
state it how I create it, impossible to see through me
predictable high quality, this ain’t no B-movie
shifting gears, similar to a Ferrari Testarosa
hours spent writing these rhymes, what I devote-ta
the art, yes I’m playing my part
by expressing the truth that’s inside of my heart
thru the light and the dark, I use the mic. as my spark
to light the torch for the quest upon which I embark
and I don’t take life for granted
cuz sure as I’m living on this planet,
any day, in any way, I could dearly depart
though it’s hard, I refuse to let the raps be corroded
raise your fist in the air if your heart is devoted!
Chorus:
I’M DEVOTED; in every single line I compose
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I write these poetry and prose
I’M DEVOTED; every time I pick up the mic.
I’M DEVOTED; every single day of my life
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I pray to God when I rise
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I can’t believe all the lies
I’M DEVOTED; to surpass societal norms
I’M DEVOTED; to hip hop, in all of its forms
I stay devoted
duly noted, let me quote it:
“with this art we can’t compromise,” like Shad wrote it
I been broken
been tokin’, been chokin’
but after all the pain that I’ve been thru, I’m still hopin’
well spoken, so I stick with the rappin’
I refuse to get pissed without taking some action
put the core of my essence on the track, no actin’
get attention of the masses without the gun clappin’
it’s hard to motivate and relate, when being faced with hate
ignorance spreads across human-kind like a plague,
to this date
it’s not a matter of fate
our reality’s dictated by choices we make
so I choose to committed, refuse the counterfeited
falsities repulsing me, lusting me like adultery
tryna put the fault on me, but I stand solidly
cuz I’m a man of God, regardless of what they’re calling me
vandals of hip hop owe the culture an apology
nod if you identify, you don’t gotta follow me
if you spit real raps and your own hand wrote it,
raise your fist in the air cuz your heart is devoted!
Chorus:
I’M DEVOTED; in every single line I compose/
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I write these poetry and prose/
I’M DEVOTED; every time I pick up the mic./
I’M DEVOTED; every single day of my life/
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I pray to God when I rise/
I’M DEVOTED; that’s why I can’t believe all the lies/
I’M DEVOTED; to surpass societal norms/
I’M DEVOTED; to hip hop, in all of its forms/
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