1. |
Soft Spoken
04:06
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Soft Spoken-
I see a lot of people living their lives under umbrellas
in the summer time giving vibes of jealousness
finding relevance at a desk 9-5ing settling
but when they retreat home they get to revel in everything
and we build a little soapbox
so we can try to teach the so called know-nots how the boat rocks
but when it tips we go back to the same shit
it's all "don't stop now, you're on your way to famous"
and we play into it, like self-puppeting puppets
stuck under this glass ceiling, wondering what's above it
but if we took a look up we'd see even the sky is on fire
so we'll keep fighting 'til all false messiahs retire
higher than clouds we can't touch like beauty
knew she was out of reach but I figured my feet would move me
"Who's he?" the man who wants to make the planet rock
that showed up to the party late but still demanded props
the second hand it talks 'til the minute hand is ticked off
and who knew all this hip hop could fit on a wristwatch
our lips lock before the eyes overly mesmerized
and then you're so jaded from it you can't even pretend to cry
(Back then)
Hip Hop was my route of escape,
just trying to find my sanity and stay true to the breaks
(These days)
Hip Hop is an overcrowded prison
you sit in spittin' bars to people that don't know how to listen
(Back then)
Hip Hop was a one way ticket
for when your life was on the run no need to complain just kick it
(These days)
Hip Hop is just a cop out
an ever-fading memory it seems like everyone forgot about
It's always drama, it's never stable
because nowadays everybody and their mama owns a record label (guilty)
I feel filthy, willfully trying to kill these wack rappers when I could be one and not know it
a lost poet walking through walls but the door isn't locked at all
I could just turn the knob and fall into a routine
pick a new dream to follow,
swallow what little pride I have left and quit acting like I'll be dead tomorrow
but I don't know what to do, because I've put to much energy
into becoming something that I'll potentially never be
Clever me, picking a life long career
in a field that might not even be here in a year
and it's weird watching everything I loved collapse
walking around the rubble, petty, looking for bugs to zap
maybe I just need a hug and a nap
embrace me and wake me up when the tires finally run flat
(Back then)
Hip Hop was my route of escape,
just trying to find my sanity and stay true to the breaks
(These days)
Hip Hop is an overcrowded prison
you sit in spittin' bars to people that don't know how to listen
(Back then)
Hip Hop was a one way ticket
for when your life was on the run no need to complain just kick it
(These days)
Hip Hop is just a cop out
an ever-fading memory it seems like everyone forgot about
I got no problem with change or doing something new and strange
and I don't blame you for trying to gain fame
I'm doing the same thing, that independent grind
and they way it's progressing I'm gonna be stressing 'til the end of time
see I know we're making strides and shit
but the problem with music is that nobody's buying it
and there's conspiracies throughout the industry to drown the real beliefs
cover up the history, it's not what it appears to be
so here is me, the world revolves around it sounding selfish
because I laugh at my own jokes even if nobody else is
it's hip hop, I do it mostly for my own amusement
to make other people loosen and get the crowd moving as a unit
in tune with the influences of the past
I keep my feet on the ground with my head up my ass
so if you like me then you'll probably like the songs
and if you like me more than I'm comfortable with then you can sing along
(Back then)
Hip Hop was my route of escape,
just trying to find my sanity and stay true to the breaks
(These days)
Hip Hop is an overcrowded prison
you sit in spittin' bars to people that don't know how to listen
(Back then)
Hip Hop was a one way ticket
for when your life was on the run no need to complain just kick it
(These days)
Hip Hop is just a cop out
an ever-fading memory it seems like everyone forgot about
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2. |
Don't Forget Me
04:02
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My eyes have callouses and my hair is full of head wounds
From trying to pick a brain wondering if I'm gonna get it soon
A letter to whom it may concern was self addressed it said you wait your turn
But I felt it best to take the earnings get a bed and make it firm
The sacred urn that I keep locked in my thoughts
Just opened like Pandora's box so I played it 'til the whore couldn't walk
And then I left stalking the road in wet socks and never stopped 'til I found the pot of gold that my head had dropped
(Long ago) along an old dusty rusty fence
Sat a boy thinking there must be something other than this bench
Kept a bunch of friends
A hero in his day dreams where nothing ends but in his life another story
Any chance to cut the glory he took it
drugged up in his rookie year of high school
He could make you know without saying a word that he liked you
So he did it, and never said shit except when he kept his manners
Making glances at ladies that he'd rather take the hand of
Ran love through his thoughts over time
life was open wide
And he stared at it with every broken stride but couldn't go inside
Starving for affection hoping his dreams could show him why
So his life began when he closed his eyes and he...
Said take from me from me take from me from me from me
(That's how the game goes, it's all the same yo)
It ain't funny funny ain't funny funny funny
(I don't complain though, just let the pain go)
Get away from me honey way from me honey honey
(But if you stay know I'm gonna take your help)
And everything else just stays sunny
(That's what it's like the parables of rap running life)
By the next year there was less fear, he'd matured
Still couldn't really talk to people so he'd speak to birds
Wasn't a nerd, wasn't a jock, and certainly wasn't hip hop though he tried to be
and that's why he wasn't, what sweet irony
The weed made him tired caffeine made him hyper
Became the odd mc out of a crew of graffiti writers
Cultivating views on how to win with what he had to lose
Refusing to be a face with just a bunch of fake tattoos
School wasn't difficult but he was still confused by the rules of engagement
so the tools of his trade when he met a person were always get observant
but stay distant
Listen to everything they had to say and mimic
Never felt peer pressure, choices were his own to make
No mistake wasn't a lesson breaching heaven's open gates
There was a girl now and he let her break his world down for the better
Made her everything he wanted adding stress but when he met her he said
take from me from me take from me from me from me
(That's how the game goes, it's all the same yo)
It ain't funny funny ain't funny funny funny
(I don't complain though, just let the pain go)
Get away from me honey way from me honey honey
(But if you stay know I'm gonna take your help)
And everything else just stays sunny
(That's what it's like the parables of rap running life)
Within a year he lost her fostering lots of lies
to stop the bleeding cauterize the wounds
to fill the space that occupied his room
Losing weight and gaining apathy
Was forced to choose a fate but hopefully this time one that would make him happy
New debates on whether moving way across the land could make a man from a child
honing his handstyles and his smile
Got the acceptance letter raps getting cleverly twisted
Over the feeling his life would've been better if he'd never existed
If ever he'd listen to the elders preaching purpose
He'd remember the person he was before his first kiss
Before the alcohol, cannabis, blow, ecstasy, cigarettes,
The nitrous oxide, mushrooms, and acid trips swept him off his feet
and offered to carry him off to sleep
And then he woke up on the wrong side of his throw up on his sheets
He was headed west next, SF to be specific
Left behind the life he'd known and swore he wouldn't miss it
Said take from me from me take from me from me from me
(That's how the game goes, it's all the same yo)
It ain't funny funny ain't funny funny funny
(I don't complain though, just let the pain go)
Get away from me honey way from me honey honey
(But if you stay know I'm gonna take your help)
And everything else just stays sunny
(That's what it's like the parables of rap running life)
Honk the bells Ring the horns
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3. |
Connect the Dots
03:59
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Come with me on this journey of discovery
comfort me punish me and leave me in the dust it's not enough for me
Fuck a free ride when the wonders come from each side
I've learned to appreciate earning what I leave behind
Keep stride maintain balance feel the vibe
challenge everything that I believe hides from my real life
These nights'll matter more than any other
heavy from the top to the bottom rocking the mic'll be my bread and butter
Never wondering what the fuck was up with me in my 20s
Screaming I'm still a kid until it beheads me
Fuck everybody holding me back foremost myself
Located a blessing I was searching for a cry for help
A reason for it all to be over
I'd hang up the mic chord I store in the chip on my shoulder
But it's a life on the road it hasn't grown old yet
And when it does bet you won't see me in your city again
Never do I ever wanna let you go
And everything you ever let me know was a lie
They told me if you love it do it don't just speak about it keep it moving
But we as humans have heads bigger than our feet can loosen
We've outgrown our bodies needing two places at once to be an option
That's why I spent most of my life people watching
This is not me, I'm an illusion paraded on the stage to keep em coming
grooving to my own destruction
Losing everything that I've concocted in the process
Praying 'til even your god treats me like an object
This life's a hot mess, spilled it on the kitchen floor
Mixed in with the damaged goods ingredients the kids ignore
Different war, same goal
Attention whore, flame throw
Getting more love "whatever homie, if you say so"
Fame goes to the head even when it's nonexistent
Fishing for the words to make this song not a contradiction
Living for the now tomorrow will be a second chance
Tonight we do the JESTERS DANCE so people come on
Never do I ever wanna let you go
And everything you motherfuckers told me was a lie
Cold scratch everybody knows that the road traps
closed caption home lackin' old fashioned bold chaps
Row past the notion of an all consuming passion
And hope that when it hits you with some rations you can take the action
To make it happen a vagabond just trying to fit in
and stand out simultaneously with some dividends
giving it the utmost from toast to sun close
one dose and I was hooked
Writers block to writing books
Shock to the system, I'm copping the wisdom, optimism high
fondling a product of environmental ties
Skies blue, eyes too, mind glued knowing I'll do anything in my power to find you
When the world turns to look at me I'm smiling through crooked teeth
free from times when I felt like I couldn't breathe.
You see the good in me so kiss me goodbye
Now suck the marrow out of my bones and let me fly
Never do I ever wanna let you go
Too many cigarettes last night
Too many little steps I didn't get to live to rep a fast life
When the road cracks right beneath you
Will you pick a side or let your legs divide until the world eats you
(And everything I've ever told myself was a lie)
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4. |
Bad Boy Bass
03:12
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Bad Boy Bass-
For you hip hop listeners
I'll be the minister you're the parishioners in this little church for the sinners
it's a cult, call it underground a bunch of people love it now
but most follow what they've been told, no fun allowed
I do it to make my mother proud
Do it just so the movement of unity can truly groove among a crowd
got fast hands moving vast land masses in the stands
understand it demands practice
damn that was fresh
picture everything you want in this life
and imagine it happening in the same verse twice
then multiply that 16 by 3
add 2 hooks in the middle and it'll sound like me (JB Nimble)
Kids'll get the description, either piss off or listen
one after another I got 'em shuddering to the rhythm
come and get some loving if you really covet the feeling
of being stuck under the thumb of a word juggling demon
Browse hit 'em with a little (Bad Boy Bass)
Stand up to the rhythm of the (Bad Boy Bass)
JB Nimble's in the place hitting you in the face
with the (Bad Boy Bass) so come and give it a taste
Ear Peace gets down to the (Bad Boy Bass)
The Bay Area is down with the (Bad Boy Bass)
The whole world's trying to boogie (WHY?!)
I don't know it could be the (Bad Boy Bass)
Hold up,
Let me take a second to discredit the ethics
behind the methods used in this pathetic music
see you ain't the baddest
my verbal apparatus slashes through the fake status you drape
on your back like a cape
until I tie it to the rafters and it becomes a noose
kick the stool out and cool out 'til your career turns blue
who are you to think that you can tangle with the
rhyme mangling wizard who time travels to try and tackle this earth perfectly
and if you're hearing this then you've heard of me
I'll get your spirit lifted with lyrically gifted currency
shifting your vision purposely in a different direction
it's a circus freak profession, you besta get to steppin'
you don't fit in with the bearded women
and sword swallowing weird kids born with six limbs
for me there's something within that forces me to give in
to this addiction and sit back with a big grin
Browse hit 'em with a little (Bad Boy Bass)
Stand up to the rhythm of the (Bad Boy Bass)
JB Nimble's in the place hitting you in the face
with the (Bad Boy Bass) so come and give it a taste
Ear Peace gets down to the (Bad Boy Bass)
The Bay Area is down with the (Bad Boy Bass)
The whole world's trying to boogie (WHY?!)
I don't know it could be the (Bad Boy Bass)
This is the last verse, the one that makes it hurt
the one that's saying forget god, pray to the church
the one that makes you forget you gotta make it to work
the one that makes you regret that you didn't say it first
the one that's giving you a sandy vagina
'cuz Ear Peace and CandleSpit demanding the stamina rhymers
or we're gonna cancel the pantamimer shit
and pancake these bitches better than Aunt Jemima
I just can't deny the cypher a taste of the bass inside of the wasting away,
relying on making today what I could tomorrow
a time and a place to decay a mind of a sadist who raises hell
to take himself to a state of wealth not borrowed
I hit the lotto with the lyrical bravado
got the people saying bravo when I leave 'em laying hollow
and when it's over I'll just give 'em the shoulder and go to bed
with the Bad Boy Bass stuck in my head
Browse hit 'em with a little (Bad Boy Bass)
Jump to the rhythm of the (Bad Boy Bass)
JB Nimble's in the zone trying to catch the tone
of the (Bad Boy Bass) so please leave him alone
Ear Peace don't care about the (Bad Boy Bass)
The Bay Area is scared of the (Bad Boy Bass)
The whole world's getting nauseous
and I think what caused it was the (Bad Boy Bass)
That's the end of the song...
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5. |
Fire!
02:53
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Fire!-
Once upon a time in the real world
there was a little story of boy meets girl
he was 12, she was 11
he was in hell until she stepped in
but all he really feared was himself and rejection
see little Timothy never really knew anybody personally
so he's got a thirst for knowledge of what her and he could be together
met her at the park and his heart sparked
lighting the darkness, bringing life back to his carcass
so they started dating, bubbling sharing carbonation
harboring hatred because to popular people they were strange kids
playing alone together, they in a zone
but Timmy never understood that she could never go home
and then one day she pulled him aside stroking his pride
and told him she would be happy if everyone else died
and he could be with her forever, and rule his desires
but only if he lit the school on fire
Now Timmy thought for a minute, a minute turned to a day
and by the end of the day his lady started to stray
but he'd do anything to keep her from walking away
even if it means taking a risk and killing off his classmates
so he snuck into his fathers garage fast paced
looking for two big red plastic gas tanks
and a match book that he kept next to his pack of smokes
and she was right there with him whispering get 'em and let's go
they hoofed it to the school, 2nd period there was no attendant
at the front entrance so Timmy peeled the lid back
and started to spill liquid gasoline under the door to every class
but what they didn't know was that they had missed a fire drill
so everyone who had harassed 'em was out back having a blast
and as he ran out of the school they all turned
and he stood stiff in terror while they watched it burn
Now the authorities were shocked when he told 'em the story jaws dropped
had to have been an accident is what the cops thought
a whirlwind tale of a girlfriend's betrayal
'cuz now she was nowhere to be found, she must have bailed
and he didn't even get to say goodbye, it felt like he wouldn't stay alive
and it looked like she had set him up to his naked eye
it made him cry while he told the detective
how she had directed his every move honing perspective
until the whole thing was dissected and Timmy realized that she had lied to him
and now his life was ruined
then another detective entered the room in a rush, poised
to tell his partner something important in a hushed voice
they smiled and one said "do you know where this girl lives?
Any parents in the picture?" running down the list
Timmy cried "No" and the cop leaned on his clenched fist
and said "Because according to our records she doesn't exist"
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6. |
Delivery
02:07
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Hello all you cool cats and jazzy ladies out there. This is JB Nimble reporting to you live and direct from 326.8 WEPR radio, and this next song goes out to all the people that are probably not even gonna understand it… alright
I'm a conversationalist who talks to himself constantly
who wants to be heard but fuck it, other people bother me
I'ma need a lobotomy or a lot of alcohol in me
just 'cuz I gotta see another evening of this monotony
easy roll up a lot of green, wheezing and yo the cough is mean
feeling like you're atop a dream trying to keep it from toppling
at the crib seeing if you'll cop for me, 'cuz I don't want to leave
could you deliver my marijuana please?
and then I need some self-time to roll up the L
and go from hell to the roses I smell (focus)
Time tells if I fell from this height
god couldn't save me but her lips might
she's there with me through the haziest days and blurriest nights
and her body looks perfect in this light
crystalized just right, lifted the lighter and took flight
now it's off to break out the pen and notebook to write
I write for an hour, maybe another hour
decide to take a shower then lounge around on the couch for a bit
bong up a rip and ponder what it's like to listen to my ear hairs getting longer
It's all a dream, it seems the potency is growing stronger by the minute
and as it gets better they get to shutting down the clinics
I abuse it, I'll admit it but it isn't killing me
you need to pay attention to people popping prescription pills and E
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7. |
Seventh Floor
04:11
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"Look up in the sky it's a bird it's a plane!"
No, it's JB Nimble falling to the earth for a change
He don't remember your last or first name
but the feeling you gave him just made him burst into flames
As the smoke quietly clears sobriety rears
its not so closed-mindedly shaped head and wipes its tears
I got a fine idea that starts with a bright whisper in your wide eyed ears
and ends here
We all need to feel free from confinement the sirens tune
calling us to a violent doom
do you feel educated,
or subjugated to a lack of subject matter that never made it to the history textbooks?
You didn't learn shit if you only studied for the test you took so let's look
I think of what I call home and wonder,
"How long can we keep pumping water out of this boat before it goes under?"
Man, it's been a cold summer, an even warmer winter,
a dry couple years watching California wither
and whether the richter tips a six or above
when I land planted firmly I'm giving her love
If I ever get the chance to leave
believe I'll be coming back with some new tricks up the sleeves to teach you
and then they won't be tricks anymore,
they'll be common knowledge for the kids to explore
a mythical war between the words I say and what I practice
casting stones in catacombs for those who never had a home
lost inside a bad poem now
like you captured the last ten years of your life and wrote 'em down
For all the times when the world got the best don't stress
next time you've just gotta learn to care a little less
sometimes it's like you're married to the mess
is this your life or just one very long death
For all the times when the world got the best don't stress
next time you've just gotta learn to care a little less
sometimes it's like you're married to the mess
this is your life you can't let it just be one long death
and if I drop dead on stage don't try to help me up, I'm dead,
just keep dancing and let me rest my head
you'll find the answers written deep inside a book, deep inside mind
deeper than this cave we've been trying to climb from
if the Earth was only one person wide
you'd try to speak with other planets while the sun burnt your eyes out
confessing what you lie about nobody's there to listen
Just listen…
We live in cycles finding beauty in lightbulbs
projecting ourselves colorfully on these white walls
hope springs eternal
but no lesson you learn'll ever turtle shell you enough to concern you, it's virtue
It's the feeling you get when the sweat cools
you regain breath and ask yourself what's left to do
It's a constant monster on your back
that you've gotta learn to love unless you want it to attack
and perhaps what happens is hap-hazardous happiness
you have to have in order to perform the sort of magic tricks
that everybody battles with 'til we exit the labyrinth
or give up and decide to live trapped in it
and this year smells fresher than the last did
not just another waste basket-case ad-lib based practice round
face facts for fuck's sake, embrace the craft now or lay that act down
and this rap sounds callous
especially when I directed these sentences against me but I found balance
surrounded myself with thoughts that I care about
challenging myself to walk 'til I'm wearing out the sole
in these so called flows until the skin is exposed
and keep going until it hits bone
so if I pass out leave me I'm fine
I'll just lie back relax and enjoy the sunshine
For all the times when the world got the best don't stress
next time you've just gotta learn to care a little less
sometimes it's like you're married to the mess
is this your life or just one very long death
For all the times when the world got the best don't stress
next time you've just gotta learn to care a little less
sometimes it's like you're married to the mess
this is your life you can't let it just be one long death (2x)
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8. |
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Eye Water
A lot of people don't see that there's still a movement left in hip hop. It seems like the underground is getting pushed further and further down; well we're pushing back.
JB Nimble:
Under attack, gun to the back of the industry
Gimmicky wannabe rapper are trapped
kissing the feet of the cackling puppet masters
who eat off a plate that they don't understand
Building commodity freaks to keep the upper hand
The structure can't stand alone
so they're feeding dollars into the machine until it shits out another clone
The fifteen minutes of fame is getting closer to actually being 15 minutes and it's a shame
The worst part is that the ones who work the hardest
will probably never garner the exposure of most commercial artists
to grow a perfect garden the soil has to be fertile first
so this goes to those with a blood-curdling thirst
we've got the building blocks, the will to talk 'til we hit the top
spilling thoughts to fill up the balloon until it pops
The network is growing daily showing more worth
We're blowing up, I just hope that we do it before the Earth
It's the shows, the flows, the people in the front row,
the ones yelling homie that song goes,
and it's the nights alone writing at home
to try to touch someone I don't even know
yo
It's the shows, the flows, the people in the front row,
the ones yelling homie that song goes,
and it's the nights alone writing at home
to try to touch someone I don't even know
Rahman Jamaal:
I met this battle rapper, he said hip hop was dead
like the only reason for rhyming is to spit off the head
and his ability to shit talk is cred
heroes with out the capability to step off the pedestal and rip off the fed
need to get off the meds, fuck all that herb talkin'
blowin' the high of real men that keep their word walking'
the walk with reserve options
everyone's out for self above everyone else, and that's the first problem
like a black nationalist who shouldn't have to exist
taking the blame for being racist and reverse crossin'
a hyper masculine kid braggin' about all his drug money in public
fallin' in love with the girl prostin'
the result is an attitude that lacks the aptitude to rap against the status quo
reinforced by the world watchin'
while the industry pimps anything that convinces fans to think
we don't have to question everything that we've heard often
honey's pure, money lures, dummies war running scores
leaving love hungry untrusting whores
buildin' gimmicks children mimic when it's somebody's born
off deception shutting doors is the norm when the core's rotten
It's the shows, the flows, the people in the front row,
the ones yelling homie that song goes,
and it's the nights alone writing at home
to try to touch someone I don't even know
yo
It's the shows, the flows, the people in the front row,
the ones yelling homie that song goes,
and it's the nights alone writing at home
to try to touch someone I don't even know
Browse:
I think there’s something in the water, I can taste it when I fill my lips
They tried to snuff the spirit out like how I killed the spliff
I take my people to the streets and lead the pilgrimage
It’s time to take the city over, let’s rebuild this bitch
So now we tango with the tangles in the line
I’m choking on my words like I’m strangled by the rhymes
Fill the body bags up with the educated few
And celebrate the ignorance of jaded youth
It’s too late to move, we gotta battle on
We light the torch and bring the soldiers into Babylon
The march of vagabonds, hungry for the revolution
Whatever it takes to wake you up and get you moving
And from the disillusioned views of majority
We’re sort of being forcibly pushed to act accordingly
Now you’ve been cordially invited to the second coming
It’s time to wake the fuck up before you’re left with nothing
We got the best of something beautiful
Suitably arranged into megabytes, soon to be deranged
The bluest of the flame lit the fire in the basement
Let’s burn this motherfucker to the pavement, come on
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9. |
Her Sundress
03:33
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Her sun dress-
It's a familiar feeling of being trapped in a wishing well
A story you don't think you'll live to tell like "whelp this is hell"
She acted you like you weren't fit to sell what she was trying to purchase
Kinda nervous was an understatement
Learning love and hatred could be seduced into making relations in someone's brain and producing bunch of "who's the one to blame?" situations
And where it stems from is beautiful
but it can be a nuisance when everything is business as usual
truth is you don't do this because you have to
It's natural to wanna be routed in someone's movements that your attached to
The physical emotional pinnacle of feeling overdue for the typical
that still tickles like it's original hits you and then it lives in you
killing you softly
with a tune sweet but salty, cheap but costly
Glossy lips and stretch pants around her hips
Let her dance alone and maybe later you and she could dance home
Sometimes you gotta ask what's left
Sometimes you smoke until it coats each breath
Some things are probably better left unsaid
Something's different about the way you hold your head
Somewhere over the gray rainbow is a sunset
And your so anxious to see it it's making your guts wrench
Maybe some day it'll all make some sense
In a season when she's in sun a dress
The love is there you love it when she's in nothing but a tank top and her underwear
next to you in a comfortable chair
The days are more exciting, nights you feel alive for the first time
Like until you saw her you were blind
And then the nights she isn't there start to hurt
You still got her but now your trying to figure out how to work her into everything that you do
She's an extension of you
Fuck friendship
it's that love or never wanna see her again shit
Not to mention you've noticed others noticing you
when you're the last one at the party cornered don't know what to do
Someone who isn't yours is trying to get you into hers
so you drink away the unhappy and make your vision blur
and maybe that's an excuse in itself
The one you worked for isn't giving you what you deserve which makes it hurt more
And the one in front of you is doing everything she can
To try to make you feel like a man so you'll get in her pants
Sometimes you gotta ask what's left
Sometimes you smoke 'til it coats each breath
Some things are probably better left unsaid
Something's different about the way you hold your head
Somewhere over the gray rainbow is a sunset
And your so anxious to see it it's making your guts wrench
Maybe some day it'll all make some sense
In a season when she's in sun dresses
You hit it in the bathroom it was passionate and new
And after it she had to get your number to call you
You're in over your head and you know it
Sometimes going with the flow can leave you moping and hopeless
Especially when you got back to the apartment your wifey's in a nighty and garter belt
looking sexy as hell
and trying to express yourself you told her what happened
said you were so sorry that she couldn't imagine how bad you felt in the backspin
Said it was nothing more than alcohol and physical attraction
She kicked you out and told you never come back again
You sat crying on the floor telling her you loved her
begging for forgiveness and she didn't say one word
and that's the end of the story, no surprise twist
You didn't get that chick pregnant, you didn't catch the virus
All you got was regret one night of alright sex,
and bunch of food for thought to digest
Sometimes you gotta ask what's left
Sometimes you smoke til it coats each breath
Some things are probably better left unsaid
Something's different about the way you hold your head
Somewhere over the gray rainbow is a sunset
And your so anxious to see it it's makin your guts wrench
Maybe some day it'll all make some sense
In a season when she's in sun dresses you can undress
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10. |
Did You Hear?
03:14
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|||
Did You Hear?-
I woke up disgusted 7 more innocent people shot for nothing
and the stale-faced messenger doesn't budge when he says it
and neither does his medical grade hairspray, it's pathetic
or actually apathetic, and I started wondering
if he truly doesn't care, or is he just desensitized
over years of filling his own head with lies
he has to recognize to a full extent the lowest in humanity
it's every morning in his mirror stroking vanity
so he picks up a pencil and chewing on the eraser
tells of a little girl gone missing and the efforts to save her
and he's thinking about his paycheck and what he'd pay for with it
reporting that a private company is building 8 more prisons
and I'm helpless (fuck it I'm useless) I'm still in bed
still wrestling with last night, trying to kill it dead
bury it and get a move on
and then the news cuts to a commercial asking me to donate to a kid with no shoes on
Hello, here's a child on the verge of tears
for just thirty cents a day over the next few years
we can pad our pockets and keep running the ad you've seen here, thank you.
And it's not that I don't care, or I don't want to donate
but we've all had that thought like "where's it really going?"
I'd rather see it firsthand but I only stretch as far as my arms
and I have my own sharp needles and yarn
But back to the program, the news caster is looking older
it must be tough every morning reporting what they told ya'
I see him begin sweating as details of an earthquake fall out of his mouth
and his face loses a little bit of its fake tan
the doubts creeping out of his pores with every story
like in the grand scheme of things what the fuck do weather and sports mean?
why is a home run a bigger deal than a lone gunman drunk behind the wheel
running people down, bucking steel
he seems sickened, but keeping his composure
he clears his throat and speaks on a factory foreclosure
that's 400 more American workers unemployed
and I'm thinking why should everyone pay for the economy some destroyed
but he doesn't even mention the debt crisis
his objective is to objectify violence to keep us inside and in silence
buying shit, drugged up and on diets, whatever's trending
keeping you abreast of the latest celebrity weddings
We're off the deep end
He's sweating more now, forgetting how to talk he coughs and grabs a sip of water
and reads of a mother and father who slaughtered their own son and daughter
with no explanation, and he reads it without hesitation
but he's breathing heavy and blinking his eyes in morse code, S.O.S.
and no one seems to notice that he's puffing out his chest
while he speaks about Keystone, and my first thought is beer
not the tar sands in Canada, shit that doesn't affect me here
Commercial break #2:
Feeling fat? Take Lypocrack, it's the best with minimal side effects
including but not limited to headaches, dizziness, aggression, stroke, implosive bowels, lack of sexual appetite, infertility, and death
Listen, just because you don't fit that stereotypical skin and bone individual they feed you on TV
that doesn't make you anything less than beautiful, believe me
you weren't meant to be using these chemicals, orally or inter venously
And it's back, breaking news of a pop star's death at 22
"Holy shit, let me guess, it was pills right?" Yep
and that's every few weeks now, and I'm starting to freak out
Better go get my rations before the apocalypse happens
and the anchor man is sinking deeper into his seat
and no one seems to notice that he's gritting his teeth
he takes one last breath, says "Have a wonderful afternoon"
and keels over dead on the floor of that newsroom
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||||
11. |
||||
Rally Cry-
I'm trying not to get fed up
to never let up
to keep the head up
to get up
avoid the setup
I'm trying not to give a wish up
to never give up
putting a bid up
to live up
to what we did up
JB Nimble:
It'll push you to the brink in the blink of a wrinkle in time
thinking you're fine until the ink dries, what a big surprise
you live through it 'til you can die to it
arise from the ruins and find fluid leaking from your eyes moving back and forth
with a force to attack the forts
and every corpse left lifeless is in your likeness
the price is to high for what it's worth but it works
'cuz you numb it 'til nothing hurts except for your stomach
first time you let it get to you it broke you
so you felt you had to break down everyone that you were close to
bipolar by the time you were bicoastal
you'd never seen anybody in your own life that died hopeful
but you grow through the good and bad
there's no use focusing on what you wanted that you couldn't have
so everybody gather 'round put your battles down
and fix your frown 'cuz none of it matters now
I'm trying not to get fed up
to never let up
to keep the head up
to get up
avoid the setup
I'm trying not to give a wish up
to never give up
putting a bid up
to live up
to what we did up
LivIn' Poetry:
You crack a tall can and start to write
with all the feelings in your system you're just itching to resolve the fight
after falling in the dark of night you recall the light
and your innards twist a little 'cuz things aren't right
it's been storming so long there isn't a star in sight
so you sing a slow song and wish on a starless sky
hoping you hold on, thinking that it's too much
if starboard's right port's wrong, if you feeling chewed up,
but ship sailed, left you at the loading dock
big deal, not everybody gets to ever know the plot
and there you are staring at a masterpiece like it's a blank wall
really you should thank God with an open heart and stay calm
while the weight strong and heavy is the load
steady as you go, break dawn like a levy when the weather explodes
readily bold, it ain't wrong to hate it
but it's worth it to keep at it to stay strong and patient
I'm trying not to get fed up
to never let up
to keep the head up
to get up
avoid the setup
I'm trying not to give a wish up
to never give up
putting a bid up
to live up
to what we did up
I'm trying not to get fed up
to never let up
to keep the head up
to get up
avoid the setup
I'm trying not to give a wish up
to never give up
putting a bid up
to live up
to what we did up
|
||||
12. |
Sour Apples
04:12
|
|||
Sour Apples-
See I guess it all started in high school
that's the formative years where you find out what drives you
blind to the ways in which it governs your survival
learning to teach your mind how to carry what your spine won't
and back then I was so wrapped in my own fantasy
I couldn't see the line between the passion and insanity
candidly making promises that I couldn't keep
praying to nothing a secret dream would awaken me from the sleep
but it never came so I took it out on you
I just couldn't figure how a perfect picture could sound so blue
You know the saying, if you love her let her go
and if she comes back then fuck her 'til she can't feel her toes
trembling remembering everything we never meant to bring to the table
unstable to the point where even peddling was painful
so purple lips, left out in the cold
I strolled home while innocence bled out of my soles
because TV couldn't teach me to be easy
it was just a means between being a comedy and a drama that would lead me
to believe we would never leave me and you in peace
I just couldn't see the beast screaming through your teeth
RELEASE ME
See as kids we all assume it's forever
but never take into account how few stay together
or the ones that do stay and hate each other
from the deadbeat dads to baby mothers that they left in the past
we can take it how it is and let the heavens collapse
make the best of sour apples, pick 'em, put 'em in your basket
It's tragic that it crashed and burned
but it was just another lesson that you had to learn
So smile, grimace, scowl, grin
single file in denial bring it 'round again
it goes smile, grimace, scowl, grin
singled out, think about it, never be a friend
Ship sailed, you had to spread your feathers
never more will the raven get its claws in my sweater
shred it to pieces and make it a nest
leaving me naked except for my regrets
I'm better off not letting it get the best
I remember walking down Linden in the rain
wishing it felt the same but it didn't, looked similar but the rhythm'd changed
then you went off to college and I was stuck in Neverland
for a drunken head-in-hands year in fear that I would never see the sun again
and functioning wasn't an option, all the toxins couldn't solve the problems bubbling under skin
going from in love to friends didn't make sense
so every situation I put you in was tense
and the memories of burying my face in your curls
at every secret sleepover we'd escape from the world
until it caught up, so I left Boston and tried to forget
but I was haunted by what that meant
RELEASE ME
See as kids we all assume it's forever
but never take into account how few stay together
or the ones that do stay and hate each other
from the deadbeat dads to baby mothers that they left in the past
we can take it how it is and let the heavens collapse
make the best of sour apples, pick 'em, put 'em in your basket
It's tragic that it crashed and burned
but it was just another lesson that you had to learn
So smile, grimace, scowl, grin
single file in denial bring it 'round again
it goes smile, grimace, scowl, grin
singled out, think about it, never be a friend
But hearts mend, and scars tend to fade so you can only see 'em if you look close
but from a far step away the skin's perfect
and you were looking from NY across the country
couldn't see I wasn't that same kid lost and hungry
It hurt me, thought I was worthy of another journey
threw a couple visits your way and convinced you to come to Berkeley
and it was selfish but I'd never felt this mature before
No more wars just bare foot to floorboards
Made for each other, started something that we couldn't end
'cuz soon you're gonna go back and we'll both be alone again
but this time with no regrets lingering overhead,
no separation anxiety when I go to bed,
no waking up in cold sweats,
no boundaries overstepped
We know the deal, we'll be here until there's no one left
So I just wanted to say thank you, you're an angel
Leave the breeze beneath your feathers, never let it change you
JUST KEEP ME
As kids we all assume it's forever
and whether it is or it isn't we'll get through it together
like the ones that were made for each other
from the happy to the sad, from when it was passionate to when it wasn't bad
take it how it is, put the heavens on your back
and carry 'em into the next chapter
everything you've made has made you into everything you've ever wanted to be
and life moves faster
So smile, grimace, scowl, grin
single file in denial bring it 'round again
it goes smile, grimace, scowl, grin
singled out, think about it, never let it end
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||||
13. |
||||
Creepin' (ft. Cyberclops & Task1ne)
JB Nimble:
Motherfuckers better look me in the lips when I'm talking to 'em
It's hot as humans moving to beats to leave medulla oblongatas ruined
Got a lotta sputum I'm spewing brewing a new condition
in the music business writing songs like I'm superstitious
Let me take a second to break it down for a minute
and an hour after its finished you'll finally get it
I proceed to give you what you need till your ears bleed
and rock the mic so the monsters might hear me
Fear is the ultimate motivation
to cultivate the reputation necessary to sustain in a dedicated profession
With educated discretion I bet I'll never make it legendary so I'll be the missionary
Visionary isn't the word
(Nah that's too real)
Savant really isn't the word
(That's not how you feel)
So I'ma put it like this I got a tight mic fist
and enough balls to back up the size of my dick
Cyberclops:
I enter with my team
and render the dry scene immaculate, laughing at elementary rhyme schemes
so why scream? 'cuz what I've seen'll make your eyes bleed
even after a healthy helping of Visine
I find my lines gleam brighter with a bigger breath
though I don't need a cigarette, know what I mean?
and I know that I'm keen, why not light pot light green
showing I flow hot, turning saliva to steam
cream rules everything around me
I put it in my coffee so I don't have to kill y'all
and these fly feinds all think I'm astounding
you better step off me, I'll leave your bitch a ticket at the will call
I make heat from break beats inducing head spins
treating every cypher like the bombing of Dresden
It's like riding a bike, the best to bless a session
ask if I'm nice on the mic, next question
Task1ne:
The reason why
my whole team seems this live
cuz everyone else forfeits like what's between 3 & 5
see the rhymes are like my artistry
no arteries are hard to see
could be an organ donor still wouldn't want no parts of me
I gotta be the dude that breaks the chain of command
before making the band
before songs came with a dance
because the way we rap will take you back to the day it began
but I'm changing the plan
showing up a day in advance
Embracing the fans
I work a sweat for the worthless check
see I heard that life's a bitch, and that's why I flirt with death
got me acting like a nervous wreck without the Percocet
fuck your murder rep
you couldn't catch a body with a circus net
I'll merc the best emcees until the day my casket drops
walk a mile in my shoes, you couldn't make it half a block
I'll be chasing ass and twat
like I'm David Hasselhoff
or I'll be at the comic shop till I'm in catatonic shock
|
||||
14. |
Chrysalis
04:30
|
|||
Chrysalis-
As I'm walking along this tightrope in an unfamiliar mind state
it kind of looks like a road filled with unassuming primates
and right then I awaken in the same bed as the one I made in those days
but now I call them these days
and even though I'm still a little kid who needs praise now I can laugh when the leaves change
open a one-way door, close it and lock it before the heat escapes
see I've never really been the type to seize the day
I'll take the easy way, the kind that everybody knows and so nobody really needs to say
and as similar patterns emerge I'll lead the way to freedom
as long as we can have a massage train of lost people trying to beat the demons out of our backs
'cuz new beginnings are great,
the issue is that lingering bad taste in your mouth from the last thing that you ate
and it caused you to force growth, blame the teenage years on hormones
so what's your excuse now, you're the same person just more alone
well fancy that they're not your friends, you just use 'em to distract you from everything that you lack
and you wouldn't feel right going back
if you spend your whole life wondering what's the next step
you'll go nowhere and get buried alive (But I'm not dead yet!)
you gotta walk on the rocks and dirt, and pretend that it doesn't hurt
to eventually reach that greener grass on the other side of the earth
and the search is never over so you wonder why you even care
so far the odds are all stacked against you, it just doesn't seem fair
it's a long road, and once in a while you fall asleep in a new place
just to wake up wishing the new one had the last one's face
but there's no turning back, and you wouldn't if you had a chance
'cuz every time you try to climb that mountain you wind up under an avalanche
Emotional baggage packed, and stored under the train
but now every blurry landscape looks the same
You gotta pick from the bottom of a house of cards
trying not to knock the whole structure over
Believe me it sounds as hard as it is
so you better take a photo but not so close up
Rebuild the house on a steep hill
Keep people out that you need still
wondering what is this life gonna do for me?
Will it kill these flashback bad dreams?
And at the bottom of a house of cards
is where you keep all your regrets and scars
and you're too scared to go to the basement
you'd rather just forget who you are
Move on to a new dawn
It'll all make sense when you say it in the past tense
Now you're just to close to it to admit that it's over with
Just another chapter to encapsulate this unfolding disaster
If anybody asks for me tell 'em I'll be out back rolling with laughter
in a new suit still trying to figure out who's who
with a few screws loose but I got a couple new tools to tighten 'em back up
Now I don't have love like I used to and that sucks
but that's life I guess, a quest to get back your innocence you live in a death trap
and you better enjoy it steadfast while you've still got thoughts in your head to grasp
around now is about the time you drown out the clouds and bow to the sunshine
and you were not ready for the take down
Fuck what you said. Do you mean what you say now?
The kids run around the cemetery leaving the ghosts nowhere to go so they roam the playgrounds
in a final attempt to reach heaven, it's what they're trying to get with each lesson
climbing the steps to break bread with the ones that already escaped the same head and again,
some'll come back to life when they should've just stayed dead, but then
in the midst of all this wishing to live flawless you put yourself into the cause kid
now running back isn't an option, stop when you realize that you've lost it
move on into a place where a smile can embrace your face at least for a while
Taste the bile on the back of your tongue, and one by one let the past crash into the sun
And it's all over now, but it's alright you're a man with a horse and a plow
New pasture ahead, 52 new cards but I'm the Joker, the Jack is dead
and the Queen killed him in a scene seldom seen by esteemed villains
but the crown won't fit the King's head
Sit down and relinquish everything you said
'cuz ain't no take-backs the future's here
looking like you're about to puke from the fear
Old to new is cool to a youth but as you grow it gets difficult to let go
Just know it's not the end, the blueprint's set for the castle
so next time when you decide to rebuild you know to make it less fragile
You gotta pick from the bottom of a house of cards
trying not to knock the whole structure over
Believe me it sounds as hard as it is
so you better take a photo but not so close up
Rebuild the house on a steep hill
Keep people out that you need still
wondering what is this life gonna do for me?
Will it kill these flashback bad dreams?
And at the bottom of a house of cards
is where you keep all your regrets and scars
and you're too scared to go to the basement
you'd rather just forget who you are
Move on to a new dawn
It'll all make sense when you say it in the past tense
Now you're just to close to it to admit that it's over with
Same eyes, same ears, same images
same head, same heart, same distances
same eyes, same ears, same differences
same head, same heart, same chrysalis
|
||||
15. |
Rose
03:33
|
|||
Rose-
It's only because you don't move that you lose yourself
Staring at the flowers, scared to lose the power
There's feelings we all go through for the dues we're dealt
Staring at the flowers, scared of who lives out there
She's been with it since the beginning
Clipping the bud giving it love, watching it grow bigger into something beautiful
decorating it with ribbons and such, touching it's soft petals with her cuticles
made her feel useful
Youthful little red rose. It's protection became an obsession
wouldn't let anybody get close enough to caress it
thinking it's perfection was a message from God so she erected fences around the property
obviously because she loved it. It would not see the public
It was her everything; without it she was nothing
and she didn't want to believe it but she knew
that people peak into the fence to get a glimpse of what she grew
Once in a while she'd catch a trespasser
same guy every time, petal snatcher, messing with her ever after
Now she waits next to the window, she's gonna get the bastard
before he casts a web and captures
The Rose, you gave it all up
Is that really what you call love? Smother it but it's not enough for
The Rose, she needs to be there for it every second
never realizing that it's thorns protect it
The Rose, and as it grows she gets older
she'll never let it go, afraid, nobody knows her but
The Rose, it needs to escape
The Rose, leave this place
I gotta help her find a way out
If not I gotta find a way in
and I'll take her without making a sound
and plant her when the day begins
It's only because you don't move that you lose yourself
Staring at the flowers, scared to lose the power
There's feelings we all go through for the dues we're dealt
Staring at the flowers, scared of who lives out there
Then one morning when she woke up
her beautifully bloomed rosebud had been plucked
She didn't know what she could possibly do but throw up
tried to refuse it but it was either puking or crying;
so lonesome she was dying
just hoping that the rose would show up for dinner
but when it didn't return that night she became bitter
'cuz she raised it, gave it sun rays and every day praised it
while it was sitting behind the gates hidden, waiting
for someone to take it, and not keep it locked away from a world this amazing
rescue it and actually sit next to it
compared to every other sound two heartbeats is the best music
Said "let's do it" and he cut it from the stem
started running for the gates, soul mates loving the scent of freedom
leaving mother nothing but an empty pale of water
Lost her because she just couldn't let go of her daughter
The Rose, you gave it all up
Is that really what you call love? Smother it but it's not enough for
The Rose, she needs to be there for it every second
never realizing that it's thorns protect it
The Rose, and as it grows she gets older
she'll never let it go, afraid, nobody knows her but
The Rose, it needs to escape
The Rose, leave this place
The Rose, you gave it all up
Is that really what you call love? Smother it but it's not enough for
The Rose, she needs to be there for it every second
never realizing that it's thorns protect it
The Rose, and as it grows she gets older
she'll never let it go, afraid, nobody knows her but
The Rose, it needs to escape
The Rose, leave this place
|
||||
16. |
Always Known
03:49
|
|||
Always Known-
It's just another day, today's looking better though
As much as I complain about it I'm breaking out of the shell that I've been trapped in
dwelling on what happens
but it comes and goes,
like the rose doesn't grow unless it's fed the sun it's never gonna know the pleasure from the woes
I take measures to weather whatever's tethered to my leg on a day to day basis
the faces in the mirror stay changing, now I can awaken awaiting a stranger
but never let a way for the anger to settle
just tear it up and let it go it floats with the wind
little scraps of paper with my soul written in
A time capsule in lost notebooks,
from back when I would just write three minute long rants with no hooks
It's funny coming this far in just a couple years
with the spit that lit the candle and some peace for your ears
It's hard to handle every once in a while
Feels like I lost track and walked hundreds of miles
but then I see the people in the crowd smiling
making 'em feel something real is the only vibe that I try to bring
and it works so I put the fans first
give 'em every word and grip the mic so tight my hands hurt
but I don't claim to have the answers
I just express who I am 'cuz that's where I set my standards
Give me a chance to look you dead in the eye
and I'll give you a glance at life to remember me by it goes…
One fine day in the middle of the night
a little quiet kid grabbed the stage with a microphone
and took flight but felt right at home
It's all he knows and he's always known
That one fine day around midnight
he could breathe as a full human being complete
'cuz his life is more blessed than he could ever express
Yo hold 'em down Jess
I'm sorry ladies but music was my first love
and that doesn't mean that I can't love you just as much
but I'll never leave her for you, if you don't like it, tough
You can just walk away, take a hike, bite the dust
I'm not the type to cut you down or stifle what you create
so if we can relate on that then we could be great
together sharing differences and building similarities
Forever bearing innocence and filling it with clarity
It's hard to find a good woman but I get a new fresh beat
at least every week or so to let my soul speak
and yes, it gets lonely
but it's better than being stuck in something unhappy that'll shackle, trap me, and hold me
I need someone to show me trust
who really knows it's only us
who sees it isn't just the lust
not just in it to bust a nut
'cuz when the world is looking up
I'll be the one who took the cup
and went running to the ends of the earth to look at love
Love is all I have to give and all I'm asking in return is the same
Let it be or let it burn in the flame
then gather what remains, crush it and make a diamond
and hide it, somewhere so no one can find it
The world looks a little brighter under the moon
but if we're doomed to spend eternity consumed with the first degree
verdicts over a murdered tree
I'm leaving, take care
I keep moving 'cuz the other day I found my first gray hair
One fine day in the middle of the night
a little quiet kid grabbed the stage with a microphone
and took flight but felt right at home
It's all he knows and he's always known
That one fine day around midnight
he could breathe as a full human being complete
'cuz his life is more blessed than he could ever express
Yo hold 'em down Jess
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