1. |
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[Verse 1]
Long ago lived a man who was quiet, but keen/
Never known to show off, or desire to gleam/
Just a love burning deep for a woman serene/
And he knew that she had been through unspeakable things/
He loved her despite her past cause he felt she was true/
But he couldn't be with her because his job seemed revue/
He's trapped in a dull profession/
He had to make a confession/
He didn't know what he got himself into, just retrospectively/
Lookin back, in over his head/
No passion/
He had to make a choice, quit his job and take action/
Or be miserable continuing a job that he hates/
Then he heard a voice, familiar, soothing all of his aches/
[Verse 2]
Now the young man was aware of his love for this girl/
Nothing but intentions to shower her with diamonds and pearls/
But she was popular to people all over the world/
He felt his chances had diminished and he wanted to hurl/
So many other men attracted to her/
Some that could do her/
Harm when armed with access to armory, she'd get left in the sewer/
He often felt skeptical, filled with self doubt/
Ho he did his best to try helping himself out/
And his head was held high/
And he could tell why he needed to be with this woman/
Cause like the heeds of a sermon/
He intended to save her when the vermin put her in danger/
And he'd tripped and fallen in love with a perfect stranger/
[Verse 3]
Now, the man wasn't ignorant, he knew he couldn't quit/
He knew it may have been considered rude and he shouldn't spit/
But he had no choice cause as far as he would admit/
He needed her like a broken bone needed a wooden splint/
And he knew she had been mistreated/
But not defeated/
Decisions to leave his career for something dear to his heart was needed/
For him to stay true to his art without feeling cheated/
But past relationships made this woman kinda conceited/
And he didn't know how to feel/
Confidence isn't a real/
Issue for this cat/
But confidence ain't a seal/
So he took the biggest leap of faith that anyone's seen/
He knew deep in his heart that if it had come down between/
Continuing to live the current life that he led/
Or going and chasing after the girl of his dreams instead/
"I would choose her every time", he said standing there grinning/
But that wasn't the end, his journey was just beginning/
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2. |
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[Verse 1]
Yo, let me be real with you for a second/
I don't feel what I need to be doin right now is gettin/
A motherfuckin degree/
But you see/
They tell me go to school, but don't put enough emphasis on my dreams/
Should I take another grass hit/
Write a rhyme, scrap it/
Every time it happens I feel like I'm goin batshit/
Crazy/
Lazy/
Everybody persuade me/
To better my education, but maybe/
This ain't the right path ma/
But you're right, I should probably have something that I can fall back on/
In the event that my spirit instilled in the music doesn't get the recognition it needs and gets passed on/
So I sit my ass in class, faded/
Sometimes my task is to pass the class, waitin around like an idiot
procrastinating/
if I keep this up I know that I'll never make it/
[Verse 2]
Yeah, so I'm trying to balance/
School, work, and rap, and it's a much bigger challenge/
Than I had anticipated, and it's harder to manage/
I just try not to get jaded, or further the damage/
School's really got me down/
Everybody around me needs a coffee now/
And I'm just chasin dreams while working on plan b/
Too much stress from two sources and I'll probly drown/
And to top it off, I have no passion/
For this programming program cause to program massive/
Projects takes it outta me/
I feel no love for this strategy/
In any part of my anatomy/
Undoubtedly, I'm so much better at writing raps than code/
And I actually truly enjoy it/
Hoping to one day employ it/
Turning it from a hobby into employment/
So I can do what I love and then let you hear where the joy went/
[Verse 3]
Man, just gotta keep on grindin right?/
It's kinda like when a car and a wall collide with might/
And it seems even worse when I can't even find a pipe/
Strugglin pretty hard when all I'm doin is tryna write/
But I push on/
And the hook's wrong/
I found a piece only to find that the kush gone/
Bummer/
It's been a long ass summer/
The stress on my shoulders feels like the weight of a Hummer/
It's all the pressure to meet the deadlines/
While tryna open up every time dope rappers headline/
But maybe the pressure is something that I need for self-motivation/
Cause I can write murderous verses just to demo oration/
And I think I got just what it takes to be big/
Taking advantage of and rocking every gig/
Trying to make everybody I meet say that "we dig/
Your music, don't ever lose it, stay true to you kid"/
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3. |
Baku [Prod. by Gramatik]
02:21
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[Verse 1]
Let's take it back to 2008/
Around the time when everyone I knew was browsing the grapevine/
In hopes of finding the next great line, I'd take time/
Whenever I was constructing the words of a straight rhyme/
A couple years into the game/
With nothing more than hunger to rip beats and aspirations of fame/
Rappin about dumb shit, hoping to make a name/
And haters started hating soon as aggravation was gained/
And in an attempt to perfect my skills/
I started talking shit just to vent my feels/
I chose to change my style and some cats took notice/
And they hit me up and said it's bogus/
And they said "Why don't you rap more about the bitches and checks?/
and maybe if you do you'll finally get respect"/
Those words, though with malicious intent, made me reflect/
On when I started out rappin and put it into perspective/
[Hook]
And they told me "Swallow your dreams"/
They said "Swallow your dreams"/
They said "Swallow your dreams"/
[Verse 2]
I first started rappin bout what I cared in my heart/
But then somebody had to come and tear it apart/
He said "Man, you sound like a fool/
Nobody fuckin wants to listen to you rappin about school/
They wanna hear you rap about money and bitches"/
But to either of those I was never much of a witness/
So I sat down with a pen, pretending owning these riches/
Writin such verses had me thinkin "I'm uncomfortable with this"/
To me it just didn't feel right/
Like I was saying I had a golden staff that was really a steel pipe/
Though very hesitant, I was thinking I still might/
Yo fuck that shit, now I know that I will fight/
To tell my stories my own way, homie I don't play/
I don't care even if it means that my music won't pay/
I'll do all in power to ensure I don't stray/
And to let you know that I've arrived and I'm gon stay/
[Hook]
Now I'm sayin "Follow your dreams/
Follow your dreams/
Follow your dreams"/
Yeah
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4. |
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[Verse 1]
I got that summer heat/
Now let the drummer beat his set quick/
While I come into the booth strictly lookin to wreck shit/
It's seemingly a direct hit/
I'm so damn dope, I'm beginning to forget shit/
But I like to maintain an elevated consciousness/
And try to stay above what the delegate promises/
Lyrical bombardment devastating the competition/
Traitors tryna say they were emulating the wrong position/
I don't fall for that dumb shit/
You better run quick/
Cause some MCs dribble and some spit/
I bet you know by now which one of the two I am/
Cause my lyrics throw you off, I wonder if you could land/
On both feet/
And stick it/
Understand when I'm rippin/
And let it make you think about everything in existence/
Just as long as we know the difference between dreams/
And what's real/
I think it'll be safe if we just chill/
[Hook]
This is what I love about rap/
Cause I can say whatever the fuck I wanna, in fact/
Creating multisyllabic rhymes/
Not just to get with the times/
But directing these words helps me relax/
This is what I love about rap/
That I can be myself without falling into a trap/
Because just staying true to these lines/
No need for frugal designs/
I put everything I have into these tracks/
[Verse 2]
Now sometimes I have some trouble feeling inspired/
So I sit myself down almost as if it's required/
And indulge in something I don't think I'll ever get tired of/
I can be creative without it homie, but get it fired up!/
We got a seemingly endless supply of special herbs/
Live, love, and smoke are some of my most essentials verbs/
High altitude mental conjuring up potential words/
Making my flow way more well rounded than monumental curves/
I'm feelin plenty tense/
I'm droppin many hints/
The smoke caused by the reefer is getting really dense/
I'll remain true even if I only sell twenty prints/
Penny rappers make dollars but they still don't make any sense/
Mothafuckas be acting as if we all are doomed/
Engulfed with infatuation until we're all consumed/
Waiting for the moment when we're all in a common room/
But I'll find a way out of it when you have all become entombed/
[Hook]
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5. |
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[Verse 1]
I am astounded by climate nice as a pleasantry/
Cause where I'm from it always seems like the fog is just next to me/
Now, this ain't my hometown/
But I feel somethin profound/
I live in the fast lane, but everyone's screamin SLO down/
Comin from Humboldt, I was brought out here by the college/
There's no better place to be if you're seekin a girl with milage/
If that's what you're into, I think that she should acknowledge why/
She acted like she's crafted, pretending that you ain't qualified/
Not all the girls are like this/
Some of them pretty righteous/
The kind that have a smile I would instantly label priceless/
Sundresses in march/
And just mentioning barbecues/
And beautiful women in bikinis just makes it hard to do/
Any kinda school work, my distractions are part of you/
When they're around I seldom finish the things I start to do/
Rollin doobies and I think that it's time we should spark a few/
San Luis, but don't get it twisted we ain't no cardinals/
[Hook]
This is a place/
Where we try to embrace/
A culture of good times, the city wants to erase/
So let's SLO it down, and live it up/
SLO it down, and live up/
Parties seem never ending/
Women forever sending/
Mixed messages, got cold beverages, and the right weather blending/
Gotta SLO it down, and live it up/
SLO it down, and live it up
[Verse 2]
I am surrounded by purple mountains majestically/
Gracing the very face of the earth where I built my recipe/
For perfecting the craft/
I almost was stretched in half/
Between university and the musical blessing had/
At first, what I felt from this city was no love/
But ya know bruh, they even said it on Oprah/
We care enough/
And we reserve the right so, let's tear it up/
We in the happiest fuckin city up in America/
The beach is full of niceness/
I'll indulge in my vices/
Cause it's only 10 miles away with girls hotter than spices/
The shining sea's marked/
By what I think is arguably/
The greatest place on the map any person would wanna be, ah/
I fucks with this city and you're just gonna have to pardon me/
Puffin tough enough that my eyes are so low it's hard to see/
Going on 5 years, I'm lovin it with all honesty/
So SLO it down, live it up, this is the place you oughta be/
[Hook]
Gotta SLO it down, and live it up/
SLO it down, and live it up/
Yeah/
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6. |
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[Verse]
Yeah, I think the time has come to get it in/
Cause my intelligence coupled, with verbal medicine/
Will jettison everything that you've become embedded in/
Individuality ceased to remain as evident/
As everybody thinks/
And everybody drinks/
I'll toast to that/
But I stop before I'm drunk or close to that/
I like my moments of clarity/
Sincerely/
That's why for me getting fucked up is a rarity/
But to each his own/
No preachin goin/
On here, believe that/
And this beat is blowin/
My mind, is seems there no signs of life here/
Cause I've murdered so many words I'm hauntin your nightmares/
Now to forever/
I'm more raw than leather/
I'm so underground I'm molten like a pheonix sheddin its feathers/
That hot flow, like lava/
Oh man, I gotta/
Keep to myself sometimes just to avoid all the drama/
Mothafuckas don't wanna approach him/
Like a piranha encroaching/
Puffin on marijuana, striving for nirvana to open/
My blind eyes to the lies that we've spoken/
And ties that we've broken/
Sometimes it seems hopeless/
But I sit my ass down and focus my energy/
And come up with syllables that align so cleverly/
Man, you'll never see/
Another MC like me, memory/
Servin it up correctly, I'm tellin you that I generally/
Tend to remain shy/
I'm kind of a tame guy/
Going to school but chasing my dreams at the same time/
I can't wait to see the day that my name shine/
And you better believe that I'll come to claim mine/
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