Just Might Be, by Sankofa

Just Might Be

by Sankofa

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Full Digital Discography

54

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1.	!@#! (Cursed) 03:27	lyrics
Words lose their power with significant use so I reduced the times that the worst was loosed I recall being a kid and hearing a grown up swear meant something important had just happened right there but nowadays, it's common as a pair of Jordans used to be “wow”, now it's loud with boredom Dick Cheney even gave the words a spin and nobody out there is as pure as him Samuel L. Jackson's career is such that his vocab we can't hear near enough motherfucker rolls off the tongue so nicely plus it's great filler in the throes of a dry heave don't have something to say? Say that. Pose like a tough guy with a Maybach. See, I treat the words like a nuclear option. Except I use them more often Are they verbs, nouns, adjectives or adverbs or syllabic filler for another rap verse? Call it MC Ren, the later years, with hot dogs. Something for the gobsmacked speaker when thought stops. Unless you're George Carlin, managing the Marlins or Louis C.K., you're just rambling for stardom. See, it's fun for me to get creative and make new ways to signify that I'm going to break but even I say “damn” like it's Hoover here and you can keep that thought for your souvenir remember facelift? Not a single curse but I scorched the remains of that target's earth there's a time and place, but so many are lazy could it be they have a broken watch? Maybe Thinking every moment is a suitable spot to let fly with that same old usual slop If respect is sought, you'd best stretch the vocab get a yoga class for your rote notepads. Instead of dope jabs, the sweetest science One hit wonders try to seem defiant. Haymakers get thrown by naysayers just to try and savor their own word's flavor. My dad gave me a bar of soap to chew once think the taste stayed in my mouth a few months Speech bubbles came with a crisp and clean spell cause I called my mom a name that I won't retell at 16, those words made me tough and with NWA, I then gave a fuck but that kid became a man with a lazy crutch so I went cold turkey and evaded such now I use moderation, just like Satchel Paige recommended, entertainment is tactile My goal is to think before the words appear but sometimes I don't quite persevere See, my goal is to think before the words appear but sometimes I don't quite persevere guns, sex, drugs, money
2.	Chasing Ghosts 03:35	lyrics	buy track
This is a song called Chasing Ghosts To all the kicks I dig, I now raise the toast Not raisin toast, but the butter is there I’ve got food for my sole when the cupboard is bare See, with shoes man…I’ve got a scary closeness And this here pair I call my Terry Grosses Fresh Air on the tip of the tongue with a white swoosh Chance, anything slicker than these, it’s minute Strap loose on the left like a ram’s horns When I’m stepping on your beaches it’s a San storm Right strap crossed over in a b-boy stance Calling for the velcro with each poised hand But, nah-I just let them sit the way that they are But without the will to walk, I’m not making it far I once rocked Asics, left the rest to Ryu Tiger uppercut, sucker duck when I glide through Houston, I’ve got a problem called shoes You’ve been aware of what I’m going to do Get another pair, then I get another pair Then I get another pair right there, oh yeah I’m going crazy, I’m a gym shoe freak, plus I haven’t bought a pair, and it’s been two weeks, look I’m going crazy, I’m a gym shoe freak I haven’t bought a pair, it’s been two weeks See, my moves are mostly via bike or the sidewalk Something to let my mind just roam with a rime thought The feeling of fresh, none other compare Even got your mother with a stutter and stare When I was a kid, we only had a car for two years Blue Ford Falcon with the sweet ass hubcaps Helping dad wash it on the weekend, I loved that I got his beard but I didn’t get his mustache Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose Shoeboxes in my closet start to climb in droves I mean, I’ve got the leaning tower of Pisa with cardboard Jenga boxing, you’d better call it an art form I know it’s silly but I just can’t stop, plus I’m happy whether you like them or not, because It brings me joy to find a pair I forgot about New shoe smell, I brought them out My wife found a pair she loved, I bought them out Call it my extravagance, budgeted and thought up how I’ve got a job and it isn’t like I’m not allowed To spend as I see fit, this is America You’re rocking rims, I’m making shoebox forts While the ghost of Biggie’s eating Tupac’s s’mores This isn’t a contest of who’s got more, you getting this? Jake at Studio 13 is the medalist Then again, it isn’t a competition, it’s a celebration Raising a toast to dope kicks around the nation Honestly, I bought a shirt because it matched a pair My crayon specials now mesh with extra flair Yes and there’s the yin and the yang, am I a metro? I can’t criticize others so I let go It isn’t easy cause I’m programmed to break it down I’m older and care less, I’m not braver now Bought a pair of Ewings in DC for ninety plus Idolized the guy, not going to lie, they kind of sucked Like Kemp’s Kamikazes, my beard’s got stripes Peace to Mark Jackson and his teardrop drives I’m leaving shoeprints in the sands of time Just to glimpse that tread from these shoes of mine Bottom line, if it makes you happy, then just roll with it My favorite hoodie is adidas with some holes in it And I’ll never rock Jordans Ever.
3.	Boogieman 02:26	lyrics
I’m a world beater, fueling up his spaceship full of ruin Tired of sitting around hoping things get done if I don’t do them Pursuant to the semi-luminous glow the pen develops I take traditional word collections then I bend with relish So pardon the pawn, the pun and all the other transgressors Maybe even your blue haired Aunt Esther Forget Jesus, she’s got a fetus on a chain And a slogan to shout, but you’ve got to love her all the same Life’s too full to let a difference turn to downfall Even if it’s easy to divide inside of town halls She’s by her stove making recipes in hopes you’ll visit Sitting sadly by the window with her woeful visage Cause most who listened were her friends who went and passed away never once did she think that she’d be the last to stay Her lair’s lined with the Hummel figurines Used to call the Franklin Mint, but now she’s onto bigger dreams I go to RediMed with a heavy head Yeah, I’ll wait a while. What the hell, I’m already dead Man, I’ve got to get a job with some proper benefits Cause when I’m sick, being broke is my nemesis The ends justify the means But there’s a cliffhanger hanging on the TV screen So I sit in purgatory’s waiting room reading magazines Trying not to smell the puking kid heaving Dramamine Nobody looks around, they’re suffering alone Baby cries while her nervous mother mutters in the phone. My insurance plan has got a credit limit, what about yours? They give you discounts when you pay up front for loud sores I charge it to Discover, hope to find the money later I abstain from playing hoops and other dumb behavior Can’t afford an injury cause sprained ankles hinder me From doing my job, a broken cog in this industry I guess the point that I’m trying to make Is you can think that you’re safe, that you might escape I guess the point that I’m trying to make Is you can think that you’re safe, that you might escape
4.	Friend of Mine 03:12	lyrics
She’s a skittish little miss and her meds are but a memory Sad when body chemistry turns into the enemy now requests roll off proverbial duck's backs shiny manic eyes the measure...two little hub cups gleaming and I must ask, why the change now father figure forgone furrowed a strange brow a new plan laid out seemingly in much haste about the same time that guy left in dust, raced a touch traced out of finger painting run amok taking most of the day's patience that I can summon up I wonder what brought about the note from home so I track behavior, watching close the crone how far do acorns fall when nobody will listen cheeks ruddy and glisten with sweat lovely and schismed and yet, it's not my place so her descent's documented a once caring child now lost with a vengeance And it’s sad, cause I try to do all that I can But I can’t do a thing when she’s gone out of class And it’s sad, cause I try to do all that I can But I can’t do a thing when she’s gone out of class A friend of mine’s gone away and she might not be back So leave a message at the beep and believe that She might get it, but you never can tell So just hope for the best tossed to a sentence speakers babble oblivious hugs turn from love to the tactile insidious so fragile the lineage, synapses misfire screaming on repeat, her song from a sick choir I miss that girl whose calm came from pill bottles maybe one day those storms could fill novels until then, it's dealing with her outbursts asked to sit up, yet knowing that she'll slouch first I'm hoping that the clouds quickly turn to mist and dissipate but in the meantime, I pen this and wait Cause dis and may makes for an interesting cocktail but a kid's future is at stake, I cannot fail walking down a lost trail with broken legs behavior plan carrot rotted, hope and beg tie the note to dregs...believe it'll improve running for the shelter amidst a riddle bemused a little bit of the blues with the Jackson Pollack extras keeping eyes peeled at the door for her exits next is patience, combined with faith there’s not much to do but spend the time and wait next is patience, combined with faith there’s not much to do but spend the time and wait a friend of mine's gone away and she might not be back so leave a message at the beep and believe that she might get it but you never can tell so just hope for the best
5.	Too Many Days 03:55	lyrics	buy track
It’s the homeless man, short shirt baring his midriff Rolling on a girl’s bike like what’s the difference? Another night at the shelter sober or a bridge drunk Thinking troll thoughts, cold frost rolls up The warmth of Boones might hold enough to call sleep But until then, swill zen and roll streets Stopovers at the Rock, dollar shot signs beckon Leather skin regulars slumber what a nice weapon High stepping sleepwalkers slump to the DJ 60 year old wives flash racks for replays Husbands yell why aren’t you looking at her eyes Like she’s not good enough for you, you wanna fight? Then the next shot’s slammed to the bar worn smooth A smudged glass emptied in a war more lose Dead soldiers line battlefields by the brigades Down the hatches and a lively night is away At the bottom of the bottle is an answer in another language If I drink enough then I might understand it Give it a shot cause what good is a quitter anyways Been sitting here for ages, maybe many days Some eyes might not have seen the light of the day They’re stumbling home late nights, but the sign it remains Alleyway gravel mixed with drink eager to escape Mix the wrong blends yep, it’s leaving a trace Repeating the taste with a splash of stomach acid thrown in Burning hearts churning in chests a no win And what’s on tap is taps for livers, a splash of bitter interacts wracking givers barely interact with shivers sitting by guys hacking cough splitting sides what they did imbibe a roll of ones dwindling by the minute’s site Pulling tabs to pass impassive time hope minimized Oh, didn’t buy dinner it’s in a knife that’s slitting dimes, Hit them high Buzz creeps in and hits them lower, time for the broken seals No club hits, just rosary gropes and taxi pope mobiles So surreal, social soak Chernobyl field of broken dreams Scenes for chameleons sipping rum and Ovaltine Spots are claimed, turf is marked, welcome wagon wheel cracked Oregon Trail plague swept through and left the field black Unless you’re speaking Harley Oil, nobody’s going to feel that More than a little rust has stuck on hinges of that steel trap Pool table moved back, room for tonight’s band Stumblinas leaving finger prints on the mic stand an uninhibited sprawl tin signs litter the walls Been fine, sipping a tall glass…mind your own business Unless you’re buying a round then it is fine A tenement mind agenda of denim and blood, umm mine? 20 percent of it wine Fed up with crime, less of a line and more of a gun that is drawn And any night here with open eyes could be the solemn son of a song With one of us gone, one will remain and drink in tribute Sinking quick through walls ‘til every patron is a family member-clinking his brew I think it is due, a toast to friends with forgotten names So here’s to all of you. At the bottom of the bottle is an answer in another language If I drink enough then I might understand it Give it a shot cause what good’s a quitter anyways Been sitting here for ages, way too many days
6.	Seeing is Believing 03:26	lyrics
Who predicts, from the uterus to the crucifix Upon whom the sweat of Judas drips The way she moved her hips beckoned glory Second story lips do Luca splits In pursuit of glitz, she wooed with tits and nudist strips A happy youth a myth, demons do some hits, she used a fix Smoke in the hookah drifts, pollution slips through her lips Attuned to bliss falsely, never did assume the risk Junkie boyfriend, the true roughneck with a noose affixed From dreams, to one bus trips, she’s losing it Hourly rates instead of dates, aches and wooziness Making palm pay hands lithe type Vesuvius Photo shoots quick switch to flicks with the boots and whips, slit wrists, light headed, red is oozing slick Pimp was a pugilist, she never used to lisp Concealer for the blackened eye, attacking guy bruised her lip Who’d admit that this is a life that one would choose to live Seeing is believing, many choose to be blind I miss the days of rap tapes when you had to rewind Now everyone’s nose deep in some senseless junk Apathy’s a lazy king who went and rented a shrug I knew a crack fiend by the name of Maxine Riding in a taxi, looking for the vaccine Her jaw, taut, eyes pitted with a slack gleam The last avenue of hope, already tapped clean Used the outside outlet to get power Outside faucet to get her to the next shower Didn’t have a phone so she used to do things Just to make a call, it became the routine 2 year old son walking into nude scenes All tied in with a muted and crude theme Her boyfriend, a bouncer at bikini bars Shaved head, leather jacket and a greedy heart White tank top complete with sleazy sneer That said meet me here, you’d better feed me fear Indeed it is sick, but she was a neighbor of mine And when her knees hit the carpet, she had made up her mind A hopeful groupie thinking that she knew the risk To get by, her clientele fell from dress shoes to kicks Sharpened high heels clicking to the Supra quick A deluded illusionist, dropped within a rude abyss Paying dues to sis because she knew some tips Anchor to home and lutefisk, now dead in a lagoon of this A natural disaster infected after she blew a kiss Too many monsters in the shadows, numerous Used to have a soul, so they say, that’s the rumor kid breakfast comes from a pipe instead of muselix Any line on a mirror nearby, she’ll Hoover it Faces are blurred, lights shine through the mist
7.	Big Top 03:10	lyrics
Just to clear the troublesome confusion away If your style’s dope, I’m pharmaceutical grade Giving musical bruises to muses you should obey I don’t care about your past, what are you doing today? It’s unusual. Assaults result in crucial decay If you’ve yet to hear about it then it’s soon to amaze I’m setting them all afire with a beautiful blaze A frugal brigade is packed in find a suitable grave I’m busting up ears with irrefutable ways The last cat who tried to use his brutal noodle was dazed Taking a rocky road and then I smooth the terrain Abusing frames followed by a removal of brains And that’s just for starters, never mind the bench players Or the coach, general manager, owner and all the temp waiters My prerogative to throttle with the livest homonyms I’m anonymous and kind of ominous, saliva slobbering Slicing mic tykes to teeny lumps in lava lamps Itemized lives, needy punk copping grams Lancing livers of river dancing idiots Hands’ meridian, canceling tramps with wittiness Plan to expand the oblivion in cyclones Let the echoes die down in the ground with the dry bones …and that’s what I’ve known Welcome to the big top, ringer leader included Lions and tigers arrive to the music Get your hot dogs and popcorn a hot storm Far from your local mom and pop store, we got more Viacom has violated pacts, I try to stay the path Gearing up for battle with a rime array that’s vast I’ve debated cats and nothing came of it but lost breath The name of hip-hop debt that cost caustic reps So tossed off the decks goes the replaying DJ Giving you that three day cliche Sad when Mitsubushi is the one breaking new music Small wonder my enthusiasm died, spin in a blues lick A trail of poisoned breadcrumbs lining newbie eardrums How are kids going to track rap back to fierce tongues? It’s going to be hard if they don’t hear some in the mix But there’s only one Little Brother Radio, that’s it And it’s not just a case relating simply to rap It’s all musical genres gone and gimmickry packed Stations paying fees to download and play the same streams I’m glad I had YO! Back in the day to help me paint dreams But what’s on the screen now is vapid volunteers Eyeliner bangs of sorrow serenading solemn ears The movement against becomes the latest to franchise Co-opted for a sponsorship, plotting to plant vibes Hands tied hand over the fist for momentary riches A Doberman decision’s hidden, so they vary visits With various images Welcome to the big top, ringer leader included Lions and tigers arrive to the music Get your hot dogs and popcorn a hot storm Far from your local mom and pop store, we got more Much, much…much…more
8.	Jumbo Jet of Flavor (feat. Darren Monroe) 03:52	lyrics	buy track
No fork in my grip, I’m holding a plow at the Golden Corral. Shovel that food in quick like POW! You see, my briefcase is cardboard, consider it an art form Par for the course of 30 sliders, set to starve more I march forth in battle killing ravenousness With each little box unwrapped, I’m smacking my lips I want to catch a case of the vapors grease and the steam rising No White Castle in the Fort? See, that’s a dream dying Stephen is defiant insistent persistent and wishing Protesting this wicked flavor prohibition Shut your lips if you’re saying you’re above it all You’ll be eating all your meals with a sucking straw Find me at Powers burgers with the oniony scent Saigon type cash only, money is spent And what do you get? Mmm, Delectable deliciousness Even those feeling bitterness will straight admit it is Spinners on my car? You can keep those trends I want a spinner in my kitchen with the gyro blend Oh no, I’ve got a jumbo jet of flavor Instead of fuel I’ve got the goodness that you savor Ain’t another cat delivering it greater Bravas got a new food truck and it’s major It’s the Z I double F L E to the S I’m feeling like a T-Rex, my teeth deep in this mess The finest of ribs, like Adam with a pining for his Dr. Pepper carbonation is providing the fizz The known classic, leaving carnage in a bone basket I’m talking cartilege and, yep the most graphic My cologne savage, smell the barbeque sauce This is man up turf, no art martyred Zubaz So pardon my jaw, but the combo basket just arrived I’m going whisper sweet nothings, loving’s justified Good luck to any place trying to be as fly as Ziffles Why quibble, we can split a plate of fried pickles Shout to John and Courtney for showing me the way I’ve ingested dreck at places supposed to be as great But their plates lack the taste of the gracious greatness Enough with the debate just bow down and taste it Asakusa’s White Lightning roll is exquisite Enough to make the inquisitive go pay it a visit Rest in peace to True Friend tea house on Calhoun Club Soda, where the Piere’s crowd goes to pasture King Gyro’s with the finest fries in the Fort Finding an extra fry in the bag is some kind of a sport The Wells Street Klemms, a plate of garbage and rye J Crew O’Donnells has the dopest spoons you could find Munchies-the slowest service this side of Henry’s But Hanks has the nachos, true sight to envy Each walk away is heaven, heavier on the pavement With extra Tony Little Gazelle sessions in my basement My payment is perspiration, certainly worth it Peace to the Firefly’s awesome flavored smoothie worship For making my intestines spell heaven in cursive Can’t forget the lemon cookies food loving, got to get it day and night now True buggin, I’ve been known to eat with lights out No fork in my grip I’m holding a plow at the Golden Corral Shovel that food in quick like POW! I’ve got to get it…NOW! Complete with a Dr. Pepper soda fountain, so astounding food loving, that’s what it’s all about right here A few dozen snobs, well they might jeer with a slight sneer but my palate is valid 800 degrees of pizza, garlic bread and great salads Sending me announcement Cup of ‘slaw, used to have it instead of the fries Just to cut down on the sodium, but then I got wise Giving a dose of And that’s what it’s going to cost Goodness gracious, I put someone through college, going to Ziffles
9.	Skin Suit 03:18	lyrics
Connect the mic to rectify electrolyte levels flooded Delivering more than a smidgeon of gore, unsettled stomachs So bet the under, wondering if the punishment fits right If I had a good day, I must have missed mine This line bleeds in the next, vets hit the decks fast Countenance is granite, scouring the next staff Lead us against those, the dense who trespass Regiments are left lax, cowardice with less laughs Leaping epitaphs when temperatures spike Imaginary battlefields, bend them with hype Look inside of these veins, witness the venom inside Discipline, dead in the eyes, friction mesmerizing, let’s remind them Unfettered writing, writhing in a pit of snakes colliding Destabilizing paper’s molecules with fatal rhyming We take our time to make the impossible an afterthought Laughing at the marching on to Babylon facile flock Screaming at the top of a collapsed lung, the track stung Type to climb up the ladder, quitting on the last rung Blast furnace shaking, wading through the black skirmish, blazing Leave it open, leaking, crimson war interpretation So terse a statement, preserving work with a curt amazement Eternal agent of change, aiming to burst the nascent Impersonating a person, making a difference if it pays Trying on a skin suit with all its wicked ways Entire lives distilled to the form of a tear Forming a formative morgue forged with an in inordinate fear Performing a force ornament for the corpse of the year Trying to hold back the sense, the more it appears Engorged on the gorgeous and weird, sorcerers jeer An assortment of torque tore through remorse and I’m here And I’m not leaving anytime soon Even for cowboys waiting twenty high noons Many might bruise, send me nice notes of quotes, improve You’re best not soak the shoes they’re done traveling, stick a fork in the road A malapropism caltrop made in Morse code North pole living, snowmobiles with machine guns So hold the mobile shield whenever the spleens run Reap suns from the cannibalized skies Memoirs of rap, just examining nine lives Tonight the mic’s sequestered deep inside of a dire effort Pariah tempers stepping away from the scene deny forever The knife is wetter, wedded with matrimonial bliss To a figure that’s framed in red, regret that loneliness lives And so he assists, in a manner the mic Kevorkian, Planning a night, the sharp blades on the jet black Sikorsky spin Memorial binges furthermore he avenges senseless ruination Walking the back alleys to illuminate them Moves are made in quiet, the mind of a miserly master plots Fascinating the afterlifers half deciphered slash the boss Tap the tops, then twist them counterclockwise and stop Cause you don’t understand, you’re going to drop Blitzes spit with ricochets, days melt to haziness Slaying his 80th, maybe even just evading it Babies breathing inhalants in deformed amniotic sacs sleep Candy clotted crack, man he’s got his stats, weep His laugh, weak, taken from a target marked in star maps Sharks swimming their laps in melted tarmac
10.	21 Choices 03:21	lyrics
The life of a loner in Isotoners Slicing like a knife through the icy coldness Shoe to the pedal, thine eyes behold this Two wheels gliding, that’ll settle and roll swift Rock Shox bopping to the cracked and old strip Hop scotch boxes pass by ghost quick Not to brag as though this is mackadocious It’s just how I roll, focused No need for spandex, oakleys and toe clips Just a pair of cargo shorts and some old kicks Maybe a book bag to carry my foodstuffs Plus a clean shirt when my sweat, it is too much Calling Jason Roberts when it’s time for a tune up Swear I could ride from here to Montezuma I disagree that only kids can ever go and choose fun Throat gets dry so I chew gum Chill for a while on my way, then I zoom some Cutting corners through parking lots, on a new run Figure that I’ll change the route every now and then Nothing like freedom’s taste with a power blend No more fumbling, finding my keyfob Plus by the time my windshield is defogged I’d already be at work with time to spare So complain about gas like I’m trying to care If you’re seeking sympathy, you won’t find it in me My bad, I’m just gliding the streets Enjoying the air, the scenery, and the rhythm of it Plus racing cars across the street when I am finna rush it I got a bike from my dad, it was a ten speed Now I’ve got 21 choices, seeing Humvees Guzzling gas so I’m zooming past them Backed up traffic paying dues to fashion Forget it man, I’m moving at my own speed Goretex Nikes so I’m never catching cold feet They’ll catch up, revving engines like a sort of threat But they’re locked in a box, metal portalet Some drivers roll down their windows and shout Just to get a rise, but I’m winning the bout Just in case you wonder what I’m grinning about I’m happy being a kid… Carmex on my lips so they don’t get chapped Buckling my helmet and tightening straps Chuckling at drivers trying to pass With violent pizzaz, thinking that this time is the last I’m playing Frogger navigating diamonds of glass Trying to steer clear here, ‘lest I’m riding a flat Cause I can walk a bike, so much cheaper than a tow truck I’m not going to lie and say that it won’t suck But can a broken down car fit in a trunk? And get fixed without paying one ridiculous sum See, my bike cost less than a car repair More money for shoes, Ziffles, & art to spare So there. There’s something quite dope ‘bout the nice, slow Spinning of a bike spoke like so, cycle maestro.
11.	Rift 02:35	lyrics
I tend not to speak in these ways, but these times are designed To remind me how blinded I made me. I get cold chills, making monsters out of molehills Maybe if I’m lucky, one day, they’ll grow gills Then they could help me swim through this mess That I made by trying to avoid this stress I mean, it’s simple enough, but I’d rather let it die, yep All the better for my mind to dissect Keep myself company with all that is undone A klutz’s guilt trip perpetual humdrum Put the replay up on jumbotrons title it the life of a chump goes on And what I did wrong? Namely avoidance Letting it all slip away, making a poison Trying to commit instead I’m sliding in the mist And that outstretched palm has since tightened to a fist With a violence that could split even the strongest of bonds So my punishment is eulogy, form of a song Rip the stitches out, let the salt cascade Filling up overripe red with a glass blade Somehow the pain will make for an apology Or at least an excuse to lose it all and weep I’ve got holes, been filling them and yet they stay empty Playing the break and entry plus the sentry Confused, no matter which way I move, I lose the paragon of zen when it’s time to choose Let it be this or that, banish the gray Cause I’m sick of playing outcomes, imagined away Vanished today, tomorrow beckons with the same script And the chump writing about it, that’s the lame twist Busy playing chicken or egg while the farm dies A self-fulfilling prophecy of self-inflicted hard times Mark my words cause that’s all that I am now And nothing ever worked quite the way I planned out
12.	Imaginary Man 03:38	lyrics
This, the story of a man who wasn’t really there But for the few folk who took the time to spare Not so many witnessed as time moved on All okays corralled and the high noons gone Cowboy drifts with his tumbleweeds Spurs stumbling forth with a tongue that bleeds Yet some proceed to call it a bunch of B With an S at the end for a stunted creed Saloon doors creak and his gun is rusted Where rust stays creeping with a hundred judgements Bullet in the chamber, saved for the last shot Funds running dry and a plague hit the cash crop Scarecrow went and left for greener pastures All that’s left is a brittle stick, bleak and fractured Vultures stay spinning those same old yarns Like remember back when, when times were charmed Back then anyone down was a black sheep Land of the snow where the prose took a back seat Examining the reach of each famine and its feast here Feels like every other week is a leap year Lose another day, bruise in a subtle way Elusive and truth is the proof in a puddle, gray Puke has a stench that can serve reminders From pursuits of a golden night left behind them Yesterday is a time that could have been redone With a little change here, a picture getting re hung Portrait of a Dorian Grey, replay and become Dying in a glorious blaze, survey a tree trunk Having given all to an aged soul Because life’s a lost cause for those who crave control Basically, the goal is hold on tight and let the ride start Poison blood running to the arteries from my heart I’m getting old in my old age What was once life now fades away Centerpiece dreams always end up as the sidebar A grudge is the only thing that ever seems to die hard Memories that haunt and motivate the calm to blind rage Then lady justice tries with a like gauge Lion in the spring, should have died in wintertime Mane’s growing mange and a slowness is intertwined Wincing as limbs try to do what they once did Joy to a job as a clock getting punched in One spin too many around the block Wringing hands in a trance, reddened, down and lost and when he found the cost, it seems he couldn’t afford it buying the farm, then went and put in a mortgage cooking up a crooked assortment for one soul And the rest of his tale is simply untold cooking up a crooked assortment for one soul And the rest of the tale is simply untold I’m getting old in my old age What was once lithe now turns to gray I’m getting old in my old age What was once life now fades away
13.	Cliff Notes 03:20	lyrics
I got a brand new jumpsuit, where’d you’d get yours from? Never get it second hand, cause the blood sure runs Stomach acid comes back and it’s leaving sore gums But it’s worthwhile, I’ve been planning this four months Fan of the planning and plotting, I’ve got my own plot Work’s worthwhile smile at people cause they know not Whistle while I work and everybody wants my dope job Nobody has a clue, so it is no prob They can have it when I’m gone but now it is mine Twice as bright, half as short the power to climb Lunch break comes around, I’m asked to join in The life of the party, imparting hardiest poison Captain Popular in his purdy paper crown Maybelline queens in a stream lay around Feet dangle from a pedestal, will I make it down? Give me a big red brush so I can paint this town I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go I’ve got to push, You ought to know I’ve got to move, man, I’ve got to go show I’ve got to push you, You ought to know so I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go I’ve got to push, You ought to know I’ve got something brand new man, what do you think? I’ve got a suit and, no, it’s not mink. I’m ready to go and splash the sink Taking it all the way, way past your brink It’ll be over in a second so you’d better not blink Shame on you if you think I won’t drink I’ll fall down, slow motion type diving Just me by my lonesome, watch me dying No longer content to stick around any more Told war stories, heard plenty scores You can keep all your guts and glory Sitting around, watching lives unraveling on Maury Cause every story’s end is all the same And this is something that you call a game I’m appalled and ashamed to have been party to it Feeling lightheaded, visions of a Barbie Judas, far from lucid Is this something that I want? Vision beginning to blur Hearing voices from a distance and they’re sounding concerned From ground to the urn, man I’ve thought of the ways But now I’m so tired, feeling caught in a haze A lot of todays turn to memories, turning distant And my son, man, I wonder if I kissed him Did I write everything I wanted to say Or will the incomplete haunt as a wraith? Bodily aches fading away, my heart rate slowing down Not enough blood to pump around in my broken mound Did I leave the door unlocked, can somebody hear me Or’s my mind playing tricks, I’m leery Trying to cry out, but there’s no breath to make noise Flailing with limbs sluggish in my pretty grave poised Chose my favorite suit just in time to join the rest Try as I might, death, I can’t quite avoid it yet I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go I’ve got to push, I ought to know I’ve got to move, man, I’ve got to go show I’ve got to push you, I should have known, so I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go I’ve got to push, I should have known
14.	Belligerent Beard 03:51	lyrics
Chest hair, the latest four letter word In a land of mannequins, this man is scourge Handle the fur, basement walls paneled for sure So duck and cover suckers, it’s the cannibal cur A menace observed, heads turn in disbelief at light speed Seeing the beast creeping from my collar and it might be A nightmare for some, they’re weak in the heart I can hear the clippers and they’re fiending to start Believing it’s sharp, unfastening a couple of buttons Claming they know the way, but their rebuttal is bluffing sup with the loving? Throw a stach in the mix Trying to sell me razors it’s all capitalist Father’s day comes and the TV screen Is nothing but Norelco and greedy dreams You can keep your mitts away, stop the madness Advised by the beardless, wishing they had this How many blades can they fit in one product? 2 3 4 5 6 sick stop cuts Then it’s nose and ears opposing the whole beard I’m out for a walk, staying warm in a cold year A pound for your thought, penny is farthing Eating trapped leftovers, many are starving See, I’ve got a food bank with a gruesome rank I’m the old school type giving the tooth a plank What good’s a mouth without a toothpick That’s like a Left Lane Cruiser song without a blues lick Saying that I’m better off clean cut, prove it Making like a man, abandon your movement Some say I’m rocking a belligerent beard But that’s not a scene that I’m picturing here I decide where my chest hair ends and beard begins In calm sea, I step then appears the fin best watch for the shark with a guard on his grill as for the rap, beg your pardon, it’s ill Let the carbon copy smooth faces speak up or shut yaps Waynedale Ray rocking a Cubs cap Do as you please, leave my hair out of your soapbox there’s no baking soda near my stovetop I do my thing and you do yours, shut your yap No poaching the mic when I erupt with raps They say I’m rough around the edges, what’s with that? Is it cause I rock a beard when I’m busting cats? I’ve got a waiter on the way with a tray of food here Sitting ‘round, biding time waiting for a new beard Cats wearing funny hats, stumped as a lumberjack Run for the fun of the act I’m summoned to rap So here is it again for your disapproval Virulent with pens and my blitz is brutal Sit back in your barcolounger and chill Lest you get your snatched starter cap found in Brazil Good evening, I’m Stephen your designated sore thumb EDS he’s the genius with those war drums Fit the casket he is kicking that grit any more tough talk-thicken that lip Give it to me and I’ll return it with some collagen Determine the diversion & the sermon is abolishment I laugh in the face of death, give it a nose job Smash innovate fresh spitting it so raw Last of the days to test I’m raised to vex Working for the betterment no praising less Major flavor flex, sit by and just laugh Hard of hearing phone sex talkathon mustache This is the day that the Lord has made My anger has a heat that can forge the blade These are my thoughts that adorn the page I’m just warming up and fools are torn away Running on the line and the border is clear Shout out to my man Kash, pouring a beer the storm of the year, get you nautical gear on Hypnotic, adhere, fear got a lot it smeared strong With the help of EDS, I thought up a beard song Lips moving, eyes empty...I appear gone Folks speaking the Queen’s English say that he’s a touch daft Proceeding with a nose bleeding speed, adjust that little too fast, rhubarb and doodads Spinning a true yarn for true dads, who knew tats Find me chilling in blue slacks, villainous as douche ads Bewildering the wilderness and filling in Purdue stats Pouring out a concrete garden and it grew grass got myself a weed whacking steamroller true that
15.	Heavenly Father 03:13	lyrics	buy track
See dad, you gave me the will and determination to drive forth Maybe I was running from the demons you and I forged A crucified morgue where the only option was improving And anything besides progress to your goal was losing Was it enough? Never. Now a memory of you keeps chasing Taking everything I ever made and defacing Replacing the peaceful place inside with self-doubt So when times of strife arrive, I’m quick to melt down You made me scared, afraid of punishment, the scowl arrives Imaginary stories gave birth to alibis Thing is, all the breaking of rules never even occurred Maybe the best way to rule is with fear, disturbed A house where nobody could speak without being corrected No wonder I still struggle to finish my sentences under pressure Then again, your criticism made me appreciate the use of language Even if the rod was spoiled and the noose, it dangled An elusive angle on the truth, entangled in a past, distant Checking in on the picayune, every item asked permission We went camping with your students and you bought me a can of Coke I felt like a king on the hike while your high schoolers moped Just you and me, even drove a pickup to the camp site No mom and brother, just two guys on a unplanned ride I felt like a son that day instead of a disappointment I felt like your son that day These days, I’m as old as you when you first got sick I’m trying to stay healthy to keep whatever killed you away from me May I fall far enough away from the tree to cast my own shadow And if I get sick, please don’t let them take my bone marrow See, when I don’t hear from someone I love, I just assume they died Hell, if it happened to you, why not anyone else to arrive I was in the laundry, heard you cursing and running away Next thing I knew, there were screams coming from the bedroom that day It wasn’t the pain, it was the realization you were peeling skin back Learned to keep pressure cookers closed and applesauce can singe fast Remember those kids who held lit matches to my face? You went after them like you were going for gold in that race Your little brother, my uncle, he says I look just like you And his son’s a dead ringer for that father that I try to Live up to, but what’s the point of letting a ghost grow to haunt? Cause when I talk to your memory, it’s like there’s no response
16.	Hey Arthur 05:34	lyrics	buy track
navy blue adidas tracksuit, now it's too small cloth diaper godzilla making my shoes fall adidas, nike, brooks-my son is in town Now, watch those boxes come tumbling down you'd better thank your mother for that beautiful nose and me for a beard that'll take years to grow See, your life's a growth spurt, the world's your chin up bar since you entered this world man, you've been a star waitresses at Ziffles, they know you by name hey Arthur, you've got them going insane soon you'll have a teeth and partake in the feast but you've grown eight since I started writing to this beat this song needs rewrites with each breath that you take cause change is constant, an angel from heaven's escaped this song's reminding me of the one about your granddad the one you'll never meet, memories of ANZACS I wish that he could meet you, got me thinking of religion a hope for something beyond faded photographs and wishing never figured I'd see Vegemite in diapers a black tar factory, happily the wipes worked I'll be your Barcalounger and you can be the sloth the cutest nap taker needs a stick to beat them off And when you rest your head against me, it is pure bliss isn't fatherhood the greatest? Yep. Sure is No time for playing games, no longer catching sports I listen to radio when driving you back and forth wishing Satchmo and Kuselias were still on the air but you're cooler than them, so why even compare? see there's no problem, but LeBatard he was a funny dude now I use my debit card to buy you runny food and all the gummy goo, I clean it up fast diaper bag stuffed to the brim with enough to last must have had infinity changes...call it practice when we hear your cry, your mom and I are hauling fastest cause the thought of you in pain tears us apart thanks to you, your mom and I are sharing a heart Hey Arthur, the rest of life awaits Ten times as much stuff at twice the pace and your mom and I will do the best that we can but not everything goes according to plan I remember the first time we heard your tiny hooves stampeding sitting at the doctor's, my sweaty hands leaking and now you're here, your head turned into a chubby cube swear you used to have a neck man, but then you grew you're my breathing beanbag full of magical beans that spread contentment over me whenever you're falling asleep I can feel the impression of your body when you're not around a perfect puzzle piece fitting, I'm a father now I've got a photograph of you for every heartbeat pity the person asking after you, don't start me I'm chilling with you as much as I can and it's worth it my tiny furnace furnishing my life with a dose of extra purpose and this song can only hope to scratch the surface of it sleeplessness and worrying, you're definitely worth the trouble our love is immeasurable, we're so proud of you You melt your mom and dad’s heart every time you sound a coo your mom talked about genetic traits and pundit squares we tried to see you early, but you were unaware too busy doing your own thing with your own plans freaking your mom out every time you'd kick man we'd walk through Meijer aisles, stocking up three in the morning music lesson talks, way before seeing you forming I dropped you off at your nanna Beth's the other day and missed you, soon as I was driving away see, what I'm trying to say is that I love you man and being away is too much to stand Man, look, you've got me on the verge of tears even if it's happiness, it's still sort of weird I love you They say time flies they never warned me at light speed or warp speed you know, something to thwart me you've got me feeling joy the same time that I'm mourning cause you're growing up so fast, I swear I'm going to miss it You're the one I can give all of my love to and you won't reject it but soon enough the teenager will hit with walls so effective for now, I hold your favorite outfit that no longer fits that was a long time ago, man me bittersweet, I’m holding you with tears flowing you staring at me, unblinking with a huge smile, so here's to knowing my son, named after my dad and your mom's pa I'm speaking on your middle name and now it's non stop I don't want to burden with legacy, be your own man taking whatever path is best for you in this cold land and when it heats up, may you have enough guts to be tough with the determination to pull you out of each rut we'll be there for you regardless of the circumstances we can only guard you so much from the worsened chances I'm learning lessons I never figured to a scholar of and you're the teacher giving lectures, life is all a flux the whole helplessness pose it’s all a bluff your superpower's making everyone fall in love captain adorable armed with formidable charm doesn't need a bracelet wrapped around his chunky wrist to star

about

This album is the culmination of 14 years of rapping. I figured fatherhood and the rest of life was taking up enough of my energy that this would be the farewell. The physical version of the CD has liner notes, lyric sheets and all the stuff I loved as a fan.

credits

released March 18, 2013

Production from Agent Orange, EDS, enoch root, Geno, Purify, Adrien75, and DRU PHIT.

Guest vocals from Darren Monroe.

Mixed down and mastered by Agent Orange.

Artwork by EDS.

Photography by Jeremiah Miser.

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Sankofa Fort Wayne

My rhymes kick in like a turbobooster.

Fort Wayne.

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