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The Bottom Line

from The Tortoise Hustle by Sankofa

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about

I was driving home, bumping the local "Hip-Hop & RnB" station for comedic value and heard a promo where the cookie cutter on air personalities were selling another carrot. It was at this point I reached into my pocket, put my cell on record mode and rapped "you don't exist to play music, you live to make a profit / selling advertising space and I know it's never thought of." The promo continued and I again reached for my cell. "I wish you best of luck in all your demographic research / but when you follow trends, you'll end up leaving feet first." I got home, went upstairs and kept writing. I ended up with two 20 bar verses which fit nicely over a beat Keter sent me. The instrumental's on some fighter's entrance music and is straight up nasty. Originally, I'd recorded a different song over the beat (one with lyrics I've been sitting on for about 5 years), but my radio themed lyrics worked better. A year passed and I redid the hook and second verse.

lyrics

You don’t exist to make music, you live to make a profit
Selling your advertising space but I know it’s never thought of
I wish you best of luck in all your demographic research
But when you follow the trends you’ll end up leaving feet first
Who are the people making money at radio stations?
Inot the disc jockeys, the ones who live shoddy
It’s the people selling all the advertising slots
The fraternizing jocks with their status climbing flock
Who have got expense accounts in dense amounts
Mileage from driving the cars that are stylish
Benefits, got to have the pearly white gates gleam
Backroom deals are done dirty and they stay clean
Hedging bets putting chick’s drinks on my tab
Write it off to corporate slush funds, thinking to stab
Blink and it’s grabbed, another ass another day passes
Thankful I’m a shark in a world content to stay passive
My reign’s acid it isn't about to cease quick
So spin another clone trying to rap when the beat kicks
My reign’s acid and it isn't about to cease quick
So spin another clone trying to rap when the beat kicks


Now park the CD that you bought from me inside your deck
and catch a dose of dialect to redefine direct
keep in mind that best is basically a biased call
most of my favorites you couldn't find inside of malls
or even on the radio unless it's colleges
and 9/10ths of that is junior major politics
freebies for students with spins, but who acknowledges
anything to break an act with backing, got me balling fists
your tastemaker's a CMJ columnist
so i say goodbye to it all with a solemn kiss
greenhorn PDs trying to strongarm DJ
for playing what they like instead of charting another replay
the payoff comes at annual convention, fab
come visit fillintheblank on fillintheotherblank's tab
higher learning, a great chance to breed consumers
thinking they're thinking for themselves, they're in league with rumors
kids who need computers to download the next song
while they complain their favorite rapper’s getting slept on
so props to cats still playing what they like
and the few PDs not buying all the hype

credits

from The Tortoise Hustle, released September 8, 2008
beat by El Keter

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Sankofa Fort Wayne

My rhymes kick in like a turbobooster.

Fort Wayne.

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