Hip-Hop Linguistics » Hip-Hop Quotes

Hip-Hop Quotable: ScholarMan “Hood Stories Vol. 4″

Nathaniel — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:00:36 +0000

This week’s underground hip-hop track of the week is ScholarMan’s Hood Stories Vol. 4, from his new album “Free Spirit Of A Troubled Soul” – which I been bumping nonstop since finally getting around to listening to it last week. ScholarMan has included a Hood Stories track in each of his last four albums, and each contains relevant lyrics and interesting storytelling. Vol. 4 is about a Iraq war veteran with post traumatic stress syndrome. Click below to listen to Hood Stories Vol. 4:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

Daryl’s back from the war/
Bullet wounds he’s sore/
The things that he saw/
He don’t wanna see them no more/
Fresh off the plane/
He hoping to gain some sanity/
His country tricked him/
Said he fought for humanity/
Now you can guess/
He got post traumatic stress/
Hard for him to breath/
Lost a lung through his chest/
Plus he drinks now/
Slowly killing his liver/
Bad dreams just to wake up to a shiver/
His daughter scared of him/
And his shorty worried/
Can he maintain with the strife he carried?/
Before he left/
He was far from a mess/
Church every week/
Yes his fam had got the best/
Now he can hardly hold a job ‘cause he curking out/
Seeing things, weird words that he blurting out/
So that means bills are stacked, and they stacked more/
He wish he was dead/
What he come back for?/
All he thinking bout is ‘Damn, I’m a veteran/
Iraq two tours/
I deserve better than/
Uncle Sam owes me/
I’m gonna take it/
Guarantee I’m gonna make it/
Rob this motherfucker naked’/
Now what his plan was?/
To hit an ATM/
When they came to empty them/
Playing pretty grim/
He scoped it out, an armored truck every Friday morning/
Two different guards every week is what you find up on them/
Six a.m., daylight savings so it’s kind of dark/
He got his man to help/
So new wealth they can embark/
They parked at the gas station right across the street/
Load the bullets in the heat/
Make the money speak/
Here comes the truck/
Pulling up, just a minute til/
He holding the steel/
Giddy on how rich he feel/
And he ain’t even got a dollar in his pocket yet/
The first guard gets out/
Hammer he cocks it back/
He put the piece to his neck/
‘We need this money now!’/
The other guard, ‘Lay down/
Put your face to the ground’/
Ski mask for the task/
Prevent a good look/
But there’s a third guard/
He didn’t get a good look/
Next thing you know/
A barrel placed out the door/
One shot, two shot, then come three and four/
Daryl got hit in the back/
His man got his leg/
Daryl thought he was dead/
All he could see is red/
When the shot hit him/
Reflexes had pulled the trigger/
This wasn’t planned/
So his plan had gotten much bigger/
Now he got a dead guard/
A bullet in his spine/
His boy left him to rot/
Right there for one time/
The skinny is Daryl can’t walk/
Looking like my man from Oz in a cell in New York/

Hip-Hop Quotable: Kats “Rich Dad Poor Dad”

Nathaniel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:10:56 +0000

This week’s underground hip-hop quotable is Kats’ Rich Dad Poor Dad, from his new album “I Can Levitate” – which is you should download for FREE if you haven’t already. The beat is by UK producer Jonesy, and the title is pretty much self-explanatory – as Kats drops verses about fatherhood through the eyes of a rich dad, a poor dad, and his own pops. Possibly my favorite track on the new album. Click below to listen to Kats’ Rich Dad Poor Dad:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
The poor dad sparks a splif on the fire escape/
Just got home, worked a double shift, he’s tired today/
The baby’s crying, it’s late/
No time to relax/
Ate his lunch on the run, never got to sit back/
And enjoy/
So his little boy plays with his toys/
In his room by himself, and he makes too much noise/
So he snaps at him, ‘Hey keep it down in there!/
You’re getting grounded if I hear another sound in there!’/
He’s exhausted, all he does is sit around in his chair/
A blank stare, lets his sorrows drown in his beer/
His feet hurt, hands swollen from manual labor/
It’s okay, one day it’ll be from handling paper/
That’s what he tells himself, but in his heart he doubts it/
Doesn’t have the heart to say it out loud/
So many dreams deferred, he prefers no sleep/
And hopes his boy can find a better way to be/

[Chorus]
Rich dad, poor dad/
Take a bud and a scotch, now switch and pour that/
A do nothing know it all/
And a dude who knows so and so/
A huge bankroll to go and blow/
You know how the story goes/
The rich dad plays the market, the poor dad says ‘Mark it’ when he bowls/
It’s all just a game though/
We complain to the refs, sure, but in the end have to play ball/

[Verse 2]
The rich dad had a power lunch that lasted too long/
Downed a couple martinis that were a little too strong/
So by the time he got home/
He was a little bit drunk/
The driver opened his door, retrieved his bag from the trunk/
And off he goes, leftovers cold in the fridge/
Wife at some social function, nanny watching the kids/
He lights a Cuban as he takes in the view/
From his balcony, finally nothing to do/
He should talk to his boy, tell him about some grown things/
How he should own things/
But then the phone rings/
Back to business, stocks moving ‘round the clock/
One has gone through the roof, another’s down a lot/
So much as stake, he takes another sip of his drink/
A deep breath, not even a minute to think/
The nanny tucks in the boy, daddy is bound to run/
Hoping one day he’ll find time to be proud of his son/

[Verse 3]
What I learned from my dad, I learned without him teaching/
Without him talking or preaching/
I was just watching, his speeches/
Had no effect on me really/
I didn’t do what he said/
I did what he did instead/
The good and the bad/
How could it be that as hard as I tried/
To be so wildly different, I ended up the same guy/
So I can try to pretend like I get to chose/
What type of dad I’ll be, but we know the truth/
Same as I had, and I had one so I’m thankful for that/
And wouldn’t trade time spent for a bank full of cash/
The ups and downs, good shit, forgettable stuff/
No cash to speak of, so I’ll settle for love/
Nobody’s perfect, mistakes were made/
But almost nothing is worth a dad being taken away/
A rich dad or a poor dad, as long as he stays/
Is what most kids need today, and need it always/

Quotable of the Week: Ryan-O’Neil “The Way The World Is”

Nathaniel — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:05:11 +0000

This week’s underground hip-hop quotable is Ryan-O’Neil’s The Way The World Is, from his new EP “Hyphenated & Apostrophed” – which I’ve been bumping all week. If you haven’t downloaded the EP yet, I highly recommend doing it for FREE here. The Way The World Is is a dope track about all kinds of conscious shit. Click below to listen To Ryan-O’Neil’s The Way The World Is:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the quotable lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
I can see the future in the eyes of a child but through the smile/
I see tears ’cause my fears are enough to make this man cry/
As I stand by and watch I see drive-bys and cops/
We can’t do a thing to make it stop/
Unless they busting shots at the innocent/
God what’s the sense of it?/
In Washington they talk about censorship/
While the real problem is the mindset/
Look at them, the people need vision but they blinded/
How can I help ‘em open up their eyelids?/
Make ‘em all see again/
Who knows? Maybe they’ll believe it when I say it/
Life ain’t a game, their ain’t no players/
So when the whistle blow kiss ‘em goodbye like mistletoe/
If they won’t listen yo I can’t make ‘em/
If they mentally asleep then I can’t wake ‘em/
Can’t take ‘em nowhere like the old folks say/
Hopefully we gonna keep growing like Rogaine/

[Chorus]
Pops left ya, moms on a stretcher/
Broke? You betcha/
But that’s the way the world is/
It’s a recession, I’m outta cess/
And I think I’m quite obsessed/
We gotta lot of shit to be concerned with/
Blue versus red while you the worst fed/
And your future is dead/
But that’s the way the world is/
My clothes lookin’ bummy, I’m feeling hungry/
Africa is not a country/
We gotta lot of shit to be concerned with/

[Verse 2]
I’m all about the lessons/
I’m trying to teach ‘em I gotta test ‘em/
Make it so my people won’t have to reach for the Smith & Wesson/
Too many preachers blessin’, too many lives endin’/
Too early too many girls wanna prove they fly women/
So then they try sinnin’, look at them growing up/
They showing off their bodies, they bangin’/
We call ‘em hotties while hangin’ on corners/
They daughters to mothers so that make ‘em sisters/
Yet we call ‘em bitches and get pissed when they don’t wanna listen/
My ni**a, that’s another trigger point topic/
Al and Jess want us to stop it but it’s making us some profits/
So why should I change my vocabulary?/
Rather take aim at my adversaries, maim them if necessary/
But peace is the way – I know, that’s what Jesus would say/
But sometimes violence is the easier way/
But I hope that I would never have to load a clip/
‘Cause then I’d be in a load of shit/
Be in the same boats as all them hypocrites/

[Verse 3]
There’s a war going on in a sandbox/
Leaders acting like they big dogs, it’s a sandlot/
The world’s in a mess but yes we can stop/
The hole in the ozone so it ain’t so hot/
No stop I’m not trying to be your next president/
Ain’t on the ballot, not quite legit I’m not valid/
‘Cause I wasn’t born in this country/
But if I wanna go to war they take me promptly/
Situation’s comfy, immigrant’s a scapegoat/
If you want a job done but don’t want to pay for it/
Why outsource it while we got a source of workhorses/
Right here in the workforce?/
And it’s growing like moss on the North side of trees/
Of course I can see how some folks just can’t cope with ease/
Well let’s face it, when we get down to the basics/
None of y’all are natives/
We all on vacation/
I’m wasted/

Track of the Week: Brother Ali “Tight Rope”

Nathaniel — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:08:36 +0000

I’ve already featured a couple tracks from Brother Ali’s spectacular new album “Us.” Yet last night while I was writing a review for the album, I decided that I had to feature just one more track. Tight Rope is a lyrical storytelling masterpiece in which Brother Ali talks about the struggles of people forced to live multiple lives, dedicating verses to immigrants, children of divorced parents, and homosexuals. Click below to listen to Brother Ali’s Tight Rope:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to following along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
Frigid, frozen, Minnesota/
Chip on his shoulder/
Six sleeping on a pissy sofa/
Unwanted visitor in a different culture/
Missing home and can’t go, they civil warring/
Listen soldier, forget getting over/
Prison sit around the corner/
Homelessness even closer/
Kids with similar skin color still don’t want ya/
Spinning in torture, ‘cause they been her longer/
You leave the crib it’s guaranteed the pigs approach ya/
‘Where you going? Where you from? Any weapons on ya?’/
Your family is stressed out, you’re getting older/
You don’t live the way they did back in Somalia/
It’s extra difficult to be a daughter/
Trying to keep it modest, the sin is all around ya/
Wear the wrong garment, your parents get an ulcer/
If you wrap it up the other children picking on ya/

[Chorus]
Living two worlds with your eyes closed/
Tiptoeing on a tight rope/
Holding on for survival/
Nobody to blame, that’s just how it goes/
Living two worlds with your eyes closed/
Tiptoeing on a tight rope/
Holding on for survival/
Nobody to blame, that’s just how it goes/

[Verse 2]
Holidays and you know what the business is/
You get two birthdays and two Christmases/
Older you get, you resent how sick it is/
They’re trying to cover their guilt with the gift they give/
Bounce from his house to her house/
To bad their marriage didn’t work out/
Now you don’t have a your house/
Daddy fighting mommy, they both tell me they love me/
If I get too close to one, the other one start acting funny/
Mom went and had a baby by a different dad/
You act happy to please him, but you’re really sad/
Seeing firsthand the family that you’ll never have/
Plus you ain’t no real brother, you’re just a half/
Gotta pick up the pieces and move on/
Bedtime stories they read ‘em on the phone/
Live in two houses and neither one is home/
Wishing you were grown had the freedom to get gone/

[Verse 3]
Daddy was a preacher/
Mama was a Sunday school teacher/
Big brother football squad leader/
Now far be it for you to disappoint or displease ‘em/
You’re just being what you feel you see in/
The mirror every time you peer in/
Swallow the tears inside that empty feeling/
Her boy terrified to let the world in/
He has girl friends but doesn’t want a girlfriend/
He retreats inside himself where he lives life itself in secret/
Daddy says people go to hell for being/
What he is and he certainly believes him/
‘Cause their ain’t no flame that can blaze enough/
To trump being hated for the way you love/
And cry yourself to sleep and hate waking up/
It’s a cold world y’all shame on us/

Track of the Week: Brother Ali “Babygirl”

Nathaniel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:02:54 +0000

Brother Ali’s new album “Us” is probably the best album of the year, and I’ve been bumping it nonstop lately. Pretty much every track is dope, and it was mad hard to pick just one to feature. Babygirl is a song about a woman who was abused as a child, and how it will continue to affect her for her whole life. Click below to listen to Brother Ali’s Babygirl:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
There’s big pieces of her life she can’t remember/
Her mind shuts down, it’s trying to protect her/
Might be for the best to forget/
But it seems like always reappear when she least expects/
Late nights we lay awake/
Drowning in the lake the pours out of her face/
Years later she’s still not safe/
Memories leap out any time any place/
The way he smelled, the way he smiled/
The evil she even recognized as a child/
Hand on her throat, the sting of a fist/
Instead of her first kiss she got this/
Shameful feeling, painful secret/
Lonely knowing that nobody would believe it/
Every wound that escapes her time capsule/
Hurts like the day it was born and it’s brand new/

[Chorus]
I wasn’t there babygirl but I’m here/
I don’t know what to say, I just hear/
If there’s one wish I could make true/
I would shoulder that pain and take it all from you/
Don’t run babygirl don’t run/
You gotta face what you’re fighting head on/
Only one thing I can say in truth/
Gotta deal with the demons before they deal with you/

[Verse 2]
How can she find peace in her mind/
When love means returning to the scene of a crime/
I can feel it inside/
We reopen wounds every time we intertwine/
Such an evil design/
When you can’t even enjoy the sweetness you find/
Trying to see through the tears in your eyes/
And rebuild your shrine one piece at a time/
Made it all fade away/
Colors don’t burn no more, it’s all grey/
Can’t find heaven from within that shell/
But it’s enough of a blessing just not seeing hell/
Constant inner-dialogue/
Say just end this roller coaster ride you’re on/
Only one solution seems final/
Slide into a hole where your pain can’t find you/

[Verse 3]
She said if I was meant to die, he would’ve killed me/
There must be a reason that I still breathe/
I don’t have the tools to rebuild me/
But I still believe that one day I could feel free/
And my body can be mine again/
My eyes can learn how to shine again/
My inner child won’t have to hind and then/
And then when I’m stronger love can be invited in/
Sweet God that’s all I ask of thee/
I’m willing to give what you demand of me/
I’m learning to embrace the reality/
That life doesn’t always turn out how it’s planned to be/
I didn’t deserve what was handed me/
Only one who can grant happiness is me/
What it takes for her to face a day/
I can only hope to be half that brave/

Quotable of the Week: Vinnie Paz “Same Story (My Dedication)”

Nathaniel — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:54:05 +0000

This track, Same Story (My Dedication), is a new leak from Vinnie Paz’ upcoming solo project, “The Assassin’s Creed.” The song is about Vinnie’s step father, and is a real heartfelt track about love, life and death – and is currently available for FREE download here. Click below to listen to Same Story (My Dedication):

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
You came into my mother’s life at the right time/
More than a stepfather, more of like a lifeline/
She ain’t really had happiness since my pop died/
She was living, but living is always not alive/
And my mama should be treated like a queen/
You gave her every thing she ever needed like a queen/
Probably the most gentle G I ever seen/
The love y’all shared I never seen in human beings/
Y’all were together twelve years, never no fights/
Not even a little argument, that was so nice/
Three of us eating dinner together most nights/
Working seven days a week, that ain’t no life/
But never once did I hear you complain/
Even when they let you go, never here you would blame/
It take a real man to walk through the rain/
It was a real man that got sick and fought through the pain/

[Verse 2]
I walked in that morning, I knew something was wrong/
I tried to talk to you ‘Roc you didn’t respond/
I called 911 and then ran for my moms/
Waited for the ambulance and I tried to be calm/
Moms went with you, I stayed and held down the fort/
I was nervous, I was crying and really distraught/
I was alone by myself, just left with my thoughts/
Mommy called told me that you had a stroke at at four/
I ain’t seen a hospital since my father died/
I don’t like it there, memories is locked inside/
When I walked inside the room, we started to cry/
I was just so happy that you was alive/
And you told me how much that you hate the hospital/
And that they thieves and trying to keep their pockets full/
I think I hold myself a little bit responsible/
When you was smoking all the time, I wasn’t stopping you/
Never the less, you came home and that was real/
A lot of therapy and doctors gave you lots of pills/
You couldn’t drive anymore, you had to stop and chill/
And that’s too much for anybody, that can stop your will/
But you never got back to your norm/
You was proud didn’t want any help from my mom/
I left for tour and you asked me how long I’d be gone/
And I could see inside your eyes you knew something was wrong/
I got back, mommy told me you was sick again/
Couldn’t believe that we was going through this shit again/
I love you ‘Roc and I’m always going to miss you friend/
And for me it’s just the same story, different pen/

Underground Track of the Week: Metermaids “Matchbooks”

Nathaniel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:59 +0000

My homie was complaining the other day about how people on the subway are so detached. They just read their newspapers or listen to their iPods and avoid everyone else. Nobody talks anymore, and he thinks it’s a symbol of what’s wrong with New York.

The Metermaids’ new song Matchbooks made me think of that this morning as I was (ironically) listening to my iPod on the train, and the first verse states, ”I rode the train like a ghost in the graveyard.” After that, I listened to this song like 10 times in a row. Matchbooks is a track by one of my favorite local hip-hop groups the Metermaids, from their new album “Smash Smash Bang.” Click below to listen:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1 - Swell]
This morning’s cigarette tasted like last night/
And last night like the one before/
I made my bed in the morning when I woke up/
I picked my clothes up off the floor/
I rode the train like a ghost in the graveyard/
I walk the streets like a criminal’s son/
I pulled my hat real low/
I had apologies for everyone/
I wished I could make the city silent/
I wish that all I could hear was my breath/
I would lay myself down on the sidewalk/
Let the city whisper secrets as I slept/
I called my sister up long distance/
To see if she remembered me now that she’s grown/
Her laugh sounded just like our mother’s/
And I wished that I was going home/

[Chorus]
It’s gonna get so much better/
Everybody’s gonna get their turn/
Count the matches that’s left in the matchbook/
One of these is gonna burn/
It’s gonna get so much better/
Everybody’s gonna get their turn/
Count the matches that’s left in the matchbook/
One of these is gonna burn/

[Verse 2 - Sentence]
Living like the first day of summer/
The stars are getting restless hiding out of sight/
I’ve never seen a bus or a train in the daytime/
But this one’s gonna get me home tonight/
Everybody’s leaned back with their eyes closed/
My fingernails dirty like I dug out of a prison/
And I try not to think about what everything could mean/
‘Cause I’ve never been much for symbolism/
But I’ve seen this street too many times now/
And the trees all nod like they agree/
I leave the door open on my way in the apartment/
Like somehow that’s enough to make me free/
And the last thoughts I have are the pretty ones/
The last split second I’m awake/
And I’ve never been afraid and the dark don’t scare me/
‘Cause some things you can never take away/

Track of the Week: Chali 2na “Righteous Way”

Nathaniel — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:45:29 +0000

This week’s track of the week is Chali 2na’s Righteous Way, from his new album “Fish Outta Water.” It was hard to pick out just one track to feature from this album, but I chose this because it was one of a couple very personalized lyrical songs. Righteous Way is basically about parenthood, and contains three dope verses dedicated to 2na’s father, mother and son. Click below to listen to Chali 2na’s Righteous Way:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Chorus]
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/

[Verse 1]
Through fights with mom/
And long nights you’re gone/
Through all types of wrong/
I love my pops/
Through penitentiary/
Drug addiction and misery/
You defeated the enemy/
I love my pops/
Twenty some odd years/
Wiping my little sister’s tears/
She missed dad, but where was my pops?/
To proud to tell us he was running from his demons/
And we’re thinking that nothing could ever budge my pops/
But I used to wonder/
What put my moms under/
My pops and kept ‘em together for seventeen summers/
I reminisce in my mind/
Me and my pops would find/
The time we spent it never seemed funner/
But I remember the day that he left/
Him and my mama they never nurtured their relationship/
And it went from Bonnie and Clyde/
To problems with money and pride/
Together they couldn’t decide/

[Chorus]
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/

[Verse 2]
Through parental separation/
And miscommunication/
I love my mama more than I love myself/
Along with grandmamma they played my two parents/
So you know I love them more than I love myself/
In and out of prison for stealing/
Illegally making a living/
But she taught me how to love myself/
Pops wasn’t there to teach me ‘bout the man inside/
I had to learn who he was myself/
I was the man of the house/
So my younger siblings looked up to me as the father that they never had/
Resentful of the fact/
My sister would talk smack/
And call him sperm donor, but never call him dad/
It’s sad I know it gets lonely for my only brother/
‘Cause him and his father never really got to know each other/
And those days I vowed for sure/
If I ever had a child I would chose/

[Chorus]
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/

[Verse 3]
I became a parent at the age of twenty-one/
With no doubts or questions/
‘Cause I love my son/
I fell for a woman same name as my mama/
Maintained heavy drama/
But I love my son/
Eleven years of love, lies and fears/
Closed our eyes and ears/
But because my son/
Had nothing to do with the reason we would fight for days/
We kept it together to raise my son/
In the beginning we would ditch school to see each other/
She quit school and ran away so we could be together/
Before I got paid for working my tongue/
The greatest moment that we shared was the birth of our son/
Another eight years passed til the day that I left/
And why’s that? We never nurtured our relationship/
And it went bust and die/
‘Cause of problems with trust and pride/
Together we couldn’t decide/

[Chorus]
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so/
The righteous way to go/
Little one would know/
Or believe if I told him so

Quotable of the Week: Eyedea & Abilities “Smile”

Nathaniel — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:29:10 +0000

This week’s hip-hop quotable is Smile from Eyedea & Abilities’ new album “By The Throat.” I heard a lot of people hating on this album before I picked it up, but I think it’s crazy dope. I’m digging E&A’s new style and movement towards rock-ish hip-hop. Smile is a track about finding beauty and peace in a world of pain and agony. Click below to listen to Eyedea & Abilities’ Smile:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
A prince can practice moans for the attention that he wants/
But most this town won’t even dignify his ignorance with a response/
Left to a crowded foster home by a fifteen year old mom/
Never been held in any one’s arms/
When you’ve never been moved, it’s really hard to move on/
A young saleswoman sets up shop on the sunset/
She’ll make your wildest dreams come true at a price you won’t forget/
But sadly Mary’d setup alibis, no harm no regret/
Hoping they’d meet an angel in bed that could wrestle the devil right out of their heads/
The city burns fast, no one has time to sit with themselves/
Time to look into our pain or see the same despair in everyone else/
It’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere – tears soak each card the dealer’s dealt/
Time taught me how to see every second as heaven even though they’re perfectly disguised as hell/
And I refuse to let past bruises cover the light/
It ain’t all good, but it’s all good enough, so I know I’m alright/
Agony is truth, it’s our connection to the living/
And I accept it as perfection and keep on existing in the …/

[Chorus]
Now/
I can only build if I tear the walls down/
Even if it breaks me I won’t let it make me frown/
I’m falling but no matter how hard I hit the ground/
I’ll still smile/
I can only build if I tear the walls down/
Even if it breaks me I won’t let it make me frown/
I’m falling but no matter how hard I hit the ground/
I’ll still smile/

[Verse 2]
Ear to ear as if that’s all I’m here for/
Despite the wars founded by the rich funded by the poor/
Kids barely eighteen are dying so billionaires can make more/
Elsewhere hungry mothers watch their babies starve to death in a beat up shack on a dirt floor/
The aged professor quotes freedoms without a path/
Now he dresses like a widow and preaches love is dead in every class/
Curiosity killed the cat and taught the dog and them how to act/
It burned it’s bridge to Jill so he tries to drown the guilt with a bottle of Jack/
Self-proclaimed rebels say we must oppose the system/
You gotta take a stand – if you’re not against them, you’re with them/
Signs read support the troops, bring ‘em home, no more innocent victims/
But when a homeless veteran asks for spare change, you’re too busy protesting to even listen/
And I’m no different I live in conflict and contradiction/
It can be so beautiful when I don’t reject what lies within/
It’s beautiful the way agony connects us to the living/
I think of the world when I hurt and keep on existing in the …

Track of the Week: Random “Ven Aqui”

Nathaniel — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:37:10 +0000

This week’s underground hip-hop track of the week is Ven Aqui by Random, which contains three dope verses I really relate to. In this track, Big Ran talks about a break-up, a guardian angel, and a parent, and separates each verse with an infectious chorus by Sabrina Cuie. If you like this song, click here to download it for FREE. Click below to listen to Random’s Ven Aqui:

[See post to listen to audio]

And be sure to follow along with the lyrics after the break.

[Verse 1]
Never shoulda/
Never coulda, never woulda/
Ever, ever put you in this position/
But at that time couldn’t front on the acquisition/
Biggest move since Breton/
The jets I kept my steps swift but still made a mess/
The star on the line, but I ain’t have time/
Digging for treasure chasing everything that shine/
If this was golf I coulda got a mulligan/
Put that on everything I’ll never fall in love again/
I know there’s no progress without strugglin’/
But we all get like cats and dogs/
Never acting soft, wasn’t backing off/
I’m always out of town, she thought I got around/
Been over on downs ‘cause she way out of bounds/
And I’d rather be sad and miserable/
Then fussing and fighting across the dinner table/
It’s unstable I’m big enough to admit that/
I ain’t equipped for it so it’s a mismatch/
I know somebody’s better for you/
So I wish god’s blessings on whatever you do/

[Verse 2]
My guardian angel ain’t have wings on her back/
But she always managed to get me out of a trap/
When the pressure was on and I couldn’t persevere/
Gotta thank god you were near/
‘Cause on that day my uncle Bobby got shot/
You was the only reason I stayed on the block/
I’d always asked you, ‘What if I woulda been there?’/
And you assured me I wouldn’t be here/
So I guess it was fate that we came together/
Remain together, if we try to stay the same forever/
But change is inevitable wherever we go/
I’ma lift you up whenever you low/
‘Cause you taught me to express myself and do fashions/
And we gonna stick to the script like newscasters/
For all the nights that I stayed in to write/
You don’t know it, but you saved my life/
When they told me …/

[Verse 3]
I know I ain’t been by the crib as much as I would like/
Been caught up with the hustle and bustle of honest life/
And it sucks I don’t make a lot of bucks/
Work like a slave and I’m disoriented and out of touch/
Losing track of the days, I’m so weak/
Can’t even enjoy the weekend from scraping all week/
And every once in a while I remember what you told me as a child/
Why put off ‘til later what I can do now?/
Then I stop and just smile/
‘Cause even though I know that I ain’t been the best son/
You pull me close and tell me I ain’t gotta stress none/
See your reflection/
Telling me I need to get this life right while preparing for the next one/
So while I pray for a better tomorrow/
I thank you my heavenly father/
You’re telling me to come closer/
So I’ll approach you/