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Drums & Strings Volume 3

by TJ Reynolds

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drgntrs7
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drgntrs7 The fingers of TJ's talented right hand and intelligent left hand interlace in perfect harmony! Original, historical, flowing with the current of life.

SUPPORT LOCAL! Favorite track: Freelander.
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1.
Setting Sail 01:57
2.
Freelander 03:08
I got the blood of America coursing through my veins Imma show you what it’s like when your family tree hangs I got the history of the country in my blood I spilled it and it drank it and filled itself up I'm the blood of America lapping on the shores I'm a mix of everything and yet I am still pure And I listen to my ancestors as they are speaking Cuz this is what it’s like to be Black, white and Puerto Rican Across the Bering Strait Imma give it straight to ya Following the big game, and I’m spreading all thru the New continents, including the equator and below, In the Caribbean I became the Taino I’m the Arawak tribe cultivating the cassava I’m the life in the life fished out of the agua I’m the warrior Borinquen steady warding of a Carib I’m a beautiful culture anything but barbaric I'm Columbus set sail with vision and a dream Guided some by the stars but mostly by my greed I am slaying and enslaving, I am raping I am raped, I’m the precious few in the mountains who escaped I say that it's for Jesus but all of that's a lie I'm looking for the gold, for the silks, for the spice I'm looking to take what was already mine I am the war that is coursing through my bloodline I got the blood of America coursing through my veins Imma show you what it’s like when your family tree hangs I got the history of the country in my blood I spilled it and it drank it and filled itself up I'm the blood of America lapping on the shores I'm a mix of everything and yet I am still pure And I listen to my ancestors as they are speaking Cuz this is what it’s like to be Black, white and Puerto Rican I'm the rhythm I'm the drum, first man first music I'm the griot and the story that is passed down through it I’m an African civilization with true freedom That is until we see enough of all those Europeans I am captured, I am marched, packed into a slave ship I am tortured I am murdered if I try escaping I am tossed into the ocean I am riddled with disease If I survive the passage they will steal my family I am sold and bought on an auction block I built an empire and didn't see a drop I Crack the whip on your body but your soul's I am breaking I'm a slave most of the history of this nation I fought for both sides in a war they called civil I gained my freedom (from myself) but that was superficial I’m the Jim Crow laws that came on charging I’m the line from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin I got the blood of America coursing through my veins Imma show you what it’s like when your family tree hangs I got the history of the country in my blood I spilled it and it drank it and filled itself up I'm the blood of America lapping on the shores I'm a mix of everything and yet I am still pure And I listen to my ancestors as they are speaking Cuz this is what it’s like to be Black, white and Puerto Rican
3.
Cabin 03:16
4.
I Won't Fold 03:25
I will be your blanket when you're cold 'cept I won't fold I'll give you warmth You will be my light to which I steer A path you clear That I adhere to And that would be with ease You caught me feeling free Nice with the beats like Sheila E. Never claimed to be a G I'm just a chill cat With something-you-can-feel raps Hip-hop in my blood though my town is filled with hilljacks So I'm careful when I exercise my freedom of speech 'Cause they all got that demon in reach I use it as a beacon to teach It is the reason we each have to be Letting our passion free Got to speak candidly After all this is family I'll grant you asylum from your wars And guide the tours Back to your source You will be the compass I consult So lines if fault Don't shake us off I will be your blanket when you're cold 'cept I won't fold I'll give you warmth You will be my light to which I steer A path you clear That I adhere to
5.
Pray 4 Peace 03:04
6.
She called to me from across the alley, Her voice clear, sweetly singing moonbeam & streetlight And when she touched me, soft silk. She looked at me expectantly, without entitlement. “I could be yours,” she purred, “Though not completely.” Yes, I agreed—opened the gate and let that little gray cat in. The last time I practiced wonder, I watched her tail tip flick in the high grass. Fireflies danced around us. Her eyes shone, Mingled starlight & cloudy haze. Her challenges became her. She pounced—again, and again, and again. Moths & mice scattered into the night, false eyes twinkling close calls. The last time I practiced community, My fingernails scritched questions into her fur, like: Is this for me? Can I keep this up? Can I sustain & maintain The love of those around her? Can I hold bold The breath & life that made her what she is? Can I do this justice? Yes, I agreed. Yes, she conceded; Her back arched crescent moon appreciations.

The last time I practiced love, I took my last six dollars And gave her everything I could, not knowing where Her next meal would come from. We ate dinner together, And I was rich with her company. I asked her, when Could I see her again? Where she came from, where She was going? And I saw her for who she was. The last time I practiced faith, I prayed to my god for her safety & health, That headlights would find her shining in the night and slow. I prayed this wasn’t out last meeting, and I opened the gate To let that little gray cat out into the world that was ready to receive her. What do you practice? What do you practice? What do you practice?
7.
Hold It Now 02:03

credits

released December 14, 2022

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TJ Reynolds Boston, Massachusetts

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