1. |
The Rapper's Almanac
04:20
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The Rapper’s Almanac
Welcome to the rapper’s almanac
Guaranteed what you see be all of that
Made to last long time like an artifact
I put my heart in that, ‘til it’s all a wrap
You need to get your ears checked
if you call it wack
I do this 24/7 this is not an act
No need to be aggressive always on attack
But if you put me in a corner you’ll be on your back, Wherever I’m at I put on the map
Keep the microbrew maxing out on the tap
Tell the engineer better arm the track
Because I stay in the pocket like a quarterback
Untouchable, you’ll never see my armor crack
You ain’t baiting me
to messing up my karma, jack
Call my agent, I’m not going to call you back
Cuz I’m busy working on the rapper’s almanac
It was this date in 1977
that the brother in question
Took his first breath in
realized that his mind was a weapon
But an even better tool
when the school would let him
Run wild with his own imagination
And find freedom where others found stagnation
Bound for greatness, he’d always claim
But when the awards were announced
no one called his name
Never one to dismay, he persevered
Put in years from when he first appeared
Released his first collection of raps in 2000
And it was quite apparent that he knew how then
Though it’d take some time
to find commercial success
It was a sweet victory that reversed all the stress
It hurts all the less to drop verses so fresh
It became canonized and heard after death
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2. |
A Way with Words
02:00
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3. |
Each Morning Edition
03:21
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Each Morning Addition
I’m thankful for the day I’m thankful for the night I’m thankful for another chance to even get it right
I’m thankful for my bed and the dreams that don’t die, and for the morning sun giving me reason to rise, For what I know is coming and what is a surprise, For that life-sustaining fire in the sky, And you can call it Jesus
you can call it Science, But it just comes across as some deafening defiance, If I don’t have the vision to shut up and listen
Take a morning meditation, to be in a good condition,Take a razor blade to shave my face then face the day and make the pain just flake away, Give hate a break, try to be unbiased, See the other side maybe they can come find us, Or we could find them,that could be our mission,Reward is living for
another morning edition
Each morning edition, Each moment we’re given, Is more than sufficient
It’s important we listen
To the voice of the poeple cross the planet, spread the news but not through Gannett Gotta plan so I don’t have to panic but they’re trying to paint us up into a corner, y’all, we’ve climbed so high can’t afford to fall It’s like every story I’ve told is tall
gotta stop acting like such a know-it-all and find the right side of the bed to be rolling off
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4. |
Wait Wait...
02:50
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5. |
Anti-Theme Music
04:35
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Anti-Theme Music
This ain’t my theme music
This just some in between music
Saturday morning go ‘head and clean to it
or turn down the lights
make love to your Queen to it
Ain’t a thing to it, it ring true kid
I get on the mic you know I get ill
Giving you a pinch
so you know that’s it real
Like when I was a kid you cannot sit still
When the beat drops in it’s such a sick feel
I’m spitting venom
like my girl just got a snake bite
and remember this was your idea for a date
night. What now?
A little skinny dipping with a great white?
That ain’t right
Don’t clip a birdie wing
when he ‘bout to take flight
Bye bye, I’m sky high
Moving up to the register from a fry guy
You had your time, now it’s my try
Dynamite, we can finally see eye to eye
I’m the type of guy that’ll keep it cool
when it’s my turn to rock
Like a dog on a firetruck I earned my spot
and I learned a lot…by letting it breathe
When I see them opportunities I seize
Now what you think when you step to me
Are you crazy?
I’m ‘bout to punch you so hard you’ll be lazy
in your left eye, but ain’t to TLC
you’re gonna receive from me
No can you just be backing up
You see you’re all in my space
and I’m about to just hit the erase
Cuz you’re gone like myspace and facebook
Couldn’t even steal my sound
you’re such a lame crook
Meaning you got nothing on me
like the emperor’s new clothes
I’m free, no I don’t play that
Imma take it way back
Imma flip them letters like you Vanna
and I’m Sajak, did I really say that?
Yes I think I did you see
When I’m off the dome I’m ill as can be
Let me spill the beans
Can’t keep it under wraps
If you want to rumble
then I’m freaking thunder claps
So just let it rain
Let it pour, let it drain
Let it out, let them shout
Let them cry and complain
While I entertain and keep it light-hearted
It was just an intermission
Now you got this guy started
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6. |
Fresh-Gross
03:47
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Fresh-Gross
I’m fresh, fresh
This is fresh, fresh
I’m gross, gross
This is gross, gross
We all got a couple different voices
One that we love and one that annoys us
But you see, each of those is integral
The egotistical, and the critical
Cuz sometimes you feel
you are the greatest in the world
A couple minutes later feeling so pitiful
You gotta find the dichotomy
to find harmony
We guard ourselves like an armory
At the start of the night
Looking so tight
Mirrror mirror on the wall
tell me who you like
I’m the most unfairest
How I’m the one they cherrish
Don’t want to be showing their faces
right after me
They’re too embarrassed
Knock back a few, knock back a few more
Dance, sweat, party
hit the greasy spoon at four
Catch a cab home, crawl inside
Look in the mirror it’s Mr. Hyde
Cuz the last thing we want is to be typical
Constant reinvention just to keep original
To self-promote poses being egotistical
So make sure that
they’re getting the reciprocal
Cuz if you’re asking for money honey
you better bring it
And only if you’re an eagle
should just try to wing it
Cuz a gift isn’t what we’ve been given
It’s what we’re meant to give the world that we live in…
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7. |
Marketplace
03:41
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Marketplace
I’m throwing down, hoping it all falls in place
I’m just carving out my niche in the marketplace
I’m ‘bout to take it all, don’t stall, make haste
I’m just carving out my niche in the marketplace
So what I’m selling, I hope that you’re buying
I’m talking ‘bout the message that I be supplying
The record books will be all erased
when I carve out my niche in the marketplace
They say this is a phase and it will pass
but I feel myself dying like the middle class
Wimps at the NRA all pistol-whipped
and politicians make up fake sh*t
like the fiscal cliff
so they job feel a little more important
Act hard just a little bit impotent
but our cut is a itty-bitty quotient
Fiddlesticks to the companies controlling
So here’s a settlement from the benevolent
with a gag order to never mention it
How I’m controlling the entire nation
with insider trading, to your irritation
Like libations- got your head spinning
Imma tell your story, Imma set it in
perpetual depression
We need some aggression
to really strike fear
in these coward congressmen
Time ain’t money, man, time is life
and you’ll never get it back
once you pass through the night
So don’t chase a check, chase a dream
Don’t create competition, make a team
Cuz on the face it seems you be following trends
But it’s that copycat crap you be wallowing in
But if you can discover your original voice
When the people hear you
you don’t give ‘em a choice
Cuz when you share your perspective
it’s very effective
Bares a resemblance to a collective
Go around blowing minds like a revolver
and when they believe
they will speak with their dollars
Make a career out of being sincere
If there’s one takeaway
I hope that much is clear
So what’s there to fear but the unknown
You belong out here, so come home
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8. |
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American Public Media
I bet you’d like to have your cake
and eat it, too
Well here you are, baby
I made it just for you
But you wouldn’t know something fresh
if it slapped you in the face
Oh, but just in case
baby tell me how it tastes
You want to have the world
wrapped up in a little bow
But if you had it all
you’d still want a little more
You’re so insatiable it takes a fool to fill
Oh but you knew the deal
Baby tell me how it feels
We almost didn’t make it though
Did you really think
that I would be impressed
Cuz you’re so obviously
leaning right or left
Don’t prescribe so blindly
that you cannot see
Just how hypocritical we all can be
You have got all of your causes
cuz it’s good
but if all your causes
costing you more than they should
You’re going to stagnate
the whole movement before it starts
So just recuse yourself
and show a little heart
We almost didn’t make it through
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9. |
Ted Talks (Too Much)
02:04
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10. |
On Point ft. The Comdot
03:02
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On Point
This is on point
I honor my ideas by following to the end
Cuz talent expands with the work you put in
It hooks me again manifesting the rhythm
The quest I’ve been given:
be the best in the business,
The tests and the quizzes
and all the curve balls
that unnerve y’all, at first occur small
beckon your fall
grind you up to an absurd crawl
And you’re still running ‘round
looking for cure alls
I’m sure the call hits you, too
The question is are you ready and willing
to follow it through
There’s no calling a truce yet
Cuz it’s a battle between you and your excuses
You know what the truth is
That any time one of us refuses
Their power over us reduces
So take every opportunity to disjoint
That’s why my message remains on point
I’m on point like a ballerina, from Catalina
who had a dream to
be the baddest ever seen up
on any platform, I’m weathering that storm
I can’t conform to all of your wack norms
All before Jimmy can crack corn - I don’t care
So grow a pair and know that it’s no fair
And that’s life, you don’t get cast twice
So I’m getting more firsts before my last rites
It’s trial by fire, getting baptized
so who am I to judge, begrudge and chastise
I’ve been there so if you want my advice
Not to get caught slipping like some black ice
Ain’t no drifting off my mission
And I got to be convincing
to get you to come and listen
by doing it so consistent
To where there’s no choice, you gotta anoint
Cuz everything I drop…is on point
(Comdot)
I push the point like Isaiah Thomas
an index finger's
when you caught up in a lie
Could’ve got caught up in a lot
like shot up in lot
But I stay on “P” like the master
These boys can’t see what I’m after
Even if I paint a picture for ‘em in a rhyme
So we can’t see eye to eye
It seem like they blind
They living in denial, that’s foul
C’mon, now, one single mile
from the ground to the clouds
Swimming in the sky with the style
Living for the rhyme, for the rhythm
for the sound
That’s the way it is
and that’s how it be (true)
What I say to anything
in front of me (move)
Do yourself a favor, get a grip, get a (clue)
When it’s lit it’ll tick
When it hits it’ll boom (Ooh)
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11. |
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The Takeaway
What is the takeaway? What did we learn?
From love that we made
to bridges we burn…
What is the takeaway? What have we got?
For every advancement
another bomb that we drop…
Another bomb that we
Drop off the planet, that’s our trajectory
All our best minds
are off making weaponry
Enemies and people
with the slight difference
for instance how religion
creates such cynicists
With very little evidence to the contrary
The way we be treating each other
is beyond scary
So keep calm carry on steady
Is this the news or comedy?
Who on the beat like Mamady Keita
Zeta to the Alpha, are you the top dog
Can the planet live without ya?
Cuz at the same time
we’re moving toward the betterment
We balance out the detriment
by racing toward our eminent
destruction, sucks when
government don’t function
They shake you, strike you,
scrape you like percussion
Imagine resources poured toward death
went to sustain all the life that’s left
(KBLE)
So what you take away from it, It’s safe to say history repeats on the daily day,You don’t got intention to pay for that you delinquent, Start thinking ‘bout them cats who done paved the way for your breathing, Your lifestyle, Your meaning, I’m saying that there’s a reason for everything you believe in the questions - can you conceive it
There’s history lessons in every second, I mean it, You just got to read it, reflect it, Be it with best intentions, And test our allegiances to tradition
Convention is rigid and scripted to resist any changes risen against it, But that’s the essence
the lesson is to prevent it from taking root in our mind, Like an epidemic the times won’t change
Cuz that’s a lie, homie, change is the only constant, We adapt to survive, and that’s just a fact of life, So how you catch a glimpse of the future
No need to ask it, it’s simple, that past is riddled with answers so get to mapping
(Blooded the Brave)
What is the takeaway, what does it cost
What is it worth if we don’t know what we’ve lost
Why do we walk in circles pacing with our heads down, I’m here to lift them up and take down the crown, This is for the day we set it free from the cage, and they don’t even know, but I’m Blooded the Brave, and we do it together, yeah me and TJ, we set it free
with these words that we say
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12. |
Diane Rehm interview
01:32
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13. |
Diane Rehm
02:34
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Diane Rehm
Just me against your tyranny
‘Bout to getting it popping
like Diane Rehm
Out nowhere take over entire scenes
You knowing I’m getting you open
like Diane Rehm
The news complex is a giant scheme
I be the voice of reason like Diane Rehm
Uh, there’s no denying me
I can’t be stopped like Diane Rehm
I’m the smartest kid
you ever heard get ignant
So tell me why you still can’t
guess the limerick
This isn’t a game
some lightening fast fill in the blank
I’m filling my tank
got a couple mil in the bank
I’m still in the frame
you got a face for radio
But I can code switch
if you change up the ratio
Sorry, smarty, you can never
take over the party
Nobody gets your name right
like Meghna Chakrabarti
Progressing in the here & now
I’m never stopping, son
And like Batman, I like my Robin Young
Crystal clear
signal here’s never been weak
Home grown Hoosier Steve Inskeep
It gets deep, my coverage
and what you’ll discover is
a brother with the power to make you stop thinking it’s us and them
Cuz tax dollars
pay a portion of our budget
You’d think we give free abortions
the was they get upset
Thanks for tuning in, I’m doing this for the enjoyment
But let me go and send this
on over to Bob Boilen
He’ll tell me if my sh*t is wack
Although I’m never broke
down like Click and Clack
I flip the tracks and it sets me off
Rap over the entirety of NPR
But you can call in to get a word in edgewise
Toe Jamming up your program
like a pledge drive
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14. |
Tiny Desk
00:49
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15. |
All Things Considered
03:02
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All Things Considered
This just in…
All things considered, we made it a long way
Amazing that we even made it out alive
All things considered, we got it together
But I don’t think we should be that surprised
All things considered, we took some damage
but still we managed to make it through
All things considered, it’s a blessing
even when they’re testing me and you
All things considered
What is a battle if it costs nothing
with no losses on either side?
What is a choice with no options
with no struggle to decide?
What is a ruler with no mercy
with no give, and with no bend?
What is love with no heartbreak
without the thought that it could even end?
And all that is so sobering
But Imma keep soldiering, soldiering on
And Imma stay into you, keeping us in the news
like this were an interview (innerview)
a view of your heart, won’t take us apart,
Our bond is unbreakable, as long as we make a full effort to grow, and that’s how you know we got the exclusive, we’re bringing the news in, into your soul
Well don’t get your news
all from the same source
A lot of misinformation ‘fore the truth came forth
But that’s the main course, that’s what I’m trying to chew on
Then break it down to an itty-bitty gluon
Like a headline don’t tell the whole story
Something seems fishy
there’s a little more for me
To dig up, big up to cleansing your soul
Spread a little light
leave the demons exposed
Don’t let anybody have dirt on you
That’s like being in your grave
that’s like peeing in your shoe
I don’t know, just something you don’t want
Learn from mistakes
that’s how you grow up
But don’t be a drag, I ain’t no tow truck
But I will pull over, help you lift the load up
We’ll make it together, never call us quitters
We’re doing pretty well, all things considered
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16. |
Alt. Latina
00:32
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17. |
Talk of the Nation
04:46
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Talk of the Nation
It’s the talk of the nation
Tribes have all gathered
For treaties left in shatters
By these invasive bastards
Because our patience
is not limitless
for the death of innocents
with you is imminent
My reservations
Barren piece of land
Where once the chiefs would stand
’Til they find oil beneath the sand
It’s the talk of the nation
What didn’t make the news
But if you take their shoes
You’d see the hatred, too
But it’s amazing
The oppressor never sees
All the rights they seize
Carried from overseas
Now immigration you try to deny
but the trails that we lie (cry)
will never run dry
It’s the talk of the nation
It’s the talk of the nation
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18. |
Marketplace reprive
00:15
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