#StoriesAboutSongs

I thought I would improvise it

But got excited and had to write it

Many styles provided…

Like Kangol Kid on Bite It

And that was mastery, can imagine me

Listening to a Red Alert tape, powered by batteries?

I was UTFO fan, for the quick wit and the quick hands

(THEE UNTOUCHABLE FORCE ORGANIZATION)

And I still am

But I’m talking 85, felt so alive

15, rocking mics for staring eyes

So I gave em spectacle

And followed my own, even when it wasn’t acceptable

No regrets for the steps that I took

You wanna know what they were? Here’s a look

It was patience, it was focus, it was passion

It was taking control without asking

And I’m talking about my pathway

When I thought I gave my all, I realized I was halfway

At first that put a pain in my heart

Then had to admit, it was still a great start

And I am here for the long run

For some, it begins when the song’s done

But I am here for the process

Imagination takes me hostage

I don’t just check the boxes

I follow my instincts and listen

Try to hear what my soul is whispering

Then I commence communion with the beats

And, I write till my mind is at peace

-Dedicated to: Kangol Kid, Educated Rapper, Doctor Ice, & Mix Master ice

-Hindsight Inspiration: Brother J of X-Clan, Native Tongues, All Natural, Chicago Underground Hip Hop circa ‘92 (IE Lower Links, The Flypaper)

Despite the causes the price is the same for pine boxes

And the ways we define our losses

My past is haunted with several with monsters

Final level bosses

And I survived w/o living cautious

Is that the cost of walking the path I wanted

If I achieved all my goals, would I flaunt it?

I wouldn’t think so, but how would I ever know

My dreams my ran so fast, I had to let em go

Now I’m trying to find em, redesign em

Remind em, that I love em and I’m sorry I wasn’t

Always beside em

But we’re finally reunited, and I am delighted

Cause I decided as I live it I should it write it

So here’s a piece my life, I have no reasons to lie

No house keys or a wife, I have no reasons for why

At least none I accept, I’m just speaking the truth

At least in some respects, I could be speaking to YOU

That’s if you’re listening, once again

II think all I need is just a friend

It just depends, on my discipline

And I was explaining, I’ve been training

Both the body and the mind, and I’ve be gaining

A little peace of mind, a little slimmer fit

I’m trying to reach my prime w/o ego trip

This is therapy, carefully scripted clarity

Not for prosperity, or popularity

No concern if you don’t care for me

You think I’m thinking bout you? Hilarity

And apparently, happiness is rarity

Until you speak with yourself with transparency

What cha know about rugged rap

That ole watch your nugget tactic

Like a hat trick, its practice which made my rap slick

Smooth like chapstick with the verbal gymnastics

For the super listeners, not for the masses

As if, I would switch my purpose for verses

So immersive like it was written in cursive

The result of an experiment to determine

exactly what the weight of my worth is

But the answer is coded

So who knows if you’ll hear it same way as the one who wrote it

I once had this moment while I was facing an opponent

Where I thought ‘I was born to write poetry so potent’

So, here’s to hoping for more rhymes that’s worth quoting

Here’s to thinking deeper than all of earth’s oceans

That’s not braggadocio, that was ten flows ago

This is

Inspiration + Hindsight Inspiration: Parrish Smith's production style/sound, Redman, Zone 7, Hit Squad, Mr. Magic (R.I.P)

My emotional roller coaster defies psychics

It does more downs than it up pivots

So that’s the way I live it

Never count the minutes

Only test my limits

Try not to become a cynic

Ignore the critics

Mind my business

And learned to expect less from my fading friendships

And that should be a given, but it isn’t, is it?

When my love is gone, will you miss it?

Or make zero difference

No names mentioned, would take to long to list em

Plus, every case isn’t riddled with bad intention

For whomever is listening

It’s simply a side-effect of human conditioning

I’m not immune but it is different

I’m not of this world, I’m only visiting

And by my own admission, I am failed musician

I gave my all to others and killed my own ambition

Sometimes it sickening, emotionally crippling

But the rebuilding of my soul that’s what you’re witnessing

Sound the alarm, this is no time to remain calm

Angst and charm, kings and pawns

Pain and harm, flings And cons

It’s either fleeting or self-defeating

Leaving your soul bleeding, and your faith retreating

That’s the state of society

I know they got their eye on me trying to see what I am acquiring

It’s a passive approach, for the masses of folks

Yeah, the fascists hit us with the okey doke

But, It’s a waste of your time to try to lie to me

I ain’t listening, to your conditioning

I got my own philosophy, based on discipline

That’s what’s missing in many conditions when

We’re made to believe that we are not fitting in

I’ve been called weird my whole life

I have admit, it appears they were so right

Any chance of change is so slight

Fight or flight, just like slow lights

That just a reference, because part of my method is

entertainment value in the messages

These thoughts are lateral, purpose is valuable

But I fought some battles too, that was collateral

It doesn’t matter though, it’s all natural

if you’re rooted in love, then we’re compatible

At least in some regards, but what’s your mental state

I love to see the stars, I like to meditate

Eyes opened or eyes closed, I walk the path that I choose

That I know is filled with highs and lows

I’m content in the middle

squeeze enough from a little

And supersede the superficial

But that’s really not the issue, it’s a symptom

Of the system, I’m not a victim

But we’re all limited in how we benefit

Even the Benedict’s and the one percent

But I ain’t sympathizing, I’m too busy enterprising

And focusing on keeping my spirit rising

My company is 3wisemen,

Symbolizing, I will never the lies win

Stepping back into the darkness

Back to where you last left, the first step is the hardest

How much hope can I harness?

Are the last days upon us?

Or is it just me?

Please be honest

No cutting corners or moving targets

Stay within the margins

It must be imperfectly flawless

In fact, that’s what I’ll call this

It’s been my calling to be an artist

a gift and a curse regardless

The intersection of where god is

I’m only human, and that’s what flawed is

But I’ve been tracking their pathway

If It leads to the last day

That’s ok, in fact, I’ll take the fast way

That’s how I feel some days

Today is not that day

Things they went my way

How did I celebrate?

Well, I wrote those words

While I side-stepped fate

Whatever else occurred

May have cured my faith

And that hurt I taste

Seemed to melt away

That’s how I felt today

That’s how I felt TODAY

That’s how I felt TO-DAY

The rhyme’s authentic before I invent it

As intended, it’s inherently scientific

And I ain’t talking complex

I just mean trial and error is always a part of my process

Rigorous research shapes each verse

Plus life experiences, to me it’s church

So let me dress these words up

Limit the curb stuff, add an absurd touch

Just to annoy closed-minded on purpose

Style in surplus

I need more than hardcore, or thee allure of blood and gore

SO, What are you rhyming for?

Naw, what are you living for

That’s what I wonder more

Like…If life isn’t wonderful, then what should I struggle for?

And that’s rhetorical, I know its a paradox

If I can’t have the answers, at least give me the building blocks

I’m talking to higher forces, I can’t reveal my sources

I’m too busy counting up my losses

Running diagnostics, if it takes a lifetime

To read the data Imma die exhausted

What a hellish process

This is one of several writing exercises I did a couple months back to get in the zone to write a new album. This was the last one I did. It was conceived using a blend of improvisation and editing/writing. At the end, I leave some of the pure improvisation on there to give a taste of that feel as well.

Super shout to Optiks, who did the beat. I got the beat from a beat CD he gave me in 2007 when he was in the Scribble Jam pre lims producer battle, which he won the main competition that year...and the next. He's great at his craft: https://optiks.bandcamp.com/ or https://soundcloud.com/optiks

21 is My Prime Number (My Rhyme Ain’t Done…)

Approach my cautiously, cause possibly my fuse is short

My views distort

When the world’s on my shoulders and there’s no support

Or so it seems, so much pressure it contorts my dreams

Extorts my means for paying for my piece of mind

That’s ok, this music will appease me fine

And soothe my soul, you’d think based on who I know

I could pursue my goals, and fill these holes

But, no, I suppose that ain’t the way that go

So may that show, you know how to play that roll

So say no mo’, Imma switch my whole MO

My record is O and O, reset the stats

A vet is back, but the past is that

I passed the ba-ton in the 90s to the young shorties

I lent a hand and stopped rhyming before my 40s

In fact, I was 31, that was still young

But life wasn’t fun

I used to wish life was simply done

How far have I come? …I haven’t measured

But I imagine about the distance of the earth to the sun

And that’s certainly hyperbole, but that’s how it’s done

When rhyming to drums, especially when rhyming for fun

The rhyme’s almost done, but don’t let your eyes get all watery

If you’re enjoying this, well then you just struck the lottery

I’m rhyming a lot plus defining the plot, like a glossary

That time without rhyme wasn’t a loss for me

The extra life refined my philosophies

Bare my soul, balance it out with my oddities

I got a lot of these, but I’m at ease with ‘em

So please bid em hello, I plan to leave with em

I got so much more to say, perhaps another time

Despite the math, I assure you that my number’s prime

21 is MY prime number, awaken from my rhyme slumber

With more hunger than when I was younger

But not a fortune hunter, instead of tying the knot

I’m rhyming a lot, to show that I fought

Through the obstacles, and chose to rely on my thoughts

Before you try em, you ought to know

My flow ain’t classical like Bach

An anti-hero like I’m working for Vought

One thing that I’ve sought to prove is I make these moves

Not based on what people do , but what they do NOT

So here’s a morsel, a final portion

That you can feel in your torso and your vital organs

But if you're bobbing your head, the rest is not important

At least I guess so, I’m just a vessel

But if you like the way I do it, well, I’m giving XOs

Ex-POSE my soul through the way that I flow

And now that you know that that’s the way it goes

Decipher the prose, this writer knows… (off the top…)

Still Victorious

My crates got more breaks truck stops

My style gets nuff props

Don’t worry about the day that my luck stops

Cause this is skill-based, ruff but there’s still grace

Searching for perfection,? Well, here is real taste

Just in case you think my armor is dented

cause I’m solo now, let me show you how I prevented

That ever being the situation, here is an invitation

To enter in the palace…of my innovation

It’s not a physical place, but it’s a critical pace

Only confined by the limits of space

That could be of the beat, or in the depths of mind

Cause sometimes folks can’t handle the weight of the rhyme

Even if I…knew how to simplify, I wouldn’t give it a try

I’m not content with living a lie

So here’s the best of me, you thinking of testing me?

Shoulda tried years ago, battled a lesser a me

Now I’m juggernaut, you like to thug a lot,

Mean mug alot, that won’t help you handle this flow or not

Expect the latter, that’s based on data

Like I was saying two bars ago, your gangster style don’t even matter

And I like some gangster rap, matter of fact

Give me some Lethal Weapon, Just-Ice, or Ice-T, I’ll say, ’thanks for that’

But not the nonsense your speaking, I hear it ever weekend

When I’m walking the streets of Waukegan, heat-seeking

Incoming missile, aimed to diss you, won’t miss you

Don’t believe me, ok, let’s make it official

Name a time and a place to spit a rhyme in your face

I’ll be there with no fear without a moment to waste

Because I’m frugal, in battle I’m brutal

Testing is futile, it’s like a teacher vs the pupil

So bring a apple, I’ll bring a bow and arrow

Not to scare you, but to prove the accuracy of a rhyming pharaoh

Like, The Genius I’m your Rhymin’ Hero

Yet I’m a villain, so paint a mural, and call the federal investigations bureau

Im MC killing just for the feeling

I wouldn’t stop if you paid me a million

It’s mental-muscle building

And god willing

In the future I will battle their children

And here’s a secret, I’m time traveler

And un-raveler of ancient mysterious that are so glorious

And while studying past acts, I glanced and my rap stats

No surprise, still victorious

From the Savage Intellect album, "The Genesis of Genius", an unreleased project from 2001.

(scratch hook: “I”m going to show you all what rap really means”)

I gotta be honest, I’m getting frustrated with MCs who come out and promise

to always lyrically astonish

Then based on their LP having lower sales than expected

They compromise their skill level their next record

I know that most can’t understand this

but the way that I stay focused, I remain a fan of this

And on the low, developed more flow than Prince Namor

to slay more men than Attuma in Atlantis

And, I know the chances of acquiring all the finances

to fulfill ALL my dreams OFTEN seems to be just that (a dream)

So, I adjust that by balancing writing rhymes while working full time

And in my spare (time) further design the blueprints to a business whose existence is congruent

with supporting those pursuing what I spent the last 21 years of my life doing

And, that’s being AMC, a DJ, producer, and a B-boy, then act as an outsider

look out for the human beat box and the graf writer

My main point, MCIng is an artform

that is important where you start from

You gotta be a fan first, fantasize on writing your first verse

And when that thought’s finally born, perform it for your friends

If they recommend you pursue that, then do that

Accumulate confidence and start bombing s**t in public places

Until you’re leaving ciphers and stages getting compliments and staring at startled faces

My next suggestion is your true test for your new quest of artistic expression

Best achieved by stepping those best believed to be the nicest in your section

for verbal slugfest because putting heads to rest builds a street buzz best

Then MCs and producers will be eager to work wit cha

That’s when studio time finally comes into the mixture

BUT, don’t switch your style to get richer

Just... broaden your conceptual picture

And convince the crowd to get wit cha

Cause the industry’s designed to make you think the way they think

Desert you when you sink and leave you on the brink…

Of psychological breakdowns, so...I’ve...found

That it’s best to trust my instincts

And, place my faith in under connections

Cause I’ve seen proof of their roots at spots such as Lower Links

(What up Duro)

And, I’ve been rocking live since the biggest rap shows...hmmmm...were done at roller rinks

So, I give nada...about what the masses think((((((((((

(vocal sample: “the old school taught me how to be a def mc”)