1. |
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INTRO
the after life is speculation.
from heaven and hell to reincarnation
when I realized we are one organism,
it led to my decisions to make people my religion.
to be an ancestor honored in remembrance
because the seeds they plant are harvested by descendants
helping generations we won’t see is a miracle
nothing in the world could be more spiritual
CHORUS
heaven exist in the mind of the living
it’s where you will be if you’re kind and giving
to put our ancestors in that final destination
we’re here to pour libation
VERSE
we never forget so never fear
for homies who ain't here we're pouring out a beer
because of you it will never be the same
we keep saying your name while we pour champagne
for the mothers and the father figures
you flame still flickers we're pouring out some liquor
we're the sons and the daughters of heroes and martyrs
honor you by pouring out some water
CHORUS
VERSE
BRIDGE
this is how it works
your ancestors aren’t sleeping in the dirt
it's not metaphors, this ain't simile
I'm talking spiritually to scientifically, i mean literally
they're in our DNA
they're alive in the things that we do and say
lessons they taught and examples they gave
last way past when they are buried in their graves
so i try to understand and remember them
learn from their lives, i know i can depend on them
from when the light turns on to when it fades to black
our life span is shorter than a finger snap
and that’s a time i’ll never get back
so i use this time to keep the circle in tact
death with feel like before you were born
energy doesn’t die, it transforms
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2. |
Watermelon Man
04:21
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Chorus
The melon is sweet and the water is life
Cause I’m the Watermelon Man
I’m the Watermelon Man
I got the juice and plant the seeds
I reap the fruit and give you what you need
Cause I’m the Watermelon Man
I’m the Watermelon Man
Verse One
It’s the Watermelon Man, reppin’ red, black and green
the County of PG sends you greetings
to MD and DC all the space in between
For my watermelon fiends, let me paint the scene
Imagine sweating all day in the beautiful sun
Maybe work to be done, or just having some fun
If I had watermelon that crunched and melted on your tongue
you’d say give me some, that’s my words over the drum
so have another one, no better chef than mother nature
Drink up the sweet lyrics that will surely hydrate ya
Get another slice then pass it to your neighbor
go ‘head drown in the flavor, a natural Life Saver
I think about my lyrics but they’re not concentrated
grown Organically in the DMV, alone I couldn’t make it
ancestors speak to me at midnight so I’ve relayed it
They said love the life you live each slice celebrate it
Chorus
Verse Two
We knew since time begun that watermelon is incredible
Easily digestible with benefits that are medical,
May lower inflammation and ease blood flow through your ventricles
And if you have a lover some benefits are… yeah you know
I say watermelon’ s African some get skeptical
Since we were in west Africa growing fruits and vegetables
We found seeds in Libya from 5,000 years ago
paintings on Tut’s tomb that are still legible,
our enslaved ancestors needed food that they could grow
When our evil slave masters wouldn’t give us any mo
During reconstruction, after that slavery overthrow
every summer we’d have watermelon festivals
with eating contests, it was tasty and plentiful,
oppressors then turned it to into a spectacle,
Some think living up to stereotypes is unacceptable
I’m the watermelon man and I am here to let you know’
Chorus
Verse Three
I’m the song that never ends like Lamb Chop
Over a pocket full of funk like collard green and ham hocks
Grew in my heart for years harvested with my laptop
I’m the Watermelon Man like my last name was Hancock
Or that Black super hero, my songs defy gravity
Except I get stronger when surrounded by family
see me in the summer no mirage or fantasy
On Georgia ave passing out slices under a canopy
But when it’s not May to October
the world gets cold and you’re dying from exposure
You need some red black and green to tide you ova
Come back and fetch it, meet me at Sankofa
Of all the things being the watermelon man means
It’s a message to those who think our culture is obscene
politics ain’t respectable, each slice you’ve ever seen
Detroit Red, Crunchy Black and Petey Green
Chorus
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3. |
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this is for all the people with 9 to 5's and 6 to 12's. check for the music video
lyrics
Chorus
This is for my people out here hustling trynna make it
ain’t nobody give us nothing so we gotta take it
gotta keep our spirits up the devils trynna break it
this is for my people out here hustling on that late shift
Cooking on that late shift
Cleaning on that late shift
This is for my people out here grinding on that late shift
Pushing on that late shift
Leaning on that late shift
This is for my people out here grinding on that late shift
Verse 1
Gotta nine to five, got a six to twelve
trynna put that gas in the ride, trynna put that food on the shelves
Got old bills, with the same news
got new green, with the same blues
New Balances are tight ‘cause we’re in the same shoes
so we need to stop making the same moves
Two car garage
felt it smelt it, it ain’t a mirage
gotta get this money and get out of dodge
but these Beastie Boys wanna Sabotage
I work all day and I work all night man
got more work to do that the average white band
For these BG’s trynna stay alive
us OG’s got more than a nine to five
Chorus
Verse 2
For calloused hands, and tired eyes
for future plans and valiant tries
For people out here on a mission
high on coffee and ambition
striving for higher positions
For easy answers, to hard decisions
looking ten years from now, more than 20/20 vision
Look, this is for all the people who called into work tonight, to come to the show, let’s go!
Chorus
Bridge
I know it gets hard sometimes/
out here on your grind
Out here chasing for that silver and gold/
the highway up to heavens got a crook on the toll/
don't everybody like the smell of gasoline/
my hands are dirty, bill collectors after me/
tired hands and callouses can't fake this/
this is for all my people working on that late late shift/
That late shift (8x)
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4. |
Where I Want to Be
04:02
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5. |
Get Some
04:14
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6. |
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7. |
Umoja featuring Ka'Ba
04:23
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Intro
When it’s Kwanzaa time this is how we get down
A quick lesson from the godfather James Brown
To be a funky band this is how it’s done
Think of every instrument just like a drum
Like a drum, that’s how it’s done
Every instrument is a drum
The beats got to come back to where it came from
So, matter what you play you land on the one
ONE, two, three, four
ONE, two, three, four
A funky phenomenon that’s real simple
You meet on the one to set the tempo
Each drum plays its own rhythm and its own tone
But no matter what you play you find your way home
To the one, that means it’s syncopated
We stay on the same beat because the one’s anticipated
Latin word for one is uni, root word of unity
add “com” (Latin for “together”) you have community
Umoja is unity in Swahili
root word is moja or “one” what we’re saying really is
chorus
December 26th, before the year is done
we celebrate Kwanzaa and the family comes
funky syncopation of a black nation like a drum
it’s Umoja, we land on the one
verse 1
our powers momentous we have consensus lets be one
we can’t afford not be on one accord lets be one
whattup kid, you locked down doing a bid? love is one
Nas was talking Umoja we are one
With community and family, we are one
Contributions to black institutions all are one
Three sixty-five days, Frankie Beverly and maize we are one
No matter what they say Umoja keep it on the one
Verse 2
No matter what they’ve tried we remain unified as one
It’s the place to be, in true harmony as one
Take what’s ours, fight the power Public Enemy Number One
they fear a Black Planet Umoja we are one
principles make us invincible when applied as one
bond like cement two or three touch in agreement as one
we can’t lose, nation under a groove is one
that’s what George Clinton said Umoja we are one
verse 3
why really say it in Swahili? To be one
with diaspora that’s wide and spectacular but one
We unify, U-N-I-T-Y as one
Latifah talking Umoja so let’s be one
When it bumps in your trunk remember the funk is ‘bout the one
If we resist, five fingers make a fist we are one
Say it Loud Black and Proud, James put it on the one
The JB’s were Umoja and we put it on the one
Bridge
Farmers with their green thumb plant your foot on the one
Athletes on the run sweat it out on the one
Find your groove where you begun so come back to the one
Writers when your story is spun bring it back to the one
Business making those funds make sure to spend it on the one
Every trip around the sun we come back to the one
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8. |
My People
03:36
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I'm the Black Colin Powell, so glad we met/
I'm the crazy lover father who ain't taking his meds/
in the middle of the stage just shaking his dreads/
who uses his words just for raising the dead/
most rappers use their gift to get the ladies in bed/
'cause the sound of his voice makes her panties wet/
he has the power to make her do what he said/
he uses that to say "shake your ass, give me head"?/
I'd rather build a nation instead/
of women bringing home the dough and baking the bread/
versed in healing the body and shaking the feds/
who know the battles we've fought and the path we've tread/
who can handle post pardom, or pre-med/
ain't worried about the stardom, or the street cred/
with a pencil or a gun, she's aiming the lead/
and when she's done all the ignorance is dead/
Chorus
This is what I fight for/
what I read and I write for/
stay up all hours of the night for/
you a soldier make sure you're in the right war/
I. Do. This. For. My. People./
My people (come on), my people (come on)/
My pe-pa-pe-pe-people!/
Hola amigo. Como esta?/
Rap last name Burton 1st one is Levar/
like Jordy Leforge who worked for Captain Pekard/
I travel to the future faster than the light from a star/
if you don't know your Roots you won't know who you are/
So I take you to a time before they brought us from afar/
to when reading a book meant breaking the law/
Like slaves eat sugar cane, have you eating it raw/
Have you chewing on the truth until it's breaking your jaw/
"till you get the picture I'll continue to draw/
connections from the past help you see what they saw/
from your great-great-grandma's great-grandma/
I know you might think this brother is odd/
or that the mission he's on is way to hard/
but I'm swearing to God, I don't need your applause/
I don't need you on my team, Man I'm raising a squad/
Chorus
This is what I fight for/
what I read and I write for/
stay up all hours of the night for/
you a soldier make sure you're in the right war/
I. Do. This. For. My. People./
My people (come on), my people (come on)/
My pe-pa-pe-pe-people!/
I'm Mr. Read a Book, the man the myth/
I"ve got the power of the force, but I ain't a sith/
I took Lil' Jones voice, and Beethoven's 5th/
and rocked the hip-hop world like a planetary shift/
Leafing through the books like I'm rolling a spliff/
putting knowledge in the air, go ahead take a wiff/
Never under estimate a man with a gift/
or a hungry young lion who can see what he sniffs/
has measured his prey, knows the height and the wiff/
ready to fight 'cause he's pissed, using his mic like a fist/
Telling the truth, ain't no need to resist/
Rap perjury needs to cease and desist/
Cointelpro rappers don't need to exist/
Spittin' fighting words but they swing and they miss/
"The harder they come the harder they fall" - Jimmy the Cliff
"I love it when a plan comes together" - Hannibal Smith
Chorus
This is what I fight for/
what I read and I write for/
stay up all hours of the night for/
you a soldier make sure you're in the right war/
I. Do. This. For. My. People./
My people (come on), my people (come on)/
My pe-pa-pe-pe-people!/
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9. |
Smoke Fighters
03:54
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Verse 1
thousand floor tower, 5 alarm blaze
don't you hear the sirens? get out the way
victims are ready for water to spray
hot air is supposed to blow smoke away
Chorus
smoke fighters
fighting the smoke
smoke fighters
you'll learn to cope
smoke fighting
system is broke
every war we fight is more like a joke
if you're body is burning it don't matter if you choke
Verse 2
heroes are coming, no need to fear
see fire blazing brought all the gear
obvious problems, solution are clear
ignore the fire, when smoke disappear
Chorus
Verse 3
temperature rising, child, woman, man
oblivious, 'cause you're already tanned
hit the fire miss the frying pan
don't fight the blaze, blow the smoke with a fan
Chorus
Rap
smoke fighters
they want us to carry on and stay calm
smoke fighters
while plagues attack us like napalm
smoke fighters
while they're making bread your butt is toast
every war we fight is more like a joke
if your body is burning it don’t matter if you choke
smoke fighters
people we depend on
smoke fighters
scare us with fire and brimstone
smoke fighters
the jokes on us when we all get roast
every war we fight is more like a joke
if your body is burning it don’t matter if you choke
warning signs were there, we ain't miss them
but there's a glitch in the system
took the cause and affect and we flipped them
we've confused the disease with the symptom
being fools led by liars
who throw live bodies on the pyre
can't let the flames get higher
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
we don't fight smoke, we fight fires
smoke fighting system is broke
blowing on the smoke all the flames get stoked
every war we fight is more like a joke
if your body is burning it don’t matter if you choke
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10. |
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First things first I, Baba, mwalimu wa watoto/
Fa’sho, with my pro flow/
since the days of Madness and HOBO/
Ice Box and Taj Mahal for Go-go’s/
Waiting for the conga solo
drums make heart race like the logos on your Polo
where Chocolate City turns to hot coco
keep it bouncing like a pogo
somethings you got to do when you’re local
like eat fries with mambo, or jone on Tony Romo
I rep DC to PG, uptown to Upper Marlboro
no part of DC or MD I won’t go
no part of my beautiful blackness that I won’t show
I’m CNN, between NORE and Chris Cuomo
capture a thousand words of one photo
kindergarten is time lapse, prison time happens slomo
I’ve taught both so, I got theories, here they go
these lil bros with no dough
Ain’t pressed to bring the Bagg-in like Frodo
Or walk brick roads with their dogs like Todo
Yeah they listen to trap rap like it’s a job promo
Iife on edge, the slightest thing put them into go mode
They just want a home though
Where men express love no need to say “no homo”
So I rewrite the bro-code
Wrap kids in culture like Basotho from Lesotho
Hear a reference that you don’t know?
whats Google’s on your phone for?
been teaching kids since 94,
as a high school sophomore
Up at Largo back when a “moe” was a “joe”
Boys & Girls Club with Daryl and Carlos
“Can’t You See” like that single from Total
If you paint a future for students that’s hopeful
marinate students in love like it's adobo
you can show bros what Bo knows and girls to be Flo-jo
So I put their message to a dope flow
I’ll say it again, though you’ve heard it all before
in the wrong environment the seeds won’t grow
ask a fish to climb a tree, it’s talents won’t show
give a musician their instrument, BOOM! Virtuoso
this ain'y theory that I’m speaking, I know so
I learned from an Optimist with a capital O
Took kids from Bell, Dunbar, Ellington and Cardozo
an after-school program turned hip hop Dojo
new age griot, art integration mogul
proving it with metrics or even anecdotal
Now the hip-hop dr. Seuss, “All the Places We Will Go”
Frederick, Hartford, Baltimo, Anne Arundel, Moco,
St. Mary’s, Charles, Worcester, Wicomico,
Coming to America like Eddie and Arsenio
To tell your child their mind is drippin’ so let your Soul glow
Our foes chase No Dose with Four Locos
Use their waking moments to put out kids in choke holds
my mind is my nine, my pens my Mack 10, vocals
kick in the do’ waving the four-four
all you heard is "Baba Mwalimu wa Watoto!"
Look it up if you don't know
First things first, I Baba Mwalimu wa Watoto
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11. |
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CHORUS 2X
Kujichagulia, kujichagulia
Self determination is that kujichagulia
Kujichagulia, Kujichagulia
Exceed your expectations with that kujichagulia
Kujichagulia, Kujichagulia
Self determination is that kujichagulia
Kujichagulia, Kujichagulia
We’re gonna build a nation with that Kujichagulia
VERSE 1
I’ve got self determination
I got the discipline and concentration
for my 40 acres and repatriation
I work on my education bringing ideas into creation
I have no fear
I keep motivation in my ear
I stay mobbing with my RBG peers
So all you’re gonna hear is kujichagulia
CHORUS
VERSE 2
I need goals so I set’em
I set benchmarks and go get’em
I make moves and I don’t regret’em
Obstacles stop me if I let’em but I’m just gon’ keep on steppin
I feel freedom coming near
From enslavement to PIC in 600 year
I take the lead, it’s my boat for me to steer
I kick it into high gear with my kujichagulia
CHORUS
VERSE 3
That means I’m gonna strive
For as long as I’m alive
With my family or at my nine to five
like bees in a hive, I got the passion and the drive
remind me every time I see ya
In my politics and my in career
I put this on everything I hold dear
I’m gon’ make this loud and clear I got Kujichagulia
CHORUS
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12. |
What I Love
03:15
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