connecting*the*dots

Artist: De La Soul
Song: Stakes Is High

==========

(sounds of a craps game…)

Stakes is high, you know them stakes is high, when you talkin’ about…
Stakes is high, you know them stakes is high, we be talkin’ about…
Stakes is high, you know them stakes is high…

[POS]
The instamatic focal point bringing damage to your borough
Be some brothers from the east with some beats that be thorough
Got the solar gravitation so I’m bound to pull it
I gets down like brothers are found ducking from bullets
Gun control means using both hands in my land
Where it’s all about the cautious livin’
Migrating to a higher form of consequence
Compliments
Of strugglin’ that shouldn’t be notable,
Man every word I say should be a hip hop quotable.

[DOVE]
I’m sick of bitches shakin’ asses
I’m sick of talkin’ about blunts,
Sick of Versace glasses,
Sick of slang,
Sick of half-ass awards shows,
Sick of name brand clothes (word)
Sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks,
Cocaine and crack
Which brings sickness to blacks,
Sick of swoll’ head rappers
With their sicker-than raps
Clappers and gats
Makin’ the whole sick world collapse
The facts are gettin’ sick
Even sicker perhaps
Stickabush to make a bundle to escape this synapse

[POS]
Man life can get all up in your ass baby you betta work it out
Let me tell you what it’s all about
A skin not considered equal
A meteor has more right than my people
Who be wastin’ time screaming who they’ve hated
That’s why the Native Tongues have officially been re-instated

(Vibes…. vibrations)
Stakes is high (Higher than high)
You know them stakes is high (Higher than high)
When we talkin’ ’bout the (Vibes….vibrations)
Stakes is high, you know them stakes is high
When we dealin’ with the (Vibes….vibrations)
Stakes is high (Hey yo, what about that love?)

[POS]
Yo, it’s about love for cars, love for funds
Loving to love mad sex, loving to love guns
Love for opposite, love for fame and wealth
Love for the fact of no longer loving yourself, kid
We living in them days of the man-made ways
Where every aspect is vivid, these brothers no longer talk shit
Hey yo, these niggas live it
‘Bout to give it to you 24/7 on the microphone
Plug One translating the zone
No offense to a player, but yo, I don’t play
And if you take offense, fuck it, got to be that way
J.D. Dove, show your love, what you got to say?

[DOVE]
I say G’s are making figures at a high regard
And niggas dying for it nowadays ain’t odd
Investing in fantasies and not God
Welcome to reality, see times is hard
People try to snatch the credit, but can’t claim the card
Showing out in videos, saying they cold stars
See, shit like that will make your mama cry
Better watch the way you spend it
‘Cause the stakes is high
Y’all know them stakes is high
When we dealin’ with the (Vibes….vibrations)
Stakes is high
I think that smiling in public is against the law
‘Cause love don’t get you through life no more
It’s who you know and “How you, son?”
And how you gettin’ in, and who the man holding
Hey yo, and how was the scams and how high
Yo what up, huh? I heard you caught a body
Seem like every man and woman shared a life with John Gotti

[POS]
But they ain’t organized!

[DOVE]
Mixing crimes with life enzymes
Taking the big scout route
And niggas know doubt better
Than they know their daughters
And their sons
(Oh boy)

[POS]
Yo, people go through pain and still don’t gain
Positive contact just like my main man
Who got others cleaning up his physical influence
His mind got congested
He got the nine and blew it
Neighborhoods are now hoods cause nobody’s neighbors
Just animals surviving with that animal behavior
Under I who be rhyming from dark to light sky
Experiments when needles and skin connect
No wonder where we live is called the projects
When them stakes is high you damn sure try to do
Anything to get the piece of the pie
Electrify
Even die for the cash
But at last I be out even though you wantin’ more
This issue is closed like an elevator door
But soon re-opened once we get to the next floor where the
(Vibes….vibrations) Stakes is high
Y’all know them stakes is high
When we desalin’ with the (Vibes….vibrations)
Stakes is high
Stakes is high
Come on…

Mos Def was apparently performing Katrina Klap without a permit outside the MTV Music Awards, so the cops came to shut his act down.

No authority-drilled cop would like the lyrics to that masterpiece, and a permit is a permit is a permit… but what’s up with the cop grabbing him on-stage?

Maybe they received a tip from a passerby that his mic was full of lip balm and soda and he was heading directly to JFK after the performance?

Assholes.

(via Southern SemAntics)

Artist: The Roots
Song: False Media

==========

(Gore Vidal??)
We’ll weaken ourselves to what is really the issue
And then behind that all lies a very personal and human appeal
That I don’t think old men ought to promote war so that young men can fight

(Wadud Ahmad)
America’s lost somewhere inside of Littleton
Eleven million children all on Ritalin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
Pilgrim Slaves Indian Mexican
It looks real fucked up
For your next of kin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media

(Black Thought)
If I can’t work to make it
I’ll rob and take it
Either that or
Me and my children are starving and naked
Rather be a criminal pro
Than to follow the matrix
Hey it’s me a monster
Y’all done created
I’ve been inaugurated
Keep the bright lights out of our faces
You can’t shake it
It ain’t no way
To swallow the hatred
Aim fire
Holla bout a dollar
Nothin is sacred
We gone pimp
The shit out of nature
Send our troops
To get my paper
Tell ‘em stay away
From them skyscrapers
Ain’t long for
You get y’all acres
I’mma show ‘em
Who’s the global gangster
Sentence me to
Four more years thank you
I’mma make you feel
A little bit safer
Because it ain’t over
See that’s how we get
Your fear to control you
But ain’t nobody
Under more control
Than a soldier
And how could you
Expect a kid
To keep his composure
When all sorts of thoughts
Fought for exposure again

(Wadud Ahmad)
America’s lost somewhere inside of Littleton
Eleven million children all on the Ritalin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
Pilgrim Slaves Indian Mexican
It looks real fucked up
For your next of kin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
America’s lost somewhere inside of Littleton
Eleven million children all on the Ritalin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
Pilgrim Slaves Indian Mexican
It looks real fucked up
For your next of kin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
America’s lost somewhere inside of Littleton
Eleven million children all on the Ritalin
That’s why I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’
False media
We don’t need it do we
False media
We don’t need it do we
False media
We don’t need it do we
False media
We don’t need it do we

Crazy Logic from the mashup mind of DJ Arty Fufkin.

(via BoingBoing)

Artist: Gil Scott-Heron
Song: Whitey On The Moon

==========

A rat done bit my sister Nell (with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell (and Whitey’s on the moon)
I can’t pay no doctor bills (but Whitey’s on the moon)
Ten years from now I’ll be payin’ still (while Whitey’s on the moon)
You know, the man jus’ upped my rent las’ night (’cause Whitey’s on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights (but Whitey’s on the moon)
I wonder why he’s uppin’ me? (’cause Whitey’s on the moon?)
I wuz already givin’ him fifty a week (with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin’ my whole damn check,
The junkies makin’ me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin’ up,
An’ as if all that crap wuzn’t enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell (with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an’ arm began to swell (and Whitey’s on the moon)
Was all that money I made las’ year (for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain’t no money here? (Hmm! Whitey’s on the moon)
Y’know I jus’ ’bout had my fill (of Whitey on the moon)
I think I’ll sen’ these doctor bills, Airmail special… to Whitey on the moon

Hip Hop is a global culture and overseas, especially in poor regions, the majority of its sound and image hasn’t been corralled into becoming a product of a corporate marketing agenda; it truly is an expressive and political vehicle for people on the street pumping culture shifting vibe back into their own communities.

As Kurt Shaw writes, “…Hip Hop can at the same time teach kids and transform the world.”

With the fervor of Web 2.0 and social networking, it’s only a matter of time before Hip Hop culture — the original mashed-up, shared expression of culture and politics — organizes across the globe, and on levels we haven’t even dreamed possible.

Big shout to ChicanoBlogs and cuauhtli, who turned me on to clips from the documentary, Resistencia: Hip Hop in Colombia:

Janeé Bolden, SOHH.com
50 Cent In Talks With Apple To Produce Computer Line

“According to recent reports from Forbes, 50 Cent is currently in talks with Apple CEO Steve Jobs to produce a line of low cost computers geared toward inner-city residents.

The latest edition of Forbes magazine includes profiles of both 50 and his manager, founder of Violator Management & Records Chris Lighty who told Forbes that Steve Jobs “is setting a new standard in the music business… Let’s just say we get each other.”

[…]

Positive reaction
Inner city kids eat up 50 Cent’s sound, message and marketing mayhem, so if he can work with Apple — my platform of choice — to create an affordable computer for inner-city residents, hey, all the power to him and Apple.

Negative reaction
With the DRM aspect of iTunes, Jobs — one of my former icons — is turning out to be a control freak. For Chris Lighty, the brains behind the marketing of 50 Cent’s violent image, to say that “we get each other”… I just don’t know. I’d bet that most parents of the kids devouring 50 Cent’s image would rather that he tone down his act.

(photo by Steve Rhodes)

Davey D
An Open Letter to Hip Hop About Some Real Important Shyt

Dear Folks who say they Love Hip Hop,

I wish there was a way to make this issue of Net Neutrality more interesting. I wish there was a way to spice it up and make it compelling like some sort of beef within the rap industry. Maybe I should get Brad and Angelina to talk about it instead of their baby. Maybe Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton can utter a few words and force us to take more of an interest.

I wish Cam’ron spent his vast money holding press conferences, dissing punk ass Congress for taking tainted money from Verizon, SBC, and Comcast instead of going after Jay-Z. Im glad Jay-Z ignored Camron, unfortunately he remained silent as the President of Def Jam on this important issue. We’ll see what happens after Def Jam finds it difficult or too costly to send out their e-post cards alerting me and others of their latest releases

Im sorry Miss Jones on Hot 97 was so upset and enraged that she felt compelled to make headlines calling Mary J Blige a bitch for not shouting her out at last weeks Summer Jam. Its too bad that she didn’t use her 3-4 hours a day of airtime in the nations largest city to call the greedy Congress people who accepted money from these corporations Bitches. There ain’t gonna be any shout outs if the Senate follows Congress in passing this bill. Maybe she’ll step it up when her parent company Emmis finds that folks from all over the country can no longer easily access their archived interviews on their website.

It’s too bad that many of us found this issue ‘too complicated’ and ‘too overwhelming’ and hence directed our attention to Ludacris and Ice Cube’s beef with Oprah. This is the feedback I got after stories ran on my website as well as AllHipHop.

Shyt I’m sorry Oprah was too busy telling Ed Lover that she really does love Hip Hop and that she listens to 50 Cent and his violent ass all damn day instead of alerting her millions of viewers about the issue of Net Neutrality.

Im sorry that KRS-One and others used these Internet airways to tell us about the Hip Hop Nation they want to build, but didn’t issue a call to action to protect a main arm of our communication. Whether youre a Hip Hop or Rap Lover the elimination of Net Neutrality is gonna impact you..

Here’s what’s happening folks. The house has gone passed the COPE bill and rejected proposals to insure Net Neutrality. Those who sided with the Comcast and Verizon are well aware that the ability of ordinary people to communicate to the masses is a problem because its been the only thing holding them accountable. For the last 5 years, the biggest stories about government corruption, corporate swindles, global warming and no weapons of Mass Destruction has come through Internet bloggers who were able to push an issue to the masses and force Fox, CNN and other News outlets to pay some sort of attention.

Anyone who is an activist and championed causes ranging from Election fraud and Diebold Machines, police brutality Freeing Mumia, Global warming, Media Reform and Saving the South Central Farm in LA just to name a few this is will especially hit you hard, because the Internet and its neutrality provisions have enabled many of us to counter biased mainstream media outlets get information out about particular causes all over the world.

Yesterday that ability took one step closer to coming to an end. The mantra being sung on Capitol Hill is Shut it down, Shut that shyt down and redirect traffic to a handful of places and media outlets that they can influence and control.

Like Ice Cube said ‘Laugh Now and Cry Later’, because many of us will soon be crying when we see the Internet gets parceled up and we start paying outrageous tolls for basic amenities. And speaking of which why didn’t Ice Cube talk about this issue instead of not being invited on Oprah?

Anyway your next steps should you choose is to call your Senator’s office and tell them to stand up and protect your interests. Ignoring this, waiting for others to take on your responsibility or acting like the issue will simply go away will not change this.

While many of you may shrug this off and think it doesn’t apply to you, stop and think of all the activities you do on the daily that involve the Internet. Such activities range from using phone cards which use Internet connections-(Many of y’all didn’t realize that) on down to peeping your favorite blog… Many of y’all like to surf and check out my site, AllHipHop, Sohh, HipHopGame etc.. Folks that shyt is about to change in a big, big ,big way.

You’re soon gonna be left with only being able to peep monthly issues of The Source and XXL, who neglected to address this issue. The Source bypassed this in their Media Watch column and Elliot Wilson from XXL obvious saw his shyt talking editorials as more important then keeping you informed. I guess I can understand, all these Hip Hop Internet websites were eating into business.

All you artists who felt like you can easily get your music out there via Myspace and the other sites, that’s about to change. Oh yeah lets not forget the punk ass RIAA who like to sue everybody. They stayed silent on this and in fact while all this is going on they have quietly been lobbying Congress to change laws so that they can fundamentally change the copyright laws in such a way that it will make it damn near impossible to pass things around via the net or do Internet Radio.

Also let’s not let Steve Jobs and his vast iTunes network off the hook. Perhaps I missed it, but I didnt see him alerting us when you went to download your favorite song or stepped into his stores. Perhaps he figures he’s rich enough to pay for the inevitable increases while the rest of us cant. In other words controlling 90% of the market is not enough.

Shame on former Black Panther, Congressman Bobby Rush for selling us out and supporting these corporations. Shame on the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and any other Civil Rights group pretending to represent our interests while selling us out and taking the money to front for these groups. And while Im glad former Congressman Ron Dellums did well in his Mayoral bid in Oakland, we should not forget that he’s also a lobbyist with one of his main clients being Verizon so shame on him as well. How’s Oakland gonna be a world class city that is a beacon for new technology and innovation when his client is one of the main people trying to shut down the Internet?

In closing I’m gonna say this and it may be sobering for some… It’s what my pops told me after I got caught fuccing up and then went home and tried to kiss up to him so I wouldn’t get in trouble. He told me to stop acting like a wuss and start acting like a man. He told me it was time I grow up and accept responsibility. He then punished me for 3 weeks not for the fucc up, but for me trying to kiss his ass instead of owning up to my mistakes. This is about to happen to all of us…

My point is this. Hip Hop is over 30 years old. We’re not kids no more. This industry is not run by kids. To not involve ourselves in shaping the institutions that we rely on to get our information and music out is irresponsible. Thats some thing to pond about. Here’s another breakdown on this issue courtesy of www.playahata.com

Peace out for now
Holla at your Senator before you holla back at me…

Davey D

(via Navaho Gunleg)

Artist: Boogie Down Productions
Song: Poetry

==========

[KRS-One]

Well now you’re forced to listen to the teacher and the lesson
Class is in session so you can stop guessin’
If this is a tape or a written down memo
See I am a professional, this is not a demo
In fact call it a lecture, a visual picture
Sort of a poetic and rhythm-like mixture
Listen, I’m not dissin’ but there’s somethin’ that you’re missin’
Maybe you should touch reality, stop wishin’
For beats with plenty bass and lyrics said in haste
If this meaning doesn’t manifest put it to rest
I am a poet, you try to show it, yet blow it
It takes concentration for fresh communication
Observation, that is to see without speaking
Take off your coat, take notes, I am teachin
a class, or rather school, cause you need schooling
I am not a king or queen, I’m not ruling
This is an introduction to poetry
A small dedication to those that might know of me
They might know of you and maybe your gang
But one thing’s for sure, neither one of y’all can hang
Cause yo I’m like a arrow, and Scott is the crossbow
Say something now … thought so
You seem to be the type that only understand
The annihilation and destruction of the next man
That’s not poetry, that is insanity
It’s simply fantasy far from reality
Poetry is the language of imagination
Poetry is a form of positive creation
Difficult, isn’t it? The point? You’re missin it
Your face is in front of my hand so I’m dissin it

[KRS-One]

Scott LaRock is innovating, decorating hip-hop
The beat may drop but not like all the others
They just cover while I just smother
Every single stupid mutha — wait wait brotha
KRS-One will have to show another
MC or self-proclaimed king or queen
Or gang or crew or solo or team
That I mean
Business
So tell me what is this?
See I come from the Bronx so just kiss this
Boogie Down Productions is somewhat an experiment
The antidote for sucka MC’s and they’re fearin it
It’s self-explanatory, no one’s writin for me
The poetry I’m rattlin is really not for battlin
But if you want I will simply change the program
So when I’m done you will simply say “damn”
So this conversation is somewhat hypothetical
Boogie Down Productions attempts to prove somethin
I say hypothetical because it’s only theory
My theory, so take a minute now to hear me

[KRS-One]

So what’s your problem?
It seems you want to be KRS-Two
From my point of view, backtrack, stop the attack
Cos KRS-One means simply one KRS
That’s it, that’s all, solo, single, no more, no less
I’ve built up my credential financially and mental
Anytime I rhyme I request the instrumental
I speak clearly and that’s merely
Or should I say a mere, help to my career
I’m really not into fashion or craze
Just the one who pays and how soon I get a raise
You’re probably in a daze, acting out of sympathy
Wrote a couple of rhymes and think that you can get with me
But what a pity, I’m rockin New York City
And everywhere else, you put the jams on the shelf
You as an amateur is outspoken
I’m looking at your face, you seem to be hopin
That I might stutter, stop, or just mess up
But everything’s live that’s why I don’t dress up
“Blastmaster KRS” a synonym for “fresh”
I’m the teacher of the class, I do not pass no test
Got DJ Scott LaRock by my side, not in back of me
Cos we make up the Boogie Down Productions crew faculty
Get it right, or train yourself not to bite
Cos when you bite you have bitten, when I hear it, that’s it
I do not contemplate a battle cause it really ain’t worth it
I’d rather point a pistol at your head and try to burst it

I’m teaching poetry
I’m teaching poetry
We’re teaching po-e-try

Artist: Public Enemy (Featuring Paris)
Song: Coinsequences

==========

[Intro/Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
It really ain’t difficult to break the mold
And take a close look at the lies we’re told
Wipe away the facade, see we got to know
See the plot to control and to rot the soul
You can make anybody that don’t read believe
anything that they see on the TV screen
That a lie is reality, the sky is green
That there’s weapons in Iraq, and the President’s clean
When it’s on, thinkin you can trust police
Every black is a beast and our women are cheap
And that brothers gettin murdered is the way of the streets
That it’s normal to die when we still in our teens
And that’s the way it is, what’s the use to try
That school is a motherfuckin waste of time
Slang yay, die young, maybe get rich rhymin
And prison if you black is just a part of life
And that all of America support the Pres’
Religion is the way, and we all full of sin
That it’s better after death if we suffer and pray
Even though they fuck us off in this life today
And that white Jesus hangin on the wall in church
ain’t a part of a lie to keep a brother subservient
And that the whole world need the word “Amen”
Got troops overseas gettin murdered for free
If you buy that shit, I got a bridge to sell
Like I said I’m a rebel, so I must re-bel
And lies be the truth now, war is peace
Like corporations don’t dictate the streets
Like brothers don’t die for the diamond or bling
Like brothers don’t die over songs we sing
Like patri-ots act like the Patriot Act
While we swing on this bitch ’til we break it in half

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
You guilty if arrested and niggaz are thugs
Only good for welfare, murder and drugs
The media is true, with no bias at all
And Fox News ain’t on the President’s balls
That Lacey and O.J. and Kobe and Mike
ain’t bullshit and really do matter in life
That you shouldn’t be insulted they give ‘em the time
but never talk about all this corporate crime
That they generatin news stay loose with facts
Relate fake views that’ll keep us attracted
like sheep so we don’t think, never react
Never question authority, never suspect
Never trip off of why what matters to us
always seem unimportant, and never get love
Why it’s never any money for the school support
But it’s fallin out the sky for these corporate wars

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
They never give real shit space to shine
Just donkey-ass niggaz on assembly line
Cookie cutter pop-slutter make music designed
to pedal Coca-Cola, Motorola and Sprite
No love for the Enemy with video play
But they give Flav a show to take the focus away
from the realest group ever made, whaddya say
when to them it’s Eminem that’s goin down as the greatest?
When the plan is a shame like we makin a choice
Understand it’s a scam who get handed a voice
And it’s only a few and they decide in advance
Like votin for the President and both of them fam
All that “God bless America, and nobody else”
But I can smell racism, however it’s dealt
Know the real shit never miss, see how it’s felt
All around the world, hear the people cryin for help

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Outro: Paris]
A, coincidence ex-cons can’t vote
A, coincidence they can’t get no work
A, coincidence that they can’t hold heat
Now they know that they enemy don’t look like me
A, coincidence that we shit out of luck
The consequence of coincidences all add up
When you never know the reason and you’re set up to suffer
The offense is coincidence is never the cause

Jonathan Hutson, Talk To Action
The Purpose Driven Life Takers

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission — to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is “to conduct physical and spiritual warfare”; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.

[…]

This game immerses children in present-day New York City — 500 square blocks, stretching from Wall Street to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, the United Nations headquarters, and Harlem. The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian).

Is this paramilitary mission simulator for children anything other than prejudice and bigotry using religion as an organizing tool to get people in a violent frame of mind? The dialogue includes people saying, “Praise the Lord,” as they blow infidels away.

The designers intend this game to become the first dominionist warrior game to break through in the popular culture due to its violent scenarios and realistic graphics, lighting, and sound effects. Its creators expect it to earn a rating of T for Teen. How violent is that? That’s the rating shared by Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory, a top selling game in which high-tech gadgets and high-powered weapons - frag grenades, shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns — are used to terminate enemies with extreme prejudice.

Could such a violent, dominionist Christian video game really break through to the popular culture? Well, it is based on a series of books that have already set sales records - the blockbuster Left Behind series of 14 novels by writer Jerry B. Jenkins and his visionary collaborator, retired Southern Baptist minister Tim LaHaye. “We hope teenagers like the game,” Mr. LaHaye told the Los Angeles Times. “Our real goal is to have no one left behind.”

[…]

Freedom of speech and anti-censorship laws exist in this nation to protect our ability to hold civil discourse — even when it’s in the form of twisted, violent, crusading game narratives aimed at our children and marketed through the tenticles of the mega-church.

The redeeming factor behind the development of this specific game, is that the motive of the religous right is on display for the world to see. Too often their hatred becomes cloaked in motive numbing rhetoric — placating tales of Jesus’ love for all humanity as long as humanity devotes itself to Jesus. Over the past 20 years, such rhetoric has masked their intent, allowing them to gain a strong, political foothold in America — specifically with moderate Christians.

So when the religous right’s arrogance is responsible for removing their own metaphorical hoods, we need to gaze into their hateful, soulless eyes and take detailed notes.

The “Up In Arms” Crowd

It’s interesting to note that historically, church groups have been the most active in denouncing hip-hop music and video games for their violent content, arguing that they influence kids to become violent, misogynistic, or even worse, question authority.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces is scheduled to release in October 2006, just four months away. Where are these vocal groups now? Is “bling” and “bitch” rhetoric more deserving of protest than marketing to children a programmed, interactive virtual reality for cleansing non-Christian people from the face of the earth?

Hillary Clinton railed hard against the Hot Coffee mod, a locked, sex scene found in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (a scene that only a slight percentage of geeks even knew existed) in a move that smelled of pandering to the family values crowd. Where is her outrage?

It’ll be interesting to see how long Left Behind: Eternal Forces flies under the radar of both the church and Hillary Clinton.

It’ll actually be quite telling…

Artist: The Coup
Song: Head (Of State)

==========

[Intro/Chorus]
Bush and Hussein together in bed
Giving H-E-A-D head
Y’all motherfuckers heard what we said
Billions made and millions dead

[repeat 8X]
Work it out; set it up

[Chorus] - 2X

[Boots]
In a land not very far away from here
George W. Bush was drinkin beer
His daddy was head of the CIA
Now listen up close to what I say
The CIA worked for Standard Oil
And other companies to whom they’re loyal
In a whole ‘nother land by the name of Iran
The people got wise and took a stand
to the oil companies, ay ain’t shit funny?
This is our oil, our land, our money
CIA got mad and sent false info
to Iraq to help start the Iran/Iraq wo’
Pronounced war if I have to be proper
The CIA is the cops that’s why I hate the coppers
Saddam Hussein was their man out there
They told him to rule while keepin people scared
Sayin any opposition to him, he must crush it
He gassed the Kurds, they gave him his budget
Said you gotta kick ass to protect our cash
Step out of line and feel our wrath
You know the time without lookin at the little hand
Time came for them to cut out the middle man
Children maimed with no legs and shit
Cause the “Bombs Over..” you know the OutKast hit
And they really want you to hate him dead
When just the other day they made him head
War ain’t about one land against the next
It’s po’ people dyin so the rich cash checks

[Chorus] - 2X

[repeat 16X]
Work it out; set it up

The single, It Don’t Feel Right — from their latest album, Game Theory — is out on the web. Look for the album to drop soon.

If you never listen to hip-hop, this is the band to check out.

Artist: The Coup
Song: Ride The Fence

==========

Yeah
Uh-huh
yeah
that’s right
gotta get off the phone, bust this verse
aight
okay

I’m anti-imperial
anti-trust
anti-gun if the shit won’t bust
anti-corporate, they anti-my essence
anti-snortin’ them anti-depressants
but i’m not pro-poppin’ em;
i’m provocative
and pro-stoppin’ them FBI operatives
who professional at Black Man Pounce
and hand you a sentence that you can’t pronounce
I’m also anti-narco, anti-vice
911 marks the anti-christ
they anti-social, pointin’ M-16’s;
guess i’m anti-the-anti-nigger-machine
Proletarian, funkadelicparliamentarian
pro-revolt-in-the-21st-centurian
pro-running up in Congress sayin’ “fuck it all!”
but bring the people with you, that’s the protocol
This beat is joyful like jailbreaks
the whole world is anti-United Snakes
so check it out, anticipate the anti-venom
and move your antibodies to this revolution rhythm
we goin’ be fuckin’ with ‘em
pro-union but most lost they bite
anti-muthafuckas-crossin’ a strike
take a look around and be for or against
but you can’t do shit if you ridin’ the fence.

Ride the fence
now you don’t really wanna
ride the fence
now do you really wanna
ride the fence?
why would you really wanna
ride the fence
don’t ride the fence.
Ride the fence
now you don’t really wanna
ride the fence
now do you really wanna
ride the fence?
why would you really wanna
ride the fence
don’t ride the fence.

I’m anti-uppin’-your-dollars-with-telekinesis
(I done tried everyday, and that shit decreases)
Anti-them-anti-crime-bill-pieces
We need cash and that’s the anti-thesis
I’m pro-overthrow of the “Hip-Hop Nation”
pro-layin’-low-til-I’m-off-probation
pro-people’s-control-of-the-cash-and-corporations
pro-prophylactic yet pro-creation
anti-watered-down-drinks-in-fancy-cups
anti-promoters-who-don’t-ante-up
but i’m not anti-thug
i know that power is the most effective anti-drug
i’m pro-Zapatista
pro-Cuba
Viva!
Pro-la raza sayin’ “fuck la migra!”
policia se asesina
lemme show you what i mean
I’m anti-republican and democratic
if they self-destruct
that’s anti-climactic
tired of bein’ hunted like an antelope
take the system by the throat
that’s the antidote
so I pose a proposition
take a look, be in support or opposition
then be proactive proceed with confidence
’cause you know that you can’t change shit by ridin’ the fence

Ride the fence
now you don’t really wanna
ride the fence
now do you really wanna
ride the fence?
why would you really wanna
ride the fence
don’t ride the fence.
Ride the fence
now you don’t really wanna
ride the fence
now do you really wanna
ride the fence?
why would you really wanna
ride the fence
don’t ride the fence.

Artist: Brand Nubian (ft. Common)
Song: Maybe One Day

==========

[Grand Puba]
Yeah, yeah yeah yeah
One time as we do it like this, yeah
Grand Puba, Common Sense
[Common]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
It’s all love y’all (3X) what you say?
Intro/Chorus: all, Common
[all] Maybe one day we can work it out
Strive to understand what life’s about
All it seems to be is sadness and pain
Blood like rain clogs urban drains
[Com] When we gonna realize and make the change
And take the blame, erase the shame
Cause new millenium is knockin at your door
The New World Order’s what they got in store

[Grand Puba]
Now I can’t stress this enough, life sure is rough
You gotta go through a whole lotta shit
Just for you to get a little bit
Born into existence where your existence is non-existant
but your persistance overcomes their resistance
Your daily mechanism is your defense, whether it be
past or present tense, don’t be dense
I’m droppin this with Common Sense (true indeed)
As we linger on into the darkness
Poisoned by society where high-anxiety is just one variety
Hatin each other is another, brotha
I mean I’m really true to the shit, my spit ain’t just spit
My duty is to save my people from all of this shit
And if I can get somethin for doin that then I’m gon’ get
And I won’t quit
My ways and action manifest in my way of thinkin
I just can’t stand around and do nothin
while my people sinkin
I told you that I stay true
And I gotta do, what I can do, when I can do, so

[all] Maybe one day we can work it out
Strive to understand what life’s about
All it seems to be is sadness and pain
Blood like rain clogs urban drains
[Com] When we gonna realize and make the change
And take the blame, erase the shame
Cause new millenium is knockin at your door
The New World Order’s what they got in store

[Common]
Grand Pu…I’ma do….what I gotta do….what I can do
It’s one for all like Brand Nu-bian, feedin the multitudes
Of five loads, dead men walkin with lost souls
Some say the games are strange, our ways have been tribal
Since the days of Kemet, now displayed on Bennett
Revolution’s like a pussy, I’m tryin to stay up in it
And our music is a message, though some is afraid to send it
I don’t know much about the New World Order; I know I
Got a new daughter, direction and protection I must provide for her
The moral of the story I’m building…
Like ODB say, “We for the children”
Nike make a killin off us, we kill each other, it kills me to see that
You take a life for gold, nigga did you really need that?
We try to escape the mixtapes, rims and weed sack
And to the new age, they say the women’s gonna lead that, so

[all] Maybe one day we can work it out
Strive to understand what life’s about
All it seems to be is sadness and pain
Blood like rain clogs urban drains
[Com] When we gonna realize and make the change
And take the blame, erase the shame
Cause new millenium is knockin at your door
The New World Order’s what they got in store

[Pub] Oh say it ain’t so
[Com] It ain’t so
[Pub] My peoples at a all time low
[Com] Double oh Pu’
[Pub] Nowadays we doin anything for dough
[Com] For the dough doe
[Pub] Don’t you know that knowledge is the note
[Com] What?
[Pub] Know the ledge, don’t hit the edge
The negativity pulls us down like gravity
[Com] Yup
[Pub] Devilish ways and actions poisons us like a cavity
[Com] Yessir
[Pub] As we send this one throughout our whole proximity
[all] Grand Pu’ and Common strive to come together
[Common]
In this era of prepaid calling cards
I roll with squads called the Gods
Ignorance is at large, struggles in our backyard
I slapbox with life and see we wasn’t that hard
Long as you got God, even got Gramps off lah
It’s stray lies and bullets directed, to lead the village
of lies disconnected like ghetto phones
Fuck a search through a magazine for Better Homes
It ain’t gonna happen
Til the devil’s gone with the breeze
and niggas get off they knees so…
[all] Maybe one day we can work it out
Strive to understand what life’s about
All it seems to be is sadness and pain
Blood like rain clogs urban drains
[Com] When we gonna realize and make the change
And take the blame, erase the shame
Cause new millenium is knockin at your door
The New World Order’s what they got in store

Artist: De La Soul
Song: Trying People

==========

[intro: A friend’s voicemail to Dave]

Dave, whattup man?
It’s me
Umm.. just callin to see, if possible, if you have any
time today or within the next couple of days
If, if, you’re in the studio.. or if you’re at home.. or car, whatever
That song.. that.. it’s called trying or something, Mase
was tellin me that I needed to hear?
He said it was amazing
Whoo.. the way he was talkin.. man I wanna hear it!

[Dave]

Am I just another lost in the pack?
We for shack ship, you know laugh it off
Years just blow by
My eyes stay fixed but the picture’s kinda outta focus
I cry a lot but admit to it
Enjoyin life now but I’ve been through it
Sometimes I wish that I can go back
No bills no kids just getting tore back
I want a wife, I love women
How could I front like I don’t be in love wit em?
A li’l man that I can teach
A li’l sand but not the beach
I figure excess’ll only bring an excessive amount of fussin
So when I’m gone, make sure the head stone reads, “He did it for us”
I’m like your modern day Jesus
I cherish warm thoughts like a gray goose
And float soft kisses to my baby
(yo ain’t that Dave’s little girl?)
Yeah, respect her for that
She gon be somebody
Instead of somebody-baby-mama
You see young minds are now made of armor
I’m tryin to pop a hole in your Yankee cap
Absorb me
The skies over your head aint safe no more
And Hip Hop aint your own
And if it is then you fuckin up the crib son
You make life look like I don’t wanna live one
You might as well hold your breath until you die in a
corner somewhere bent over in the crevice
This God Theory overcomes the worst of weathers
As long as you willin to try, you on a good start homie
.. you on a good start.. see nigga tryin

[Chorus: Dave & Children]

[Dave] People are you ready?
[Children] Yes we’re ready!
Are you really ready?
We wanna be ready!
Ready for the change that may approach you?
Yes!
Follow down the path that you supposed to?
Yes!
People are you ready?
Yes we’re ready!
Are you really ready to try?
We wanna try harder!
You know mistakes are trials that we learn from?
Yes!
I order to live life, you must earn one?
Yes!
People are you ready?

[Pos]

Throughout my change to grow, Some of my people got left behind
They didn’t listen for the gun, as I leaped from off the line
Thirteen years deep in this marathon I’m runnin
Paid dues and still got bills to pay
When I came back around the way
Old friends gave me dead eyes
and fake smiles, half wide
We were supposed to rid the world of danger
These days we nod heads and small talk like polite strangers
It’s natural to fall off, just land close to the tree
I’ll be there if they need me to be
and I know all my local shorties
cuz they all know who I am
and latey wanna flip grammar instead of grams
Like that’s the only choice they got
They tell me how they gonna shake up the game
but came to me to see if I could give em guidance for change
Shit y’all, I need guidance myself
and I chisel right words to make gems
Got fans around the world, but my girl’s not one of em
And my relationship’s a big question
Cuz my career’s a clear hindrance to her progression
Said she needs a man and our kids need a father
I’m not at all ready to hear her say don’t bother
And break
And this I know I can’t take
but uhh
C. Smith said to hold on
My brother Luck said to hold on
My nigga Dave said to hold on
My nigga Mase said to hold on
Yo, Maseo, we need to hold on
Eh, yo, y’all we need to hold on

[Chorus: Pos & Children]
[Pos] People are you ready?
[Children] Yes we’re ready!
Well, what you wanna be?
We wanna be ready!
Do you wanna lose hate for love?
Yes!
Do you wanna see these gates above?
Yes!
I said people are you ready?
Yes we’re ready!
But are you willing to try?
We wanna try harder!
Do you really wanna carry some weight?
Yes!
Are you ready to design your fate?
Yes!
Yo, people are you ready?
Yes we’re ready!
Well what you wanna be?
We wanna be ready!..

[outro: AOI computer honey]
Operation complete. Preparing for.. Installment three

Artist: Common
Song: Communism

==========

Yo Troy I’ma come on the rhythm
with a little bit of Communism
Yeah, hah
So check it out, yeah
Chick-a chick-a I’m
Chick-a chick-a on
Chick-a chick-a my
my, own shit
Like an entrepreneur, that stepped in manure
man I’m newer than a Jack I went up the hill with Jill
And Jack chills big bootay
But then the booty up, I told the bitch she better have my money
Or step to the AMG
You know Com Sense, oh yeah him be
That nigga that be making all the bid-by-by-bye sounds
But since then, Common calm down!
I’m on some calm shit watch Com get complicated
Simple motherfuckers say the way that Com communicated
was too complex, I got a complex not to complain
on my brain no complain and so will my community
And I prefer compliments
So I complement at an angle, of ninety degrees
It’s the ninties, and music got known for grease
I got a sense of direction and a compass
Come past MC’s with compassion, though I heard the screams of
But I ain’t shy, so why shall I comfort
Commiserate at the fort with Jeff I’m so ill
But I chilled in my compartment with no company and no meals
Now Com can get the panty, but I want my own company
And Com is on a mission not to work for commission
It’s a common market and it’s so much competition
but to me, competition is none
To my comp I’m a ton I get amped like Watts in a riot
my compact disc is a commodity, so buy it
Instead of competing with Pete
Com compromised, Com made a promise
Not to commercialize, but compound the soul
without the elements, compelling sense into Communism

Artist: Public Enemy
Song: Can’t Hold Us Back

==========

[Farrakhan Jesse Jackson]
Today, we are together
We are unified and on one accord
When we are together, we’ve got power
That is why we gather today to celebrate our own sense of…

[PE]
We spit flows on foes
Listen to the message that ya never know
Got a plan for the man and it’s federal
The rhyme animal, back to play the part again
Clear the madness - and put the message in

D the enemy is back to rip the mic
We come together - so don’t believe the hype
Check my tone it’s a war here at home
We united and strong - and never move alone

We rep justice, equality and freedom now
Put fam first, man woman and child
Never mild keep it hostile ’till we raise
Where we say what we mean and we mean what we say

It’s been a long time coming that we mob as one
Guerrilla funk, hard truth nigga, that’s what’s up
No peace on the street ’till the justice come
From the ballot to the bullet, if it’s on, it’s on

Chorus:
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, see
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, believe
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, my brother
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, that’s real talk on the one

Yo I’m a target I got proof, my building got an ‘X’ on it
Bloomberg threw the hex on it,
It’s like a pistol with effects on it
On a nigga with arrest warrants

Hittin’ pigs in they in they chest quadrant where they vest wasn’t
Now he dead cousin
All you snitches hit the red buttons, we some Uncle-Tom killas
Mini-nina concealers, political cap-peelers for this freedom fo’ rilla

Yo if police stop the whip you got to eat them trees
I ain’t got no ‘G’ to give to these crackers and court fees
You know my steez, security first, prepare for the worst
Never caught slippin’ if you stay on alert

Malcolm X said send send ‘em to the cemetery if they touch you
A revolutionary virtue - a dull blade’ll hurt you
I’m up early workin’ my machete
In war, it ain’t no warning, you just got to be ready

Chorus:
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, my nigga
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, my nigga
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, you see
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, yeah

It’s bigger than rap-
You really think you gon’ be left alone
On sayin’ that you believe and ain’t gon’ have to get your scrap on?
Then yap on, and we’ll see if that’s the right route
While I get my clap on and turn snitches lights out

I tried to be nice, now we gon’ have to bleed ‘em
I’m willing to do a killin’ for the price of freedom
Comin’ from the left, nigga, hood is how we kept it
So prison or death is just something I done accepted

So we’ll murder a snake, and we’ll kill a skunk
This ain’t the word of a fake, it’s Guerrilla Funk
So right now is the time and your turf’s the location
Y’all about to see the Rebirth Of a Nation

Even if some got de-rebelized
The revolution still will not be televised
U.S. Government tellin’ hella lies
And it’s evident when you look in this president’s devil eyes

Chorus:
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, yeah
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, nah homie
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, my brother
I ain’t lettin nothin hold me back or block me,
they gon’ have to pop me to stop me, that’s real talk on the one

[Farrakhan Jesse Jackson]
That is why I challenge you now to stand together
Raise your fists together
And engage in our national black…
Do it for courage and determination
I am! (I am!)
Somebody! (Somebody!)
I am! (I am!)
Somebody! (Somebody!)
I may be poor! (I may be poor!)
But I am! (But I am!)
Somebody! (Somebody!)
I may be on welfare! (I may be on welfare!)
But I am! (But I am!)
Somebody! (Somebody!)
I may be unskilled! (I may be unskilled!)
But I am! (But I am!)
Somebody! (Somebody!)
I am! (I am!)
Black! (Black!)
Beautiful! (Beautiful!)
Proud! (Proud!)
I must be respected! (I must be respected!)
I must be protected! (I must be protected!)
What time is it?!
When we stand together, what time is it?!

Artist: T-K.A.S.H.
Song: Made In America

==========

[The Last Poets - updated by Ethan]

I love niggas, because niggas are me. And I should only love that which is me. I love that you niggas go through changes, love that you niggas act, love that you niggas make some plays and shoot the shit. But there’s one thing about niggas that I don’t love. Niggas are scared of revolution.

[T-K.A.S.H.]

There’s a war going on at home
It’s like Baghdad
In American cities where all the blacks at
Little kids that pack straps and backpacks
Who clap cats for scratch snacks and gas masks
Hard times
Niggas are on the grind
All of the time
Faith in Allah small as a dime
A cup of noodles for breakfast
A cup of noodles for lunch and
A cup of noodles for dinner
Every day is the Winter
Every day is December
Cause evin in the middle of Summer
The streets shudder from the poverty blizzard
Rocket propelled grenades
Landmines and letterbombs
Open up your envelops
With thoughts of them shuttin off
Your water and your lights
And your foods and your rights
All you got in your life
Is little dude and your wife
So you move in the white
With the crew in the night
But you’re nervous:
The block drafted you into the service
The curse

You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga

Wakin’ up is the beginning of a day that’s fucked
Spoons and forks and napkins and plates and cups
Everything but a meal
I bang with my steel
And feel hunger pains in me still
I hit the front line with my ammo and my canteen
Basketball and tennis shoes as a sand screen
Shootin’ jumpers as the boys in blue pass me
Casually
I pass cream to the crack fiends
The other day a first Lieutenant was moded
Started up the car and it exploded
But didn’t nobody notice
I’m knowin’ how it goes
When if the the nigga with the purple heart of courage ain’t the oldest
It’s cold shit
But if I let little man push
Little man could go and create a plan to ambush
Double jeopardy
Brothers reppin’ me
And tellin’ me they lovin’ and respectin’ me
Could be the death of me

You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
God in heaven could you tell me why you never chose me
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
Times I asked you to provide or we wasn’t goin’ to eat
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
Why was everything that you was supposed to do on me
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
Since I’m not in heaven it’s only one other place I can be

Now shit’s hard, when you’re up in rank this far
I hit bars and I mix and mingle with stars
You flip cars with overtime you get scarred
And with your broad you begin to whisper “discharge”
Traumatized by the lies of the turncoats
Who walk enemy ground to go and burn smoke
Five dead single shot glock nine to the head
And you like, “Fuck em’”
Them niggas have to learn though
But things deepen
Your enemy’s peepin’
The rate you’re gain’ weight got your thinergies creepin’
They see you’re not sleepin’
So they got reason
To send a soldier in your circle
And manipulate the treason
A psychological Hurricane Katrina
And ain’t nobody comin’ to help
Fuck FEMA
I slowly turn the gun to myself and squeeze it
And Mohhamed Era Su Allayet (?)
I couldn’t see it
The grievous

I didn’t create this shit, I was born into it. Like I didn’t create the projects, I didn’t create homelessness, I didn’t create poverty, I didn’t create unemployment, I didn’t create this poor educational system, I was pushed into it, and now you want to blame me for not rising above it? Shit, I may not be that strong!

You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga
You ain’t a made nigga, you just afraid nigga

(via Navaho Gunleg)

Artist: Rage Against The Machine
Song: Wake Up

==========

Come on!
Uggh!

Come on, although ya try to discredit
Ya still never edit
The needle, I’ll thread it
Radically poetic
Standin’ with the fury that they had in ‘66
And like E-Double I’m mad
Still knee-deep in the system’s shit
Hoover, he was a body remover
I’ll give ya a dose
But it’ll never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocrisy

Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When their heads are flown
‘Cause all these punks
Got bullets in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot

Yeah!
Yeah, back in this…
Wit’ poetry, my mind I flex
Flip like Wilson, vocals never lackin’ dat finesse
Whadda I got to, whadda I got to do to wake ya up
To shake ya up, to break the structure up
‘Cause blood still flows in the gutter
I’m like takin’ photos
Mad boy kicks open the shutter
Set the groove
Then stick and move like I was Cassius
Rep the stutter step
Then bomb a left upon the fascists
Yea, the several federal men
Who pulled schemes on the dream
And put it to an end
Ya better beware
Of retribution with mind war
20/20 visions and murals with metaphors
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
Ya know they murdered X
And tried to blame it on Islam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot

Uggh!
What was the price on his head?
What was the price on his head!

I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard, I think I heard a shot

“He may be a real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed obediance to white liberal doctrine of non-violence… and embrace black nationalism”
“Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble-makers… And neutralize them, neutralize them, neutralize them”

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

How long? Not long, cause what you reap is what you sow

Artist: GZA (The Genius)
Song: Breaker, Breaker

==========

[Chorus: GZA]
Breaker, breaker, one nine, clear the line
Can you read me? Extorted your rhymes
MC’s should expect the worst
I stay alert and shoot first

[GZA]
This is not a test, it’s difficulty
Picture closely, the ignorant mostly
Blind, deaf, dumb, your mind left numb
Lost soul who failed to hear the roll of the drum
In the bottom of your bomb shelter, still felt the
heavy blast that blew off the masks of twelve welders
The math of an elder, praise the Lord - thank you Genius
Operation: Project English
Commander-n-chief of flight style, check the aircraft
Glide like the frisbee, Digi look Disney
To check fault in oneself is pure loveliness
You break the mirror that remind you of your ugliness
So when I bust, no one is untouched
Some returning with the mic clutched, like such
who plan but never execute
He had the heat in his hand, but yo he didn’t shoot
Therefore; your mechanism of material better be sickly
or let your lead spread incredibly quickly
I move bravely, travellin on a horse
on the battlefield, surrounded by the lost
of those who plotted with the brains of animals
My high molecular structure be untangible
The name ring a bell, killable two syllable
The Wu is comin through, the outcome is critical
To be blunt, the beef was cooked up like coke goods
The rhyme first came to me in the oak woods
Up to no good, rap icon
“Milk” the industry like the Wall Street junk bond
You see the bright stone, I got your height sewn
Direct current, that move through the mic-phone
Key contributor, well known major factor
Rhyme distributor, the drive of a tractor
who run ya down if you don’t move or wanna linger {*echoes*}

Chorus: repeat 2X

[GZA]
The immortality of my fame is the measure of other’s torture
Burnt offer, from a flamin author
The falconer who flies enough birds for the chase
Strictly excel in what is excellence with grace
The significance was not the vulgar applause of interest
but the feelin that exit, completion of a sentence
With age and experience, my reason ripens
I strike on you Vikings, slash like a hyphen
If you enter the house of fortune by the gate of pleasure
You will leave by sorrow, the flow measures
everything fails with the unfortunate
Learned that recordin it, so my mind broaden it
Track records, ranks us, with the exceptional
Extreme complex physics, high technical
The truth is usually seen and rarely heard
What’s more dangerous than hatred, is the word
You wild cards, Jack of all trades
Those who parade their positions, show their Spades
A large flock of MC’s, they figure to be taught
It ain’t hard to see why I’m vigorously saught

Chorus: repeat 2X

[Outro: GZA]
Breaker, breaker, one nine
Breaker, breaker, one nine

so what’s it gonna take, people?
when is enough, enough?
how long until his actions reflect your morals?
how long until we pay for his sins?
are you feeling me?
are you fucking feeling me?
every day it’s something new
a smirk to the right
and a pound to the few
the base recognizes His play
our theocratic dictator
our aborted yesterday
i mean, tomorrow
tomorrow
yeah, keep on sitting back for tomorrow
shit will just get right
right!?
right.
so right that trees will snap back left
so right that bass will become treble cleft
you can’t get much righter than that
turning a c sharp into a b flat
so right that a woman loses her right
so right that good men lose sight
that an emergency contraceptive replacement
is a backhanded slight
so the question that remains
is what are you willing to do?
are you ready to alter your life?
are you ready to let reality shine through?
are you ready to put pen to pad?
are you ready to find that voice within?
are you ready to step up and grad?
are you ready to stop being chagrined?
it ain’t a simple move
(discerning truth from lies)
it takes a whole new groove
(cutting away from some comfortable ties)
friends will drift away or straight up get cut
from your roster of ideals
your ability to deal
in a life of new found zeal
but that’s where i live
how i move through my day
it’s my warrior way
my soldier’s pay
my march in step to a brighter day
the difference between
feelin’
knowin’
holdin’
showin’
askin’
tellin’
seperatin’
gellin’
Contact!
Can I get a ***!?
***!
Bullshit.
Now there’s a Scenario that won’t get played…?
Out

Artist: Public Enemy
Song: