Lyrics: "One Time."

Originally found on the iFlow mixtape we released with King Alexander (aka Joe Black) and E-Drid, this is one of my favorite verses. I'm most at home rhyming over mid-tempo/slower beats as my style is fairly high-density. Just reminiscing the other day and thought of the song again. After four and a half years I'm still feeling it. haha.

[via]

'Cause one of my dreams is to bubble up if only for a moment
Just enough so I can turn around and show all my opponents
How to do it right from the start, my crew's behind me
As I turn this writing to art, strikin' the charts

With the heart of a lion, chargin' the line like a spark from the iron
Artists are whinin' like they grind but they hardly be tryin'
Although they comin' out loud, after an hour
They break up like cumulonimbus clouds after a shower

And transform to vapor, the best-known turn into memories
I light up a Dutch and that's how I'll be burnin' my enemies
Then back to the lab creatin' something new to show ya
And plan for the day me and my labelmates go supernova

It's only a matter of time and perseverance
Before we make our first national televised appearance
And so for now until it's the apocalypse
I'm everywhere like precipitation all over the metropolis

Lyrics: "CJLO Freestyle."

Written and performed exclusively for my radio interview last Saturday on CJLO's Beats From The East with DJ Mister Vee. I'll have a proper post about the interview tomorrow.

CJLO

Somebody pass the bottle opener, let's get the cipher started
Pull a Black & Mild out, flick a lighter, spark it
Pull a pad of rhymes out, yeah I write retarded
'Cause I get stupid from Montreal to Pike Place Market

The 206 back in the building
Whether you knapsackin' it or rappin' for millions
I still got you bobbin' ya dome off of the poem
With ya hands up like you heard me cockin' the chrome

My flow, slicker than BP, I cover coastlines
Infiltrate your airwaves with the most lines
Pull ya girl and leave a freak beamin'
Haters try to do what I do, Inception homie, keep dreamin'

They even creep, schemin', pissed at me
Whenever I twist a tree with Mister Vee
Roll up, we about to make history
Nastradamus never predicted what this could be

Recognize, ladies love my voice raspy and deep
I guess that's why I'm always on smash when I creep
Now I'm on the radio, got ya crashin' ya jeep
I'm hittin' off ya main squeeze while ya ass be asleep

Hittin' off ya main squeeze and she makin' me breakfast
Connivin' ways to penetrate your defenses
Who battlin? I'll stay in the trenches, then turn
Your whole block upside down like I was playin' some Tetris

Oh you brave with a deathwish, I'll increase the heat in the streets
Have you fiendin' for the sweetest release
Plenty bars, Merc leave em deceased
I'm a southpaw swingin' son, you really catch a beat from the east

Lyrics: "Pressure" (Verse 03).

The song this verse is from, "Pressure," was a rare one for me to write at the time. It was a welcome spark of inspiration and positivity during a period when I was going through some significant internal changes, many for the worse. Listening to the song soon after recording it, I realized that I was writing it as much for myself as for the important people in my life -- a strange and illuminating epiphany.

sky high [via]

I'm here for you fam, especially when you're strugglin' to make it
When you're feelin' lower than a puddle in the pavement
When you're cussin' at the world, suffering and wasted
Look, we all hustlin' so face it

There's gonna be times when each one of us is sinkin'
Times when you're goin' out ya mind and you wanna chug a drink and
Feelin' like you're traveling but lost your way
Pissed off at the cards that you're forced to play

Believe me, I've been in similar straits
Situations so heavy that I almost couldn't deal with the weight
If it wasn't for those who kept me movin' on in this race of life
I would be dead last, still at the gate

That don't mean that I'm stress-free
Far from it but let's see, I'm still puttin' forward the best me
And damn right I'ma help you out the same, fam
That's the game plan: Sky-high until the plane lands

Lyrics: "Weather Advisory" (Verse 01).

This song will actually be on J-Pros' second album, Pacific Central. "Weather Advisory" touches on a handful of subjects personal to Reggie and me, including addressing various rumors circulating about my dealings in Seattle. It felt good to write.

People say I got issues, why'd I quit the scene
So soon in the game when our shit was mean
So close I could reach out, grip the dream
In my hands then transform it to cream

Hold up though, I was split between
Dealin' nicotine-laced lyrics to fiends
And handlin' a whole other pressure inside
No doubt, I was in for a hell of a ride

I can't stop the gossip, plug the rumors
Designed to hurt me like cuts or bruises
You wanna see Merc messed up? Guess what
You can all kick rocks, son, scuff ya Pumas

Say what you want, and direct all your weaponry
Against me -- you won't affect my trajectory
In fact, it'll just reflect that my destiny's
To keep keepin' on, so respect that and let it be

With that said, Happy Monday.

Lyrics: "Hop-Hypocrite" (Verse 02).

To clarify, I had the second verse on a song with three MCs on it. Yet another rant written a few years ago about the average rap listener being brainwashed by Clear Channel and Viacom. References are a bit dated, but yes I still feel some kinda way about it.

I was taught to write whatever my emotions dictated
Document my memories before that shit faded
From my mind, I needed to capture the essence
Master the lessons -- time passed, I became a bit jaded

Lookin' around man, I see half of these kids fake it
Claimin' they ball hard when ain't half of these kids make it
Out they mom's crib, you ain't stackin' no chips, face it
You'd rather go get wasted and basically lost it

Thinkin' hip-hop is thugs packin' gats on the telly
With tats on their belly, you actin' like you Machiavelli
More fruity than a packet of Jelly/Son you all talk
Like pigeons who do nothin' but yap on the celly

I'm tryin' to get through to ya brain, write you a chapter
And remain true to my name, write what I have to
With my third eye open, and you leavin' it shut
But I don't give a fuck if you're daydreamin' or what

So life out your fantasies of the chrome on ya gat shinin'
While we kick back in a mansion and match diamonds
But reality's me and these local cats grindin'
Tryin' to keep our careers from nosedivin' and flat-linin'

Blame it on bad timing or wack rhyming, whatever
'Cause however you see it, it seems to never get better
Never let up, 'cause if you ain't part of the solution
Watch your fuckin' back when we start the revolution

Lyrics: "Cloud City" (Verse 01).

It's been a while since this was actually written ... probably about a year ago. Yes, I'm feeling a little emo at the moment (but I think I have a decent reason to be), and it reminded me of this verse.

[via]

My girl told me that she thought I was depressed and at times
I don't believe her but it's really all this stress on my mind
That got me actin' like I got a thundercloud in my head
It's rainin' now, so I'd rather lay around and play dead

I move through the fog slow like a sequence in a dream
The only difference is, I ain't sleepin -- it would seem
That I'd be able to reach in and read the secrets in between
The reasons why I'm feelin' like I'm sinkin' deep, what does it mean

Is it because my life used to be sane
Before I started wildin' out and now refuse to be tamed
Or is it my inability to handle drama
At times I need a thicker skin or switch to a better brand of armor

So she tells me to chill, relax and be calmer
Remindin' me there's a bigger picture, panorama
I'm listening but I ain't hearin' a word
Close my eyes 'cause my vision's disappearing and blurred

Lyrics: "The Abyss" (Verse 02).

Written during an introspective, slightly depressed period some months ago. Some things have changed since then; some things haven't.

The road I'm travelin' is not necessarily the ideal one
But to deviate from the path is kinda fearsome
For real, son, 'cause I need to be the last man standing
Battle demons trying to pull me in the damn Grand Canyon

At times I swear they got another plan/Whenever I
Make a small advance, they pullin' me back like a rubber band
I want my soul to grow, but on the other hand
I'm addicted to hookers and blow 'cause yo what's a couple grand?

I'm throwin' money at a problem like that's gon' fix it
Everyone says that my priorities are so twisted
'Cause even when I know my bank account is in the low digits
Guess what I go do, get mo' lifted

The higher I climb, the farther I fall
And never cease to wonder why I even bother at all
'Cause when I look in the mirror, it's so absurd what I see
My doppelganger, the inverted version of me

Lyrics: "Sharper Image" (Verse 01).

Written one cool evening this past spring. Recent events have lead me to re-read this, and maybe complete at least one more accompanying verse in the upcoming days.

Time flies when you're havin' fun, back in the days
Yo you couldn't tell me nothin' about actin' my age
Yeah I was a quiet cat but there was turbulence within
Emotions combine lethally like bourbon mixed with gin

Never a hothead, but lots of my decisions were rash
Enough to make my fam fear a collision or crash
They intervened on my behalf/Told me to face the
Demons in my path so I could rise like a phoenix from the ash

I only half-listened, too busy havin' a blast, missin'
The point about life, karma and ass-kickin'
We all take a number, mine had to be next
So I went and cashed the ultimate reality check

It took a seed for me to man up, put my hand up
And realize that without a plan, I couldn't stand up
To provide for another life dependent on my blessed own
Seein' her picture definitely sends the message home

To step it up a level 'cause it gotta be done
I know you'd feel the same if you had a daughter or son
There ain't no bigger eye opener, it set me straight
Down the path full-steam, didn't let me wait

For life to catch up, no second chances, no rehearsals
They countin' on you to do right, ain't no reversals
Ain't no commercials, this is live from the set of my soul
Listen I'm grown now, let it unfold

Lyrics: "Veil" (Verse 01).

It's almost midnight, it just stopped raining (for now, anyway), and I feel like posting up some lyrics. I recently finished the first verse of a song I'm tentatively calling "Veil" which matches my current introspective-slash-contemplative mood. In an attempt to inject some creativity into my writing, I tried something different this time around, opting for an ABAB rhyme scheme for 20 bars instead of the typical AABB.

If you were brought up like I was, then you woulda believed
That the good guys won all the fights they had
Accomplish anything you set out to achieve
And every son dreamed they could be like their dad

It wasn't hard to separate all the heroes out from the villains
And a friend then was a friend for real
You forgave and forgot if you happened to catch feelings
And God willin' you still made amends and chilled

But now that I've been around a little longer
I've seen some people hold on to hate
I admit sometimes I wish that I'd have been stronger
I'm guilty of the same, we can all relate

'Cause people will cross you, no matter their motivation
Whether from jealousy, greed, or some other sin
Whether you're kind to the world or you're not, no relation
Just some cats wanna see you suffer and then

Humiliate you for bein' you, knockin' ya whole game
In attempts to cut down ya level to size
On the path we all travel they stay blockin' the slow lane
No pain, time to sever the ties

This will be a regular feature on PM; I'll be posting up my rhymes occasionally. Please feel free to leave feedback or criticism -- honesty is definitely appreciated.