[Saul Williams] Cyborg, android D-boy, decoy Water, wisdom Tightrope, vision (Oh, these dreams are forever) Insight, stronghold Heartless, ice cold (If you leave now or never) Mystery, mastery (mastery) Solar (solar), battery
[Janelle Monae] Some will pull the gun because they want to be stars Snatching up your life into the blink of an eye And if you see your cloning on a street walking by Keep a-running for your life 'cause only one will survive (Oh, these dreams are forever)
War is in the street and it's an eye for an eye Run on for your life or you can dance you can die (If you leave now or never) She's praying in the sand like she's the last samurai It's a stick-up stick-up and a pick-up pick-up
Telling lies and telling lies will put your face on fire Run and tell your friends to never dream, never win Ghettos keep a-cryin' till the streets full of zombies Kids are killing kids and then the kids join the army
Rising and a-waking, yes sir here come the sun March into the warring with the kick of the drum The wiser simians, they got the bomb and the guns So you might as well keep dancing if you're not gonna run
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) A long long way to find the one We'll keep on dancing till she comes These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) And if you wanna wake the sun Just keep on marching to the drums These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever These dreams are forever
N-N-Now-now-now I'm not saying it's better to bailar You can pull the trigger or you build you an ark My words are rather kind you keep them held in contempt Looking for a nine and then a droid you can tempt
Kids are, "Zombie, zombie, zombie, where do dreams come from?" A little birdie chirping and she's singing a song She's shaking 'em and waking 'em and giving 'em mas As the clock tick-tocked and the bodies drop
I'm gonna lay myself so far way down right in your chops Modern day example of a wolf vs flock Freedom necessary and it's by any means Frozen they were stolen all the kings and the queens
Sudanese and Congolese who put the roll in the rock From here to Sudan, Metropolis to Iraq It's a minute to the dawn and yet the sun ain't back It's a war in all the streets and yes these freaks will dance or die
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) A long long way to find the one We'll keep on dancing till she comes These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) And if you wanna wake the sun Just keep on marching to the drums These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever
[Saul Williams] Angel, blossom Gunshot, dodging Dream, bright Beat, light Breathe, live Help, give Focus, trance Wake up, dance
[Janelle Monae] I'm praying for the man sitting without much time May he understand the clock will never rewind Wisen him and sharpen him and give him a motto Hate no more, said he must hate no more
You see the daylight comes into the kingdom But the kingdom's full of ignorant men Just keep rebelling away, you gotta dream it away Because the weathermen you're seeing ain't creating the weather
This man wants to see a jubilation And that man wants us in emancipation And then there is the man who wants a stronger nation But you see we really got to and I think that we ought to
Protect the mind from degradation Sow in the seeds of education They run from us, are we that dangerous? There's a war in all the streets and yes the freaks will dance or die!
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) A long long way to find the one We'll keep on dancing till she comes These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever
(Forever, forever, forever, forever) And if you wanna wake the sun Just keep on marching to the drums These dreams are forever Oh these dreams are forever Oh these
Something is dying, tonight There will be no more breath and no more light I've burned every candle and extinguished every fear And I've waited for your time to pass to bring in my new year
Something is dying, tonight There will be no more struggle, no more fight And I've known that I'd have to live through suffering and you But I'm the landlord of my dreams now and my tenant's rent is due
Something is dying Something is dying inside of me In spite of me
Something is dying, tonight My old patterns off to Saturn taking flight And the astronaut within me has no air supply at all So he's plunging into the deep sea with no parachute to fall
Something is dying, tonight I can't eat and I can't sleep, so I just write 'Cause I wanted you to lean on to distract me from my feet But my karma wheel chair rolled me out of bounds and out of reach
Something is dying Something is dying inside of me In spite of me Something is dying Something is dying inside of me In spite of me
Author of wind and change Phantom of the opera Tenor of the octave range Spews volcanic lava
Silent partner of the sun Divests a world of interest Sun retires, calls it a day And sleeps a hundred winters
Darkness echoes, thunder cries And waves ripple with laughter Dolphins confuse sea and sky And now the hereafter
Monkeys climb to tops of trees And call out to the children Little girl awakes from dream As Elvis leaves the building
Elvis leaves the building Elvis leaves the building Elvis leaves the building Elvis leaves the building
Down pour from the darkest cloud Accumulated tension Flashflood from the third Leaks into the fourth dimension
Shotgun rings across the plain Down goes another lion Harlem church choir sings refrain: "We're marching on to Zion"
I know that you've Woken up and found yourself Within a world of questions Where the answers come and go
And I know you don't Wanna sit around and hear No asinine suggestions When the truth just can't be told
But if I may, I got a Thing or two to say, although the Answers are not clear there's not a Thing that you should fear because the Answers to it all whether things Rise or when they fall you'll find the Truth remains the same And that truth is that God is change
Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny I think that God is testing me Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny You just might fail successfully
I'm alone And I thought God created you for me How could it be that it can't be? So alone And I don't know what to do with myself I don't know what I would do
Hey you I thought that you were my destiny Girl, I thought we were meant to be Can't I choose what is best for me? Hey you I thought you were my destiny Girl, I thought we were meant to be Don't I know what is best for me?
Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny I think that God is testing me Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny You just might fail successfully
You can't control your destiny You can't control your destiny You can't control
Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny I think that God is testing me Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it But you can't control your destiny You just might fail successfully Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it You can talk about it, talk about it You can talk about it, talk about it Hey you You can talk about it, talk about it You can talk about it, talk about it You can talk about it, talk about it
Well, there's two ways I can say this And one would be: fuck you And there's no two ways around it Because one would be untrue
'Cause I love everything about you But I don't wanna be around you
If you control my heart, will you control my brain? If I give in to you, will it still feel the same? 'Cause I want nothing more than to be here with you If you fulfill my dreams, will that fulfill you, too?
I need a second I need a second to think I need a second
Now, the other way to play this Would be mellow, light and cool Poetry and meditation Higher ground and higher truth
But I love everything about you But I use everything to doubt you
If you control my heart, will you control my brain? If I give in to you, will it still feel the same? 'Cause I want nothing more than to be here with you If you fulfill my dreams, will that fulfill you, too?
I need a second I need a second to think I need a second
I found the spot where truth echoes And know each beauty mark by heart But I just can't keep her still enough To render perfect art
'Cause the truth is ever changing And although she loves my touch I've had my way, but I when I pray She kisses back too much
And it's hard to feel real gangster When you're always getting kissed But you jump at every pucker 'Cause your fear of getting dissed
I try not to fight the parts of me That want to kiss her back Egos should be illegal Mine just don't know how to act
He tells me I don't need her And I should walk this path alone She's make believe, she's up my sleeve That I'd do better with a clone
But could it be? It seems to me that she's my other half My inner Tarzan monkey girl Who's raised mainly by giraffes
And besides she makes me laugh 'Cause deep down, I think she's stupid But deeper down, I'm just a clown Starting bar room brawls with cupid
Like, "Fuck that naked baby angel, yo And gimme two more buttery nipples" And God just re-invents herself As ice-cubes in my ripple
And as soon as I learned to tell time I no longer listened I was born at 12:30 in the morning By 1 AM I was certain that I would no longer remember by past By 1:40 I had forgotten my name By 2:12 the ancients had bid me farewell By 2:30 I had swallowed a foreign grand By 2:40 I had begun to hallucinate It's all coming back to me It's all coming back to me I met my parent's spirit guides at 4:30 It was they who told me of the sun It was not what I expected It only seemed to hint at light By 6:17 I had decided what I wanted to be By 6:18 I had discovered my shell At 6:19 I began the process of dying At 7 o'clock I made an attempt to be perfectly still And jumped when I felt my soul fission I jumped when I felt my soul fission
At the moment I learned to tell time I no longer listened When I began to tell time I began to no longer listen
I was born at 12:30 in the morning By 1 AM I was certain that I would no longer remember by past By 1:40 I had forgotten my name By 2:12 the ancients had bid me farewell By 2:30 I had swallowed a foreign grand By 2:40 I had begun to hallucinate By 6:17 I had decided what I wanted to be By 6:18 I discovered my shell At 6:19 I began the process of dying At 7 o'clock I made an attempt to be perfectly still And jumped when I felt my soul fission I jumped when I felt my soul fission
I used to hump my pillow at night The type of silent prayer to make myself prepare for the light Me and my cousin Duce would rank the girls between one and ten And the highest number got to be my pillow's pretend
Now, I apologize to every high ranker But you taught me how to dream and so I also thank you I never had the courage to approach you at school We joked around a lot and I know you thought I dressed cool
But I was just covering up All the insecurities that came bubbling up My complexion had me stuck in an emotional rut Like the time you Flavor Flaved me and you played me Yo Chuck
They say you're too black, man, I think I'm too black Mom, do you think I'm too black? I think I'm too black, I think I'm too black I think I'm too black, black, black, black, black
Black Stacey They called me Black Stacey I never got to be myself 'Cause to myself I always was Black Stacey In polka dots and paisley A double goose and bally shoes You thought it wouldn't phase me, I was Black Stacey The preachers' son from Haiti Who rhymed a lot and always got The dance steps at the party, I was Black Stacey You thought it wouldn't phase me But it did 'Cause I was just a kid
I used to use bleaching creme 'Til Madame CJ Walker walked into my dreams I dreamt of being white and complimented by you But the only shiny black thing that you liked was my shoes
Now, I apologize for bottling up All the little things you said that warped my head and my gut Even though I always told you not to brag about the fact That your great grand mother was raped by her slave master
Yeah, I became militant, too So it was clear on every level I was blacker than you I turned you on to Malcolm X and Assata Shakur In the three quarter elephant goose with the fur
Had the high top fade with the steps on the side Had the two finger ring, rag top on the ride Had the sheep skin, name belt, Lee suit, Kangol Acid wash Vasco, chicken and waffle
Black Stacey They called me Black Stacey I never got to be myself 'Cause to myself I always was Black Stacey In polka dots and paisley A double goose and bally shoes You thought it wouldn't phase me, I was Black Stacey The preachers' son from Haiti Who rhymed a lot and always got The dance steps at the party, I was Black Stacey You thought it wouldn't phase me But it did 'Cause I was just a kid
Now here's a little message for you All you baller playa's got some insecurities, too That you could cover up, bling it up, cash in and ching ching it up Hope no one will bring it up, lock it down and string it up
Or you can share your essence with us 'Cause everything about you couldn't be rugged and ruff And even though you tote a glock and you're hot on the street If you dare to share your heart, we'll nod a head to its beat
And you should do that, if nothing else, to prove that A player like you could keep it honest and true Don't mean to call your bluff, but mothafucka, that's what I do You got platinum chain then, son, I'm probably talking to you
And you can call your gang, your posse and the rest of your crew And while you're at it get them addicts and the indigent, too I plan to have a whole army by the time that I'm through To load their guns with songs they haven't sung like
Black Stacey They called me Black Stacey I never got to be myself 'Cause to myself I always was Black Stacey In polka dots and paisley A double goose and bally shoes You thought it wouldn't phase me, I was Black Stacey The preachers' son from Haiti Who rhymed a lot and always got The dance steps at the party, I was Black Stacey You thought it wouldn't phase me But it did 'Cause I was just a kid
Black Stacey They called me Black Stacey I never got to be myself 'Cause to myself I always was Black Stacey They called me Black Stacey Ah, Black Stacey Ooh, Black Stacey Move, Black Stacey Groove, Black Stacey Shake, Black Stacey Make Black Stacey cry Cry No, not I
I want my money back I'm down here drowning in your fat You got me on my knees Praying for everything you lack
I ain't afraid of you I'm just a victim of your fear You cower in your tower Praying that I'll disappear
I got another plan One that requires me to stand On the stage or in the street Don't need no microphone or beat
And when you hear this song If you ain't dead then sing along Bang and strum to these here drums 'Til you get where you belong
I got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth You wanna be somebody? See somebody? Try and free somebody? Got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth Hand to mouth
I wrote a song for you, today While I was sitting in my room I jumped up on my bed, today And played it on a broom
I didn't think that it would be A song that you would hear But when I played it in my head I made you reappear
I wrote a video for it And I acted out each part And then I took your picture out And taped it to my heart
I've taped you to my heart, dear girl I've taped you to my heart And if you pull away from me You'll tear my life apart
I got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth You wanna be somebody? See somebody? Try and free somebody? Got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth Hand to mouth
Ecstacy, suffering Echinacea, buffering We aim to remember what we choose to forget God's just a baby and her diaper is wet
Call the police I'm strapped to the teeth And liable to disregard Your every belief
Call on the law I'm fixin' to draw A line between what is and seems And call up a brawl
Call 'em up now 'Cause it's about to go pow I'm standing on the threshold Of the ups and the downs
Call up a truce Because I'm 'bout to break loose Protect ya neck 'cause, son I'm breaking out of my noose
I got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth You wanna be somebody? See somebody? Try and free somebody? Got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth Hand to mouth
I got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth You wanna be somebody? See somebody? Try and free somebody? Got a list of demands Written on the palm of my hands I ball my fist and you're gonna know where I stand We're living hand to mouth Hand to mouth
I'm falling up flights of stairs Scraping myself from the sidewalk Jumping from rivers to bridges Drowning in pure air
Hip Hop is lying on the side of the road half dead to itself Blood scrawled over its mangled flesh like jazz Stuffed into an oversized record bag Tuba lips swollen beyond recognition
Diamond studded teeth strewn like rice at karma's wedding The ring bearer bore bad news Minister of information wrote the wrong proclamation And now everyone's singing the wrong song
Dissonant chords find necks like nooses That nigga kicked the chair from under my feet Harlem shaking from a rope, but still on beat Damn, that loop is tight
That nigga found a way to sample the way, the truth, the light Can't wait to play myself at the party tonight Niggas are gonna die Cop car swerves to the side of the road
Hip Hop takes its last breath The cop scrawls vernacular manslaughter onto a yellow pad Then balls the paper into his hand Deciding he'd rather free-style
You have the right to remain silent You have the right to remain silent And maybe you should have, maybe you should have Before your bullshit manifested
These thugs can't fuck with me They're too thugged out Niggas think I'm bugged out 'Cause I ain't Sean John or Lugged out
This ain't hip hop no more, son It's bigger than that This ain't ghetto no more, black It's bigger than black
So where my aliens at? Girl, we're all illegal This system ain't for us It's for rich people
And you ain't rich, dawg You just got money But you can't buy shit To not get hungry
Telegram to Hip Hop: Dear Hip Hop, stop This shit has gone too far, stop Please see that turntables and mixer are returned to Kool Herc, stop The ghettos are dancing off beat, stop The master of ceremonies have forgotten that they were once slaves And have neglected the occasion of this ceremony, stop Perhaps we should not have encouraged them to use cordless microphones for they have walked too far from the source and are emitting a lesser frequency, stop Please inform all interested parties that cash nor murder have been included to the list of elements, stop We are discontinuing our line of braggadocio, in light of the current trend in "realness", stop As an alternative, we will be confiscating weed supplies, replacing them with magic mushrooms In hopes of helping niggas see beyond their reality, stop Give my regards to Brooklyn
These thugs can't fuck with me They're too thugged out Niggas think I'm bugged out 'Cause I ain't Sean John or Lugged out
This ain't hip hop no more, son It's bigger than that This ain't ghetto no more, black It's bigger than black
So where my aliens at? Girl, we're all illegal This system ain't for us It's for rich people
And you ain't rich, dawg You just got money But you can't buy shit To not get hungry
These cats can't fuck with me I purr purple Sewed in crease Too shelled like a turtle
I walk the streets Like the lie that I'm telling One listener grips his knee And starts yelling
I see through speakers I speak what's seen I eat and shit I sleep and dream
I walk the streets of London Like, "Know what I mean?" And chill in Wagamama's eating crisp soy beans It's like that
I gave hip hop to white boys When nobody was looking They found it locked in a basement When they gentrified Brooklyn
I left a list of instructions An MPC and a mic My sci-fi library And utensils to write
Right or wrong I think hip hop is where it belongs Where it comes from is one But, son, we wrote them songs
It was a ploy Got fools tied up with mechanized toys We are beings of breath Beyond the beings of boys
Now, you can break all you wanna Scratch all you wanna Graff all you wanna Laugh all you wanna But I wanna show you what the stars are made of I wanna show you the stars
So substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours It's yours Substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours It's yours
White boys listen to white boys Black boys listen to black boys No one listens to no one No one listens to no one
Alone on a mountain top Uprooted from the earth Drifting beyond normalcy A gold piece in God's purse
Is worthless here We're Earthless here God versus fear Man versus fear
Fear not I purse my lips and kiss like a glock Violence is a metaphor for victory's plot Change is inevitable, but our death is not
Now, you can break all you wanna Scratch all you wanna Graff all you wanna Laugh all you wanna But I wanna show you what the stars are made of I wanna show you the stars
So substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours It's yours Substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours It's yours
Grippo
I wanna show you what the stars are made of I wanna show you what the stars are made of I wanna show you what the stars are made of I wanna show you the stars
So substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours It's yours Substitute the anger and oppression With guilt and depression and it's yours
