I Am by AWKWORD Lyrics
[Modenine]
It's the Flygerian, going H.A.M with the hustle
Run up on the Mode and pull a hamstring muscle
If you got an old bone to pick, bury the fossil
Or else , it's gonna be a one-sided tussle
You can tango, I'm all about the cash, Kurt Russell
Up front payment, money in the duffle, bag
But over here, they desecrating the art form
Lying to themselves like, Mode too hard for 'em
I raise the bar, you finishing where I start from
You far from a beast on the mic, you need a stronger grip
I got no endorsement, no sponsorship
They want a song about a silly dance, a monster hit
I ain't got that, but I got bars to make you back flip
Put the beat in a casket, when the Polymath spit
My peers pull me down, it's like I'm rapping from a crab's pit
All I'm trying to do is fill my bread basket
[AWKWORD]
AmeriKKKa, that's with three Ks
We need a man in a cape in the land of the brave, these days
Cave man cut my Capital One, for one, cause it isn’t pre-paid
And summer's always here, get out the street to beat the heat wave
Popped a pen, poured on paper to prove my beats slayed
But when Peter Piper picked a peck, the peppers were afraid
Always been the same, new ways to lynch a slave
We can march a million miles, make sense but no change
While bastards build a billion bars to break us with the cage
On The Other Side of the River, they do drugs at a rave
Seniors sleep soundly, estates safe cause a gates
We on the outside like, bitch, we bend but don’t break
It's like Apartheid, resist, in Mandela's six names
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Zulu mind frame
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me who I am
Today
Today
[Five Steez]
Looking at my life, there's one constant
My outlet always been this lyrical content
I never turn my back on this craft
Regardless of how I earn my cash on this path
The industry shady, sometimes, only stress
But I chose my direction and there's no regrets
I love music, with the biz, I was infatuated
'Til I realized most people masquerading
I do my art from the heart, hope it reach you
I'm fulfilled cause my songs spoke to people
Still slaving on the plantation, working to make it
You can never find a verse where I fake it
And yes, I know my purpose is sacred
Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, the turf of the greatest
You can hear the hunger and thirst on these pages
And the genius in the nouns and verbs in these statements
[Holstar]
An '80s baby, when Hip Hop was in its infancy
Like let there be light, with open eyes they said, this infant sees
An African drum beat, bare feet, the ground cracks open
My ancestors can't let this vocal cords from me
They can source from me, but double XL with the sorcery
An African kid who wanna blast at the kid
Mastered a bit, now the Grandmaster Flash faster
LSK is my pulpit, Zambian rap pastor
Said I'd never be the best, but the best rocking a bullet vest
Spitting my verbal cannons, heart in my hand, I got an open chest
I more than live it, I embody the culture
Trying to save Hip Hop's carcass from these industry vultures
Fiends is tumultuous, Hip Hop is in a state of emergency
But they earn, you see? And they still don't see, the urgency
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, I found, the way
[Latasha Alcindor]
Dedicated to my dedication
Writing out my heart in this Q Train station
Man ya'll don't know what this girl been facing
Keep a slight grin, but the game grim, acting Grinch with my patience
Case in point, I be pointing out the cases
Vicious cycles with the denominator is faceless
Whose arrival making us hate us in occasion
Making our fate seem like The Matrix
All I want in life is to make living off a mics
Keep my fam straight, keep the people outta hype
And let 'em know the weight that they feel, we feel it too
The pressure in the rough, makes a shorty shine through
The see through, the evils, they teach you
But ego is pivotal, to the ways of getting you
So always kill it boo
[Third Eye]
My mama raised a soldier
Malawian born, but shooting global 'til it's over
Technology low, yo, my Internet slow, so
I'm shooting every rhyme, every single time, every front line, that's a soldier
The warm heart of Africa, there's never no war
But then we fight against the odds just to even the score
But in Malawi what's war, is adding up all these votes
For these fat politicians never knowing the score
They told us it's a draw, but now we celebrate the victory
Somebody explain these blood stains on my history
Dictators burn books, companies burn statistics
We end up just another number, it's sadistic
The floods are coming up, because the rain is going down
Thought I was coming up, until the floods came around
Malawi's named after a flame, so just imagine
A flame standing over the flood, and then he drown
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, we found, a way
[Wakazi]
My journey ain't never been in a straight line
No one to give me, so you know, I had to take mine
With TEC-9s, no, taekwando
Yes, but I was always equipped with a great mind
No one heard me through the grapevine
They say the best never come with a warning, so it's a great sign
So fuck they talk about why I ain't signed
Trust me I'll be all they talk about, at the finish line
Bilingual, beasting through these mixtapes, no single
Married to the game, yes and still single
Sina habari na mademu labda tu mingle
Getting the box, ain't never been a jackpot, bingo
Mandingo, mi ndo mpingo uliona kwa na ulimbo
Wananasa wakigusa nawachapa na hii fimbo
Me ndo mlinzi wa Hip Hop, protect lindo
Make sure everything go, smooth ka huu wimbo
[The Assembly]
[Lebo]
Hey, yo, Mel? It’s H, homes. You back in town yet?
[Mel]
Nah, I'm on way back, though
I'm almost at the border, had to take back roads
What up with you?
[Lebo]
Hey, I'm relaxed, bro. Just looking for something to do
Thought that you'd be back, so
Back roads, what you doing that fo'?
[Mel]
Can't afford to be paying mad dough
Bribing traffic officers for silly shit, I'm that broke
You're only leaving if you flash the purple paper, can't escape 'em
[Lebo]
Ah, snap, I guess that's how they make 'em
When the uniform's the only thing that changes
But I’m glad you made it
Wait, you riding with a baby?
[Mel]
Nope, queues are crazy
Same mission, lots of different faces
Our people on the hustle for this paper
[Lebo]
Ay, and how we chase it and waste it at the same pace
Lays the basis for where the fates place us
But still we share space with the same races
That we say disgrace us, though we wear the same skin
Cause family is more than just next of kin
[Mel]
Damn, family is more than just next of kin
[Lebo & Mel]
Yup, family is more than just next of kin
Word, family
Family
Family
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, we found, a way
It's the Flygerian, going H.A.M with the hustle
Run up on the Mode and pull a hamstring muscle
If you got an old bone to pick, bury the fossil
Or else , it's gonna be a one-sided tussle
You can tango, I'm all about the cash, Kurt Russell
Up front payment, money in the duffle, bag
But over here, they desecrating the art form
Lying to themselves like, Mode too hard for 'em
I raise the bar, you finishing where I start from
You far from a beast on the mic, you need a stronger grip
I got no endorsement, no sponsorship
They want a song about a silly dance, a monster hit
I ain't got that, but I got bars to make you back flip
Put the beat in a casket, when the Polymath spit
My peers pull me down, it's like I'm rapping from a crab's pit
All I'm trying to do is fill my bread basket
[AWKWORD]
AmeriKKKa, that's with three Ks
We need a man in a cape in the land of the brave, these days
Cave man cut my Capital One, for one, cause it isn’t pre-paid
And summer's always here, get out the street to beat the heat wave
Popped a pen, poured on paper to prove my beats slayed
But when Peter Piper picked a peck, the peppers were afraid
Always been the same, new ways to lynch a slave
We can march a million miles, make sense but no change
While bastards build a billion bars to break us with the cage
On The Other Side of the River, they do drugs at a rave
Seniors sleep soundly, estates safe cause a gates
We on the outside like, bitch, we bend but don’t break
It's like Apartheid, resist, in Mandela's six names
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Zulu mind frame
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me who I am
Today
Today
[Five Steez]
Looking at my life, there's one constant
My outlet always been this lyrical content
I never turn my back on this craft
Regardless of how I earn my cash on this path
The industry shady, sometimes, only stress
But I chose my direction and there's no regrets
I love music, with the biz, I was infatuated
'Til I realized most people masquerading
I do my art from the heart, hope it reach you
I'm fulfilled cause my songs spoke to people
Still slaving on the plantation, working to make it
You can never find a verse where I fake it
And yes, I know my purpose is sacred
Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, the turf of the greatest
You can hear the hunger and thirst on these pages
And the genius in the nouns and verbs in these statements
[Holstar]
An '80s baby, when Hip Hop was in its infancy
Like let there be light, with open eyes they said, this infant sees
An African drum beat, bare feet, the ground cracks open
My ancestors can't let this vocal cords from me
They can source from me, but double XL with the sorcery
An African kid who wanna blast at the kid
Mastered a bit, now the Grandmaster Flash faster
LSK is my pulpit, Zambian rap pastor
Said I'd never be the best, but the best rocking a bullet vest
Spitting my verbal cannons, heart in my hand, I got an open chest
I more than live it, I embody the culture
Trying to save Hip Hop's carcass from these industry vultures
Fiends is tumultuous, Hip Hop is in a state of emergency
But they earn, you see? And they still don't see, the urgency
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, I found, the way
[Latasha Alcindor]
Dedicated to my dedication
Writing out my heart in this Q Train station
Man ya'll don't know what this girl been facing
Keep a slight grin, but the game grim, acting Grinch with my patience
Case in point, I be pointing out the cases
Vicious cycles with the denominator is faceless
Whose arrival making us hate us in occasion
Making our fate seem like The Matrix
All I want in life is to make living off a mics
Keep my fam straight, keep the people outta hype
And let 'em know the weight that they feel, we feel it too
The pressure in the rough, makes a shorty shine through
The see through, the evils, they teach you
But ego is pivotal, to the ways of getting you
So always kill it boo
[Third Eye]
My mama raised a soldier
Malawian born, but shooting global 'til it's over
Technology low, yo, my Internet slow, so
I'm shooting every rhyme, every single time, every front line, that's a soldier
The warm heart of Africa, there's never no war
But then we fight against the odds just to even the score
But in Malawi what's war, is adding up all these votes
For these fat politicians never knowing the score
They told us it's a draw, but now we celebrate the victory
Somebody explain these blood stains on my history
Dictators burn books, companies burn statistics
We end up just another number, it's sadistic
The floods are coming up, because the rain is going down
Thought I was coming up, until the floods came around
Malawi's named after a flame, so just imagine
A flame standing over the flood, and then he drown
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, we found, a way
[Wakazi]
My journey ain't never been in a straight line
No one to give me, so you know, I had to take mine
With TEC-9s, no, taekwando
Yes, but I was always equipped with a great mind
No one heard me through the grapevine
They say the best never come with a warning, so it's a great sign
So fuck they talk about why I ain't signed
Trust me I'll be all they talk about, at the finish line
Bilingual, beasting through these mixtapes, no single
Married to the game, yes and still single
Sina habari na mademu labda tu mingle
Getting the box, ain't never been a jackpot, bingo
Mandingo, mi ndo mpingo uliona kwa na ulimbo
Wananasa wakigusa nawachapa na hii fimbo
Me ndo mlinzi wa Hip Hop, protect lindo
Make sure everything go, smooth ka huu wimbo
[The Assembly]
[Lebo]
Hey, yo, Mel? It’s H, homes. You back in town yet?
[Mel]
Nah, I'm on way back, though
I'm almost at the border, had to take back roads
What up with you?
[Lebo]
Hey, I'm relaxed, bro. Just looking for something to do
Thought that you'd be back, so
Back roads, what you doing that fo'?
[Mel]
Can't afford to be paying mad dough
Bribing traffic officers for silly shit, I'm that broke
You're only leaving if you flash the purple paper, can't escape 'em
[Lebo]
Ah, snap, I guess that's how they make 'em
When the uniform's the only thing that changes
But I’m glad you made it
Wait, you riding with a baby?
[Mel]
Nope, queues are crazy
Same mission, lots of different faces
Our people on the hustle for this paper
[Lebo]
Ay, and how we chase it and waste it at the same pace
Lays the basis for where the fates place us
But still we share space with the same races
That we say disgrace us, though we wear the same skin
Cause family is more than just next of kin
[Mel]
Damn, family is more than just next of kin
[Lebo & Mel]
Yup, family is more than just next of kin
Word, family
Family
Family
[Maka]
Everything you gave me
Made me, who I am
Today
The good, the bad, the ugly
Somehow, we found, a way