| [00:43.35] |
I reach beneath the skin of the street with each step |
| [00:45.97] |
Walkin' closer to my final destination of death |
| [00:48.67] |
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath |
| [00:50.96] |
The Northwest fills the lungs, heals the pain in my chest |
| [00:53.98] |
Take six quarters out of the pocket |
| [00:55.87] |
Drop it in the box |
| [00:56.79] |
Hop the 48, off to pay homage |
| [00:58.95] |
It stops often, I jot my observations, watchin' |
| [01:01.86] |
Citizens walkin' off of the Joe Metropolitan |
| [01:04.65] |
Proletariats and wayward sons |
| [01:06.54] |
With old Filipino men speakin' in they native tongue |
| [01:09.45] |
And the day is just begun |
| [01:11.35] |
Greeted by the scent of a bum |
| [01:12.11] |
Smelling something like beer, barf, and dung |
| [01:14.96] |
A brother in repose in the back all alone |
| [01:17.36] |
Marinatin' in a pair of half-broken headphones |
| [01:19.62] |
Mumbling rhymes |
| [01:20.69] |
Same time begin to pen mine |
| [01:22.34] |
Appreciating God's design |
| [01:24.34] |
Rewind sister |
| [01:24.86] |
Reminds me of a smile in the back of my memory |
| [01:27.61] |
Wonder if I'll see her again |
| [01:29.19] |
Will she remember me? |
| [01:30.38] |
"I'm not tryin' to holler, I swear |
| [01:31.73] |
I'm just weary of the way we hop a ride and just sit there and stare." |
| [01:35.50] |
Prepare for my nine o' clock work meeting |
| [01:37.73] |
A couple pale folks slide right by with no greeting |
| [01:40.53] |
But the people with my phenotype follow with a head-nod up |
| [01:43.30] |
Because we acknowledge that the shit's ****ed up |
| [01:45.18] |
North of Martin Luther King, a straight war zone |
| [01:47.87] |
Detours through the concrete, cranes, and bulldozers |
| [01:51.18] |
No, the Hill is not over still |
| [01:52.64] |
Every block got a coffee shop; it's overkill |
| [01:55.07] |
Focus, know the deal |
| [01:56.32] |
Dope to see Kalil back, the medicine is good again |
| [01:58.34] |
The feeling of leaving and coming back to your hood again |
| [02:01.62] |
It's priceless, I write this, our lives are in crisis |
| [02:03.54] |
Most talk, but don't walk, the path of the righteous |
| [02:06.24] |
Despite this I measure each step |
| [02:08.68] |
Walkin' closer to my final destination of death |
| [02:10.99] |
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath |
| [02:13.76] |
The Northwest fills my lungs, heals the pain in my chest |
| [02:16.32] |
Clutch the moment, a transfer in my hand |
| [02:18.15] |
Still listening |
| [02:19.41] |
Lookin' out the window to the gold and the green |
| [02:21.57] |
And the sun might be shinin' but it's colder than it seems |
| [02:24.09] |
'Cuz the weather's dialectical: there's no in-between |
| [02:27.72] |
In walks an old soul |
| [02:29.74] |
A First Nation native, cat's chiseled like a totem pole |
| [02:32.27] |
No words, as he stands and looks over us |
| [02:34.40] |
He gets off and says, "Have a good day, you foreigners." |
| [02:37.79] |
I, crack a smile one time for the acknowledgement |
| [02:39.93] |
Northbound, now we start to pick up more college kids |
| [02:42.62] |
They try to study on the ride |
| [02:44.38] |
To make up for the fact that they probably kicked it hard last night |
| [02:47.33] |
And I ponder if it's time to save up and get a car |
| [02:49.84] |
And pay for the gas that we're takin' from the war |
| [02:52.40] |
I'd miss all the colorful faces, the places, and spaces I've embraced with |
| [02:56.27] |
The faith that I can rest and raise kids here even with these cats set |
| [03:00.07] |
Trippin' |
| [03:00.17] |
Bringin' '95 back again, same old conditions |
| [03:03.05] |
From Reagan, to Bush, to Clinton, to the Bush the second |
| [03:05.47] |
No matter the neighborhood in the city you're reppin' |
| [03:08.12] |
It's gettin' serious y'all |
| [03:09.29] |
You can even hear the rebel call |
| [03:10.79] |
Gettin' off, leavin' hella pieces on the walls |
| [03:13.17] |
Seen it all, sittin' sideways with my townmates |
| [03:16.26] |
Only place left where majority is brown-faced |
| [03:18.52] |
Now we headed downtown to trade our labor for cash |
| [03:21.64] |
I thank the navigator once and walk fast |
| [03:23.38] |
I walk past the next round of cats to jump on it |
| [03:25.95] |
Locked in deep thought, we ride around in silence |
| [03:28.55] |
And cross Rizal Bridge |
| [03:29.95] |
I watch each step, walkin' closer to my final destination of death |
| [03:33.71] |
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath |
| [03:36.25] |
The Northwest fills the lungs, heals the pain in my chest |
| [03:38.94] |
I remain blessed, steppin' on rain with each step |
| [03:41.79] |
Eyes heavy from the lack of the cousin of death |
| [03:44.07] |
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath |
| [03:46.64] |
The Northwest fills the lungs y'all, you know the rest |
| [03:49.88] |
You know the rest, you know the rest, you know the rest |
| [03:51.87] |
It's like that y'all, that y'all, it's like that y'all, that y'all |
| [03:58.36] |
And that's all... |
