The Roots Album

[No lyrics]

[Truck North]
Trapped, no shield, no sword
The unbeaten path got my soul so sore
Allured by the lust, something money can't cure
The Devil want me as is, but God he want more
Eyes closed, eyes open, great another day, here we go
like a nigga woke up late in The Truman Show
Living life without a care, mean pokerface
But I'm forced to play solitaire till I get up out of here
Move like a wanted man with a bounty on his head
Work alone, sleep alone, eat alone, daily bread
Counting till my fingers red, how you gon' judge a man
walking in the shoes of a man with a broken leg?
Flame on the trail headed for the powder keg
Last place in the race I ain't never led
Like I ain't never bled, time to get up out of bed
Serving in the army of one, it's on again

[Chorus 2X: Dice Raw]
Walk alone, I walk alone, you know I walk it alone
I always been on my own, ever since the day I born
So I don't mind walking alone

[P.O.R.N.]
I'm in a chess match, I'm in a death trap
I'm tryna find out where the eggs in the nest at
I'm one blood when the sky turns jet black
No love in the world can correct that
I'm in a slow lane, I'm on my Cobain
I'm in the new spot tryna run a old game
I got a new chick, put out my old flame
No peace, no sleep, no love for a young beast
You can put me in a cage
You can put me in the jungle where the lion get blazed
There ain't no hell like the hell I raise
I'd die in the bed I made 'fore I lay with a love I loathe
I'm a snake in the garden of bones
I'm a loner in a world of clones
I'm the piece that don't belong, see I roam
where the the Reaper roam till they put my name on a stone

[Chorus 2X]

[Black Thought]
The longest walk I'll probably ever be on
The Road to Perdition, guess I'm finna get my plea on
I pray these wings strong enough to carry me on
I promise every second felt as if it took an eon
Walking like the lost boys of Sierra Leone
The trail of tears what they got me like a Cherokee on
Between the ears something I require therapy on
for the working the bone like my name Robert Dion
I go above and beyond, the duty called, truly y'all
Even though they kind of blew me off like a booty call
Asked me if I'm just another muli or a movie star
Forced to face the +music+ like a graduate of Juilliard
Walk alone, talk alone, get my Charlie Parker on
Make my make alone, shed light upon the dark alone
Get my sparkle on, it's a mission I'm embarking on
A kamikaze in the danger zone far from home

[Chorus 2X]

[Intro:]
Dear God, I'm trying hard to reach you
Dear God, I see your face in all I do
Sometimes, it's so hard to believe it...
But God, I know you have your reasons
(Uh huh)

[Verse 1:]
They said he's busy hold the line please
Call me crazy, I thought maybe he could mind read
Who does the blind lead?
Show me a sign please
If everything is made in China, are we Chinese?
And why do haters separate us like we siamese?
Technology turning the planet into zombies
Everybody all in everybody's dirty laundry
Acid rain, earthquakes, hurricane, tsunamis
Terrorist, crime sprees, assaults, and robberies
Cops yellin' stop, freeze
Shoot him before he try to leave
Air quality so foul, I gotta try to breath
Endangered species
And we runnin' out of trees
If I could hold the world in the palm of these
Hands, I would probably do away with these anomalies
Everybody checkin' for the new award nominee
Wars and atrocities
Look at all the poverty
Ignoring the prophecies
More beef than broccoli
Corporate monopoly
Weak world economy
Stock market topplin'
Mad marijuana oxycotton and klonopin
Everybody out of it?

[Hook:]
Well I've been thinkin' about
And I've been breakin' it down
Without an answer
I know I'm thinking out loud
But if you're lost and around
Why do we suffer?
Why do we suffer?
(Uh huh)

[Verse 2:]
Yeah... It's still me, one of your biggest fans
I get off work
Right back to work again
I probably need to go ahead and have my head exam
Look at how they got me on the Def Jam payment plan
Well, I'm in the world of entertainment and
Trying to keep a singing man sane for the paying fans
If I don't make it through the night, slight change of plans
Harp strings, angel wings, and praying hands
Lord, forgive me for my shortcomings
For going on tour and ignoring the court summons
All I'm trying to do is live life to the fullest
They sent my daddy to you in a barrage of bullets
Why is the world ugly when you made it in your image?
And why is livin' life such a fight to the finish?
For this high percentage
When the sky's the limit
A second is a minute, every hour's infinite

[Outro:]
Dear God, I'm trying hard to reach you
Dear God, I see your face in all I do
Sometimes, it's so hard to believe it...

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[Blu]
Yo, so what you searching for? From birth
Born hurting and yearning for certain somethings
Lurking and murk them, got them turning this
Bed into a coffin, burning over passions in this passion
Or more or less over what the past done passed us
Cause see, the past tense, it never really passes
Phases that trap us and cage us like classes
Fogging my glasses, lost in a mass mess
Task-less dilemma to match somebody's status
And I'm average as fuck, no car cats gassing me up
Passing bucks like a casual blunt
Granted, hustling habits on the stumble, the mansion
While bums pass, asking for a buck for some bagged bricks
Bad shit going down on the daily
While bad chicks pass in a Mercedez, damn
They see he's the bastard for chasing them
Maybe, it's the patterns that make me that made me crazy

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[P.O.R.N.]
Life is fiction, competition and contradiction
Petty perceptions, window dressing for misdirection
Love is a lotto, I know I know you know what I know
Hope is so hollow, that's why winos follow the bottle
And people pressure, make death a hidden treasure
A girly pleasure, lonely language inside a letter
It's now or never, move it, move it, love it or lose it
'Fore it's recruited, then included inside the stupid
It's things of nature, paid a player and say your prayers
Naysayers, the haters, the major players, the beggars
You 'bout it, 'bout it, don't allow it to pow without it
Then those who doubt it, do or die to death are cowards
The world is yours, and the world we can't afford
So ignore the law; start a fire, then start a war
If you're sick and tired of your access denied
Free will died long before Glydes and iPod

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[Black Thought]
Yo, it's too much strain, phenomenal gain
I'm going through things; headaches, abdominal pain
Try'na numb it with that kettle like I'm from the Ukraine
Check the blue flame, lighter running out of butane
What's up with my destructive urge that's unproductive
Choices I'm stuck with, now starting to fuck with
Contaminating family and close friends
Telling me to stop burning the candle at both ends
Ain't like I'm on a coke binge, hanging in dope dens
Or life is just a pool of Patron I'm soaked in
The darker the covenant-slash-trainwreck for you to rubberneck
You ain't felt the true pain yet so you be loving that
Hit me up at black.gov like the government
Banana Republican, alien intelligence
Kill switch, real pissed, thinking of some ill shit
The stone the builder refused, he need to build with
Got immunized for both flus, I'm still sick
Via satellite, radio, the realness

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
And the radio daze
And the radio daze
And the radio daze

Everything's changing around me
and I want to change too
It's one thing I know
It ain't cool being no fool
I feel different today
I don't know what else to say
But imma get my shit together
It's now or never

[Black Thought]
I'm sick, sick of waiting in vain, tired of playing the game
Thinking of making a change, finally breaking the chains
Every phase, every happening ?craze?
When it's said and done, my head is right back in a haze
I'm ready for the next chapter and page to start acting my age
and part ways with Black Thought from back in the days
I'm stargazing from the back of the stage
Crushing in the ??york craze it's worthy of praise
Was the phrase "bygones is bygones"
Niggas who used to be the underdogs is icons
People say the light shines once in a lifetime
Is this meant like ?? or price just a little bit like mine
I'm thinking not now, but right now
I need some kinda sign that the future is bright now
I fuck around, do the right thing like Spike now
The quick in the day, which one is my lookalike now
I'm moving and hey

[Phonte]
Yo, opportunities lost because I blew them
On the sunniest days of my life I cry through them
Mom's out the picture and Pops, I barely knew him
And I would pray to God but I'm tired of lying to him
Tired of trying to run from the things inside of us
Got a lot of fam, and a lot of admirers
Who tell me that I should aspire to be changed
But when I think of changing, it's like why do you try this shit
My mind hazy and my thoughts, they get distorted
I know my good and bad deeds both get recorded
You do right so your soul can last
But my role is cast before I even audition for it
So I don't really see an end to my vice
It's just false reformation, no end of my strife
Feel the evil overpowering, you can go ahead throw the towel in
'Cause nigga, that's the end of the fight
When you can only see the tunnel at the end of the light
Like South party, oh that's the end of your life
and a mountain

[Dice Raw]
When I look into the mirror, and see my own image
I feel like there's something else far in the distance
Something I wanna see, but something that's resistant
And everyday the heartin' is growing more persistent
I never noticed it before, but now I can't miss it
And the constant pounding is driving me ballistic
I ran from it few years, but it's still next to me
And it's growing stronger, taking even less of me
I can't fight it now, I know it's just destiny
And I just wonder what's gonna happen when it catches me
Will it leave me face down, and a ???
Or will it just start bringing out the best in me
But is the best in me really just the worst in me
And if so, yesterday could be my anniversary
And sinners court, is it important to have church with me
I'm trying to get rid of these ghosts that's cursing me
I feeling change is an absolute certainty
'Cause what's coming on is a state of emergency

Uh, uh...uh, uh-huh

[Chorus 1: Dice Raw]
Out on the streets, where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Soooome-onnnne haaaas tooooo care

[Black Thought - singing]
How I got over... where the people come apart
Don't nobody care about cha, only thing you got is God
Out here in these streets.. if you get down on your luck
You can stand out, with a hand out
But nobody give a fuck
Out here in these streets, every man is for himself
They ain't helpin noone else, it's a hazard to your health
Livin life in these cold streets
Hey, WHO'S worryin 'bout cha, babe?
When you whylin out, runnin 'round in these streets

[Chorus 2: Dice Raw (Black Thought)]
Out on the streets, where I grew up (How I got over...)
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck (How I got o-)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (How I got over...)
Soooome-onnnne haaaas tooooo care

[Black Thought - rapping]
Yo..
When you on the corners, there's too much drama
Livin with the police right behind ya
It's always more than a slight reminder
We livin in a war zone like Rwanda
Before I go back to the Heavenly Father
Pray for me if it ain't too much bother
Whatever don't break me a-make me stronger
I feel like I can't take too much longer
It's too much lyin, and too much fightin
I'm all cried out 'cause I grew up cryin
They all got a sales pitch I ain't buyin
They tryin to convince me that I ain't tryin
We uninspired, we unadmired
And tired and sick of being sick and tired
of livin in the hood where the shots are fired
We dyin to live, so to live, we dyin
You just like I am

[Chorus 3: Dice Raw (Black Thought)]
Out on the streets, where I grew up (How I got over...)
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck (How I got o-)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (Somebody, somewhere..)
Soooome-onnnne haaaas tooooo care

[Black Thought - singing]
Somebody's gotta care..
And I swear it isn't fair
In suspended animation, we ain't tryin to go nowhere
Out here in these streets.. We're so young and all alone
We ain't even old enough, to realize we're on our own
Livin life in these hard streets
Where it's like they lost they mind
Is there anyway to find?
Are we runnin out of time out here?
Listen...
Hey, WHO'S worryin 'bout cha, babe?
When you whylin out, runnin 'round in these streets

[Chorus 3 + 1 x2]

[No lyrics]

[Chorus: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision
I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day

[Blu]
Yeah, it's like everyday I wake up, I stare into space and don't say much
Peer in the mirror, feeling dead from the face up
Coffee pots, cigarettes, morning Js, Baileys
Slowing down my day before it picks up the pace
Beats playing since the night before, thinking bout writing songs
Feeling exhausted from times we toured constant
And plus the toxics I sip got me tall
Still tipsy, staring at the city from the spot we call Los Angeles
Every day is like a blank canvas
Carving my initials in the planet like I brand it
Hand picked to live this life we take for granted
like a child with an upright bass, we can't stand it
Smiling through the trouble we face, tryna manage
my way without pumping my brakes and staying stagnant
Cause I can sit on my ass or just imagine
the madness I did on my path and paint the canvas

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
Before I rise and shine like a neon sign
I need the girl of my dreams to give me Einstein
And burn the marijuan' like {?}
is my only bonafide break from these confines
I need a change of scenery like a mind tide
These kids bringing me the noise like the bomb squad
And everybody coming at me from the blindside
I'm tired, it's hard to open up my eyes wide
I listen to some theme music on the iPod
and walk around the crib doing little odd jobs
Checking my breath, take a view from this high rise
Feeling like I'm checking out a game from the sideline
I got to try different things in these trying times
Twenty-ten is different than it was in nine-five
It's come alive time, I picked a fine time
for getting open off life like a fine wine

[Chorus]

[Phonte]
Uh, yeah, Sunday morning, plan my day out
Whole new blueprint, brand new layout
Deep down still don't know if it'll play out
Before the first time, feel like I done found a way out
Skin getting clearer and it feel like I lost weight
Stop and say a prayer for the times I lost faith
Troubles of the world had me in a cross-face
Chicken-wing, sickening, liver so off-base
But now it's like I'm in the last lap of the car chase
and I finally understand my right to choose
My preacher man told me it could always be worse
Even the three-legged dog still got three good legs to lose
So you can stop and refresh the rules
Breathe in, breathe out, let it heal all your exit wounds
Something inside said that's the move
and made it today, I'll restart fresh and new

[Chorus]

(CHORUS)(Joanna Newsom)
We should shine a light on, a light on
And the book of right-on's right on
It was right on

Yo, I try to get it how I live it
A lot of people countin' on me kinda like a digit
It's a cold world, I'm not frontin' like it isn't
There's no time for comin' up shorter than the midget
Yall know, Ima raise the bar though, like Bridgette
See every star go, don't blink you might miss it
It's precious cargo, you gotta be strong to lift it
The light comes in different types, be more specific
Shit, i'm backed up, what could be more prolific?
For this love, I go above and beyond the limit
I told yall I'm above and beyond the gimmick
I get into your head and spread like a pandemic
I never put myself into a race I can't finish
I'm well grounded, founded on the same premise
As any man with a hit list, it's bout business
Yo, can a brother get a witness?
Damn, right on.

We should shine a light on, a light on
And the book of right-on's right on
It was right on.

(STS) Aight,
Ok, I'm above and beyond hot
My measurement in watts
Time rate and flow of energy ain't never gonna stop
Pressures on, I won't pop
Microphone I won't drop
Gym stones, niggas copyin' shit if I ain't in the spot
It's the Orion that I hop, the new star to hit
I shine a light for the future so my presence's a gift
It's evident I'm havin' sick with Thomas Edison's elements
Reverent for what I represent to show my benevolence
Well this is silly, I'm reppin' for the heart of the city
Came from Southwest Atlantic and gave my heart to the city
Where slugs fly, thugs cry cause every part of it's gritty
Niggas shootin' up the club like they party with Diddy
You keep the diggy, I put mine in contestants to fluorescence
And in essence, I can burn one thousand energy per second
I put em on the lessons, while I'm smokin' on a pleasant
A switch hitter like Pete Rose, right at the session
Right on.

We should shine a light on, a light on
And the book of the right-on's right on
It was right on.

[Chorus: John Legend]
I keep it doin' it again
Oh, I'm doin' it again
Yes, I'm doin' it again
I said it would end

[Black Thought]
Uh, remix, rising up out of the flames like a Phoenix
Straining to carry the weight of my brain like a genius
Knowing I'm sowing seeds, let's see whose thumb is the greenest
If I said I mean it, I did it because I need it
Eat, sleep it or bleed it, write it down and then read it
Asphalt to the cement, your trash talk, delete it
I blast off then lay 'em out like a Tempur-Pedic
It's Black Thought, for certain I'ma win eventually
This unsung, underrated, under-appreciated
The one them underachievers had underestimated
Finally graduated, I'm one of the most hated
Something that's so sacred, nobody gon' take it
Face it, I keep doin' it well
Doin' it sans assistance, just do it yourself
Doin' it below the radar, we doin' it stealth
Doin' it again for Illadelph, yo who else?
We gon' do it again!

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
Yeah, aiyyo I'm on a job, see my eyes focussed where the prize be
Even though they tried to rob me and sabotage the spot
Just like 'Pac when they got him in the lobby
Try to tax, you'll find me like Ronald Isley
I is a changed man, hanging with fans are probablies
Niggas used to know me, they don't even recognise me
Yep, the P-5-D is who the repertoire be
Doin' it again just like Poitier and Cosby
I'm like Martin Luther King, you like Rodney
The difference is I give it everything inside me
Dear diary, the fans still swear by me
Even though I'm Late Night now like "Here's Johnny"
Swimming with them Great Whites now, that's where to find me
Funny how it break right down, but never mind me
Forever grimey, I guess it's just Philly shining
Rock roller, bi-polar like Phyllis Hyman

[Chorus]

[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire

[Chorus: John Legend]
There's something in your heart
and it's in your eyes
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn
You don't say good luck
You say don't give up
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn

[Black Thought]
Yeah, and if I'm ever at the crossroads
and start feeling mixed signals like Morse code
My soul start to grow colder than the North Pole
I try to focus on the hole of where the torch goes
In the tradition of these legendary sports pros
As far as I can see, I've made it to the threshold
Lord knows I've waited for this a lifetime
And I'm an icon when I let my light shine
Shine bright as an example of a champion
Taking the advantage, never copping out or cancelling
Burn like a chariot, learn how to carry it
Maverick, always above and beyond average
Fuel to the flame that I train with and travel with
Something in my eyes say I'm so close to having the prize
I realise I'm supposed to reach for the skies
Never let somebody try to tell you otherwise

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
One love, one game, one desire
One flame, one bonfire, let it burn higher
I never show signs of fatigue or turn tired
cause I'm the definition of tragedy turned triumph
It's David and Goliath, I made it to the eye of
the storm, feeling torn like they fed me to the lions
Before my time start to wind down like the Mayans
I show 'em how I got the grind down like a science
It sounds like a riot on hush, it's so quiet
The only thing I hear is my heart, I'm inspired
by the challenge that I find myself standing eye to eye with
Then move like a wise warrior and not a coward
You can't escape the history that you was meant to make
That's why the highest victory is what I'm meant to take
You came to celebrate, I came to sever great
I hate losing, I refuse to make the same mistake

[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire

[Chorus]

[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire inside you
The fire inside you
The fire inside you
The fire inside you

[No lyrics]

[Truck North]
Yo, Jam boy magic, Mr. Fantastic
Masterful mind, the list that I've crafted
Fresh new trick to flip, I'm Dick Dastard
Half smooth criminal and half straight bastard
No mask when your flag get captured
First class, take you to the rap hereafter
Gone in a flash and yet, he gets faster
Sick when he hits the Mike like Mixmaster
This the Battle of Troy with no Pastor
Slicker than a can of oil with no castor
Chill in the front of the flight, outclass them
Bring your favorite rapper to fight, I'll trash him
Then I'll leave in a timely fashion
Uh, emcees get the tiny rations
Your girl hold me close as a tiny dancer
You got a death wish? Well it's finally answered, prick

[Black Thought]
Yo, Jam boy magic, Mr. Sarcastic
Rap catalogue consists of all classics
Blackness, tell your bitch to fall backwards
Fuck a hood pass, my shit's for all-access
Killing tracks like this, we call practice
Any bullshit y'all twist, we call backwards
Jam boy sharp as a tack, we all cactus
Waiting on a big payback with no taxes
So if you follow the game, you might catch this
Act like an activist; you know, active
Nigga like me just has to spit acid
Sucker like you just has to get blasted
Ashes to ashes, Frasier to Cassius
No homo, y'all some pains in the asses
Get turned to toast like raising your glasses
When I'm on stage, girls swing from the rafters
Often nasty like Monster Mashing
Y'all know the voice is tight, hoarse and raspy
Can't place the face, kind of hard to catch me
Kings that pull strings like Dorothy Ashby
Jawns keep telling me I'm great like Gatsby
Caught like a felony, you can't slide past me
I'm low-key, kind of anti-flashy
Then I'm OG up in a black tie classy
Sun Tzu to Sun Rai, Gargemel, Mumm-Ra
Son of a shooter letting slugs from a gun fly
Should call a Mumbai with the bumbaclot
It's Black Thought, my sound's hard to come by
Last spotted on a yacht getting dumb high
Banging yacht rock with my squad from 215
Straight calling niggas out like the umpire
Any chump try'na front, (word 'em up)

[Peedi Peedi]
Jam boy magic, Mr. Get-Busy, you get busy too?
Then get with me too, we'll get busy, dig me?
Smooth Remy, tool skinny but hold plenty
.22 long contact, new Bentley
No miles yet, curve backs and cruise and he
Bring it back when you through with it, roger that
Grip tenny, French mammies in Vic' panties
Lips candy, dick hard as a fifth of brandy
Hop in it for five minutes, then I'm finished
'Cause pussy is pleasure, but I'm attending my business
Retractable roof, magical coupe disappearing
And reappearing, German engineering this McLaren
Hot jacuzzis, watching movies, glock and uzis
Shots of Louis, busting cuties popping jeweries
Ooh ooh, Ultramag' MC in a M3
Whole body tatted straight up out a MP

[Black Thought]
Let me tell you what priceless is, some advice to give
A sacrifice is what I made for the wife and kids
They say life's a bitch, but it's one life to live
I want my baby where that cake and the icing is
Out of them crisis-es, off of them vices-es
They see what we do and grow up in all likenesses
Really I don't wanna see 'em having to fight for this
Story of the family biz, I'ma rewrite the script
Daughter of a Hip-Hopper, hustla like her grandpapa
Her destiny done been determined so you can't stop her
from being independent, earning paper and proper
More like a lawyer or a doctor, not a man watcher
That's where your man got ya, it's a big world out yeah
I'm tryna make a black diamond or a pearl out yeah
and hit the people to the way the world twirl out yeah
And when I thank heaven for my little girl

[Chorus: STS]
Please let her be a hustla, baby be a hustla
Hope my baby girl grows up to be a hustla
Let her be a hustla, baby be a hustla
If not, then you're only a customer
Please let him be a hustla, baby be a hustla
Hope my baby boy grows up to be a hustla
Let him be a hustla, baby be a hustla
If not, then you're only a customer

[STS]
Sugar Slim, I'm slicker than a squid, nigga no kids
No baby momma, Sugar freed from the drama
Sugar be where he wanna, no sweat/suite like a sonnet
No judge, your honor can't tell me how to raise mine
Figure that in due time, if and when I do find
true love, {?} maybe you can blue-line
Ooh I'm, caught up in the moment for the meantime
G I'm, all about the green like tree pines
See I'm, tryna get the scratch like a feline
Hoping that my seed don't know the struggle like me, I'm
hustling to make a buck, make a buck and fuck it up
Fuck it up and suck it up, then go and make another buck
Get the money, get the money, that's what I know
I'm hoping that my seeds know a little more than I know
I know, I know, but baby this what I know
If we ever settle down, well baby this what I hope

[Chorus: STS]