Walking down the street, nodding head to the beat Grandfolks creeping past like, “The hell’s with that freak?” “It’s just me”: when the earbuds speak, my body moves. My music plays, and they’re confused And it goes to show That passion in the public’s soul is missing Ranging from the boys, girls, misters and the missus Wanna give them context, let them listen But the beauty of it is that I’m the only one who’s in it Get it? Music is my energy Charging through my earphones Solace my serenity But I don’t want to be alone And I get sucked in The beat and the bass come in The melody, yes, becomes my friend And I must bust in With the harmony You know it be a part of me The lyrics mean so much to me, but on first listen, hard to read Regardless, the treble and the bass touch me Can you smell it in the air? The taste of the 1, 2, 3 The funky beat Bring it back to '33 or ’59, yes, beyond the sea Oh, Darin to be bold with my selection Of genres I be reppin Hip-hop, alt rock, pop, indie folk, progressive I’ll admit that I’m picky with shit I mess with Going back to nine years old, denying a head of lettuce But aren’t melodies transcendent beyond that? The walls built by genres and earphones and that crap Still, I can’t wait for it today When desire rushes in Plugged in and My thumb on play Music is my energy Charging through my earphones Solace my serenity But I don’t want to be alone Music is my energy Charging through my earphones I want people to dance with me But I just want to be alone

Closed-eyed mind Blink once and you won’t be alive She a killer rocking Third Eye Blind Taste-wise, she won’t be defined She don’t say too much, got the magic touch Girls and boys say "sweet and fine" Candy cane made shank, gonna make you bank In the grey there, walk the line You catching feelings for her, she got you on the hook You could be catching some shit if you fucking/don’t look Rookie, I’m just explaining the game you’re about to play The blame will shift from her to yours if you’re searching for partial nookie from Sookie; well lookie, I see you took the chance to go holding hands The sitch: you fell for modern-day bitchy Circe (this whole thing’s Wookiee) Bookie, get me Benny on any way this goes crazy He wishing that he be Kenny, go double down on a Henny, yes (Hook) I know you say she's crazy I know you say that my vision's hazy but I can see that we're meant to be An angel from above Waving her red flag of love for me Worst girl to be with: yujja loca Venus fly trap saying that she’d hold ya Pains me to be right, said I told ya Don’t snatch up the red flag Wiser men have fallen for a sweeter taste, you’re not the first But listen to history, follow her story, better learn the worst The curse of the royal wine, they live to drink but drink to die, Poison inside; can’t live in a house of lies Keyser Söze crafting stories bout the crime that she commits Victimizing and shit, you got heart-filled eyes but can’t see all her tricks She playing games with you, stirring up toil and Trouble even with Hubble, double 20s gone: ’08 economic bubble burst Your birth would go in vain for you to waste your life away With a siren call astray. What do we say to Lady Death: “Not today” Best case: you got a worst case story, chatting along to your friends But the worst case got your face in a frame hanging up in her place trophy over Lucy's fireplace Chasing her be facing consequences amazing Hell raising, rat-racing chaotic evil Her black tar soul primeval Taste just a little, an M in a sea of Skittles Committal be recommended Imagine, to have her kid'll be the Wait a minute, I don’t get a damn say in this? All you motherfuckers push your way into my dating business Say you claim to witness me crossing my name out on a hit list By some widow maker, asking “Dinner later?” Let me finish I’m aware of all the fakers trying to take up men and women for their status, that’s just madness, disco panicked planet falling off its axis Can’t this be a normal situation? Girl gives a flirtation Not a magnet with a Magnum So let me dive into this temptation Every body got some baggage Don’t look like you don’t have it We’re breathing Jacob Marley’s ghost You go round venture-flagging? You heard this gossiping, hospitalizing any chance of trust you had, your word now clad, go hobbling to your bandwagon Dragging flagging till the last reason’s lacking Smacking down any chance of Shagging that "nagging maggot: ‘magine that he’ll be dead as Latin” She might be in the red But we all end up dead I’ll take that bet on her so that you eat the words you boldly said

45 minute drive across the Turnpike Blues The streets become so slim that it might break news Cars all whizzing and passing, put their foot on the gas and It leaves me asking, “Where are the masses in Bethany’s pews?” Now, I am grateful for the people that will hear it I thank all of the bodies that are drawn towards the Spirit I spit this lyric for the ones, all of the daughters and sons, that are stuck between the middle, stuck on the holiest riddle Doubts about religion, doubts about the future Doubts about the big man or the universe computer Doubts on any heaven, all the shit on 7th Heaven Doubts on Burning Bush, Christo Jesus, Allah, and Dianetics Doubts on destiny and fate and such “Is it for me?” “Don’t give a fuck” “Don’t need someone preaching when he doesn’t have his life set up." I don’t have all of the answers Want to chime in some perspective If you didn’t want to listen Could’ve left: SHIT Blessed are the lost ones Blessed are the freaks Blessed are the walking bodies that are getting through the week Cause we are all the lost ones We are all the freaks We’re just getting through the week We’re all stuck in purgatory Let me get back into this: Climbing a mountain to meet the lion Travel ‘cross the globe to see Zion Waiting for Messiah Or waiting 8 hours to see Mariah Psych: it’s Ariana Or any passing idol who’s on fiyah Folks relent, “It’s us or them: burn in hell or repent.” To me, makes sense But I can’t speak for everyone And that’s an extremely aggressive way to preach a message of peace To the “logical ones” What you got to prove, Spewing rhetoric, asking, “What’s your move?” It’s not a game, why do people have to lose? It’s all a cruise: when we hit the iceberg, we'll all feel the blues Choosing takes time be careful where you place your bet Roll dice for paradise: have no regrets Let go in the crapshoot See the outcome of your afterlife on the other end Blessed are the lost ones Blessed are the freaks Blessed are the walking bodies that are getting through the week Cause we are all the lost ones We are all the freaks We’re just getting through the week We’re all stuck in purgatory x2 Dear Father, Thank you for helping me get farther Thank you for pushing a little harder Thank you for paving the way for these sick bars, sir Thank you for setting a precedence for martyrs Know I’m not a Carter or Kendrick or Marshall Mathers But I could be Fat Joe if I get a little fatter But this pattern, I’ve noticed, of malevolent choices Got me fired up so I’ve took up as a poet That’s what I would like to say But Lord, you know I started rapping just to sound like ‘Ye Okay, I wasn’t honest But please don’t strike a fiery thunderbolt upon this I gotta make music that will speak from the heart That will speak from my thoughts, that will speak from the truth I don't know where my doubt sits But I gotta love others as I do unto you

I want to craft a rap verse (But when I start composing, I suppose the beat gets much worse) I want to kill the track with my rhymes, that be sick (Well, I guess I did just that, bars with SARS went and did the trick) Fickle is my mind that be brewing up some hot lines (Cause I be running late with the rhythm and my book fines) Paying out my pocket for the shit I could avoid Even buying instrumentals just to make some fucking noise But be poise when you’re rapping please All these rappers acting pleased Voices like some Buddhist monks Meditating on some weed I cannot control the hole that spews out all this pushed-down soul (That turns this legalized adult into a fucking nine-year old) And then I stop, drop the beat Tension rising from my speech Make the aftermath sound cool (More than it needs to be) Place a killer ending line defending this mix And I swear I’m not asthmatic, (I just suck at breathing in) Can’t find that hook that hooks me in It needs that hook to hook me in We need a hook to lift us up We need a hook to hook us in x4 Please I want to be poetic with my words Master literary hurdles; I can be a better nerd Do not settle for Katan, trading grains and farmer herds I want to come in first, (but I know I’ll come in third Speech is slurred) Sir, I present to you with this product I’ve created The writing is not plagiarized, from me, originated (Delivery is sloppy, and production rushed a bit And the feeling that I’m left is constipated) If I read more Hemingway, Angelou, and Seuss Shakespeare sonnets, I peruse Take the road less traveled, one with gravel (scared I might unravel) Maybe I can piece together Poetry and damn good measures Carry something great, a good mixtape, (scared I'll make a mistake) Wait, you do this for the fun and the love Take all the pressure/anxiety and give it a shrug You’ve gotten through the hard part (Writing down the lyrics) And look on the bright side (No one will ever hear it) Can’t find that hook that hooks me in It needs that hook to hook me in We need a hook to lift us up We need a hook to hook us in x4 Please let me be satisfied with this

Let me paint a canvas with my energy Start off with a yellow face I did not choose the racial identity that puts me in my place I won’t forget it, B I be staring at my father’s portrait that he made for me Brown and green to set the scene Hiking up the mountain used to satisfy Reading Ranger Rick ignites a battle cry But weary eyes wander for a bit, they’ll try to rectify but grass ain’t turning greener if you let it die Drops of red from the fatigue Drip, drip, dripping nasal cavity Let the streaks run out while I'm thinkin 'bout mortality Little bit pretentious when I make a scene Anderson direction with a Hitchcock-ian pedigree Body be Blue enough to symbolize sunny skies or ocean wide Body mostly made of water: careful not to get much hotter Waves are crashing hard, they need a time for peace Allow my mind to sink a little into me Stroke of violet on the palette Lead brush to a path of violence Trace around the edges of the man who keeps his anger silent Jabs and stabs, he has to take: vengeance leads to no escape See the stains of man lay on his hands before they’re ultraviolet Splash with shades of orange High excitement, semi-volatile Cruising down the highway watching sunsets dim for twenty miles Peel away the heavy saturation So the art won't get bogged down by the nostalgia like way back in the day So when I finish with this piece, I might experiment Pixelated mosaic, a still-life with adrenaline A resident in Renaissance, I want to sign the lease But these times when living with your parents equals cost effective, hella easy Appease the insecurities that make me queasy Blank canvas on the easel: endless possibilities Thoughts about my legacy: I don’t want it to follow me, so guess I gotta Attack the canvas: paint the way you want to be When you want to go I want to Van Gogh

You wait where you’ll always be Walk up so nervously I put on brave face and freeze Don’t act surprised, I’ll always be by your side Every time you smile, it’s definite that I’ll be shaking Hope to see your eyes every time that I am waking Even though 100 miles stand between us, I’ll be moving, groovin, I’ll be quaking To your cellular heartbeat To your cellular heartbeat Though times may fare again Know that I’ll be near with a single touch and a single thought Start the countdown for when we’ll meet again 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Every time you smile, it’s definite that I’ll be shaking But each moments going fast, can we make it last? I’m waiting Because there’s 100 miles that stand between us, I’ll be losing it, I might be breaking For your cellular heartbeat For your cellular heartbeat

Leaning in an elevator Let my body loosen as the metal box’s travel caters Higher, counting up floors, potential stories skippin Then it stops, doors then open, stranger walks in Listen I like to socialize, identify as an expert social butterfly I won’t deny my skill at conversation and high fives If I don’t seem like that, I know I won’t apologize I’m that type of asian guy But I’ll admit there’s an exception In that fifteen seconds, I be thinking, Should I step in Crush the awkward silence with a wrecking ball and greet my friendly neighbor with a question Pause Ill-fitting, don’t it seem to bring talk back from the dead Committing satanic, black magic grasping for friends The end is slowly coming, reason tells me, no doubt But what my feelings telling me is “I want the fuck out" I know That this shit is hella awkward I fold all my time to hellal awkward When you wave and they don’t, it's (dot dot dot) Miss a fist bump and it’s (dot dot dot) Call them by the wrong name (dot dot dot) Walking left or right it’s (dot dot dot) Forget the damn punchline (dot dot dot) Touch a stranger’s hand, make it (dot dot dot) Send the wrong text, see the (dot dot dot) Leave the same way, hella (dot dot dot) So, you’re reuniting with a buddy for a hang out You got your plans out: setting lunch and movie designations and routes No doubt, this friendship gonna cruise on sailing seas I’m a be the captain, I’m a hook you: think it’s make believe We approach, I’m expecting a warm embrace From a pal of several years, start a friendly pace In this case, I was wrong when reading his face cause he reached out for a high five My mind races: how do I avoid the fucking struggle? I may have just implied that I’m really hoping to cuddle Signs were muddled, got a couple milliseconds 'fore impact But I’m intact: reach out, going for a fumble And then there’s the rumble in the bond of friendship Thought that me and him were tight, but chemistry suspended The tension ends but cringing sets in Man I hate the awkward trouble That’s the way the cookie crumbles Now, I’m with my girl We’ve been together 2 whole years Thought that we were going slow She says “I love you”; oh dear I’m not ready for that level Things I could respond: there’s several But my mind was running blanks So all I said to her was “Thanks”

Mini fridge with some sprites in it Save it for the rum, put some ice in it I don't mess with that Vicodin, that OxyContin, Mom pleads "Dont get caught in it" There's no stopping it Once the tingle hits A couple shots from the hock Help me mingling When my body goes numb, all my feelings pour out When I meet the right girl, imma take her name and hyphen it Heightening my senses, a French kiss goes a long way not to mention The friendship that lasts, the drink in my glass Call an intervention 'fore I'm declared the center of attention I'm a mensch in a time and place, where the people want to change their face But want to stay the same They want to place the blame But they can't take the flame They go round thirsting for fame They can't see that they're pawns in a fucking game It's a cycle Reach the top, we might end up just like Michael Try our best, hope success then the pressure ensures that our next comprehensive dividend comes from stress Then the press corners in, I am less of and less of a man Coke is better drunk from a bottle than a can Laugh it off as a joke cause I don't deadpan, call me China or Japan Trick! I don't know where I might fit The culture east or west it's a tight pick Though I stumble with a language that ruler worked with anguish, at least I can eat with a chopstick Rolling with the right clique Or I think so Take another one down so i did so Only able to articulate through this flow Pull apart my argument, say my point's a flamingo My diction's a contradiction Dad's telling of His crucifixion Friends telling that it's all just fiction That I'm blind to listen Some day I will lose my vision If I have just one too many Graduate from cheap rum to a Henny Pretty soon, I'll be twenty With the same thoughts, someone offer me a penny