1. |
||||
Adlib, Iesha Green:
All things end
I think we’re going to be better off
this time around
this time around
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
If you listen close enough
you can hear it at a distance
unsure if it’s a secret or a prayer
when all the pain and the scars
come together in our hearts
I swear you can feel it in the air
and if you felt it in the air
then I know it’s in your dreams
on occasion when you wake
in a puddle of belief
I can see it in your eyes
coming in and out of sleep
heart pounding in the hollow of the deep
(Come alive...I’m)
indebted and dedicated
to healing heartache
I rise from desolate
delicate dark space
driven and determined
by pressure and heartbreak
I redefine the vision
of victims who find faith
and re-envision seeing myself
in the same way
the survivor of the events
that previously took shape
our forever is a mask
every mask is a mirror
to unmask my forever
I forgive, but remember
Chorus 1, Iesha Green:
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
If you listen close enough
you can hear it at a distance
a mother who would die
to save her son
when all the pain and the scars
come together in his heart
he’s a son who would lie
to take his drugs
and, when his body in hearse
pulled away from the church
somewhere in-between
what we get and we prefer
left me so unsure
of the real and the absurd
do we accept the love
we think that we deserve
(Come alive...I)
remembered every second
and wrote it into a song
I imagine he’s somewhere to sing along
and I answer to this feeling
and deal with it at a cost
because our actions
are connected to our thoughts
and if the broken as adults
were once broken youth
and often the abuser
was once the abused
we all wear a mask
every mask is a mirror
in the cycle of abuse
hurt people, hurt people
Chorus x 2, Iesha Green:
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
Breakdown, Chuckie Campbell:
I’m never dreaming but devoted
unfolding our broken moments
decoding forgotten voices
(because the way home is home)
beneath the breathing images
revisited repeatedly
reliving what it meant to me
(I check signs for signs)
I’m reminded yet divided
that those who committed violence
once were victims of the violent
(because hurt people, hurt people)
the played becomes a player
the bullied becomes a bully
the cycle repeats usually
(I check signs for signs)
In the cycle of abuse
those afflicted
become the very ones to inflict it
(and the way home is home)
I’m elated to be healing
and thinking let’s do it different
if you with me, let me hear it, ‘cause
(there’s no fear in love)
Chorus x 1, One Nation Choir:
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
Chorus x 1, Iesha Green:
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
All things end
then they begin again
I think we’re gonna be
better off, better off
this time around
|
||||
2. |
||||
Chorus 1, Heidi Feek
Pretty girls, they don’t cry
Young men, they don’t die
Husbands, they don’t lie
And, pretty girls don’t cry
When pretty girls don’t get their way,
somebody’s gonna have to pay
Baby, do you ever wonder why
pretty girls don’t cry?
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
Her flawless, pretty face is
a dream of timeless mazes
staring back from her reflection
hazel eyes, she’s dark complected
secrets cast in mirrors
her absent father’s features
poison fruit of live forbidden
hips and breast and flowing hair
a preteen with a woman’s figure
drawn to men like magnetism
filling voids with male attention
lacking supervision
her mother goes out weekends
nights of heavy drinking
men exit while she’s sleeping
and she rarely hears them leaving
but one night a silent shadow drifting
stumbles on her bedroom enters
hand gigantic breach between her
while above, he stops to whisper this
Chorus 2, Heidi Feek
Pretty girls, they don’t cry
Young men, they don’t die
Husbands, they don’t lie
And, pretty girls don’t cry
When pretty girls don’t get their way,
somebody’s gonna have to pay
Baby, do you ever wonder why
pretty girls don’t cry?
Verse 2, Chuckie Campbell
Her flawless, pretty face is
her perfect imperfection
countless violations,
now she’s sixteen
dancing, drinking
work that, twerk that
grab your ankles
blur the depth
peel back the layers
dye the hair and pierce the navel
hide the hurt and put up walls
she learns to run and not to trust
black out love and deal with lust
numb with drugs or self destruct
an object to be used or touched
abuse her ‘til they use her up
abuse her ‘til they use her up
so when she learns she’s pregnant
she rubs her stomach restless
no father comes to claim it
her mother’s hugs and tight embraces
meet above and deep beneath her
hold her gently as she whispers this
Chorus 3, Heidi Feek
Pretty girls, they don’t cry
Young men, they don’t die
Husbands, they don’t lie
And, pretty girls don’t cry
When pretty girls don’t get their way,
somebody’s gonna have to pay
Baby, do you ever wonder why
pretty girls don’t cry?
Bridge, Heidi Feek
No I’m not wild with sorrow
No, I won’t be here tomorrow
I meant it when I said I'd love you true
but baby love isn’t bulletproof
Verse 3, Chuckie Campbell
Her flawless, pretty face is
a mask for inner hatred
she wanders lost and aimless
cursed, ashamed, and often vacant
never looked into her infant’s eyes
and saw her own reflection
instead she saw her absent father
and features of her rapist
never opened up to tell her mother
she was once molested
out of fear that she would blame her
for the countless indiscretions
never felt such waves of anger
as she closed our conversation
and described her mother’s husband
reaching in her daughter’s play pin
and I knew then what it meant to be her
why she cocked that loaded pistol
why aimed and pulled the trigger
why she teared up as she whispered this
Chorus 4, Heidi Feek
Pretty girls, they don’t cry
Young men, they don’t die
Husbands, they don’t lie
And, pretty girls don’t cry
When pretty girls don’t get their way,
somebody’s gonna have to pay
Baby, do you ever wonder why
pretty girls don’t cry?
|
||||
3. |
||||
She imagined crooked paths,
a burning match, a fleeting moment
Chinatown, my paranoia
passing patterns at pagodas
pantomime the wicked omens
eyelids flutter, read my palm
for a second I believed her
when that chill went up my arm
I shook it off
we took a walk
superseding suppositions
superfluous superstition
a supplement superficial
I’m a sinner, bleeding heart
lost and circling the summit
summon sundown in the summer
swigging beer and swapping numbers
She’s younger, sweet as syrup
swimming midriff in my current
talked for hours, still uncertain
serendipity was burning
I surrender on the surface
she spoke as if almost nervous
tours in Canada and Europe
future persons I would work with
I had thoughts and she would word them
almost perfect with a purpose
her assertions, coercing
coherently we’re conversing
reaching deep within her purse then
lips met in that embrace
my heart skipped and missed a beat
as neon lights lit up her face
the reflections in her eyes
something haunting in its wake
lit a cigarette, she smiled,
pulled my hand the other way
Across the street there was a scuffle
loud voices at the corner store
shots fired, broken glass
two men escape the front door
crossfire, sirens,
taxi cab lays on the horn
a baby cries, tires screech
something’s burning through my arm
time stops, stood at pause,
as if it waved a magic wand
I looked down and what I found
nearly stopped my broken heart
her lungs filled with blood
and all she could manage was a cough
even worse, as she would struggle
I was left to sit and watch
from time to time, I wonder
when my skin gets nice and hot
if this scar is just a story
left to make a, make a mark
Cigarette burns
Cigarette burns
Cigarette burns
|
||||
4. |
||||
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
I'm telling the stories
unfolding before us
like dreams of a life
that had fell out of focus
if someone had told me
that some day a moment
could feel like forever
I'd tell them that no one's
forever devoted
like you were devoted
and even the notion
that time is important
is lost to the struggle
and effort to hold it
We're taking it
taking it
taking it back
My modus operandi
is to kill off all your coded lies
All you see --
abandoned buildings, poverty, a life of crime
I see something different
In my city, we just visualize
every tenement's a pyramid
we dreamed it by design
Chorus 1, Chuckie Campbell
I wish that I could take the pain away
replace it with hope
Tell you love will conquer hate
that we could right every wrong
but life is precious and unfair
and often far too short
We guard our hearts
and rarely realize that
we're meant for more
and I'm no longer writing songs
these are letters from God
Today I almost shed a tear
'cause it was warm outside
I felt a presence moving through me
like the beauty we find
when we realize that we're living
but we're living to die
Bridge, Chuckie Campbell
We know
We find
in time
We are from the future
Verse 2, Chuckie Campbell
We know not what we do
It's the lead that in your tap water
Monsanto makes your food
Xanax, Lexapro, and Vicodin
prescribed to alter mood
It's the link between our prisons
and the drop outs in our schools
It's the reruns and the soundbites,
talking points on cable news,
civil liberties for some,
and legal justice for the few
Law enforcement in your city
march like military troops,
trained to serve and to protect,
but instead, they point and shoot --
We're quick to blame the victim,
post a meme while others march,
but I wonder if we're listening
or waiting just to talk
5,000 friends on social media,
not one writes on your wall
All those contacts in your iPhone,
yet no one you can call
Chorus 2, Chuckie Campbell
I wish that I could take the pain away
replace it with hope
Tell you love will conquer hate
that we could right every wrong
but life is precious and unfair
and often far too short
We guard our hearts
and rarely realize that
we're meant for more
and I'm no longer writing songs
these are letters from God
Today I almost shed a tear
'cause it was warm outside
I felt a presence moving through me
like the beauty we find
when we realize that we're living
but we're living to die
Bridge, Chuckie Campbell
We know
We find
in time
We are from the future
Coda, Chuckie Campbell
In a world where we seem
more connected than ever,
we're more divided
than we've ever been
Where we pursue happiness,
we find resentment,
and in restraint,
we find freedom
None of us exist outside
the river of time
to rectify the past
we must acknowledge
its role in the present,
where tomorrow is never promised,
yesterday is gone,
through our stories and songs
we carry on,
taking back tomorrow
Bridge, Chuckie Campbell
We know
We find
in time
We are from the future
|
||||
5. |
||||
Coda, Chuckie Campbell
Guess who’s back?
You’re now rocking with the true and living
held captive to the truest vision
Chuckie Campbell
Ras Kass
and the magnificent, Mad Dukez
this is power
Verse 1, Mad Dukez
I’m not entitled
I know I deserve it
been smiling all year
still it got you nervous
been holding a lane
while watching ‘em curb it
still building a name
from the depths to the surface
look, you want the baddest?
you got the legend
say a prayer to opposers
of this thing we rep’n
my exploits is on epic
so ex noise
I hold court, no damn gavel
and then deploy
boy, lord willing
return with the winners
mo’ living, mo’ sinning
no matter religion
only remedy’s the stories you tell
and my mission
more than vivid, it’s wicked
twisted, hitter, you get this
Chorus 1, Mad Dukez
Yeah, got the whole world tuning in
so, go on turn it up louder
yeah, feel the surge when they talking yours
now, you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
Verse 2, Ras Kass
Reintroducing the best ever --did it
finesse clever -- lyrics
west weather -- get it
sunny, it never rains
SoCal, my profile
risable great water tax
when bro smile
the whole style hostile
my means murder mics
from Mississippi to Moscow
Mr. Tipsy, use ditsy sluts
like sippy cups
breastfeeding whiskey
I’m like fifty bucks
What’s fifty bills?
that’s keepin it one hundred
meaning, I’m pretty ill
mogul status, sitting on 20 mill
these rappers is jokes
all I ever hear is that theme music
from Benny Hill
No fuck boy -- Johnny Gill
Chorus 1, Mad Dukez
Yeah, got the whole world tuning in
so, go on turn it up louder
yeah, feel the surge when they talking yours
now, you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
Breakdown, Chuckie Campbell
On the other side of pain is power
without struggle, there is no progress
but the choice is yours
I once knew a man in love with his pain
he was no more than a slave in love with his chains
his life felt like a loop he couldn’t escape
so he buried his power, disguised it as hate
and, everyone he loved, he pushed them away
‘cause it was easier to leave than ask them to stay
easier to blame, criticize, and defame
easier to complain than actually change
easier to dream than work through the pain
and easier to hate than create a better way
I’m pursued by a power
you managed to take for granted
no prototypical patterns repackaged
I felt it happen
in a vision, color palette of madness
and now you found it
words are pictures,
panoramic and candid --
I got you open like this
Rappers...always making me laugh,
like skinny jeans and weak raps
didn’t didn’t exist in the past
When you rap, if I were you,
I’d feel like less of a man,
like holding Caitlyn Jenner’s testicles
in Donald Trump’s hands --
Stand for something greater,
shining light in the dark
Stars align and I predict
the prophet’s path through my palm
All along, I push through
envy, hate, and doubt for the art,
so while you were writing raps,
I was writing songs
Chorus 1, Mad Dukez
Yeah, got the whole world tuning in
so, go on turn it up louder
yeah, feel the surge when they talking yours
now, you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
yeah, now you brimming with the power
|
||||
6. |
||||
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
I remember the feelings
and patterns repeating
the shadows resembling God
a cycling ribbon of images
flickering on
my mind as I’m singing this song
every man has a moment
to live in his judgment
confessing the sins of his heart
and sometimes in the process
of hurting another
improperly measures his loss
I think back to the violent open nights
broken glass and strobing lights
summer surrounding the government housing
enclosed and compounding
some hopeless fight, hopeless life
enough of whatever
you want to stay needing
enough of whatever
you need to stay breathing
enough of whatever
to keep you from feeling enough
and within the interpreted urban decay,
the trauma diverted our personal space
Introverted, determined to push you away
and ask you to prove who you are --
A king or peasant, a saint or a sinner
a sheep or shepherd, survivor or victim,
you’re both and you’re neither
Within every villain's the heart of a hero
and every day is a test
Chorus 1, Nicole Atkins
Wherever I go, that’s where you are
Love leaves a witness
All my walls come down
I never left you
This is acceptance
Acceptance
Collision 1, Chuckie Campbell:
Shadows of memories suddenly large
discovering that I was never really lost
Listening close to the beat of my heart
broken approaching your outstretched arms
Verse 2, Chuckie Campbell:
I’m finally putting together the pieces
drunk off the liquor and staring at pictures
wondering why the people I needed
were always the people I kept at a distance
always the people I kept at a distance
over the years, I constructed a prison
built from the issues I chose not to deal with
the lying, the cheating,
the alcoholism
the violent, volatile,
shaking and dreaming
the tossing and turning
and sweating through pillows
emerging as patterns
of something much deeper
through moments of loss
and the process of hurting
I hurt other people
so nothing is harder
than truly forgiving myself
For a person who never determines the cause
there’s only the feelings that damage their heart
avoiding admitting whatever was wrong
can put us right back at the start
A king or a peasant, a saint or a sinner
a sheep or shepherd, survivor or victim,
you’re both and you’re neither
Within every hero's the heart of a villian
and every day is a test
Chorus 2, Nicole Atkins
Wherever I go, that’s where you are
Love leaves a witness
All my walls come down
I never left you
This is acceptance
Acceptance
Collision 2, Chuckie Campbell
Shadows of memories suddenly large
discovering that I was never really lost
Listening close to the beat of my heart
broken approaching your outstretched arms
Bridge 1, Chuckie Campbell
Shock
Pain
Descent
Blame
Denial
Depression
Broken, approaching your outstretched
Broken, approaching your outstretched arms
Chorus 3, Nicole Atkins
Wherever I go, that’s where you are
Love leaves a witness
All my walls come down
I never left you
This is acceptance
Acceptance
Collision 3a, Chuckie Campbell
Shadows of memories suddenly large
discovering that I was never really lost
Listening close to the beat of my heart
broken approaching your outstretched arms
Collision 3b, Chuckie Campbell
Shock
Pain
Descent
Blame
Denial
Depression
Hope
Acceptance
Chorus 4, Nicole Atkins
Wherever I go, that’s where you are
Love leaves a witness
All my walls come down
I never left you
This is acceptance
Acceptance
Collision 4a, Chuckie Campbell
Shadows of memories suddenly large
discovering that I was never really lost
Listening close to the beat of my heart
broken approaching your outstretched arms
Collision 4b, Chuckie Campbell
Shock
Pain
Descent
Blame
Denial
Depression
Hope
Acceptance
|
||||
7. |
||||
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
In a field of bluegrass
a green stop sign
pouring black rain
glowing gray skies
tiny white lies
a black wedding dress
a world of white rappers
and black presidents
Human beauty is more
than just skin deep
I wonder if we'll ever
acknowledge just what it means,
celebrate our differences
and find a shared experience
beyond the veil of ignorance
we cultivate and teach
Unarmed black men
dead and lying in the streets
like lynched black bodies
swinging in the southern breeze
My mind and heart are open
absorbing pain of the moment
If you claim you don't see color,
you probably missed the point then --
Broken hearts and fake news
bulletproof police vests
pushing politicians backing
hate crimes and racists
mass incarceration
and urban gentrification
legalize discrimination
through systemic effects
To hate another person's
to love yourself even less
We're the same
because we're different
We're a beautiful mess
Colorless lost lives
of colorful lifetimes
should not leave us colorblind
but show us where color lies
Chorus 1, Chuckie Campbell
In a field of bluegrass
a green stop sign
pouring black rain
glowing gray skies
tiny white lies
a black wedding dress
a world of white rappers
and black presidents
Green doesn't mean go
Red doesn't mean stop
How we learn color
all depends on what we're taught
So we walk between the lines
stop and go with flashing lights
in a world full of color
all we see is black and white
Synesthesia
Bridge
Red, Blue
Left, Right
Us, Them
Black, White
Christian, Muslim
Wrong, Right
Push, Pull
Death, Life
Verse 2, Talib Kweli
Race to the finish
taking my place in the winner's circle
I'm in a circle of trust
I'm making it spin
the earth rotate when I bust
I'm making it fertile
Let'em see the colors
that I'm mixing like the medicine
Green is for the lettuce
and purple is for the lean
you know what I mean?
It's like the heroin
Got you on your balance act
The sky is blue, water is wet
You can't challenge facts
I see them try to battle back
disrespectful with battle raps
lips chapped, face screwed
like they ate a sour patch -- kidnapped
now they dropping drones
that's how cowards act
love for our country
but do our country have our back?
They try to separate you from the truth
but look, it's now attached
They want us to rest in peace
We just taking power naps
Aristocratic elitists
are using race to divide us
We at each other's throats
taking advantage of our brother's kindness
Colorblindness, another reminder
some of us find it
kind of offensive
they try to erase
the love inside us
Chorus 2, Chuckie Campbell
In a field of bluegrass
a green stop sign
pouring black rain
glowing gray skies
tiny white lies
a black wedding dress
a world of white rappers
and black presidents
Green doesn't mean go
Red doesn't mean stop
How we learn color
all depends on what we're taught
So we walk between the lines
stop and go with flashing lights
in a world full of color
all we see is black and white
Synesthesia
Bridge
Red, Blue
Left, Right
Us, Them
Black, White
Christian, Muslim
Wrong, Right
Push, Pull
Death, Life
|
||||
8. |
||||
Verse, Chuckie Campbell
How many senseless acts of violence
'til we value human life?
Trayvon Martin, Terence Crutcher
Erik Garner, Terry Price
Micheal Brown, Sandra Bland
Freddie Gray, Phillip White
Walter Scott, Jason Moland
Dante Parker, Tamir Rice
I'm learning how to smile again
without storms of sunshine,
another routine traffic stop,
another broken headlight,
another unarmed victim,
cellphone video and headline --
another case where all lives matter,
except black lives...
Watch them blame the victim
before his heart can even flat line,
demonize the subject
then report on black on black crime,
ignore the key eye witnesses,
"his hand was by his waistline"
"the assailant was resisting"
"check his wrap sheet in the meantime"
Put that officer on paid leave
and family on Dateline,
mock their tears and feelings,
as millions watch them in real time
Never mind the patterns,
check your make up,
yo, we live, right?
Queue the lights, arrange the sound,
stage is set, prime time -- now
Chorus 1, Chuckie Campbel
Hands behind your head
Lay you flat down on the ground
It's a flashlight to the face
Run those plates, they out of town
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
Hands behind your head
Lay you flat down on the ground
It's a flashlight to the face
Run those plates, they out of town
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
Verse 2, Quadir Lateef
Another black male
in a jail cell
for a crack sell
we don't never tell
we don't never speak
but we always yell
in the hood life
man, it's always hell
in the trap house
you can tell the smell
in the court room
he ain't getting bail
'bout to wild
he ain't getting mail
single black mom
she don't need a male
Hands up mean don't shoot
Selling dope, ain't no excuse
If you rap, ain't dropping facts
ain't no excuse, you a prostitute
Black man gotta rise up
Dose off, open eyes up
Unify, gotta grind up
Gotta grind up, 'fore your time up
I been walking in the street
God is with me
'cause I know the devil's
always trying to get me
I won't fall
If I do, they might kick me
I break the chains
'cause you know
I gotta get free
Chorus 2, Chuckie Campbel
Hands behind your head
Lay you flat down on the ground
It's a flashlight to the face
Run those plates, they out of town
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
Hands behind your head
Lay you flat down on the ground
It's a flashlight to the face
Run those plates, they out of town
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
Coda, Chuckie Campbell
Before the cries of justice for Emmett Till,
or the beating of Rodney King,
already patternizing a difficult relationship
with blacks and law enforcement,
many ignore that modern policing
grows out of slave patrols and night watches
meant to criminalize
All black people aren't criminals
All policemen aren't bad cops
All riots are not senseless acts of violence
But to ignore our history
is to ignore cause and effect
and when communication breaks down
this is the language of the unheard...
this is the language of the unheard
Chorus 3, Chuckie Campbell
Hands behind your head
Lay you flat down on the ground
It's a flashlight to the face
Run those plates, they out of town
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
Profile fits description
hide your hoodies and your Skittles
There's no danger like the fear
behind the man who holds a pistol...
It's the --
Language of the Unheard
Language of the Unheard
For years we couldn't make you listen
now we on some
Riot, Riot
X1
|
||||
9. |
Dream Is But A Dream
04:07
|
|||
Chorus 1:
I put my heart into this music
because this music is my life
from the moment that I wake up
‘til I fall asleep at night
a dream is but a dream
unless you’re brave enough to try
success is what you make it
make it more than just a grind
‘cause we ‘gon make it
we gon’ make it x 13
these haters think they can fade us, huh?
Verse 1:
Non-believers are not on my level
I settle for nothing, my foot on the pedal
I’m feeling your energy, feeling your energy
enter the entity into the vessel
verses averted and rep’n the turn up
converted the effort to work with a purpose
invented the rules and then all you learned it
you mumbling rappers can come and get murdered
told me I wouldn’t amount to nothing
from the jump I knew that y’all were wrong
locked myself inside my room
put pen and pad to writing songs
now I travel around the country
paid for what y’all hating on
much more to the story
listen close and try to follow along
hold up, hold up
now, I’m focused
for a moment, I felt hopeless
down and out, was almost homeless
lost some friends to overdoses
more than music
it’s my culture
ask me what’s the diagnosis
I go harder than these vultures
Kaepernick
can’t stand up for ya
Chorus 2:
I put my heart into this music
because this music is my life
from the moment that I wake up
‘til I fall asleep at night
a dream is but a dream
unless you’re brave enough to try
success is what you make it
make it more than just a grind
‘cause we ‘gon make it
we gon’ make it x 13
these rappers think they can fake it, huh?
Verse 2:
We put that work in now it’s working
through the touring and networking
nights we wondered was it worth it
slayed these stages, watch us earn it
slept on floors in rooms unfurnished
waging war on what you worship
this world of wealth is not the world
if once you wield it you feel worthless -- word?
we been traveling, searching,
tracking the formulas
tunneling under the past
peddling music, connecting with people
and building our music and brand
delivering data, recording the music
and destined to follow the path
remembering delicate memories
digging up pieces and parts of a man
hold up, hold up,
now, we reaching heights
we never dreamed
do this, do this
for my soul, but also for my team
delving deeper, making music
meant to set you free
listen up and hear my vision
come alive and let it breathe
Chorus 3:
I put my heart into this music
because this music is my life
from the moment that I wake up
‘til I fall asleep at night
a dream is but a dream
unless you’re brave enough to try
success is what you make it
make it more than just a grind
‘cause we ‘gon make it
we gon’ make it x 13
these haters gon’ make us famous, huh?
Breakdown:
We put that work in now it’s working
if you work it, hit the floor
we go hard and we go stupid
we go ignorant, drop it low
our world is turning, so we turn up
time is ticking, let it go
life is precious, spend it present
in that moment that we hold
our world is turning, so turn up
time is ticking, let it go
life is precious, spend it present
in that moment that we hold
we put that work in ‘til it’s working
if it’s worth it, you will know
we go hard and we go stupid
we go ignorant, for our goals
and we ‘gon make it
we celebrate it
and we been patient
it’s entertainment
the aim is to strive for greatness, huh?
Truncated Chorus 1:
I put my heart into this music
because this music is my life
from the moment that I wake up
‘til I fall asleep at night
a dream is but a dream
unless you’re brave enough to try
success is what you make it
make it more than just a grind….
Chorus 4:
I put my heart into this music
because this music is my life
from the moment that I wake up
‘til I fall asleep at night
a dream is but a dream
unless you’re brave enough to try
success is what you make it
make it more than just a grind
‘cause we ‘gon make it
we gon’ make it x 13
these haters ‘gon make us famous, huh?
|
||||
10. |
||||
Coda, Chuckie Campbell:
When I first started out,
I just wanted to rap --
at school beating rhythms
on those cafeteria tables
in that broken down Chevy Impala
on those crooked, winding country roads
you rapped in the mirror,
in the shower,
at the party,
and on the walk home
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell:
I remember when the music
was nothing but a vision
when all that really mattered
was a feeling
to me, it was a culture
before it was a business
I never wanted more than
I could give it
now, we in the building
people want to listen
throw they hands up to the ceiling
brought the whole band
in a full tour van
this is how we make our living
independent, instigated
liberated thought
initiating innovative
integrative costs
I put that work in
now you haters at a loss
let me show you
how to walk that walk
this is for the people
dedicated to the cause
thinking with they head
and they heart
Chorus 1, Iesha Green:
Everybody, move your body, come together
If you feel it, like I feel it, do whatever
Move your body to the beat
everybody move your feet
put your left foot, with your right foot
come on, people
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
as long as we’re dancing
as long as we're dancing
Everybody, tell somebody
to get up and let yourself be free
One
Two
Three
Four
Bridge, Chuckie Campbell:
Yeah, I always believed this was more than just music
when our worlds come crashing down
this is what reminded us what it meant to be human
to be alive, to feel, we have a responsibility to grow
to come together, to love each other,
to be one, to be whole
Verse 2, Chuckie Campbell:
I wonder how to put it into words
tell you all the facts
even if it hurts
express my truth
while listening to yours
we’re capable of so much more
I rap for the rain
falling hard in your heart
or the girl all alone
calling out in the dark
in an alley looking up
with a needle in her arm
praying she can raise this child
or the fate of a friend
when you wipe away tears
from the face of a man
with the mind of a kid
locked for a bid
almost twenty five years
for a crime that he never
even did
Listen, this is for the people
dedicated to the cause
when music is all we got --
Dance.
Chorus 2, Iesha Green:
Everybody, move your body, come together
If you feel it, like I feel it, do whatever
Move your body to the beat
everybody move your feet
put your left foot, with your right foot
come on, people
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
as long as we’re dancing
as long as we're dancing
Everybody, tell somebody
to get up and let yourself be free
Adlib, Iesha Green:
I feel like dancing
I feel like moving
to the beat
and nothing’s going to stop me
and I feel like moving
so don’t nobody stop me
and don’t nobody move me
‘cause I feel good tonight
Collision x 2, Chuckie Campbell
Love, Compassion
Trust, Forgiveness
Caring, Courage
Family, Friendship
Thought and Feeling
Passion, Vision
Fairness, Wisdom
Love, Persistence
|
||||
11. |
||||
Coda, Chuckie Campbell
Feels good
Feels like the morning after
Still dark outside
Sometime I just like to look up
Look up and ask myself
Verse 1, Chuckie Campbell
Are we waiting to be loved
or do we deserve it
or even at our worst
are we worth it,
I wonder nervous
We were young,
staring up at the stars,
burning light
punching holes in the blackness
pulsing hot like the beat of our hearts
Nothing here is real
in that infinite dark
and I can feel vibrating
like it's singing me songs
Maybe reach into the far beyond
extending my palm --
like our problems could be solved
by simply sharing our thoughts
I wander off into the night
searching for meaning in life
revisiting every feeling
too difficult to hide
Approaching from behind
the memories left inside
the moon will be my magnet
manipulating the tide
I'm recounting in my mind
all the people who died,
either chasing an unchase-able high,
or fighting an unwinnable fight
in some unlivable life,
so consuming to consume it
its consumers commit suicide
Remind me of what it would take
for us to value human life,
treat each other human,
like the depths of this experience
were obvious and justified --
to let go of the pain
let go of the strain
on the outside
what looks different
somehow inside is the same
somehow we discover
something human in that space,
somehow it's our differences
we learn to celebrate,
ironically, it's love
that often shows us how to hate
to understand the heart breaks
uneven when it breaks
We navigate the human heart
as if it were a place
pin our feelings to the map
and learn the map is in the way
We're actors in a play
The world is our stage,
but performing human freedom
proves us prisoners of fate
The bully learns to bully
feeling bullied and afraid;
the player learns to play
from the hurt of being played;
the addict forms his habit
trying to take away the pain --
trapped within this cycle
reciprocity expires
the participants required
are a master and a slave
Who are you today?
And who are you to say?
when you kick it with these people
who don't recognize they're chained,
who raise their hand to talk
and only stand in line to wait,
who speak about their dreams,
but do nothing but complain --
The trick behind the dream
is they're dreaming their awake
and I'm sick of the excuses
and the comments and the blame
I'm sick of staying silent
trying to hold in all this rage
in this xenophobic, homophobic
nation full of hate
Listen.
I don't have the answers
and don't want to just complain,
don't think a simple rap song
could wash away the pain,
the echoes of expression
in dynamic interplay,
but I refuse to let you
hurt the ones I love
and walk away
I'll fight for what I love
until you put me in my grave
For every man you treat as less,
every cause has an effect,
every action a reaction
to reciprocate that pain --
What's that really mean now
in these United States?
Conservatives are stupid,
racist, or insane?
Liberals are cucks
or liberal snowflakes?
What do you accomplish
by calling these people names?
It's just another cycle
instructing us who to blame,
just another code
reminding us who to hate
The natives here were killed
or systematically contained;
Texas once was Mexico
'til Mexicans were slain;
the Chinese built our railroads
for beneath a living wage;
Japanese in concentration camps;
the Africans were slaves,
and no matter how much history
you wash or just erase,
by denying or ignoring
these events have taken place,
it furthers a divide
by trying to wish the pain away
Instead of dealing with the problem,
we slap on a band aid,
treat the minor symptoms,
while the sickness still remains,
spread it like a virus
through the sacred and profane
With no foreseeable future
or solutions now to date,
the least that we can do
is admit that it's man made.
That very revelation
reveals an important thing:
we could make a different world
but we love the one we've made
with the anger and the killing
and the greed it undetakes
I'm weary and I'm tired
I'm feeling some type of way
I walk the city streets
and stare at the cityscapes,
listen to darkness and ask it to explain --
Are we waiting to be loved
or do we deserve it
or even at our worst
are we worth it,
I wonder nervous
We were young,
staring up at the stars,
burning light
punching holes in the blackness
pulsing hot like the beat of our hearts
Yo, your love is real
Don't let'em tell you it's not
and I can feel it vibrating
like it's singing me songs
I can feel it vibrating
like it's singing me songs...
Yo, I feel it vibrating
like it's singing me songs...
the morning after
|
Chuckie Campbell Buffalo, New York
Chuckie Campbell is an American hip hop artist who lives in Buffalo, NY. Campbell commonly performs with a live band (drums, keys, and a full horn section), to make for a dynamic, powerful, and eclectic approach to hip hop, filled with fluid instrumentation, lush musical arrangements, and heartfelt poetic nuance. ... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Chuckie Campbell, you may also like: