This track took longer than probably any other one on the album, from conception to completion. It was amazing to hear it evolve over many months. Dick V is the artist formerly known as A.Po from my previous crews Death Ray Scientific and Matching Wits, so we've been working together for over ten years, and I think this might be our best collaboration yet.
lyrics
TOM SWIFTY:
My man asked for a dollar, claiming that he thirsty
I told him, "Drink water," under his breath he cursed me
We all gotta eat, gotta build, gotta cheat, gotta steal,
Gotta kill just to get by.
I smoke emcees to get high while perceivin the lies,
Sayin my drive is all wrong, but at least I can ride
So I feast on ya mind, hungry for brain food
Different ingredients boilin in the same stew
I remain true to roots now decayed beneath me
Never too proud to find out what an elder could teach me
Till the dirt's on my face and my memory's erased,
I taste every single flavor that can reach me.
It's a cliche, but my big mouth always gets me in trouble
Sometimes it gets me laid, but then the pain gets doubled
Cuz one night turns into nine months,
Turns into "Why the fuck did you ever ask me out in the first place?"
Worst-case scenario: I'm wrong about everything,
So I say I'm always right just to stay consistent.
See, my consistency is broken down into chemical compounds
And sounds shrouded in mystery.
(Here's a mystery:) Is love just synapses misfiring?
A neurochemical conjob? Somebody messed with the wiring?
You could ask a thousand people, get a thousand different answers
Some say it doesn't matter; some say it's all that does.
Meanwhile, my man's thirsty as fuck and no one cares,
So he's stuck beggin for change from Bedford Ave squares
(Or, if you're in my hometown, that's Calhoun Square)
Said he's stuck beggin for change to buy liquor and prayers.
CASEY MOO:
Sometime you think you wanna play it easy
Sometime you think you wanna play it safe
Most days you gonna run from this reality
And most of every night you gonna smoke it all away
You hear it time and time again, well, here's another time, my friend,
Don't tell me times are hard and tough
If you wanna be sharper than me,
You gotta rub against something rough
DICK V:
It's been fifty-five in the right this nifty drive where I try
To find my mind while tires glide on the ice I got a
Violent guy who resides behind a smile and a vice
If I don't find his demise I might just find that it's I
Need to finally define this mighty line that I ride
And siphon life from all the tears I cry for those who have died
A sign that I should survive all I'm looking for
Is more blinding beacons of light I'll be cooking for
And if these feelings cease to exist I mean it I will dismiss
Myself from being leave no reason to live
I need to keep some shoes on my feet what I'm stepping for
Respect every level of life need I mention more?
Never set the score limits are needless
I'm just hoping every poor righteous teacher beats their demons
Every question brings fact and if I stop believing that
All my answers in tact will bring uncanny weakness
And I can't have none of that I rip the map to pieces
My path unplanned and it matches only these thirteens it's
Not repeated and non-compete it's possibly
Forever incomplete and it's up to me it's not for pleasing
I thought I needed a cushy spot to lock the dream in
Proud to be undoubtedly lost now I found my reason
I got depleted from self and almost tossed the keys in
Rubbed against the rough and sharpened up that's when I cut the leashes
I'm not a leader savant and I don't fit your thesis
Looking for a fictional god you better step to Jesus
I'm meant to be this at peace with mental tweezers
Dissecting every second to see what it is that I believe in
My end will be when I'm ready I don't foresee nothing steady
Please forget me when I've left and let's be friendly
I've never seen something last and grown acceptant of that
The only fact is death I'd like to leave it at that.
CASEY MOO:
Sometime you think you wanna play it easy
Sometime you think you wanna play it safe
Most days you gonna run from this reality
And most of every night you gonna smoke it all away
You hear it time and time again, well, here's another time, my friend,
Don't tell me times are hard and tough
If you wanna be sharper than me,
You gotta rub against something rough
Sometime you think you wanna play it easy
Sometime you think you wanna play it safe
Most days you think you gonna play the master
But most of every day you know you're gonna play the slave
You hear it time and time again, well, here's another time, my friend,
Don't tell me times are hard and tough
If you wanna be sharper than me,
You gotta rub against something rough
TOM SWIFTY:
I'm a lonely traveler, bones drip marrow in catheters,
Corroded livers smoke and quiver beneath the sounds of harrowing laughter
Foment disaster, people shouting "Build that wall,"
They must be plastered, we last for half the revolution
Before asking Master, we figure it's faster
Lips to the mastermind give service, nervous perpetrators' purpose
Is to hurt this holy healing halo with harangues in cursive
Sang from birth, kid, now we silent, deafened, blind, and wordless,
Like it's worthless to mix words with beats without guaranteed purchase
Barkin lyrics like orders, don't give a fuck about borders,
Don't think for a sec this is objective--I ain't a reporter
I work hard, I play god, don't tell me don't quit my day job,
I spit with the real rap gift like Christmas, yeah, so haters, take off
This is the bloody version, cut up ya buddy version,
Bareback, uncensored, doggystyle, slutty version
If you're offended, I guess that's fuckin tough,
You wanna be sharp, you gotta rub against something rough!
Born in Springfield, Illinois, and raised in the southern Midwest of Missouri, Ezra Stead became Tom Swifty in Minneapolis
when he began rapping live and recording quality tracks over ten years ago. Before that, they were... not so quality. Back in Minneapolis after 10 years in NYC, Swifty's latest albums prove that he's never been better....more
Chicago emcee Phillip Morris and French producer Tha TruthTella team up for one of the most endlessly replayable albums I own. Phillip's lyrics are super-clever and his delivery is crisp and flawless. Tom Swifty
My man Sean Anonymous is one of the sharpest emcees in the game right now, and he's currently blowing up in our hometown of Minneapolis. This is his debut solo effort. Tom Swifty