[Intro: Aesop Rock & Mr. Lif]
We rolling now, official?
Uhuh, uhuh
Turn the beat up a little
Uhuh, uhuh
Outside the box, Lif you with me? Yeeah I'm with ya
Aright, let's go
[Hook: Aesop Rock]
Some cats grow by the laws of the wild
Some learn slower and lag in the mud
Some stand up in defense of a style
Some let the big dogs eat them up
At exactly 11:35pm on January 21st I fell asleep sound
At exactly 11:35pm on Januray 21st some shit went down
[Verse 1: Aesop Rock]
Now Benny was a New York City graff kingpin
Five borough fame, guaranteed to itch pigskin
Raided near the Brooklyn Naval yard, juxed undercover
When they asked him what he pled he said, "You're fuckin' up my colors!"
[Verse 2: Mr. Lif]
Okay, Jose is working in the slaughterhouse
And he's living in the hood, but he wants to get his daughter out
Slipped off a ledge, and fell into a machine
Another dead immigrant, that's the American Dream
[Verse 3: Aesop Rock]
Miss Molly, helpless, made a penny with a data entry temp gig
Overqualified but the rent's thick
Red brick bash with a texted green screen
Like, "I entered my data right into your screen"
[Verse 4: Mr. Lif]
Jane went insane, she's an anchorwoman
Sick of pushing skewed information
And abusing the nation
Had a few options:
Either jump or run (RUN!)
Quit or cold raise hell waving a gun (GUN!)
Time for C-H-A-N-G-E
Held a knife to the VP on TV
She demanded that the format be expanded
Beyond fair, everybody clear, understand it?
[Verse 5: Aesop Rock & Mr. Lif]
Billy was a coke fiend
Maggie was a cop
For the dope he stole cream
She patroled the block
Banking off his old scheme
She recognized his plot
He thought he was home free
She knew that he was not
Now it's off to the jail in a blue squad car
She pocketed the crack before they got far
Billy watches Maggie from behind steel bars
Like "Where the crack went?"
"I'ma smoke it tomorrah"
[Verse 6: Aesop Rock]
They call him Larry Luck
Blackjack, big spender
He was married once
Till he bet her ring finger
Seen leaving Las Vegas
With a pick up truck, diamond
Fourty large, and beautiful wife piece
Less than what he came with
Hitched to the crib found nickels in the couch
Hitched back to the casino with in an hour
Said "I'm here to make a dollar out of fifteen cents"
And was immediately shot to his death over debts
[Verse 7: Mr. Lif]
As Colin died, his mama cried
Then the EMS arrived
Said that he could be revived but they lied
Afterlife realized that water from the skies
Washes pain from our eyes so our hopes could rise
[Verse 8: Aesop Rock]
Now, J.J. punch drunk, acts like a dumb fuck
Bum touched girls looking young enough to thumb suck
Once sought a life thought it right to rat him out
Now he gets raped by Aryans in the big house (OUCH!)
[Verse 9: Mr. Lif]
Ted did 20 years for growing some weed
Although he used to snort coke and dabble with speed
Welcome home, homie, here's a blunt with hash
They said you know the rules bitch, take two and pass
[Hook: Aesop Rock]
Some cats grow by the laws of the wild
Some learn slower and lag in the mud
Some stand up in defense of a style
Some let the big dogs eat them up
At exactly 11:35pm on January 21st I fell asleep sound
At exactly 11:35pm on January 21st some shit went down
[Verse 10: Aesop Rock]
I got one Jack or Jill
Jill won't, Jack will
Jill didn't, then did it
Jack fell
No cellophane secrets, b
I guess I sense two felt bumps in the tar
No cell
But hell, you jump the bar so well
Parted your partners veil and dipped
I'm New York harbor
Tale of a sail, ripped sorta
Stuck on purpose for tha love of birthplace
But would have carried you home inside of my teeth anyday
Turns out I wasn't cast in the master plan anyway
He holds no grudge, holds his tongue, wow
Same one she used to hold in both smiles
Dagger the instinctual last shout if it killed me
So you can ride up into the sun city guilt-free
One year passed, the table is wobbling and your hollerin' back
Sippin the fits you skip when shit cracks
They never missed it
Not a long haul, bullshit, kids kicked into the sink
Shoebox, with a flicks of lipstick
I'll love you forever, cuz you know me better
For the record, at one time, would have married you in a second
But kill the rekindling dreams, and navigate the friendship
Or else by the time the stress airs out we'll both be dead and friendless
