Not Pop

[Intro] It's not pop, listen to me This is not pop, listen to me It's not pop, listen to me [Verse One] I was taught never let them see you sweat I ain't cried in years Ice water in my veins - so much for blood sweat and tears From up in the upper tier Who succumb to peer pressure Appears to separate the puppets from the puppeteers Paid me a couple dues Throughout I ain’t never take no number two Penned me a couple tunes A few numbers for comforting the troubled youth The sisters and brothers who never budge from in front of tubes I couldn’t count or list Close encounters with cowards and counterfeits that exist In the biz You move in Rihanna and Ciara midst Rare are moments where motives are clear as a Sierra Mist And every line I wrote From the top of the album to the bottom of liner notes Every word of ebonics word is bond as a solemn oath And stronger than solid oak (C’mon let’s go) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME (IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME I don’t refer to hip hop as “the game” Ain’t no playing taking place Cats coming the same None are spayed, none are chaste Who’s calling the plays? Who replayed and who replaced Who’s counting your change? WAMU changed into Chase Rats packed in a maze Some malaise, some’ll race Fat sacks of the haze Some are sprayed, some are laced Few capital gains Lower case, the lower caste Seems like there’s no escape So we turn saved to handle the pain One day in heaven And throw hands when they play “one eight seven” Among tricks of the trade of well paid reverends Is don’t break that all it takes is one brave peasant To stop saving up bread and go save brethren To stop chasing the papes and just stay present To stop making complaints and go make legend And I am him (Let that sentence set in) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME (IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME (Bridge) Let me slow it down I’m just starting up They tell me dumb it down I tell em smarten up I gave the cartons up I gave the sparking up We the Spartans son, pardon us Me and my partners They try to target us Claim they can’t market us Market what? We already all in the clubs Core is on the cut We already on the cusp That’s because At the core, at the crux We’re cut from a cloth Never wore, never once And sip from a cup that runneth over such my homies got homes overrun with rust So what’s the rub? The constant hustle and bustle and run and rush In roles of Run and Russell In other words Run and Rush Brothers done run amok Ask who are we to judge But we gon readjust (Sun . . . one) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME (IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE) I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME I GET IT POPPING BUT IT’S NOT POP LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME