Long Term

[Intro: Ab-Soul]

Give me a little, little, little more volume on the vocals

Mic check, mic check one two

This is it right here Wave, this is it

Thank you for tuning in, hope y'all enjoyed yourself

Long Term

[Verse 1: Ab-Soul]

Motherfucker this is Long Term, let me explain to you niggas

I'm here for the long haul

I'm fly as Curtis Pilot, you ever saw part of my Carson

Joggin' if y'all lost, but I been dedicated since back then

Started out with the double-time rhyme scheme I got from Twista

I couldn't quite convince the public, I was the one that'll put us up on the map

Throwin' away raps in a trash can

Fillin' my notebook up with my quotes, but the doors didn't open up

So I slowed it up

Found my niche, got my bars up

Black Planet freestyle chattin', get your guards up

Boys in Black had me hip to punchlines and all that

Came back with some hard stuff

What I was like, sixteen I think?

Killin' 'em, [?] box sealin' 'em, like the rooftop

Not quite a god emcee, more like Jay Reed, give me the oowop

I don't care who drop

Still found room for development

Before MySpace views were so relevant

Hey Soul, you ever think of sellin' it?

What? Your soul! Heavens no

Unless it cost that at Heaven's door

I pave my own way, no steppin' stones

My first break was playin' songs for Tory Crow

The judge looked out, we even shot a video

Shout-out my man June, can't forget my nigga Bones with the bangers

It's all love over here player

Before MP3 players could play us

I had a five-star tablet full of classics

At a time where every rapper was a gangsta or somethin'

Sort of became cliche some thought

From the suburbs where we do dirt and hope we never get caught

Hittin' a lie, why would I lie?

[Chorus: Alori Joh]

I've been watching you, to whomever this may concern

I can see your grind, what you got is well deserved

You gotta get up, get out, and get it, you can't always wait your turn

And it may not happen tomorrow, you gotta think long term

[Verse 2: Ab-Soul]

I told myself like back in '05 I give this rap shit two years

But I'm still here

I've fallen in love with this hip-hop thing

Our relationship is real rare

The problem with a lot of newcomers is sad, but understood

I'm tryin' to make a great song, they tryin' to make it out the hood

I'm tryin' to be honored with the Pacs and Biggies

And they tryin' to see face on TV like, "Momma, see me?"

But it's a whole lot easier now

The Internet'll let the world play your media now

Your girlfriend cousin got a mixtape comin' out

And he got a beat you leased, but the producer is out of reach

This kid asked me how to make a name for himself

I told him I'm still tryin' to find a lane for myself

I could've lied to him and sold him a bunch of BS

But this is where the letter ends, before I go, P.S

[Outro: Alori Joh]

What is long term?

Long term is everlasting, long term is the thought of a future reference

Long term is everlasting, long term is the thought of a future reference

What is long term?

Long term is everlasting, long term is the thought of a future reference

Long term is everlasting