[Intro: Cavalier]
What are thoughts of freedom from the inside of a jail window
When it's too high to see out, the sky's out-of-reach out
Only tell the time from when they tell you it's time to eat, sleep
Maybe die discreetly
Land mines in a field of dreams, systemic or epidemic
Hard to make means out of sciences, syringes filled
Made miracle meals on evil appliances
What adds up to freedom
Measured by lives
Mine, for instance
[Verse 1: Cavalier]
When y'all was wishin' I was listenin', I pay attention
If you feel iffy or you bitchy, then nigga say something
Closed mouths is never fed
Or they hamdullah keep it humble or apply to Everest
Elephantitis balls versus rhetoric
If we too rowdy we too loud with that oowie
In that crowd we cum laude of that profound, I just do me
He astounded at my leisure
Counter your search and seizure
I'm just grounded, yet out of bounds
I've hid pounds in the freezer, mounds
Sing a song for black hopes where the people could fly
Past judges and black cloaks, gavels, yards with gravel
Hazardous alleyways, smoke in the labyrinth
Annie are you okay, man in the mirror myths
Candidly I tackle this heavy bag, rapid jabs
To hack the interface they'll have you acting like Bagger Vance
Ravenous, the only true feed I hunger for is freedom
The lord told me there was more
I open the door to greet him like
[Chorus: Iman Omari]
Whenever this life tries to withhold
I'm keeping my heart and soul
I got to push on even when no one believes me
With all we take on, try not to let go
'Cause every man walks this road
But I'll push us on knowing that God will relieve me
[Verse 2: Quelle Chris]
Ayo, Cav
Some brains are hard to explain
Most hearts are tangled
I fade, just try to catch my good side from every angle
We let shit slide on black hand sides much far too often
That's why fam that once laid beside now lays in coffins
We wake to speak about who's too fake
What's the new gossip?
That flash cause, it's rise and it's fall, victims forgotten
Po' shame, they don't remember your name and your plight
Just something new to talk about through the night
Fables of martyrs
I shed a tear or two when I go back
Listen to moments that hold much more than lyrics or raps
What was our motive? And what changed?
We say that we older but play the same games
Bodies we caught on our journeys we place the same blame
We puff enough to talk about how we be fucking up
And break bread through feminine auras rarely acknowledged
But I know, my brother, we human, yet in the same super
The pearly gate was a coup
Candy painted and polished
By those before and behind us, my nigga
[Chorus: Iman Omari]
Whenever this life tries to withhold
I'm keeping my heart and soul
I got to push on even when no one believes me
With all we take on, try not to let go
'Cause every man walks this road
But I'll push us on knowing that God will relieve me
[Outro]
And it's what you sell New York as
That's the funniest shit about gentrification and culture-cleansing
You sell New York, you sell it as the epicenter of culture
Especially with hip-hop, the culture that black people and latinos have brought to the world
And I seen the only white teacher I had in my highschool, I seen that nigga in my neighborhood
And this nigga said to me "what'chu doin' over here?"
Boy, that shit was wicked
Looked at that nigga like, "Are you kiddin' me?"
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