Water

[Part 1: "The First Movement"]

[Intro: Black Thought]

South Philly, Northside...

Oakland, Texas, Georgia...

Black people, ugh, ugh, ugh! Yo

Worldwide, it's for my nigga

Know what I'm saying? Yo

Dumb and blind

[Verse 1: Black Thought]

They say a record ain't nothing if it's not touching, gripping

Draw you in closer, make you want to listen to it

And if you real ill at making music, the listener feel like he living through it

That's how my nigga do it

I met Slacks back in, like, '91, rapping

We went to Millersville to get away from gun-clapping

It ain't last; I'd be in class dreaming 'bout –

Fifty thousand fans up in the stands, screaming out:

"Encore!" Yo, I'm headed back to Philly

"Nigga, you rollin' with me? I'm tryna get busy"

We walked dogs that was off the chain

Lot of times, at the shows, people hardly came

I just took it in stride as part of the game

But inside, people down with me started to change

It was a couple things: lil' syrup, lil' pills

Instead of riding out on the road, you'd rather chill

I know the way the pleasure feel—I'm not judging

But still I'm on a mission, yo, I'm not bugging

I got fam that can't stop drugging, they can't sleep

They can't stick to one subject, they can't eat

It's people steady coming at me out in the street

Like, "'Riq, yo, what up with your peeps?" It gets deep, nigga

[Chorus]

Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high

Son, you're missing out on what's passing you by

I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry

But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get

Come on—over, over the water

Come on—over, over the water

Yo–water, come on–water

Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh

[Verse 2]

Yo, we done been through many meals, a couple of deals

We done shared clothes and wheels, killed mics and reels

We done rocked shows abroad and slept on floors

Tryna figure what the fuck we getting slept on for

Or what we walking with the weapon for

Weighted by the gravity law

You'd know it if you came up poor, my nigga

Picture the bus up north

You know we made of everything outlaws are made of

I'm far from a hater

And I don't say "I love you," 'cause the way I feel is greater

M-Ila, you a poet, son, you a born creator

And this'll probably dawn on you later

It's in your nature, lyrics all on your walls, like they made of paper

You got to find out where your talent take you

You might fuck around, finally make it

And that's real, but yo—

[Chorus]

Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high

Son, you're missing out on what's passing you by

I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry

But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get

Come on—over, over the water

Come on—over, over the water

Come on–water, c'mon–water

Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh

[Verse 3]

Yo, I want you all to understand: I come from South Philly

And when I walk the street, it's like a pharmacy

They got all type of shit anybody could get

It go from H to Ex to loosie cigarettes

For my ghetto legend, known for lil' sheists running

Copped codeine by the quarts and keep comin'

Dumbing, just embracing the dope, like it's a woman

You're burning both sides of the rope and just pulling, tugging

In between Islam and straight thugging

Laying every day around the way and doing nothing

See 'em looking, shaking they head, and start shrugging

If they don't got a man like mine, they got a cousin

Aiyyo – you better be a true friend to him

Before the shit put an end to him

Or give a pen to him

Or lock him in the studio with a mic

'Cause on the real, it might save his life — keep telling 'em...

[Chorus]

Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high

Son, you're missing out on what's passing you by

I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry

But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get

Come on—over, over the water

Come on—over, over the water

Come on–water, yo–water

Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh, come on

Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high

Son, you're missing out on what's passing you by

I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry

But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get

Come on—over, over the water

Come on—over, over the water

Come on–water, yo–water

Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh

[Part 2: "The Abyss"]

[Intro: Samples]

[Instrumental]

[Outro: Samples]

[Part 3: "The Drowning"]

[Instrumental]