uh, tryin’ to eat, tryin’ to live
survival in the eye of the storm and the cipher spins
like a spiral and we’re tryin’ to rise and then lightnin’ hits
hairpins in every lock until they finally click, finally rich
with information we can take it if we want it
or just flip the station as that live audience applauds it
cue laughtrack, did you hear that?
they can laughter like a canister of tear gas
clear as some follow the money and some follow the love
we all follow somebody’s blueprint
plain as the black print on the white one sheet bio
grey areas are where I flow
i know brilliant practitioners who lack listeners
seen shamans make the ugliest spaces sacred
seen the best minds of my generation wasted
complacent playin’ video games off in the basement
disillusioned with how the game went, i can’t blame them
they can’t pay rent,
we can’t separate the bullshit from the authentic
when the mixing and the mastering are bought on credit
(click click) is that the ticking of a time bomb or is it opportunity knockin’
on my jewel case coffin, (click)
is that the stackin’ of chips, like gettin’ rich
or the sound of a million white kids hittin’ skip

not everyone who works hard earns it
not everyone who works hard earns it
not everyone who works hard earns it
not everyone who works hard earns it
so if they ever make you a monument
scratch your name out, break it, spit on it, burn it
(burn it, burn it, burn it)

I wrote two sixteens on my two fifteens
each day from sixteen to twenty two it seems
I paid dues to eat, made time for rhymin’
but is that why this promoter’s in front of me smilin’?
if I talk about violence will they call me violent
or just “literate & politically-minded?”
i got so many problems with authority
this oratory is validated and plated with relish
like “intelligent hip hop” doesn’t describe pretty much all of it?
unless your definition of intelligent is off a bit
I’m tryin’ to be self-aware but it’s hopeless
when I got so many white rappers on my “nope” list
huh and never had no class
still the best MC in my grad school class
it just feels sometimes like acknowledging your privilege
is the new not acknowledging your privilege
or rappin’ is the new “I have a black friend
so I can’t be racist” but it’s a system not a sickness
payback with interest or it’s useless
no intentions, rhetoric, allies, or excuses
yo… I thank everyone who’s tuned in
deuces to every follower I’m losin’
defensiveness is a burden
and skin is only surface, but history is real
and it’s absolutely certain: not everyone who works hard earns it...