Disc 1 | ||||||
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1. |
| 3:16 | ||||
I don't, remember the first time I heard Kwe-li
I don't remember what I was doing There were no remembered witnesses to my doings But it seems like I've known him, forever He who has, moved through mornings and midnights Through, deaths and dawns To document our bones our blood our lives Listen, listen to his exact wings Strumming mists from clouds Listen, listen a man always punctual with his, mouth Listen to his, revolution of syllables Scoping lightning from his pores Keeping time, with his hurricane beat Asking us to pick ourselves up and become, THUNDER Yeah, they say you can't please everybody... Let's go! Yeah, ay, they ain't know what that sound like Feel the heartbeat, feel the heartbeat On your eardrum, we got a new heartbeat Feel the heartbeat, feel the heartbeat On your eardrum, we got a new heartbeat Yo, what becomes of a dream deferred that never makes it to the world to be seen or heard Do it breathe? Do it got a heartbeat? Is it alive? Do it leave, only to become a star in the sky? I believe, no scratch that I know, this ain't my full potential Only usin 10 percent of my mental on instrumentals But incidentally my, energy heavenly Can he be so ill there ain't no, pill or no remedy The, maker of memories posess the recipe to your fate Make no mistake there ain't no escapin your destiny Especially when, 'til death do us part, like wedding rings I'll be here forever, put that on e'rything You're everything maaaaaaaaan! You're everything maaaaaaaaan! Your Alpha and your Omega, your beginning and your end Your father, your brother, your lover your friend The blood in your vein that gets spilled and, runs in the drain That's right my flow one and the same, the joy and the pain My name, the burner that destroy the toy and the train All city all night I'm enjoyin the fame I'm a hustler, I'm a gangster and a rebel with the rank of a general In the battle between God or the Devil I lay claim to your spirit, your religion, your belief system I'll do your hit in your kitchen and you're relief pitchin This kid proficient in, every position The man of your dreams and your nightmares commandin your vision 'Til it's quite clear like light beer, yeah I'm standin right here I get you hot but stay cooler than the night air I try to fit it in the same rhyme But realize, I can't be everything to everyone at the same time You're everything maaaaaaaaan! You're everything maaaaaaaaan! First time I heard him, I was in Japan Seems like the first time I heard him was like, the Reflection, Reflection Eternal Like when Kanye came out I guess was when I started to listen, I hate to say that but New York native, and serious Talib fan I came all the way from Puerto Rico just to see Talib Kweli Him, Mos Def all of them man, I need them out here in my life It's a rainy morning in New York City |
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2. |
| 4:36 | ||||
C'mon, Yeah
I like to take this opportunity, to thank everybody who been riding with me so far It's a been a long journey But they say your life's path is not about the destination It's all about the journey I appreciate y'all [Chorus:] It's my blood, sweat, tears, years Struggle, love, hate, fear New york city! You could make it here, you could make it anywhere I came to prepare For the rain, hail, sleet, snow Whatever the weather, we ride Let my people go! To a place where knowledge is born We welcome you to the 3rd eye of the storm Check it out! [Verse:] Futuristic lyricist, straight from the renaissance Top of the suffer chain, raps up a edge a lot My people suffering, slave to another chain This voyage is maiden, like my mother of the name Is this your first trip to hell? Avenge a capitalist, if it's a product then we got it for sell When I first started to spell, my words fell into rhymes Turned into songs, everything else fell into line I paint the pictures, you could see the people bleeding my bars When I was a teen, I was mean, about to reach for the stars So if I fail or fell, write in the clouds, tighten the vowel Niggaz word, there use to be no bitin allowed Now the gangsters no grindin' allowed Probably see a fight in the stage, fore you see a fight in the crowd I send this out to my people facing the storm Homie we riding it out You inspire what I'm writing about [Chorus:] It's the 3rd eye of the storm [x4] Check it out! [x3] Been fucking around! [Verse:] I'm not a judge, but I'm handing out sentences To political prisoners, regular inmates with no visitors Niggaz in the streets outside to reach up for ministers Not those that say they spiritual, but actual parishoners Rap listeners, we open the black businesses This underground shit, with samples to lack clearances Once you get a past appearances You could tell who shit is fake and who's shit is based upon the past experiences We really been to war, hand to hand like crack sales Bill the man, the man they try to kill off the blackmail Female left to raise up a son From the day he was one Til' he twenty, and he raise up a gun Get the blazin, fore the blaze of the sun Smoke bracin' his lung Young in his years and he's facing a ton None of his peers wanna share the road Love the child, care to provider But they hand a blunt and share saliva You ain't a rider And you hustlin' backwards To many excess, with imitating these crackers So our kids looking up to drug dealers and rappers Taking away all the work away from our black actors Revelation is first and armageddon is after Tsunami's, hurricanes and natural disasters Fast food culture be this, is always a factor It's the gratification They want the cash faster! [Chorus:] It's the 3rd eye of the storm [x4] It's the place where knowledge is born! Check it out! check it out! Talib Kweli! That's what it is... Break it down |
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3. |
| 5:24 | ||||
4. |
| 3:42 | ||||
5. |
| 4:31 | ||||
6. |
| 2:09 | ||||
As a kid growing up in brooklyn, my pops was a DJ
he had a bunch of records: Funk, jazz, rhythm & blues, soul know what I'm sayin there was this one gospel record i liked, like, like like Holy Molly, I might get some religion and leave ya holy holy, ya this rhyme so fat its rolly polly ill give intimate details so you can get to know me, these corporate rapers like why this dude pickin on me you rap your way to the top but now its gettin lonely, kids is hungry and you lookin like steak from nick and tony's but don't nobody want your jewels cause ya shit is phony say word yo shit is real, yo shit is corny, rhymes turn a new page like mark foley and touch kids like when larry clark gave the part to chloe, rest in peace to Harold Hunter, the greatest from New York who started out skating for Zoo York, word hangin out at the gavin, i was very lucky the talk to rash once i got past Darren Dudley, got him on respiration that's pre-Badu bet you Garnett Reid got a Matt Doo tattoo, some times it feels like im drowning i gotta tread water head above the water i always remember headquarters heads up eyes open i got my mind focused i find hope inside a line, my rhymes defines opus sometimes hopeless people fill my soul with evil my record so hard it broke the needle, at the mixtape awards niggas act like they don't give a f**k though disrespect the legacy of Justo what the blood clot? no, let the blood flow you aint come to pay your respect then what you come fo, too many good niggas die, it's like a stop loss good niggas ghetto like fried wings and hot sauce, how you hard the cops lettin 50 shots off baby jay-z's with the knock off Scott Storch beat you are not Short you are not Katt you not a playa or a pimp money stop that, learn to masta your speech and be eloquent rappers keep peddlin sweets the beats weaker than gelatin, we used to kick em dust and now we settling rest to peace to Dilla, Weldon we can't forget you professor x and proof we miss you word, rest in peace to Shakka, 21 gun salute in the air like Bloc! Bloc! Bloc! Still here cause your livin through me your like a gift god give it to me. uh uh uh what! |
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7. |
| 3:08 | ||||
[Talib Kweli]
Yeah, this is a ghetto prayer Prayin for all of those who ain't got it We gotta get it there, we gotta get it yeah Yeah the people starvin for somethin new, we starvin for it (My tummy hurts, I couldn't eat) Mmmm, mmm, mmm (Did you have fun at school today Trey?) My little man go to bed so hungry Get up, go to school with his nose runny, come home with his nose bloody His sister laughin, he like "What's so funny~?" 'Til she drowned out by the sounds of hunger pains in his tummy Nuttin in the freezer, nuttin in the fridge Couple of 40 ounces but nuttin for the kids Little man know to eat to live but he don't wanna leave the crib The kid who punched him in his face house right down the street from his He went anyway, more scared to face his moms She'll beat him soon as she flip out, seein his face scarred Walkin past the dopefiends with they smoke to the place of God Hopes and dreams pourin out the holes in they face and arms Little man in the face of harm if he don't eat He need energy so when he go to school he can compete And keep up, all he got is bodegas But hey he only got enough a for quarter water and a Now or Later Anyway, grandma say Jesus'll be here any day Good - cause with nuttin to eat it's gettin hard to pray... pray... [Chorus: repeat 4X] In order to receive, then we need to give We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live [Talib Kweli] Listen... My rhymes got nutritional value I get it how I live, it's critical when the conditions allow you Do you don't trust the critics who doubt you Try to write shit about you, but they can't make a living without you Go hungry, you gotta watch what the media feed ya And don't be a poisoned animal eater either It's harder than it sound, cause nowadays, put that swine in everything The white sugar so addictive it's pure 'caine They got, pork in the toothpaste, soda in the Sunny D Jello brand gelatin is laced with the lecatin In Africa they starvin, over here the food hurt you Cows goin mad and the chickens crunk with bird flu It's too ill how the food kill it's like blue steel Lies never set you free, but the truth will The truth still matter the proof is in the batter or the pudding You can tell we eatin good, we gettin fatter [Chorus] Listen... |
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8. |
| 3:56 | ||||
9. |
| 4:03 | ||||
10. |
| 4:27 | ||||
11. |
| 4:41 | ||||
12. |
| 4:16 | ||||
Ladies and gentlemen
Kweli! [Hook:] Won't you stay around with me?... And please say the rhyme Cause these rappers think that I'm In love with your state of mind Cause you a favourite of mine And I know you on your grind I don't want to waste your time But baby won't you stay around with me?... And let my love (and let my love) And let my love [Verse 1:] Kweli you should rap about this, you should rap about that Any more suggestions? You in the back, yeah you You should rap more on beat, you should rap more street And never ever get your mack on please, how bout you? I like the way you're melodic, it's cause you capture hypnotic Portraits and seem to make the average exotic Probably unite, I know you getting some love, but you can't spit like a thug And you a blow, you make a hit for the club, word I don't like your voice, I don't like your choice of beats It sounds like it's forced, and what was up with "Back Up Offa Me"? I ain't like that, man you should get with Hi-Tek Now he got nice tracks, them other dudes is type wack Yeah, people keeping it coming, I keep it bubbling Like the heat from oven boiling the water and the hate So they light my fire... I got a mic empire, my own label I had to emancipate me-me like Mariah... At some point I might retire, on some bullshit My legacy, horseshit like Mariah's... Illest flow found in the game, soothing like the sound of the rain It's the dude profound with the fame, I refusing to be sounding the same Keeping the verses, deleting the curses, defeating the purpose When the people go on strike, I'm in the street with the workers Speaking the words from a pulpit like the preachers at churches Raise my hand, all the teachers get nervous Cause they know I air them out And they ain't even really gotta hear me out Keep it dirty like pigpen, voice in the warrior's head like Lynne Thigpen Clocking like Big Ben, old school slang still find a way to innovate Pete Rock got em feeling great, the ladies say [Hook:] Won't you stay around with me?... And please say the rhyme Cause these rappers think that I'm In love with your state of mind Cause you a favorite of mine And I know you on your grind I don't want to waste your time But baby won't you stay around with me?... And let my love (and let my love) And let my love [Verse 2:] Light the tip of the L, this heavyweight rap tipping the scale And we never let the system prevail, real picturesque, missing the sale Never that, it's forbidden like the candy sisters lifting the veil I'm still leading the pack, these cats lacking Just because you be having a dragon don't mean you got the fire... It ain't nothing to play with, it's sacred My pen is the paintbrush, and dipping in paint plus Truth, love, joy, anger, hatred and anguish That's the spectrum of colours I paint with I don't feast at the banquet, cause freedom is the set that I bang with Listen the conditions in my slum village is tainted I grew through the pavement, like the flower the girl drew in the paper The sky bluer and the? eye's? save you The rules of engagement that they use, attitudes of a slave Man got me stressed out losing my patience The moves that I'm making across waters Through contraband that I'm taking across borders Information never lost in translation Too many new words to be learned, I'm spitting fire giving third degree burns Giving them heat stroke, hotter than rocking a P cote At [? ], all these rappers super like me so, we go Back in the days like reminiscing with Pete yo Ladies welcome to the Kweli show She goes... [Hook:] Won't you stay around with me?... And please say the rhyme Cause these rappers think that I'm In love with your state of mind Cause you a favorite of mine And I know you on your grind I don't want to waste your time But baby won't you stay around with me?... And let my love (and let my love) And let my love [Outro:] Ladies and Gentleman, it's Talib Kweli Yeah, this Ear Drum y'all B-B-B-B-Banging on your ear drum We got the incredible Pete Rock on the track like... I like that, I like that I want to give an extra big shout to my man Dave Dart Holding me down as always and as usual And his new born son, Cannon, brand new to the world He's now down with Blacksmith, Blacksmith is the movement Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady gang, Talib Kweli It's what it is, yeah |
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13. |
| 3:49 | ||||
14. |
| 1:32 | ||||
15. |
| 3:49 | ||||
16. |
| 3:42 | ||||
17. |
| 3:58 | ||||
(Talib Kweli talking) (Sample Voice)
This the year of the BlackSmith... Talib Kweli... Kwame... Lets Go! (Listen!!!) Yea niggas dont- (Listen!!!) Back in the days we all used to- (Listen!!!) Now shit is so wack, nobody- (Listen!!!)to that real hip hop (Listen!!!) Yo (Listen!!!) Ladies and gentlemen, get ready, here come (Listen!!!) Talib Kweli and im BANGING on ya Eardrum (I think i wanna hear you!!!) Wha? now lemme get up in it Wait-(wait just) Wait-(wait just) Wait-(wait just a minute!!!) Wait! (Verse 1) Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me ya ears Start repentin' cause the ending is near But don't (Listen!!!) panic, you can't function if you livin' in fear Pay attention you gotta listen to hear (Wait just a minute!!!) Who the fuck you talkin' to? Put you on hold, get a specialist to walk you through Kweli, the flow captain of fast and slow rappin' I'm so crackin', you ain't heard? ya shit appear like "Closed Captions" King of the bars and I'm goin' hard cause- All my confidence comes from knowin' God's Laws (Listen!!!) Bangin' on the system, fightin' my kinda war: Loud as a whisper, quiet as a lion's roar (Wait just a minute!!!) (Hook) Ladies and gentlemen, get ready, here come (Listen!!!) Talib Kweli and I'm BANGING on ya eardrum (I think I wanna hear you!!!) Now lemme get up in it (Listen!!!) Its for ya spirit so (Listen!!!) But y'all don't hear me though (Listen!!!) Get up, get into it and get involved (Listen!!!) There's a little something that I wanna spit for y'all (I think I wanna hear you!!!) Now lemme get up in it (Wait just- Wait just- Wait just a minute!!!) (Verse 2) Get it now, get it fast, get it right Get it big, get it loud, get it done, get it tight (I think I wanna hear you!!!) But you don't really hear me though I (Listen!!!) spit clearly so (Listen!!!) it's live outcha stereo (Listen!!!)To your heart while its beatin' in ya chest (Listen!!!)When you speakin' to Execs And they see behind the desk (Listen!!!) To ya spirit, nothing weaker than the flesh So while you try to keep it fresh, you gettin' deeper into debt (Wait just a minute!!!) Real Hip-Hop is missin' from the shelf Yup, it's what you felt when you listen to yaself (Listen!!!) Only a few is makin' cuts that's spinnin' So before you spend ya hard earned spinach (Wait just a minute!!!) (Hook) (Verse 3) You love the sounds comin' out your speaka I spit rounds like a Nine Millimeta (Listen!!!) The youth today they frown at the teachers They ain't down with no leaders they don't wanna- (Wait just a minute!!!) They like, "What?! Nigga wait right there. I got 'Reservoir Dogs', you'll be missin' a 'Right Ear'" (Listen!!!) Get it clear, i figure its my year I'm everywhere makin' appearances in nigga's nightmares (Wait just a minute!!!) Hear the word, peep the flow, check the cadence (Listen!!!) What you heard as a Pro, I'm so amazing (Listen!!!) Don't front girl, you know its ya favorite New Kweli, yo, they runnin' out of patience (Wait just a minute!!!) (Hook) Yo, don't it sound so good to you? (Listen!!!) Unh!, it's the return of the greatest y'all (I think I wanna hear you!!!) Talib Kweli, BKMC (Listen!!!) BlackSmith is the movement (Listen!!!) BlackSmith is the music (Listen!!!) Whatchu ridin' for? Whatchu livin' for? (Listen!!!) Whatchu dyin' for? (I think I wanna hear you!!!) Bangin' on ya Eardrum, Yea! (Wait just- Wait just- Wait just a minute!!!) (Listen!!!) (Wait just- wait just- wait just a minute!!!) |
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18. |
| 4:22 | ||||
19. |
| 5:02 | ||||