plugged in

"Hey, you almost done?"

Yeah, yeah, just… maybe you can help me with this.
Don't know how to put a price on this.
Tagged the whole inventory, but this—
Can't find a number or bar code.
Guy who sold it claimed it was "priceless,"
Was his grandfather's, no longer make anything like this…
Most meaningful thing he had owned,
But "times are hard" and well, you know how it goes…

Vintage, some wear,
Handmade and hallmarked—
Let's be fair:
15% above scrap.
Put it in clearance.
Beautiful piece,
But without a brand
Won't make people stop and stare…

What's the truth?
I'm fishing for a fiction,
Trying to stitch my life together,
But the cold hard truth's
More like a broken mirror,
Shards of glass impossible
To put back together.

Maybe if I tell it as a good story
It'll make it feel a little better—
Made it this far?
Congratulations, performing well above 95% of rap.


[VERSE]

Real talk, like—not that fake talk I was
Letting float the rest the track. Ha! Just playing.

Losing my head,
Tracing threads back,
Keep replaying.
Sometimes hard to hold it together,
Had more thoughts in the last 5 minutes
Than I could map in a year,
Been years since I've been able to
Release the pressure—
Like a kettle,
Steady steam, steady heat, steady screaming 
Until all the water disappears.

Real talk:
When you got little ones to raise in this cage,
Your children's freedom becomes your tether—
Don't let slaves go free,
Gotta pay their weight in gold,
Sometimes all you got is your body,
Hope it measures up.

Yeah, that's quaint. Nice suggestion:
"Take some time for yourself."
Don't you know that's an urban legend?
Ain't nobody getting enough sleep, water, and nature—
Too expensive to care for yourself, let alone anyone else.


[EMPTY WORDS]

Still, some words come easy,
Toss 'em around like confetti,
Leave the air shimmering—
Nothing changed by the time the dust's settling.


[PHYSICAL SILENCE]

Feels like holding my breath,
Biting my tongue til it bleeds,
Drowning in the life running red.

It's not time, don't have time—
"No time like the present," you said.
Hold that thought—
What was that?
The words already left my head.


[DIGNITY INSIGHT]

Most of y'all won't break protocol
To meet your children where they at—
Role models, wealthy and famous,
Can't even show up for that.

More receptive if you make yourself
A little shorter, literally bend down—
Pride is really fear in inverse,
Leave a man measured by his silence,
Domination in isolation the measure of his worth.

Who says?

I claim the inverse:
The more secure you are,
Granting dignity to children and others
Don't detract from your worth.

Where's mine? 
My value on your ledger? 
How much is raising two kids worth?


[THE PRICE]

Wish I could speak or exhale—

The rich really doing well,
Doing less than ever,
Money growing deeper than a well
That never dries,
Pulls clean water straight from the earth,
Drain every river and reservoir
Before they die of thirst.

Don't know how to put a price on this.

Real Talk

A nostalgic voyage into the late night. 

All things that have brought me to this point and time. Sleepless nights, soulful music, and a love for television.

Late Night Programming is all of those things.

Late Night Programming

AfternoonSwim

MUSIC VIDEO OUT NOW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbEPIY32Wjk

The NEOMADiC Tape

TiCKER (prod. by Foley) (Official Music Video in description)

k. (prod. by Autumn Keys)

Roll One (prod. by SOLACE)

i love you Sade. thank you for the influence as a child
from "A Japanese Horror Film"
produced by Chester Watson [https://twitter.com/chstrwtsn]
https://iloveugly.com
https://chstrwtsn.com

satisfied [interlude]

"I got that Jazzy, melodic, out of pocket, nappy and knotted keep ya head nodding..."
just some wordplay fun for the tape.
Highly Caffeinated Out Now! 
Like, comment, Share, and enjoy!

Credit
production: @tesla77 
Engineers: @demaciiio

Highly Caffeinated

Reallybout. (back! forth!) [prod. OTESLA]

4u ft. @jaco x @indigoave
yeah.. it's gettin hot

ANOTHER DILLA JOINT... ft @indigoave and @jacogbr

read the picture. 
Producer /// http://soundcloud.com/bryanwhitehurst
Video /// http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYduK-DwnmY