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Don't Fight Your Demons

by Arrested Development

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1.
Back Down 04:22
Yo what’s up Yo what’s up Hey A yo You claim that you bang, its insane A white supremacists campaign When we’re slain, its mundane Rappers killed in public domains And we just tweet thangs Hashtag Gone too soon On to the next thing Death has become an art Rapping with hand grenades Osama Bin Laden sure ain’t got nada on drama Secretly ordered by the CIA Black ops with the DEA Black cops with these white cops On those black blocks and they must obey Reconnaissance on citizens They’re melanated they’re innocent Lets elevate our militance And celebrate our consciousness Yeah Hey Alright I like a merry go round but I ain’t merry I’m down Cuz I see whole sale violence Packaged up and polished Astonishing who’s admonished When poverty is our promise Back down They feed our souls with lust and hoes We won’t even discuss these woes We chose to candy coat I won’t Back down Ya can’t have it both ways Drug dealer lavish plus saved Classy and savage is what they had did To us when we were slaves No way Consciousness protects me You cant say you’re WOKE when you don’t know the recipe Get down Yeah Back down baby Can't talk about Jews or Gays as these people you be slaying Back down Why ain’t the mainstream afraid of you That says it all they play to you You play to them You’re both involved So all Back down Don’t be no clowns We’re ancient we’re profound original be proud Hey Back down Things should not be the same until the freedom bell rangs Thugs are not revolutionaries There’s a difference they’re not the same You can quote Malcolm X or King But you’re still not an excellent king Until you execute excellent things In your new life to your old life Back down I’m problem solving, I’m evolving My old self ain’t coming around But now days I’m coming around to spend time with my child Pow Here’s my check I’m out I regret being foul You’re respect for me will come around But until then I Back down You critics get a smack down Who are you to tell me, Speech What’s not or is a hot track now Back down When I was young and there was elders around I would have sat down Now you pasty cats got a playlist, thinking you running rap now Back down We did shows with Tribe and Wu Tang, P.E. and Fugues and Gang Starr We go LIVE when we sang 30 years or more Worldwide tours You ain’t thought before Back down Uh, I thought of that before I thought of that before but you don’t honor it no more Back down Respect for the past is something you deeply lack now And I ain’t bitter either, I’ve had mad success This ain’t lashing out I’m giving wisdom cuz the system will stop giving rations out And you will be poor like you were before taking that faster route The disaster route Who’s the masters now We’re the masters now Honor the crown or Back down
2.
Moses 03:42
I wrote achen for acres Then I bought more than 10 acres That's how I fight against these racist Even my third eye had lasiks So I’ve been seeing 2020 since 93 covering the basics Every day people in the public Fans screaming we want more - I love it People every day during the encore Back home open up my barn door John Deere tractor pull it out Riding mower for the mule and 40 acres That never made it around my house Slave away in my indoor office Offices is for bosses Any winner has had losses And falsehoods poured all over him Don’t get lost in the sauces I asked Jesus can He save me I felt myself drowning in these ladies Breaking marital bonds for quick relations Took my wife on the road to nip Temptations I am no longer a rolling stone Like Brian Jones No large bodies of water in Georgia large bodies of water give me euphoria Menominee River Parkway off Concordia Milwaukee Wisconsin lakefront Down at memorial - it’s sacred soil Nothing you know me for has been a front Not a actor - a activist - no Stunts And everything that I teach through music is the roots My quest is love within the booth. Not about what I’ve done but what I do Not married to the game but to the groove Not married to the fame but to the tune If you were to ask the same from the Who's Who I bet there's a disconnect like Bluetooth To my true blues its not new news to you Who can offset me now? I'm like the Migos Take off nationwide in a Prevost Crunch time as if i’m eating Doritos Spicy sweet chili is my Steelo Its also the way I act towards evil 30 Years same girl Black Not just dreaming its all facts Career on Wikipedia a true poet I don't have to do no explaining cause y'all know it Knew it I have never once made an entry Fans do it Simply I just MC Real life I made it I'm not making it Real life I took it not I'm taking it Authentic vintage no mistaking it Grammys on my shelf never faking it All I'm asking for is some respect That’s not asking for more than I should get I know you want success I can see it But it's one thing to want it another to be it I've been it, and im still not finished Cuz im just too cold I said it before - don’t know? now you know Check my wife she’s gold I'm a gold digger And I'm bagging organic juice where they sold liquor And I’m a known sipper Big tipper Culture giver Uber lyfter You ride with me I ride with ya With two children in the quiver And when I speak some shiver when I deliver Ancestral transmitter Exactly why I could never be a nigga Stay focused no hocus pocus Made more than one OPUS Broke down doors the media usually closes So you can smell the roses Exodus slavery existence Moses
3.
Amazing 04:32
One day I changed And re-arranged my brain My body stayed the same My inner had entered new plains Visualizing terrains Horizons were ever so strange My mind got better with age I walked in strength Milwaukee was opposite of me So many jocking to Judge me They kept on knocking my locs And mocking most everything on me As if a gift from heaven would weaponize me To be lovely - despite the spite and intentional ugly I rose Through the concrete of my foes Yeah Asante To my Aunties up on Buford hwy roads ATLien exposed To such culture shocking lows All the roaches encroaching all over my food and my clothes So Far from the midwest Where i gave more to Get less I Prayed for it like a witness And slaved for it like a laborer And I paid for it with interest Picture me like Pinterest haters got so fired up Bringing me the smoke like incense Wow This is Amazing Its us its us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is Amazing Its out of the ordinary Wake up turn your radio up It don’t time for me to blow your mind We did it Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down They wanna promote us as the lowest things around Stereotypical images and beats all around Police beat us on the ground Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down Promote the thugs with the criminal sound Stereotypical images and white supremacist images of us never innocent It kills Kills, Snitches and Witnesses I guess the business is exploit us sexually But Keep us intellectually primitive Sedated the sensitive Nullifying all their initiative To ever unify, Just relying on representatives Our english is now seen as this, Opposite of Guinness The truth is meaningless They deliberately been deceiving us I know Im hot, give me the glock Hold up let me finish, if i violate probation The judge'll extend my sentence... I'm for real I feel the ill’s U.S. conceals the kills From Libya To Brazil It’s not out of the ordinary My brethren Ya can’t comprehend Dollar bill y’all Worship money them Monsters have a ball - Halle Berry Friendly with the enemy is never the call Powernomics it’s by Dr. Claude Read it with your squad Get money for us Dumb it down for what We been sleeping enough Wake up AND turn your radio up Turn it up This is Amazing Its us its us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is all so amazing Shout out to Aerle Taree Shout out to rasa, Shout out to Montsho Eshe, Shout out toBaba Oje to Headliner to the extended family Dionne Farris, Nadirah Shout out to Laurnea, Shout Out to Dj Kemit, Shout out to Ajile. All of y'all will always be family The world is ours we talk to one another And we grab our power this is our hour revolution Amazing
4.
Becoming 04:56
I know I will Become the best I can Become the best I can Become the best I can 9 Years old, my momma and daddy already divorced years ago Now it's just me her and joe Joe is her boyfriend that wishes mom was a different race Cuz with his fist he put red all over her face Beat the breaks off her I say something he'd beat me too I said a lot he beat me often Took his fist and punched me dead in the jaw He told me to tell my teachers I'm clumsy and I often fall One day I had enough and I called 911 I could have went from 9 to eleven by the time the police would come They rang the bell of this living hell My momma ran to the door BEFORE i could myself And what I saw would forever create a scar Momma bruised and scared told him that nothing was wrong And it would be from then on I went to the streets got me a peace and earned some RESPECT c'mon I know I will Become the best I can Become the best I can Become the best I can I took on everything in my life head on Even if it's fights My fuse was easy to light And I was literally a stick of dynamite My good times was nights of bloody faces from victims I beat from not not looking at me right walking the streets the flashing lights They got me Drugs in the car and an unregistered gun on my body Back to the prison it's a party I got more friends there than out here sad Hardly But it's been years if recidivism What used to be black and white has become a full color prism And now I got a daughter and she needs my wisdom I had become the same Joe that made my own home a prison There's a half way house I wanna enlist in I've been sober I did a lot of emotional heavy lifting But I know i have a gift and a heavenly mission So I'ma get a new life by living life totally different This is a mean world to try to live in Glory glory glory hallelujah I will become a true inshallah East African name for father is baba I will not be an average Joe No not by far I named my beautiful baby daughter Baha That's Arabic for splendid glory I tell her, we all can make our own end to our story Our intro is just our entrance it's chapter one And we can make a clean cut like when an actors done. Forward ever run I know I will Become the best I can Become the best I can Become the best I can I know I will Become the best I can Become the best I can Become the best I can
5.
I met this beautiful sister overseas It was after show We would go Over Everything She was a from a poorer country She spit game on how she wishes she was American with fortune and fame She sees the opportunity not the nuance I said please get information like Beyonc She said most Blacks take U.S for a joke I did no we do t but U.S dropped bombs on Blacks in Oklaho Black Wall Street 1921 The wealthiest Blacks was murdered by bombs mobs and guns And that was just after the reconstruction yo Where we was promised equal rights but Jim Crow Ku klux klan hoods and hangings She said this is now that was then I said yeah sister many do better as immigrants coming to America than Blacks who are ADOS That's: African Descendants of slaves Black actually from the U.S. born and raised Our lack equality and racism remains Turn on the infra red and you can still see the blood stains We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans She said Black Americans be dripping I that gold though driving Buggati’s, Chanel Bags and Hublot She still thinks the 45 prez was dumb as a mofo but she said that on the down low I said I love the U.S. home of Hip Hop but just Jazz Blues and Rock it got co-opted All I’m saying is don’t see things with rosey optics Come here get that money and give back to your continent We agreed and we planted seeds I wanna move to Africa and her to DC The world is ours we both wanna be free And everyone's at a different stage of what freedom means So we went and got some greens and some corn bread She down with elegba I’m down with what the Lord says She kissed each other lightly on the forehead And pray for the diaspora to be joyous We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said We all We all Wanna be Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans And she said You got it all You got it all You got it all Young Americans
6.
Capitalism is so real The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill The pharmaceutical companies in cahoots with bad meals The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream rap in cahoots with private jails The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream religions, no facts just all feel - yeah The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill So what’s up? If your mind is a weapon then make sure that its loaded And probably keep it on safety cuz the world is thought phobic Politically correct no respect for the stoic Such neglect for the steps of those reppin heroics Someone steps up. A whistle blower fesses up Lets protect the rights for them to do it, I cant stress it enough Cuz the 1% got a poker face lets call their bluff Put their greed inside of a toilet, give me a royal flush! Kings and Queens from red shades to Black spades Back in the days we raised rap to jack thangs CNN for Blacks P.E. Chuck D phrase PRT to XClan to AD we gave our Flavor Flav To tell the world behave we are no slaves And while we dance, we’ll take stands and part the waves And part the seas give healthy thoughts to fight dis-ease Show em hip hops strength Hercules, Hercules! Capitalism is so real The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill The pharmaceutical companies in cahoots with bad meals The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream rap in cahoots with private jails The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream religions, no facts just all feel - yeah The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill So what’s up? What’s the solution when power’s what their abusing No more of this confusion, conclusion of the collisions... Amusing how they portray us and try to use what we say Then turn right around and try to mimic how we live everyday... Now whats up with that? Take and give nothing back? Well they put the dope off in our hood and blamed us for crack... And look at em now, they giving us mask to cover up the masses From something they produced in a lab, it’s a disaster... The world we all livin in is so cold Hands high, don’t shoot, got me kneeling on the floor... While they’re kneeling on my throat trying to overplay their role Suspend the suspensions with pay and let em pay with their soul... Lock us up but let them go? I’m demanding some understanding Why is fast food so cheap but it cost to eat what is planted?... Taking nothing for granted, this planet that we call home We can call it a lot of things but can never call it our own! I’m gone! Capitalism is so real The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill The pharmaceutical companies in cahoots with bad meals The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream rap in cahoots with private jails The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream religions, no facts just all feel - yeah The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill So what’s up? Knowledge equality justice... Understanding Power to the people the streets demand it Fires be fueled by the unjust rules Look universal law is to gather the tools So many jewels- free ya self unlocked rage Know the source free force let the energy rain If you woke you done seen the turning of tides Its nothing new but new clues gave birth to the rise Blind eyes Seeing light for the first Bubbles burst Broke curse GOD spoke Know why, worth... The gold is tainted Most times THINGS ARE NOT As THEY seem Once you realize You're a threat to the regime STAY FOCUSED No hocus we exposing the frauds Learning — as we kick open the door They create the sickness They create the cure Thats how the rich is getting richer They at war with the poor Limited resource Neighborhoods abused by force Red lining humans dying its histories course Facts hidden and lost But divine intervention Kept us marching - right on course Wild rhythms deep wisdom in the spin of the record Generations fought shine light on the skeptics We see fakeness Our intension is sacred 3rd eye wide exemplifying greatness whats up Capitalism is so real The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill The pharmaceutical companies in cahoots with bad meals The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream rap in cahoots with private jails The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill And mainstream religions, no facts just all feel - yeah The same people that sell the sickness sell the pill So what’s up?
7.
Almost every party I rocked - yeah Chances are I coulda got shot - yeah Suicides & murders all around me Childhood friends gone with the wind Do or die - the mantra Yeah Do or die - the mantra Some friends sold that white girl or that Ganja For me it was selling life music to get cha on to Either way i would say it was Do or die - the mantra Do or die - the mantra Some friends sold that white girl or that Ganja For me it was selling life music to get cha on to Either way i would say it was Do or die - the mantra Most every dude that I was involved with, ran the malls with, kicked it with at the parties and talked ish and Was hawkish with Was dudes from Sherman park to 3rd street Especially around 24th and capitol, near Rufus King I was literally the only cat from Wauwatosa Never rapped with them heavier cats the Black La Cosa nostra Going to Detroit did rap shows with ghetto promoters Picture kids 11 years old Selling dope... All shooters - no posers It was quite literally right under our noses An epidemic with no limits Quick cash turned cliques bad All of it quick fast Flirting with darkness Brought a Serious Whiplash And by then, hoods were getting bad Had - pregnant mothers down on their knees, doing things That might require some knee pads Sons buying some ski masks Do or die that was mantra Families was going under Almost every party I rocked - yeah Chances are I coulda got shot - yeah Suicides & murders all around me Childhood friends gone with the wind Do or die - the mantra Yeah Do or die - the mantra Some friends sold that white girl or that Ganja For me it was selling life music to get cha on to Either way i would say it was Do or die - the mantra Toast! To all my partna's and my family from Magnolia We some soldiers, We ride or die Survivors, We the coldest Cant control us, Dont even try Quit talking boy come show us You oppose us, Its suicide Its best to get to know us The Panthers, we the champs from Eureka to Stamps We rock them helmets with lamps We got 4 wheelers and ramps We got them woofers and amps Complete the boom that beat the speaker box Magnolia got that yola we dont wip around wit weaker rocks Legalize the ganja, Why dont ya Fire doper smoker, since a youngster A fisher and a hunter High now I philosophy and wonder How they changed the laws to keep us under Then sit back and enjoy the plunder Look into my eyes, and realize Ive been traumatized Lost my best friend to homicide and one to suicide  Man, the pain I feel inside when my Daddy and Momma died Rest in Peace to O and Skeet Please pray for me and Tweet Almost every party I rocked - yeah Chances are I coulda got shot - yeah Suicides & murders all around me Childhood friends gone with the wind Do or die - the mantra Yeah Do or die - the mantra Some friends sold that white girl or that Ganja For me it was selling life music to get cha on to Either way i would say it was Do or die - the mantra Do or die - the mantra Some friends sold that white girl or that Ganja For me it was selling life music to get cha on to Either way i would say it was Do or die - the mantra
8.
She was special baby she was special She was extra baby she was extra Body hot like a sauna She will eat you up like a Piranha My sunrise was in America but my sun sets in Ghana Dark as a coffee bean Legs long like a Pentecostal worshipping uh But Ghana's the scene uh In Accra, and I'ma get lost all in her English patois Her people were clearly Maroons - fighters from the start Um I'm in awe I had a corporate job back in America Climbing a ladder that's empty once you reached the top Plus I had enough of living against my peace and trust I needed Africa Like Chris Tucker or Dave Chapelle I said farewell It was the year of return I wanted citizenship back Where my ancestors were equipped and lived very well Where I could gel Where we excelled in the lane of Akan languages Here with you now I cant explain just how sane it is What I’m saying is She was special baby she was special She was extra baby she was extra Body hot like a Sauna She'll eat you up like a Piranha My sun rise was in America But my sun sets in Ghana She was special baby she was special She was extra baby she was extra Body hot like a Sauna She'll eat you up like a Piranha My sun rise was in America But my sun sets in Ghana But my sun sets in Ghana But my sun sets in Ghana I met this girl named Aba at Republic bar Akpeteshi shots out with a couple stars AJ Nelson Reggie Rock Eddie Blay leaned over like she's very hot I mean very hot like yam chips and peppers I'm smooth I move quick but my plans is forever my plan is get her Together we will be better this weather is never cold not ever I'm glad I met her It's been a long time since I been in town Said she would show me all around if I'm really down I'm down So now we hit the rehab club that's at the beach I see the brother Speech at much Dancing to Feli Nuna me and this chick tho I barely knew her hoping she ain't a slay queen as I kick it to her A night cap that could be in the  schedule I bet you would love how I caress undress you and Speech Do me a fav and sing the rest dude because She was special baby she was special She was extra baby she was extra Body hot like a Sauna She'll eat you up like a Piranha My sun rise was in America But my sun sets in Ghana
9.
There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire I burn sage I burn bridges whatever it takes to get away from you dog - you a negative ni%ga I figure I'd give you time to realize that's the issue between us It ain't stature or status, class factors or baggage It's being a human being and I'm way past being savage Or being average, uh not me homie I'm care & I'm free I'm rare and I'm a t I scare when I Re Up with a ruff rhyme for the whole industry When I retire be desired as spiritual being We've won two Grammys But when consciousness was killed we became raps Orphan Annie's up on the bill Daddy Warbuck's gives us bucks to tear it up And tear it up we do like staffers in Watergate Shredding everything as a group People talk soup Equal walk equal fruit Evil stalks truth So I guess more or less it's arrested development they stalking us dude There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire Uh Cuz opinions are a dime a dozen But truthful opinions can be the kind that bludgeon My momma said stand in your truth So I ain't budging My daddy said never be poor - so I wasn't But I had a choice because he gave me one An entrepreneurial father - gave hope to his son A responsible mother gave me prototype and example The drum that they marched to - I'm remixing it like a sample I can be known to ramble but My name is speech so is that really a gamble I mean the whole scene got me needing a Advil I been Adamant since the Eve of Hip Hop in the Big Apple There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire you must get burned There is a lesson you must learn Play with fire See I was resting at the park Minding my own Bizness Til my granny told me Go and get your microphone Listen Bring your bible going viral On your iPhone Wrap your head On and on Call Tyrone Whoa Too many clones My own Need a Nina Simone No gmo's Or emo G's in my home It's 3 to go Five months Day 2 In a row That's 3 or 4 Five, six seven or mo MTV, yo Fab 5 Freddy The Show Believe me yo I got the ingredients So Gimme the flo It's hot sauce Leave it alone Or let it simmer I'm a sinner At the Lord's dinner So when I enter Make the lights dimmer For all the White folks And all of my niggas Kirk Franklin Stomp in the yard Godz'illa Ask Jah I'm one of The Last Airbenders I got a thirst, for tapping into the rhythm inside the earth Converse with the universe, find my purpose, and purge the worst Versions of myself, trying to reverse my curse Ain’t trying to be the emcee seeming more perverse per verse But the surf is hard to ride sometimes When Poseidon rises the tide to pull you inside And to survive, you gotta stand up or else you’ll drown But the entire weight of the ocean is holding you down And the life preserver thrown from the demon is tempting But I turn to the pen instead, the writing is cleansing With every sentence invented I sense my spirit is mending A tendency to mentally bend time, my mind is extending the tracks On my train of thought, I’m conducting myself Never static, pushing forward, I’ll be shoving myself I don’t need no ones approval, I can govern myself Translation for the masses, I’ll be dubbing myself
10.
Ecclesiastes 03:15
Its better one handful with tranquility Than two hand fulls with toil and chasing after the wind Wind wind blow Getting an education ain't emancipation Nah But it also ain't a joke I'd rather you learn that European occupation Than be just Vegetative with no water to grow Schooling comes from school Then More schooling must come dudes That knew we can make black power Evoque No more spending wasteful hours on that blow Cuz it Sours the most And our powers implode As a people we feeble We already know we not equal From lethal attacks from our foes In the ghettos, we settle Generational woes And We carry that metal Confrontations arose And we bang bang Go and join gang gang Do a little side thang Hold up hold up hold up Are we thinking What are we relinquishing When we either die Or end up in the clink I don't know what you doing baby girl no I don't know what you doing Baby doll but Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around No I don't know what you doing baby girl no I don't know what you doing Baby doll but Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around It's trouble He’s a D-boy And its Ludacris He’s a shooter miss and you had to have noticed this Yeah Ain't it about time That our ghetto queens were afforded a better dream And it's just a renewal of the mind yo From the known obscene racist Willie Lynch routine We'll be Facing the stench - rinse and repeating It's all so intense - this Low self esteem and Four centuries of hatred, oppression and natures Conditioned for taking positions of enslavement No no I know that we can do way more than we're doing right now And I’m not thinking about just you baby I’m thinking about your child Thinking about your now your life & your power How many lies straight to your eyes How many tell you you are divine And if they do is their purpose for you in line I don't know what you doing baby girl no I don't know what you doing Baby doll but Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around No I don't know what you doing baby girl no I don't know what you doing Baby doll but Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around It's trouble I don't know what you doing Baby doll Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around I don't know what you doing do doing I don't know what you doing do doing Why are following that bad Nigga around Why are following that bad Nigga around
11.
It may seem like to you I got it all together but that ain’t the truth I've been through all the weathers I’m weather proof Some fallen trees and a severed root I just have more than one root And like you I have more than one truth I get depressed but I press through More or less I guess I just get through My melancholy is a cess pool My wife and daughter my staff they oughta Just arrested speech arrested development guilty your honor I'm all inside my mind so I’m just a constant mourner I feel like a foreigner baby what are you wanting Pardon you for disrupting My melancholy my woe is me so I lust thing My I’ve been hurt by them so I don’t trust thing So pardon you for disrupting my melancholy sometimes its truly folly but Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting I never said this But I got a problem in my head miss Got a mental illness I have emotional stress There’s many things I wont admit Not just to you but to my clique I realize I need some help And I just cant relieve myself And I don’t got the money for therapy Only money enough for us to eat And I’m sunny enough to please the child in me Cuz I don’t wanna lose custody And its not just the deep sin in me My sinful nature or the enemy There’s something deeper more substantive That when I was a kid was crushing me So now I love in the company of indecision and insecurity Juxtapose that with moral purity if you’re questioning my maturity I drop jewels but I’ve been dropped too so maybe I’m just some damaged jewelry So baby maybe you should not be so sure of me please Pardon you for disrupting My melancholy my woe is me so I lust thing My I’ve been hurt by them so I dont trust thing So pardon you for disrupting my melancholy sometimes its truly folly but Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Maybe I am what I planned to be Turning fans into my family Like the morning after with no plan B But that ain't what I meant by pampeing My preparations near insanity Like I'm indoors with a canopy Demanding me to be the man in me And not just what I need a brand to see I am still trying to justify the pain I seen in my sons eyes The day daddy said quote I tried That was 6 years ago time flies and I'm still adjusting to my whys Am I there yet don't ask my wife Me and her got a special deal and you don't need to know my price Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting Baby I am just adjusting
12.
Journey On 04:23
Shout out to my baby my lady Floating like a Lilly pad She says she's sunshine She said hold me by my waist I said I'd put anything on those legs and anything on that face and I ain’t just minding my business I’m minding my black owned business There’s a difference You’ve joined with me Have I fulfilled your dreams do you know I'm so here for it Journey on ever forward Yeah I'm so here for it Journey on ever forward Yeah Back door ok fine The bills paid out the side Lets go ‘you are mine And we can even go to LA Take it down Lets go so profound Til the late night yeah its fine So important we enter back door Out the side friends are gone It just you and me Me and you is on the move Lets go I don’t mind Breakfast perfect time And do it all again Floating like a lily pad She said she’s sunshine I said she’s a sunset She said would you hold my regrets I said I’ll place forgiveness on your lips My hand will guide you hips and you I wont just mind my business no I’m minding my black queens interest and I Journey through out our lives Yeah I'm so here for it Journey on ever forward Yeah I'm so here for it Journey on Yeah I may not be a god But I know I got me a goddess yall And you know I stay defiant Me and you can start a lot of riots y’all They don’t know, they don’t know, they don’t know And we got confidence though I know we journey on And 30 years and we going strong I hear all of they talking but its opposite of what’s going on We journeying on we journeying on I’m I’m so I'm so here for it Journey on ever forward Yeah I'm so here for it Journey on Hey Journey on Journey on ever forward Journey on
13.
We’ll See 04:11
I put all my eggs in one basket And now I’m just scrambling to make sense I asked one legend to spit 16 Like BB king He said the thrill No longer exist Being conscious in hip hop Is a steady consciousness Of odds stacked up against you Being super sharp just like a Ginsu But less in your bank Like when the rents due Yet thankless if things do improve And nobodies moved by what you’ve been through It's all about the groove the publics into We was all connected at the hip It was always a gamble how we spit Cats I respected from the rip Are suddenly cashing in all their chips It's got me Wondering if They see inevitability While I’m steadily ignorantly blissed They say whatever floats your boat But Is this another boat that I’ve done missed I got a house on the lake Peace for peace sake Taking breaks Turn em into loops and make a track Run the track, like I’m still in the race But am a dude that’s out of date Am I that funk band in the eighties when Rap was thoroughly on its way Saying ahh man that ain’t music It's just a trend - a passing phase Boy how deeply wrong were they Am I discreetly facing that same fate I remember touring with James Brown When he was too old to be on stage I said that won’t be me - I'll bow out gracefully But can I really say Cuz here I am in my fifties Thinking I’m still grizzly But can I bear the shame Should I have to mention our debut album Is it always just nostalgia Til our last days - omega Will fans only jam our Alpha We'll See Can u stand the rain when you really want sunny weather Sometimes you don't get what you want because you deserve better Thought of that? Have u ever Emotionally I feel the heaviest when I'm empty Haters on the gram strangers on the gram Messing with me mentally living rent free And I've been inside a cocoon that's been hiding me So I'm turning over a new leaf grow wings And be butter and be fly metamorphosise and be Whether I swim up the S H I T creek Like Andre 3000 said in Rosa Parks we dread that peak We all want that praise dude. Our peak was our debut We moved straight to sex with our fan base We couldn't just chase and just date you And they packaged us as miraculous and the fact was just that we stayed true And that's boring sometimes but ain't you feeling the need for rap not to debase you This is our Mount Rushmore Faces and monuments traces of our continent confidence showing lyrical dominance During the era of oppression our prominence Arrested Development we promise this An entity of dignity since our infancy We meant to be an epiphany for the industry And whether or not we claim victory is subjective ain't it There's a Fat lady to our right I guess it's right to not say goodnight until she starts to sanging I remember touring with James Brown When he was too old to be on stage I said that won’t be me - I'll bow out gracefully But can I really say Cuz here I am in my fifties Thinking I’m grizzly But can I bear the shame Should I have to mention our debut album Is it always just nostalgia Til our last days - omega Will fans only jam our Alpha We'll See
14.
One day I changed And re-arranged my brain My body stayed the same My inner had entered new plains Visualizing terrains Horizons were ever so strange My mind got better with age I walked in strength Milwaukee was opposite of me So many jocking to Judge me They kept on knocking my locs And mocking most everything on me As if a gift from heaven would weaponize me To be lovely - despite the spite and intentional ugly I rose Through the concrete of my foes Yeah Asante To my Aunties up on Buford hwy roads ATLien exposed To such culture shocking lows All the roaches encroaching all over my food and my clothes So Far from the midwest Where i gave more to Get less I Prayed for it like a witness And slaved for it like a laborer And I paid for it with interest Picture me like Pinterest haters got so fired up Bringing me the smoke like incense Wow This is Amazing It's us it's us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is Amazing It's out of the ordinary Wake up turn your radio up It don’t time for me to blow your mind We did it Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down They wanna promote us as the lowest things around Stereotypical images and beats all around Police beat us on the ground Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down Promote the thugs with the criminal sound Stereotypical images and white supremacist images of us never innocent It kills Kills, Snitches and Witnesses I guess the business is exploit us sexually But Keep us intellectually primitive Sedated the sensitive Nullifying all their initiative To ever unify, Just relying on representatives Our english is now seen as this, Opposite of Guinness The truth is meaningless They deliberately been deceiving us I know I'm hot, give me the glock Hold up let me finish, if i violate probation The judge'll extend my sentence... I'm for real I feel the ill’s U.S. conceals the kills From Libya To Brazil It’s not out of the ordinary My brethren Ya can’t comprehend Dollar bill y’all Worship money them Monsters have a ball - Halle Berry Friendly with the enemy is never the call Powernomics it’s by Dr. Claude Read it with your squad Get money for us Dumb it down for what We been sleeping enough Wake up AND turn your radio up Turn it up This is Amazing It's us it's us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is all so amazing Shout out to Aerle Taree Shout out to rasa, Shout out to Montsho Eshe, Shout out toBaba Oje to Headliner to the extended family Dionne Farris, Nadirah Shout out to Laurnea, Shout Out to Dj Kemit, Shout out to Ajile. All of y'all will always be family The world is ours we talk to one another And we grab our power this is our hour revolution Amazing
15.
One day I changed And re-arranged my brain My body stayed the same My inner had entered new plains Visualizing terrains Horizons were ever so strange My mind got better with age I walked in strength Milwaukee was opposite of me So many jocking to Judge me They kept on knocking my locs And mocking most everything on me As if a gift from heaven would weaponize me To be lovely - despite the spite and intentional ugly I rose Through the concrete of my foes Yeah Asante To my Aunties up on Buford hwy roads ATLien exposed To such culture shocking lows All the roaches encroaching all over my food and my clothes So Far from the midwest Where i gave more to Get less I Prayed for it like a witness And slaved for it like a laborer And I paid for it with interest Picture me like Pinterest haters got so fired up Bringing me the smoke like incense Wow This is Amazing It's us it's us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is Amazing It's out of the ordinary Wake up turn your radio up It don’t time for me to blow your mind We did it Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down They wanna promote us as the lowest things around Stereotypical images and beats all around Police beat us on the ground Do I have to tell you how this Industry goes down Promote the thugs with the criminal sound Stereotypical images and white supremacist images of us never innocent It kills Kills, Snitches and Witnesses I guess the business is exploit us sexually But Keep us intellectually primitive Sedated the sensitive Nullifying all their initiative To ever unify, Just relying on representatives Our english is now seen as this, Opposite of Guinness The truth is meaningless They deliberately been deceiving us I know I'm hot, give me the glock Hold up let me finish, if i violate probation The judge'll extend my sentence... I'm for real I feel the ill’s U.S. conceals the kills From Libya To Brazil It’s not out of the ordinary My brethren Ya can’t comprehend Dollar bill y’all Worship money them Monsters have a ball - Halle Berry Friendly with the enemy is never the call Powernomics it’s by Dr. Claude Read it with your squad Get money for us Dumb it down for what We been sleeping enough Wake up AND turn your radio up Turn it up This is Amazing It's us it's us Arrested Development Don’t try blowing no smoke You can’t comprehend That AD ain’t no joke This is all so amazing Shout out to Aerle Taree Shout out to rasa, Shout out to Montsho Eshe, Shout out toBaba Oje to Headliner to the extended family Dionne Farris, Nadirah Shout out to Laurnea, Shout Out to Dj Kemit, Shout out to Ajile. All of y'all will always be family The world is ours we talk to one another And we grab our power this is our hour revolution Amazing
16.
The Forsaken 03:26
I worry about success more than any average human being should Especially with not being considered that good Not being that rich but rich enough to get myself outta raps ditch Help myself to this rap history Ignore me if you wanna I've been looked over My whole life being shorter My supporters must be a tall order I've been hurt more than celebrated I keep it all in like a hoarder I'm a pessimistic optimist I'm a living being living thru a zombie apocalypse My group and I should be at the top of ya list So many quick to forget Our phenomenal hits I sit Patiently waiting Knowing we got a stake in More hearts than vampire slayers how can I stay zen I have to know that Theres more like me let's be friends Wave ya hands in air for the forsaken Who's forsaken? - I'm forsaken Who's been taken for granted? - I've been taken Wanna see ya dead - dey said - I'm a break em Not today Satan - not today Satan Who's forsaken? - I'm forsaken Who's been taken for granted? - I've been taken Wanna see ya dead - dey said - I'm a break em Not today Satan - not today Satan I’d like to get things off my chest You know when y’all mention who’s the best My names not mentioned more nor less In fact its not mentioned at all - so let's talk And let's walk, take a stroll down memory lane Since day one swimming up stream not in the main Not in the mainframe, not in the same gang I’m answering all these critics just like phone rang Elders in the group because we needed that in the community Men and women in the same group we needed that Black unity Thick and curvy sisters, skinny misters its you and me First to represent rap in melody man we true indeed Videos from the rural south Everyone else would rule that out We put that in the fore front We could have lost it all son No materialism we some raw ones Songs feel like raw fun Biddy bye bye bye at a party and its all done I'm a pessimistic optimist I'm a living being living thru a zombie apocalypse My group and I Should be at the Top of ya list So many quick to forget Our phenomenal hits I sit Patiently waiting Knowing we got a stake in More hearts than vampire slayers how can I stay zen I have to know that theres more like me let's be friends Wave ya hands in air for the forsaken Who's forsaken? - I'm forsaken Who's been taken for granted? - I've been taken Wanna see me dead - Dey said - I'm a break em Not today Satan - not today Satan Who's forsaken? - I'm forsaken Who's been taken for granted? - I've been taken Wanna see me dead - Dey said - I'm a break em Not today Satan - not today Satan Not today

about

THANKS: Thank you God. Yolanda Thomas, Patricia Pattillo, Jahi Thomas, Zoe Renee, Arrested Development members past and present, Configa, Cris Acosta, Mark SX, Vagabond Records and Tapes, Mike Mullis and Tiffany Williams, Rambo, Casey Graham, JJ Boogie, Fareedah Aleem, 1 Love, Tim Hicks, Kuf Knotz, Skyy High, O’hene, Fro magnum Man, Brunia Chisolm, Chris Batty, Daddy O, Chuck D, Victory Spot, Robby’s Roasted Corn, Black Existence, Yogi Juice Bar, Dr Terence N Thomas Scholarship Fund, King Movement, Milwaukee Community Journal, Perry, Youtube for various skits and inspiration.

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released September 25, 2020

Executive Producers Speech for Vagabond Productions & Configa for Configaration Records
Photography and Art by Godiva Omoruyi @4thfingerstudio

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Arrested Development Atlanta, Georgia

Legendary. 2 Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Rap Single (Tennessee), 2 MTV awards, a Soul Train Music Award, & the NAACP Image Award. Rolling Stone mag named them Band of The Year (1992), VH-1 named AD one of the greatest Hip-hop artists of all time! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named AD's smash “Tennessee” one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The definition of legends. ... more

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