[Verse 1] The last call for some ethanol Went unheeded, my feet are directed at the dark Alleys of my city, past the blind pigs Both of whom are serving and found at the free nerve ends Which means they're both proximal to pain A mind altering drug that's hard to abstain from You can see the after effects in bared tears And the hasty clicking sounds heels make on the cobblestone streets A door slams, then the tires screech With a telling limp, another woman leaves In far skimpier clothes, than befitting for the weather My guess is you can put the pieces together As I pass by the closed mall and bums that keep asking for change Despite the fact their paper cups are chock full I see children past curfew, dealers make rounds Rotisseries in kebab shops, drama abound On the turf that I call my home The birds are chirping, must be early morn' - Lunar perigee In effect as I gaze at the skies and the smell of Baked goods wafts through the air as sewer grates sigh Streets wet from the rain, hearing clippers go through Chains on a bike, it's a rather common sight Get home, gotta lay my tired self down to sleep Let my body recharge the cells for another day [Verse 2] Sauce on simmer, dropping cubes in the wok Warm bodies cuddled up, tuned in to rock Longjing on the tealights, there's magic in the air Dim the lamps, I want you near to me, hours later It's getting dark, but the streets come alive I get dressed, go outside, the block is lit up By blue beacons and car lights, ambulances and cops Surrounding the scene, bystanders discussing A bar fight that escalated when them cats tossed bottles And one of them drew an Austrian model G29 Muzzle flash went off like a strobe light Everybody probably thinking "I hope ain't noone I know died" But the point of the matter is, despite the foreign Influx of students and artists, there's still crime gatherings And spots with the milk glass windows, they get it in So arguments turn to homicides, seen it since a little kid [Verse 3] Came from the ballgame, headed to the lounge A ska band performs in the streets, about a 100 People standing around, some dance, some vibe to it Some drop coins in the hat after they through Graf artists rappel down from the Oberbaum Bridge Tagging the arch, the yellow fists are seen everywhere you walk Profanity is just a part of our talk But if you ask a man directions, he will answer for sure Order black tea with peppermint, representing, you know Tobacco in the apple head, bumping Julie Boutros You gotta have a lady with you, if you're upstairs And we're in company that's fair, tell'em squares They can't fit inside the circle, or let'em figure it out by themselves All we want is good times and fine health Good conversation with some girls that's witty Livin' The Life, it's just another night in Berlin City

[Verse 1 - Cedric Till] Most days there's just too much to say And yet not enough reasons to speak, you know that gaze When ten years back seems like another life And you can't even remember what you looked like Feels like you've been here forever All you recall are the remnants of pain and pleasure The revolving door of friendship Or whatever passes for that, these days, ephemeral phases A general malaise sets in When people once tight with you ain't checking in Lives become too parallel to ever meet A sour note at the end of the melody Resentments, indifference and c'est la vies Sharing pics of vacations or enough kicks to outfit a centipede Thinking they stay in touch with a press of a button Another name under a testament of what? [Hook - Dana Shanti] Tracks of time, always stand still Train of life, it's moving Driven by, a kind of force Forward to, places we don't know... [Verse 2 - Cedric Till] Promises unkept, perhaps meant sincerely In the moments that we uttered them, in theory And practice, it's all so human Regrets of a scarred soul, trying to rise from the charcoal Of burning hearts we've all known, and left behind In the solitude of sorrow, we were blinded By our own egos in misalignment As we grow into refinement, with time spent Fighting entropy, or adding on to it Feeling centered, at peace; or in a storm, ruined In a manner we speak how we respond to it Either as a catalyst or a conduit Questions are the soil for growth, and yet They can't provide the closure that we require The answers teach us in a way we don't expect And I know, necessity is not a neighbor to desire... [Verse 3 - Cedric Till] No guarantees that your actions are met with gratitude Here we go again, dusting off platitudes Sarcasm put aside, this is what I'm asking you Which cycle is vicious and which is merely natural? Everything I gave, I don't want it back You can bet it's hard enough to forfeit all your regrets Memories held in honor that I wanna forget Pain is pointless if there is not a lesson to be learned left Guess the sparks we hold onto just gonna fade So when I meet new people, I play the tsundere It ain't about who's gonna pay, more about The residue of doubt, can't deal, so we do without Keep taking, no commitment wanted nor needed No reason not to be a hedonist, either, I guess Sign of the times, evolve or starve Or, just die as a cynic tomorrow, while everybody just...

[Verse 1] Never belonged, never fit in Case study of an unwilling rebel since I was ten The more I follow the game, the more I'm feeling resentful And only doing records with those I'm making sense to They say they're finding profundity in the simple Meritless tough talk over clunky instrumentals Talking of whores, inane are the rhymes When they say times change, who was changing the times? I walk the city in plain clothes, deflect eyes But freeze a crowd with a mic in hand, I wreck live The gaze is scanning the room and I dissect guys I can tell the hand of a man just by his bet size A modern mind with an old school demeanor A man first, yet I don't have to show you the penis Cause this ain't no debate between Republicans Until you find some dirt on my name, you say you're not convinced But that's just common sense, I'm more into the rare sense In it for the long haul; back tees, rear pins And I don't argue with you daffodils You'd build a better resumÈ if you had the skills And Erik Jackson's still... [Verse 2] Soft words turn to shots when bare minimum's gone Freedom of choice clearly shows the Merovingian's wrong Give a man privileges without instilling discipline You will see how fast the savage's coming out of a gentleman In response, treacherous thoughts fester, a coarse gesture Was made, time to put some wet work before pleasure I kept it civil for years, no confrontations Remembering taunts verbatim, still chose to let it slide Retreated to the dark, where noone's challenging pride By my return, they just forgot who I was, I didn't mind Time flies and eradicates bonds left unattended Folks haven't heard me rhyme, but my bars haven't diminished That's the thing, they don't see you, then they don't believe you Yeah, we both got a voice, but our hearts just aren't equal On my tenth project out, and my blade remains sharpened I build a web spanning the globe to stay sovereign And that's why Conca's been... [Verse 3] How true is, the fact we're born altruists? When all we consider is money when the mouth's moving We're still slaves to an illusion, we trade in delusions On scales growing in size with age, problems persist Technology has us talking about how times have changed When kids quit on education to be lottery picks What states spend on education is a mockery when We factor in what they spend on killing opposite twins Often caught in between, extremes, and it seems People weren't happy when I wouldn't hop off the fence Been the Devil's advocate for the longest, they try to Find my weak spot, I'll just reinforce wherever I'm strongest So you'll attack there cause that's a crucial flaw in your logic But back to the point, if all it takes is cash to annoint Any given man or woman, you do understand You base your livelihood on the money you put in their hands And there's a really fat chance they'll be...

[Verse 1] Years have gone, so have friends Feet, walking on their own, and the road won't end Soles are worn out and joints are sore Burden on the back, but you're counted on Don't wanna write, but your heart is aching To release the pressure, check the valve A thin membrane between you and the truth As the world thinks you strong cause you cracked a smile Look at your life, the absurdity What could you really say with certainty? "I don't know", and that is true Like hardly coincides with your have-to-dos Everybody showing their collectibles As you wonder what it is you've left to lose Can't grow anymore, you untangle the roots When the where doesn't matter, but you have to move You are now qualified to make new mistakes There is your entitlement, choose your fate Were it that easy, would you choose to wait? Were it that hard, would you choose to chase? In spite of other people with abusive traits Even though you don't see a lot of use in the race What is it about? Can you even see the angles? Do you recognize any judges on the panel? What if the endgame is all a pretend game? To make sense of it, all attempts are in vain You chase happiness or you're chasing meaning You look for an escape or you face your demons Most are self-made, results of self-hate Life beat you down one time too many But you probably got back up a time too few Because chances to get it right this time, you got plenty [Verse 2] Some have the most, but they still doubt Some have the least, but they still believe Some give love without worrying about What they might receive, they're just flying free You can't avert your eyes, when you try to see ahead Squint if you dare, it could be gone in a flash Truthfully spoken, we miss out on most things Probably it's best to enjoy what you have The rocks in your path, turn to pebbles when you travel And you're thrown off the saddle by the trouble afoot Soon you'll recognize your mind is your best weapon The high horse you came in on, now is a Shetland We can only visualize what is destined And do what it takes to get there You trade in your worst traits for better ones Otherwise what you want for will never come Most of us are too hard on self Me included, the pressure that I put on my back To be great, and the lack of room For error I allow myself is very deeply rooted Looking for a sign just to read it like a blind man Many people got tired of trying Sought openings to others, and closure to self No wonder that it's love that I struggle to find I can't be a stoic, all I do is emotive Can't see what I'm offered, the visor's lowered Not a fan of PDA but I am devoted But how to tell? Reluctant to touch And words convey meaning, just not as much One half is patient, one half is rushed Stubbornly I'm holding the reins on my passion but I feel like I gotta learn to trust, again...

[Verse 1] Waking up to yet another day at work Thinking of traveling, hours won't pass And the tedium of it all, claws away at your nerves Carrying the stress back home and then reverse How often have you sat there wondering what it's worth? The fridge needs filling, you watch liars on TV Make a killing, while telling you what you don't deserve Insecurities are reinforced, by seeing cars And the many allures of all the rich people's perks And envy becomes your motivator, looking down Upon others who don't share your views, you go and get the paper Consequences are dealt with later, you call it moving on The cycle repeats, former close people now wanna be In your position with their hands out, on your way Up and down, usually the same people you'll meet Ambitiously you're treating wants as needs, steady losing sleep [Hook] Insomnia taking me Dark thoughts and desires keep waking me I deal with it everyday, you see It slows me down, close friends losing faith in me Can't tell me where I'm going wrong I'm headstrong, I'll deal with it on my own Years pass, still up on the same road Thought I know it all, but never knew I gotta let go [Verse 2] Some people fight their own healing process Running from the darkness they refuse to acknowledge Staring in the mirror while hating what they see Because others won't approve, mean words go deep You've opened up your heart for the very first time And the reward was a dagger from behind Was ready to move and put it all on the line Or so you thought, because commitment wasn't really on his mind Fear of men setting in after the fact Offered comfort you refuse out of pride, pushing away People who love you, in spite of what you put them through Wondering why they stick around, seeing what is good in you All they really want for you's to overcome the hurdles Escape the escapism, you argue it hurts so much And it does, you want to go back to the person That you was, be the love you never had instead, or else... [Hook] [Verse 3] I'm no better, lingering resentments towards women Have hindered me tremendously, when coupled With conflicting urges, like me questioning my purpose When and what to invest in whom, for what it's worth I learned to forgive, drop grudges, and see the beauty In others, despite my own insecurities, suffering From the random bouts of depression, I referenced so often Nevertheless, I make an effort to involve them In friendship, I'm there for them, despite often feeling lonesome Learned to accept my flaws, and strive to love wholesome Harder on myself than necessary in order To transform into a version of me I never showed one Full of confidence, yet humility Loving you regardless if you're long gone or still with me Speaking my mind with compassion, yet no filter And revel in everything about me that's off-kilter But instead I'm writing this...

[Verse 1] First breath, then first steps, among the first words Was a curse, way before I heard my first rap Fed Ritalin pills, around the time I chucked a size 7 Ball against the board through the net It is what it is, the fragments remain Like faces you can't remember as you stand at their graves How many minutes were spent wondering what if? How many hours were spent hating the shift? How many times you got slapped for giving your parents lip? How many times were they in the wrong and wouldn't admit? If you can't be just, be arbitrary And most people are, so wars're never resolved Worked more jobs than most people had sexual partners Everywhere it's the same, from corporations to startups It's all entropy, chisels to the statue From halcyon days to periods where you're destitute People try to define things, perception is altered By events, yet they insist that times change Do this, wear those, and don't eat that Love is such is such, criticism and feedback Bad weather, gun violence, surgical air strikes Polyamory, drug abuse, there aren't any fair fights It's so easy to see the patterns In the face of death, how much of it will even matter? Maybe the truth is, that during confusion We spend the only moments of our lives free of delusion? We don't know who we are, because we're biased By past actions and thoughts, so tell me what is left If that's gone? A misguided quest for a sense Of identity stored past capacity of memory? Are we truly influenced by karmic energy? What if death is our last act of charity? Between faith and heresy, straddling the barrier Between language and telepathy The burden of interpreting the words we never speak Whatever will be left, when the silence will deafen me All that I've done, failed to do, and never would All I withheld, they never knew and never could All the songs, aborted takes, and beer bottles What is left, if all that's gone tomorrow? From birth to death, joy and the stress Compressed, into no and yes, tell me what is left Worst fail and the biggest success, labeled the best Then forgotten, tell me what is left? Love given and love lost Sound mind, broken heart, tell me what is left? Distill it down to the essence of what makes you And then take a look at what is left... What is left?