I watch the pen rise and fall, Like there is life in every letter. With these headphones on, My intuition is getting' better. Sure my hearing is getting worse, But where there is blessing there is curse. And if there is curse there is blessing, So find a god that’s worth addressing. Where there is poison there is promise, If you can hold your own. And if there is progress from the poison, You won’t ever walk alone. It's a circle it’s a cycle; it's the chain that moves the sprocket, Like a beat inside your head, how exactly would you rock it? It's the movement; it’s the method, It's the wisdom of the weather! It's the struggle; it's the hustle, It's the cornerstone of character. If you don’t knuckle up, you gon' always be inferior. Hard on the middle with a real soft exterior. Either that way or even that way inverted, 30-second intervals is how it gets inserted. And that was it, that was all, the slice is very small. The appetite is obsolete, when all the doors revolve the feet. Spin Around; push up against the glass, And hope that when it jams that it's your turn to pass. I run around a rhyme, and rhyme around and run and gun, I blister beats like it was bottled by the blazin' sun. Absolute rhyme tight, complete angularity, So regular I hit with complete conscious clarity. Million dollar mental got tagged across the page, If imma leaf up a letter, Imma write it up the age. Exquisite isn’t it, the way that we envision it, Now folk and fam wanna get their division split. Thanks a lot, did you need a receipt, I rock $60 sneakers, pay attention to my feet! Or don’t, I don’t pick my shoes for you to care, That’s why I’m tatted up, I’m expecting you to stare. I’m easy to identify; I gotta keep my cool, I’m a student of the ink; I’m always at school. I sit back and observe and reserve my nerve, Nerves of steel seems a little unreal, And a little too prepared, never once have I cared, People keep me around, so they feel less weird. Running today to make problems go away, But where ever I end up the tension still remains. Under the sea or in the sky, No matter how low I get, or how high. Caught in a revolving door, seems like forever, Been wanting to stop, but I cant find the lever. It's getting stuffy in here, it's getting harder to breathe, Then, the door jams on a moment, I get a peek of the outside world, been wanting to break free, Take a brick to the glass and break monotony.

Girl I want you, oh girl its true, girl I want you. Hey everybody, wont ya come on thru, Put something else in your drink and try something new. Hey everybody, wont to get on back, And swing your tail feather on this two step track. Hey anybody wanna ride on out, And do some crazy shit, and hope no one find out. Hey anybody wanna dance with me, Cause that’s the third time girl that ya glanced at me. Good looking baby mamma sipping on my drink, And her man is over there, but we don’t care what he think. Might as well be the only two in the room, She’s trying to get her bang; I’m trying to hit her boom. Bat those eyes and shake those hips, Imma kiss my drink right off those lips. Head banging dope beat got this baby moving, Dance floors packed we got everybody grooving. Says she’s never danced with a rapper before, She wants some attention; I’m giving her more. Bat those eyes and shake those hips, Imma kiss my drink right off those lips.

Before you take off, why don’t you tell me where you’re coming from. I bought a pack of squares, I intended to be bumming some. I was outside in a brown track jacket, Breaking up buds, I got the green light to pack it. And she said I haven’t gotten high in awhile, And I said, yeah I know, it’s really not my style. She rolled her eyes and then said yeah right, You don’t smoke like that jackets tight. And then she laughed harder when she saw the brand, So as she felt the material I grabbed her hand. We smiled for a second then she passed me the lighter, And the glow she was showing made the night much brighter. Now she was never down with the one time flight, So I knew we’d be talking for the rest of the night. And that was fine with me, cause I was high as hell, Doped out by her eyes and her perfume smell. Bring me something; bring me something brand new, Do you like the way I look or just the look I give you? Now it’s been like ten years since I saw her last, So I sure didn’t notice how two hours passed. Don’t say nothing don’t say it’s not true, I ain’t buying none of that, you know I got’s you. I keep true fam like cold days and slumber, I keep true fam like homemade and summer. Don’t say nothing don’t say it’s not real, Don’t you layer up and then expect me to peel. You know I got you if you need to get to front street, You know I want you, you know you smell so sweet. I can’t believe there’s no rock on your finger, I use to think of the life I’d bring her. But she knew better and always was much stronger, Oh how I wish I could’ve loved her longer.

From me to you, we’re moving on, Just let that shit go on get gone. We’re not looking back we’re looking on, That’s me and you, we up we gone. I got more soul than I keep in my shoes, So don’t you walk away without you’re walking blues. I’d love ya to death, but I’m already dead, You can take my heart just get out of my head. You’re too far back instead of being this minute, Couldn’t taste the new food, had to ask what’s in it. Sure I’ve hurt ya before but I’ve forgiven your worst, Lucky in love is equally cursed. Now I ain’t going anywhere and you ain’t coming with me. So do what the hell you gotta do, and hurry up and forget me. We been through that and this and still ain’t nothing seem to change. We both thought the other was the type to get strange. You should leave your girl if there’s issues with trust, Especially if promises seem piecrust. So from me to you girl its better to get gone, Cause I think I’ve been your man for a text too long.

Most times I look quite scary, This hardened scowl has grown old and weary. Tongue-tied and tired, troubled and tattooed. This chip on my shoulder has been shattered and reglued. Too many pieces to number and file, I never thought asshole would adjunct my style. I never thought once I would hate so much of you. I never thought once, you’d feel the same way too. It’s three in the morning and I still can’t sleep. My move around the rosary is three laps deep. I’m going back and forth between good days and not. The few pros are potent, but those cons have a lot. The faith of my heart is being moved through my hand. The struggle in my head is leaving no where to stand. I can’t turn around and I can’t go on so if I, so if I. If I fall, will you catch me, catch me. If I fall, will you catch me, catch me, catch me, catch me. Most times when you come near me, I say a prayer to help better prepare me. Frozen and openly perceptive, He had thought of everything except give. In between sinking and starting to rise, I’m stuck in a twilight of aura and eyes. And after the glow reveals its source, I was rattled to see you behind its force. I fell to my knees and I don’t remember falling. Encircled in the spirit, in the resin I am scrawling. Trying to jot down what the words can’t express, I can’t move my mouth and I’m trying to confess. The pictures of my life bleed through a kaleidoscope, I’m sitting on the edge of all lost hope. I can’t turn around and I can’t go on so if I, so if I.

I felt like I didn’t say a word all day, And every girl I passed seemed to look my way. The timing was off, I just couldn’t get it right, But it was girl after girl through my line of sight. A step too soon or a second behind, But I kept getting smiles, so I didn’t mind. A test drive is always better before buying, If I didn’t wanna touch something, you know I’d be lying. Its just one of those days where all the girls are beautiful. Its just one of those days where all the girls are beautiful. And I’m gonna get real high watching em float by. Its just one of those days where all the girls are beautiful. What was going on, was there something in the air? My horoscope said I should just stand clear. Take it all in and enjoy the view, Life is all around; the life is shinning though. Today I’m ‘a breath better, keep those smiles lit up, If you’re looking for the get down, I can be that get up. If you’re looking for more than just eye contact, I listen real well until the safe gets cracked. She said don’t bug me, she said just leave, It don’t mean nothing baby, just breathe. You look like you’ve been through this before, So I moved up, so as to offer more. You got beautiful hair and a beautiful smile, If I could date my notebook, she’d have your style. And I’d curve my words the way you can turn a head, And I’d start writing poems all over the bed. I rhyme all day, headphones and beats. I push a Pilot pen, I fly over sheets. I don’t live for the rhymes, but they live inside me, And I’m not really sure what the hell they see. One things for sure, all praise is do, ‘Cause I live for the rhymes I find inside you. As corny as the cob, or as lame as the label, I don’t really travel, but my rhymes is able. Open-mic nights, I wrote this for you, A whole season of change, my birth at Joy Blue. And now look at me with my irregular rhyme, Ability for syllables, space and time. Lines loose-leaf heats up the binder, Mrz is a dark time and that’s my reminder. Knoise knows nothing, but he eats to stay alive, Mr. James is in a meeting, please try again at five.

It goes, KRS-ONE-two, one-Tupac, That’s my mic-check, when I heat rock. Heat rocking mic-checker, checker and a chess move, Always on point when I point prove. What ya want, some got good? Like a got a lot better, Who ever thought I’d be a mic-check getter? Whether off or on, you’re an acquired taste, When I write my rhyme, I never waste. Don’t you ever let it go, Always be true to yourself. Don’t you ever let it go, Always be true to yourself. Never ever uncertain with a syllable, I pay my taxes, so everything is billable. I save all my receipts, ‘Cause I know John can bang out some beats. I put him to the test, then he tested my levels, And we gon’ lay it down like so that nothing ever bevels. We coming at you with that new school hip hop, Old school poet, lime green top crop. I got it from a jar, then you got if from my car. You tell me you love it, or this is what’s wrong, Without a hip-hop identity I still stand strong. And you gon’ be impressed to hear our brand new song. And you gon’ be impressed to hear this brand new project, And you gon’ be impressed to hear this brand new logic. It was wonderful to tell, ‘cause he tell it quite often, Probably tell that tale on the way to his coffin. He writes down his life, collects what he feels, Collected thought inside of loose-leaf seals. Some things you’ll have to read and he’ll record what he can, Trying to build the bridge between the words and the man. He clicks his pen as he counts to ten, Flip a new page, start all over again. The machine finally figured out it needs more parts, ‘Cause of all of the brains and all of the hearts. Yo he make everybody bleed they own blood, Dag with the snap face dude was like crud. It was top shelf; it was the cats meow, No it wasn’t like bloop; the shit was like blaow. So on the level; I’d put my honor on that, And that refers to the shelf and the rhyme about the cat. Did it like that on some dumb dumb ditaow.

It feels so good to see you smilin’, Little Deltron, or little lunky D, Have I told you, everything you mean to me? It feels so good to see you smilin’, Beat beat, Dinker Doo, or little Delulu, Do you know that me and mommy really love you? It would take more than a brick of weed, To slow the speed of my writing pen, when I settle in. Thanks mom, I hope you’re proud, Now let’s start to pray that I can rock a crowd. Let’s see if I can hold a mic, like I can hold a grudge, Stubborn little bastard, very hard to budge. I’m older now and mature, Searching for that fishing lure, To catch the dreams that require the utmost attention, Like my daughter, did I mention? Highest branch of my ascension, deep roots, was my intention. No wonder my fists are clenching. Not saying on a bad day, I won’t break through every brick wall, But we do a good job of keeping trouble small. We got a little girl learning everything from us, So I use old slang and try not to cuss. Dag and egad are two words she’ll say, And we picked em up from Batman and D. Dumile. What a beautiful chorus for the people to get into, I’m the kind of hip-hop you should try to get into. Beats as fresh as morning dew with rhymes that have a conscience view, It’s more than what I am planting; I’m growing more than thoughts for you. This one is for my daughter, so when she’s not around, She can hear my voice and feel comfort from the sound. Keep a song in your head and a prayer in your heart, Wake up with the sun gotta go, gotta run. Got home stressed out, need to retune, Go outside; go look up at the moon. Deep breathes, reps of ten, That’s kind of how it feels when daddy holds a pen. Your life is gonna take you a lot of different ways, Be honest and strong while you’re mapping out your days. In just one night you can start something new, Validate those dreams. That’s how they come true. Get to the point like throwing bones, Three notebooks and my headphones. And only fifteen were good enough to share, Diligence rewards my little Lyla bear. Four years old singing in a mic stand, Loves the Raconteurs, it’s her favorite band. Baby’s on the level is her song, Four years so fast, but it’s been so long. My daddy and me, we’re so fun together, We love to do stuff; we love to do things. We love to go to party’s, even my mommy too. We love to go to party’s everyday, Because we just love party’s. Done.

Go ahead, break it up, pack it, Notebook Noise, that be the rhyme racket. The spiraling binder, L. Loose-leaf, the syllable winder. Tic Toc; he flew away from the flock, Beat rock, he drew his day from the beat knock. Conundrums, what is love if only one cums? Empty heart; hold a whole lotta sorrow, So Mr. James bless the mic with feelings you can borrow. Doesn’t take much to shine a better view, For some of you one or two puffs will probably do. Or maybe you prefer the Miller Lite insight to keep your mind right. Or maybe you need to open doors with an Old Style or can of Coors. Of course I can, so here I stand to keep out the rain, You can drink all you want, but sipping that brew won’t take away your pain. Keep faith in your heart and put your family first, And if ya dream, dream big. And if ya hope, hope smart. And if ya want more than you’ve had before, Best get you a dream that you can’t ignore. A new moon, pull the wool over a long day, It’s never too late to push the hands through the balled clay. If your head is full of doubt, don’t think can’t achieve, It’s always important to think and believe. Also tell no tales outta school or you gon’ be the tool labeled gossips fool. Backpedaling across the he said, she said, Leads to tough times when you’re trying to go to bed. If you can’t sleep don’t count Z’s, climb trees, Don’t always say sorry but always say please. And don’t you ever tell lies, And don’t you ever blow lines. And don’t you ever beer chug, And don’t you ever do drug. Wait till ya turn twenty-one to break daddy’s heart, You already got the gene; you don’t need an early start. I’m just covering my bases, cause the alcoholic gene comes with many ugly faces.

You wanna be something; you wanna be a better man, You better work harder when you’re crafting your lettering. Cause there’s cats like me that don’t ever go to sleep, I write like a cheetah, I just don’t need to creep. I pounce the bounce and lift the beat, I swing my arms to move my feet, Moving my head to insure consistency, Move real strong and insist it’s me. Well who else could it be? A very testable emcee, articulate, flip the ready-made phrase, I flew right past the unoriginal phase. I’m not saying there’s no influence, But writing is like my heightened sense. So I move in and out of the vortex, And never ever question where to go next. Sure footed, my step is always ready, Grab the mic like my girl and I always rock it steady. Of course I’m not a closer, I like things wide open, I like to watch the eyes staring and groping. Searching high and low, trying to find the key, Thinking they’re the one to unlock the mystery. I know the truth, so I won’t let em in, The content of my mind is very unsettling. If I thought I wasn’t dope, I wouldn’t write these rhymes, I wouldn’t pen these poems. Yo I got the shit that makes ya say oh shit, Yo I got the shit that makes ya say oh shit, Yo I got the shit that makes ya say oh shit, oh shit. Brain split back another John Gray track, Mother Brain, Mother Brain. K to the n-o-I-s-e, Thaddeus James is an ill emcee. Snares, Hooks and RhymeBooks, rhymes like what?

Nothing ever numbs up the thought process, No nothing ever numbs up the thought process. See me sometime, bustin’ out a dumb rhyme, Wrinkled ten for dank dime, slicker than a bum’s slime. Nothing ever numbs up the thought process, So a pile at a time I sift though each mess. More would be better and I’m trying to go get that, You know it’s not for nothing, so yo, tell me if you’re with that. More proud of anything thus far, the millionth dollar to go into the cuss jar. Laughed all the way to the bank, I paid my last debt and then I went and drank. A whole glass of water gets that vitamin down, And I’m real happy in spite of my frown. I forget to smile cause I think too much, And it’s been a long time since I lost that touch. Let go, take everything off, Start everything over, and never look back. I miss that feeling, but I don’t miss you, Nothing but a problem I had to fight my way through. And I came out like Andy Dufresne, And threw my arms up in the pouring ass rain. Redemption song, clear like Marley on your shoulder, A nice emcee, a real nice mic holder. Yo my right hand is always full of ink, And with this much on my mind, I don’t dear drink. I’m thumbing through bills; I’m thumbing through debt. I cast for the gross, and I only get the net. So aside, I sat the set and again recast the net, But this time I sat inside and left em with no place to hide. I’m coming for everything; I’m leaving nothing unturned, I’m taking chances; I don’t care if I get burned. Ya see the heap; I’m on top of the pile, It’s a long way home, I’m a be awhile, so I’ll

You muddle through, while my weakest rhyme befuddle you. Lovely words, I wrap em up to cuddle you. My favorite slang has gotta be kna mean? I spit so clean, kna mean? Kna mean? You know how ya do, when you converse with your crew. Slang constituents, amazing how it’s making sense. Round go the rhyme; watch the rhyme go round, Rhyme by the code and by the code I’m bound. Never the less, I love it just the same, Forever the test, try and figure out the game. Life has got its ups and downs, chutes and ladders and faceless clowns. Lug back and forth both sides of the street, Mark it one time only or must repeat. Yo my shoes come in two’s and they’re worn from paying dues, Running back and forth from good to bad news. I really wish I was handy with the aerosol, So I could piece my daughter up a Mary Poppins carousel. Live by the pen; survive by my seed, The voice said go and then it said Godspeed. So what ya need? And how long can ya wait? It’s hard to live week to week and still plan for the day, And you’re always weighed down by a high APR, And your rhymes ain’t as fly as you hope they are. Scram, blam, scramble up the eggs and ham 3.5 the same price as a gram. Kna mean? You know it’s good to go. Kna mean? So come and check me out at the show. You can see how I act and do what I do, And then tell your friends that me and you is crew. Ya might have seen me showing off and I’m sorry for that. She gotta a sparkle in her eye and she’s starry for that.

Ooh delivery, I said ooh delivery, props ain’t what they giving me, Must be my delivery. Yo I was Thaddeus, way before I heard Theodore, Never ever more, I’d give a shout to Lenore, But I’d never quote the raven, I ain’t really craving anything they’re shaving of that rhyme slab, They’re rhymes is so drab, and deluded, Suck the fresh out any place they’re rooted. I store enough liquid in the rhyme to fill a well, And if good was evil, I can’t imagine how I’d pack the shell. Ooh delivery, you know it be that shivery, That right outside the Chi shit, just passed the strangler, Wreck right rhymes, the angular word wrangler. Mom stayed on Montrose; dad lived of Artesian, No wonder I got the rhymes that weather for good reason. Wreck right rhymes and work words to hit nerves, don’t ya know? Leaving a penny at the corner store is not giving to charity, So why you on the mic, if ain’t spitting clarity? This whole rhyme’s a parody, I rhyme so Wayons, Sucker emcees go get your crayons. It’s amazing what an emcee does to sell a couple metaphors, Amazing what the emcee does to open up some better doors, Can you believe in 07 they still can’t settle wars? Pedal to the metal floors, angry as the kettle roars, Wake up and drink your tea.

Chronic snooper, where ya gonna be tonight…Where ya gonna be tonight Ya thought everything was kool in the gang, Messing around trying to do your thang. Actin a fool trying to get you some, After all that looking', couldn't find a crumb. You know what happens when you assume, By talking that mess, you done met your doom. What since you spent the night at my place? Now you got the right to trudge through myspace. Who's that girl? How is she your friend? I always answered straight, I didn’t once pretend. I told ya from the start I don’t play no games, But a lotta girls know me as Mr. Thaddeus James. Damn girl, ya sure tried hard, To play me to the left and try and pull my card. I walk outside; you’re driving down my street, Ya must be out ya mind to call that discreet. My sharp tongue caught ya by surprise, And left ya sitting in a stew of your own lies. Do unto others baby, let me be, Or poke at the tiger and make me angry. I lit ya up before and I'll do it again, You’re a chronic snooper girl; you’re not my friend. Everything with you was a plot and a scheme, So tonight add this song to your self-esteem.

Dodgie mentals, but the good kind of crazy, The light in the fog, when all else is hazy. Figured fables, often by the pageful, Good intentions, his offered words are ageful. And by that, I mean his words will fare well, This ain’t no fairytale, not one tear fell. This here a saga and we’ll treat it as such, There ain’t no ado here, this is all much. We’re gonna do for Mother Brain, What Wu did for Shaolin, This ain’t my first attempt; I just never threw the towel in. A dose of discipline in each daily exercise, We know with each breath we’re closer to the exit prize. Get your flashlight; ninjas do it in the dark. This here is Mother Brain, consider this your first spark. Noise got that nourishment; there are vitals in his versus. And shakes’ harder, shouting blasted or curses. I feel surrounded the pressure is mounting, So many chess moves, I’m so sick of counting. I’m acting on adrenaline; survival at it’s best, I’d like to get another meal; I’d like to catch another rest. Every path is guarded by assassins and lost souls, It’s a journey over broken glass and hot coals. Bloodstream, you can feel it in your bloodstream. Damn Jay what kind of shit you got me running through, You better call Comanche and probably hit up hammer too. Stealth mode, we’ll creep in through the airwaves, And without em knowing we’ll give em what their ear craves. We got that full flavor, no fluff, no filler, Right through the bloodstream, it don’t get iller. Once we got em, we’ll kick em right out the speakers, And make some new disciples out of all truth seekers. Can’t get everyone, not all got their light lit, So we leave the dead so the lost souls can bite shit. An epic saga of murder and lies, Pull his card every time but our hero never dies. Orange crush came through and tried to be proficient. But they didn’t know noise was also on the mission. Break beats the same way they break bones And fly through the air like they was skipped stones. Slash and dash and then they disappear, Leaving all victims with they last flash of air. Fight to the death it was kill or be killed, But where always left standing when the bloodstream spilled.