lyrics
Intro:
Time to get real honest for a second
Y’all cool if I get real honest?
Oh word?
Aight then
Guess I ain't always gotta play the safe card
So smooth, so smooth
Verse 1:
Stayin' fresh off the back like Pampers
On my new wave, they couldn’t figure it out like Summer Sanders
Cuz I got more verses than a Swizz and Timbo brainchild
Got Charlotte on lock Beatties Ford to Idlewild
Constantly thinkin' bout my grandparents, my ancestry
For the man I am today, wonder are they proud of me
Charge it to the game, the way I’m steppins a weapon
They way I freak a 16 Child Protective Services checkin'
But no perv activity, sage cleared out the guilt in me
I'm in a race where time is my only rivalry
Executive producer, I stay self-composed
Like weed killers, other rappers stay de-composed
Rap makes me happy can't be that bad like Sherryl Crow
Gon' take more than tappin' a line to know what I know
I'm ACTIC: always comin' through in the clutch
For lack of better vernacular I'm Hip Hop's crutch - whoa
Hook:
Formulated miracles from nothing
Even when I thought I lost it all I was cooking something
This is where I find my heart and soul in my middle age
Bob Seger playing as I turn the page
But if I step off without a sec to pause reflect
Out of raw intent, my neglect cause discontent
If these laws infect I expire and slowly fade
Honorably provide for my fam with this living wage
Verse 2:
Tracin' my life line before my start of rhyme
Around the time Brandy and Monica - Boy Is Mine
My shift from grade 5 to 6 required pivot
Knew I had the gift of gab but through creative limits
Couldn't quite fit in, so I played the class clown
Sacrificed my rep to make dent like Chris Brown
Wanted hype like a Rufus Wainright prototype
But couldn't picture me on stage, hazy bars, night after night
Though my talent palpable, I was ripe for the pluckin'
Wurthy club performance underage - no handcuffin'
Could say I'm Michelin star the way I offer courses
I hear it all but only listen to select sources
That's why haters never get paid any mind
Cuz without reservation, they always respond in kind
I wish safety and blessings for you and yours
Stay true to your core, claim your own like
An entrepreneur - let’s go
Verse 3:
Trips to my hometown provide solace
Haven’t touched the old block in a while like Ben Wallace
Oh these webs we weave like Sigourney
How have I accomplished this much but just started the journey
On a path anew, not resting on past merits
Tested and grew, did it for science like a trapped ferret
It’s all in how you look at it; glass full kind of thing
Word up to the heads that I'm representing
Mediocre a poor measure, like cell phones I'm tethered
Traverse this landscape whether business or pleasure
Matter fact, it's known only the strong survive
I’ve conquered amidst depression and zero drive
It's a beautiful life when I reach beast mode
I encode the message you hear it back then decode
Salutations to my fans who blast my tunes
They already made those trash songs so I don’t have to - true
credits
released March 10, 2023
Cover Design: Adam Peter Shinn
The Living Wage
(A. Shinn) (BMI)
Produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Adam Peter Shinn for Obsessed Sonics Records at Charlottean Skies Studios | Northgreen, Huntersville, NC
license
all rights reserved