1. |
Have To Do
03:28
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People wanting something different but I'll
Have to do/
Is it just your album dropping? It'll
Have to do/
Do my solo stuff I've gotta man I
Have to do/
And there's far too much I've written down I
Have to do// x2
The cypher's not coming back and good luck with Flame Griller/
The answers to questions I get most days on Twitter/
Nah that's not true I've had no mentions today/
The centre of my own universe remember the name/
Lower case "x" between capital "E" and a "P"/
It isn't that hard, man - still they say "E X P"/
Guess it makes no odds, what's in a name? I'm too obsessed/
Better than my teenage alias: "Voodoo X"/
I think it's lame to have an X in your name honestly, well/
I'm called ExP...I'm just trolling myself/
But it's too late to change, I've got a logo and all/
And spent 50 quid on a road sign to go on my wall/
So I'm stick in with it, still giving solo a go/
Trying to get my monthly stats to match my own crew though/
Fat chance, cap in hand if you listen to me/
Buy my album, buy my CD, cos the digital's free//
People wanting tapes, vinyl will
Have to do/
What about a USB? vinyl will
Have to do/
But I don't have a deck? vinyl will
Have to do//
Why would you put out vinyl in this day and age?!
Cos I'm so cool...
It's a poser thing you're noticing/
I know that most of you won't own a thing that does a record justice/
But I appreciate you deviating from the norm and buying stuff I spent nuff time to make so I could create just this/
...Cos digital is great but intangible/
I want to hold something in my hands and read the craic in full/
And if you're the type to write a comprehensive manual I'm dapping you/
Cos acting like an album matters is the attitude!//
Singles every which way when's the album due?/
You've got a YouTube mixtape with a thousand views/
I've heard you've got half of Year 9 down with you/
How's that new wave vibe working out for you?/
Mmm sounding cool...I love soul-less music/
If you don't pour your soul in, your soul is useless/
Nowt I can say that won't make me sound old/
Music was better when I was 11 years old/
They don't make em like that anymore and kids these days clichés/
Can't jump on stage with my knee pain/
Me paying for beats? Nah you're alright dude/
People send me better tracks than mine but mine are all I can write to.../
Besides, I'm not like you/
I'm hungrier for my dinner tonight than the spotlight you/
Should go ahead, make sure you don't ruin it/
It's easier for me to criticise when I'm not doing it//
Calling crap music crap is summat that I
Have to do/
But listening to me is summat you don't
Have to do/
So huge bigups if you listen to the sounds I do/
And that's enough of that let's crack on with album 2//
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2. |
Wack
03:42
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Here's an unwelcome opinion from a nobody/
I don't really like what's out now, no, sorry/
...But a lot of dudes hear it and go copy/
And nearly always the end product's so soggy/
I can smell a genuine track a mile away/
I don't need to give anything else the time of day/
Only got finite hours I can waste/
And quite frankly I think it may be time to say it's...
(Wack)
...Understatement mate it's terrible/
(Wack wack)
...Another track saying that you're sexual/
(Wack)
An ear worm to infect the vegetables/
(Wack wack)
How are these artists even credible?
(Wack)
What is this crap on the radio?/
(Wack wack)
Millions of views, waddya pay for those?/
(Wack)
Ripped off music as a teenager though/
(Wack wack)
So in a way, maybe I'm to blame for those...
Pop tracks that accost the senses/
While making independent music's largely senseless/
If you've not got a job propping up your ventures/
Then you haven't got much chance to put a dent in/
And there's nothing wrong with making it for you/
90% of the time it's mainly what I do/
But it's great to make some moves so people take in what you do/
Some will like it some will buy it, some will say it's nothing new and it's...
(Wack)
Years of work summed up there/
(Wack wack)
Cheers mate is that really fair?/
(Wack)
I was up till all hours writing this/
(Wack wack)
...Music helps me prove that I exist/
(Wack)
At the end of the day I'm fair game/
(Wack wack)
You're wack I'm wack, it's all the same/
(Wack)
Some people like flavour, some hate cinnamon/
(Wack wack_
...everybody has opinions...
It's what makes us individual and miserable/
You wanted to leave the EU, I have to live with you/
You have to live with me wishing I was free/
Drinking socialist champagne in a bungalow in Leeds/
But please, can we do away with all the wack shit/
Do we really need the unrecyclable plastic?/
As I understand if we don't do summat drastic/
We're all going to hell in a handbasket...
(Wack)
That wouldn't be great would it mate?/
(Wack wack)
Stop pretending climate change will go away/
(Wack)
The global temperature's still rising/
(Wack Wack)
We see evidence and act like it's surprising/
(Wack)
A dying planet we could have loved/
(Wack wack)
We'll take it all and look for other stuff/
(Wack)
Another species extinct cos of us/
(Wack Wack)
For cash there's nothing the government won't cover up...
Democrats that undemocratically frack/
And bang you up in jail if you've got problems with that/
Nothing shall stem the tide of capitalism/
In a world of blagging a living or having to give in/
And there's charity's, thing is/
If I gave away a fiver/
To every worthwhile cause that need my support/
I'd be a broke man/
Instead of all that mither/
I don’t give anybody anything instead and my support is...
(Wack)
...I don't have a good excuse/
(Wack wack)
I should be out, fighting for my views/
(Wack)
What's sitting about ever done?/
(Wack wack)
They change the law I've sat through every one/
(Wack)
This is how Handmaid's Tale began and ahhh.../
(Wack wack)
Pretty soon I'll be moving to Canada/
(Wack)
An immigrant trying to emigrate from a violent state/
(Wack wack)
As soon as they agree to take me I'll escape...
But I can't I'm not an EU citizen/
I did always identify with being a British one/
But it's kinda sad to see my freedoms destroyed/
Would I have worked in Europe?...that's not the point/
But we all emigrated from Africa/
Essentially we're saying the land that we're standing on, that's for us/
But it couldn't be less the case/
We just infest the place/
And say others are inferior cos of their race?...
(Wack)
...We're exactly the same species/
(Wack wack)
...When is someone gonna police these/
(Wack)
Far right knobheads that claim they're patriotic/
(Wack wack)
We're snowflakes but they're offended by many topics/
(Wack)
Like immigration, benefits and gender/
(Wack wack)
Religious groups not selling poppies in November/
(Wack)
Spreading fake news to aid their agenda/
(Wack wack)
Blaming their problems on anything but them cos they're/
(Wack)
A bunch of idiots looking for scapegoats/
(Wack wack)
Don't blame those tax dodgers on their race boats/
(Wack)
It must be the guy on benefits that caused this/
(Wack wack)
Or the innocent immigrant or some other horse shit/
(Wack)
But I do know this is an echo chamber/
(Wack wack)
Most people that listen to me were remainers/
(Wack)
So while you're nodding your head in agreement/
(Wack wack)
Putting this all on a track hasn't achieved much//
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3. |
Mr Ow Much
04:08
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CHORUS x4
Mr Mr Mr ow much ow much/
Mr ow much Mr ow much are you charging?//
There's nothing I love more than a Samuel Smith's pub/
There's one called the Shoulder of Mutton in Bradford/
And you can get two pints for a fiver and come back with change/
But unfortunately the rest of England isn't the same/
All the bars in Leeds charge at least 4 quid a pint/
You can tell me to get with the times but it's Yorkshire, I'm tight/
I'm not about to break a tenner for a drink with a mate/
And two quid for a bag of crisps? Give me a break/
This a mistake? It says my cup of coffee was four quid/
You just mixed some water with granules and poured it/
People in the service industry are living off your tips/
Cos the company pays em nowt, which is of course shit/
But capitalism got us passive 'stead of acting livid/
...Companies increase their profit people add the difference/
And they can dodge the tax cos they're providing the jobs/
Be like me and decide that the cost's too high for them cos I'm...//
CHORUS x4
Mr Mr Mr ow much ow much/
Mr ow much Mr ow much are you charging?//
I went on a stag do to London the other year/
£5.50 for a motherchuffin' beer/
I was broke by the first night, London's so super/
Plus my mate had his phone nicked by some guy on a scooter/
How the hell do people manage? Polish, English and Spanish/
African, Hispanic, Asian, Danish, Islamic/
To rent a property in zone four's like three times the cost/
Of a flat in central Bradford, see why I'm lost?/
The local Spa is selling orange juice a couple quid more/
Than any place in the North, and I just can't ignore/
I walk in and look to buy some stuff then walk out/
Cos I'd rather go hungry and thirsty than fork out/
So chuff London and chuff capital cities/
People gravitate towards them, and it's a pity/
The streets are paved with gold, directly from your wallet/
"But there are more opportunities here" aw stop it...//
CHORUS x4
Mr Mr Mr ow much ow much/
Mr ow much Mr ow much are you charging?//
A poor man can't afford to buy cheap clothes/
A tight man waits for Christmas so family can buy those/
I don't mean they're cheap, I just mean I don't have to pay for em/
I bin wearing the same boxers and socks since a teenager and/
My shirts are mainly hand-me-downs from my wife's uncle/
Not cos he grew out of em, just cos he had a bundle/
I'll take it if it's going don't be wasting it on charity/
Saying I wear the same things isn't going to embarrass me/
Men are supposed to buy engagement rings with three months’ salary/
I got a family heirloom when I asked Ange to marry me/
And actually I've found that spending lavishly is bad for me/
I don't go anywhere with cash on me, the missus' handbag has to be/
In attendance at all times, cos my wallet ain’t/
We've got a joint account, I'm not so tight she's gotta pay/
But if we walk into a place cos the food sounds good/
I'm still staring at the menu, thinking "ow much!?!"//
CHORUS x4
Mr Mr Mr ow much ow much/
Mr ow much Mr ow much are you charging?//
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4. |
Get A Wriggle On
02:57
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I got, things to do and people to see/
And as soon as I get to the place I'm needing to leave/
Cos I'm late for the place that I'm meaning to be/
Before getting to mine in time, for eating my tea/
Then I've got evening plans, the next day comes/
Another million things that need to get done/
I'll rest at some point, won't that be fun/
Right now I'm behind and I'm needing to run//
Get a wriggle on...
Get a wriggle on and put down your phone stop scrolling through/
Standing round like you got nowt to do/
Your parents gave the whole world to you/
The least you can do is change your attitude/
And start acting like your life matters, I haven't/
Still making music I barely like rapping/
How embarrassing is this? I'm a lyricist/
Here's some poetry to prove that I exist/
We're fragile, and in a rush to live/
Get through this life that has much to give/
Take what you can, you were once just six/
And you wake up today and (..) that's it//
Get a wriggle on...
Get a wriggle on you've not got long before ya drop comms/
If your jobs wrong sack it and jog on/
If you've found what you wanna do/
In crowds or in solitude/
Don't stop, even if there's thousands in front of you/
Head down, get ahead of the pack/
Beating yourself up when you're better than that/
Don't listen to chat from mouths of the miserable twats/
They'll tell you it's not possible: this is a trap/
Mainly in creativity this will apply/
As soon as people say you're wrong - you're probably right/
If people say you can't, then you probably can/
But better do it while you have time, this is the plan//
Get a wriggle on...
Get a wriggle on like you know you're late/
If you're usually moving your time is at a slower rate/
And there's no escape/
From the time ending gotta seize each chance that you can take/
There's bastards to evade/
People see you moving and do what they can to slow your pace/
Slag you off and say/
"You look stupid stop moving you loser and you'll never make/
What you're trying to make", keep your eye on these snakes/
Cos they might even say, they're just trying to be mates/
See you flying away, act like child in a way/
Wanna keep you grounded instead of finding some space/
And once you're skyborne, you might be a fraud/
Everyone who does anything was once quite unsure/
But one thing's certain, time is short/
Live life before worms are round your corpse/
...Getting a wriggle on//
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5. |
Break The Mould
03:50
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Yo...disable your Wi-Fi/
Stop looking through your chuffin' Facebook timeline/
...There's nothing there but a bunch of crap/
A few hundred lads and lasses who love to chat/
You ever notice people's online persona/
Is always different to how you know them?/
It's no good!/
Talking in person should always come first and the search for the perfect life is an absurd thing/
Love will find you when you're doing what you love/
Getting green eyes from other's lives isn't the one/
I've seen people take lone selfies, in a pub/
And bang it online saying that they're living it up/
It's a moment in time, a snapchat if you will/
That person with 500 likes is actually still/
A human - capable of torment and depression/
And often the ones who look happiest are the stressed ones/
...You can get above that/
Just find what you love, and never look back/
And the problem is always to get enough cash/
Avoid bad debt and loans they'll get you in crap/
You've gotta ignore what the rest do/
They won't arrest you for making the best moves/
But they expect you to fall in line, get a mortgage and find/
That you and yours are in debt for all of your life//
CHORUS
Nah...
Break the mould/
Don't do what they expect - mate take control/
You gotta break the mould/
They wanna...break your spirit and take your soul/
You gotta break the mould/
They'll imprison you with wages till you're way too old/
You gotta break the mould/
Life's too short mate, so take it slow//
...We have this obsession with celebrity/
Like these people are better than us cos they're on a telly screen/
...And if we see em in real life/
We feel like they're a walking God and we're mere shite/
..But these people deal with crap like you/
Pay their tax like you, but they don't act like you/
Cos their face is recognisable and everywhere they go/
A few people will stop em and try and take a photo/
And if they say no then they're the bad guys/
But next time you're out shopping or it's snack time/
Ask yourself if you'd like to be stopped for a bit/
By someone you don't know so you can pose for a pic/
There are people whose dream in life is to be famous/
Not for anything they've done they're just obsessed with the status/
Think they'll get in the papers/
Cos they've got a few followers on Twitter or on Facebook/
...So switch it off/
Cos it'll only serve to piss you off/
You can get a few likes who gives a toss/?
Scrolling and scrolling through your Insta...what?/
...Go and breathe some fresh air/
Before you're looking at life with a death stare/
To overthrow the masses they need you comatose and placid/
So they can rule their tax haven from a deck chair//
CHORUS
Nah...
Break the mould/
Don't do what they expect - mate take control/
You gotta break the mould/
They wanna...break your spirit and take your soul/
You gotta break the mould/
They'll imprison you with wages till you're way too old/
You gotta break the mould/
Life's too short mate, so take it slow//
...Which is impossible with the speed time goes/
And I know cos when I looked before I wasn't right old/
Not quite bald but recession's taken its hold/
And I'm not as hungry to make as sit in my home/
And my hope is just live well and die knowing/
I did everything I wanted to do with life though/
I can't ever see me accepting that/
Cos I'm certain once it's curtains all that's next is black/
I'd be the first male on my Dad's side to make 70/
I'm half way through right now that'll never be/
Enough, cos there's everything I love/
And there's everything I should do, could do, potentially I would/
But, getting old's the obstacle/
Try avoid the hospital/
Cos anything is possible and many things are probable/
But death is unstoppable, yours the least horrible/
So write yourself a bucket list and get up off that bottom groove//
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6. |
Elegy
04:20
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I made promises to keep the vibes positive/
And obviously don't wanna slip/
But also want to offer this knowledge that I've recently gained/
I felt this beat could retain/
Enough bitter sweet to help me reach in my brain/
Long and short is, I've bin a ghost since my Dad's diagnosis/
It wasn't something that I had to try and cope with/
He forgot a few things but on the most it/
Just seemed like old age, loss of focus, nothing hopeless/
A man of his doubts, stopped doing the family accounts/
Which was only weird cos his maths was renowned/
And if his patience had have run out he'da handed it down/
So it was difficult to see if he had planned it all out/
And this was like three years after he'd coached me to a first in maths/
I saw Uni as a worthless task, but he took the work on stats/
Re-learned that crap, and helped me understand it so I got my first year passed/
So 09 he was sharp enough to teach at degree level/
By 2012 basic finance seemed dreadful/
And a man who read several books in a month/
Was struggling to remember and retain characters, plots and that stuff/
A turning point came when he was admitted to hospital/
Complaining of severe pain, abdominal/
They couldn't find a problem but he was often confused and unsure/
Convinced people were plotting against him on the ward/
And when he got home he was normal for a bit, nothing, much differed/
Though he stopped cooking, he'd still do the dishes/
And listen to the radio or read a magazine/
Or faff around with a computer game he loved an RPG/
My Mum decided they should move while he was still with it/
So they up sticks and move in with my sister, till they could finish/
On a purchase of a house if you know where Nantwich is/
Down-sizing and near family has its advantages/
And I'd take a trip from Yorkshire on a weekend/
He could definitely see sense/
We watched Saturday's Match of the Day and we'd then/
Head out to walk Herbie by the river/
Go through the town and by the church and back in time for dinner/
This lasted a year and a bit, until times when he would just sit/
Watch the football, just staring at it/
Repeated questions that didn't need answering/
And didn't really know who was playing or what was happening/
I remember the last sense he made about football was complaining that people always try to take a shot from outside the box/
But Alzheimer’s was having its way with him...his profound mind was fog/
And…I was lost/
Dealt with it by not dealing with it, not talking to no-one/
Me and Ange argued daily, could have lost her and so on/
I'd take something out of context, make myself the victim/
Hate myself and kicked in the door to my kitchen/
No patience, people came for band practice and such/
And I'd be madder than fuck, acting up, getting aggy and stuff/
People asking for favours would make me angry enough/
To shout at em, you called with questions I would hang up/
I tried to cure this disease I tried to cure it with sleep/
I tried to cure it with drinking, I tried to cure it with weed/
And it was only time and writing music that got me through this/
I apologised for being like it they said "don't be stupid"/
And now I'm avoiding seeing him, cos it does me no good/
My Mum called me a coward, it was justified but/
He's safe in a care home, he's being well looked after/
And doesn't know who I am, and I don't want him to have to/
But seeing him in that state, I don't want the lasting image/
I don't want to remember that, I want the mathematician/
The man who introduced me to jazz and Bradford City/
Who nurtured my interest in rap and played Madden with me/
He wasn't perfect and neither am I/
Last time I saw him I looked him in the eye/
And wished he would just die/
He's not suffering but he has no need for his life/
His brain's in pieces that he cannot find/
And the only thing he still seems to enjoy is eating at night/
At least he did until they couldn't feed him alright/
And he managed 5 days without a drink or even a bite/
And after that he seemed to peacefully die//
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7. |
Hateration
04:01
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Ray Bans and spray tans/
Wanting dessert...but there's an empty cake stand/
Spending my 30s battling a waistband/
Commuting anywhere when the train's rammed/
Anti-abortion pro-lifers that take stands/
The fact that a covers project is most musicians main band/
Plays where they don't have an ending so they dance/
And you can call me anything that you want but I hate trap/
Charity management pay/
People who tell me Premiership results before I've seen Match of the Day/
That camera craze at gigs, put the damn thing away/
Your video looks crap and the sound is the same/
Katie Hopkins...and her friends/
Tuka Sulliman from Dragon's Den/
Posts on Facebook, Ooo tag a friend/
In fact... promotion in general on social media/
Is tedious and add people who call themselves a genius/
That's for us to decide, and that fluff on a stylus/
Making it jump all the time, is something that I just/
Can't be doing with, like pantomimes/
BS Hallmark holidays like Valentines/
Greetings cards with generic messages/
Appreciate the effort just write something genuine or don't get me one/
Footy when two captains pick sides/
And anyone who has those outdoor wind chimes//
CHORUS
Cos there's nothing wrong with hating stuff/
Everyone says that there is/
But there's nothing wrong with hating stuff/
When the stuff that you hate is shit/
Said there's nothing wrong with hating stuff/
Everyone acts like there is/
But there's nothing better than hating stuff/
When the stuff that you hate is shit//
I love hating/
...I try to be an optimist/
But honestly I get a lot of pleasure and catharsis from being negative/
Cos I think the things that we hate are fairly relevant/
In making us the people that we are, in fact it betters us/
Cos hopefully you'll take things you don't like and leave em/
And do the things you do like and that there's the reason/
You can waste a lot of time trying to like summat you shouldn't/
But hate is often dangerous in the hands of others/
If a person of another race does you wrong it's ok/
They're an arsehole and can be somebody you hate/
But if you then hate the race cos of the actions of one/
Then it's reasonable for people to call you a cunt/
Hate should never be allowed to spread of its own accord/
But in two thousand whatever there's definitely no remorse/
And if you can't be trusted with hate then go cold turkey/
The alcohol of my emotions, you're not worthy//
CHORUS
But there's nowt wrong with me hating stuff/
Everyone says that there is/
But there's nothing wrong with me hating stuff/
When the stuff that I hate is shit/
Cos there's nothing wrong with hating stuff/
Everyone acts like there is/
But there's nothing better than hating stuff/
When the stuff that you hate is shit//
Like success with no effort/
Showers with no pressure/
The fact that in my twenties I was a go-getter/
Now I sit around looking down in an old sweater/
And shout, at the rest of the clowns that have done better/
How is it they're fresher?/
Their album sales spectacular/
Didn't even go through their Twitter followers, blaggin' em/
By the way I've got an album out why don't you check it?/
They listened once on Spotify and left it/
Forget it/
I get wound up by hatred, I can feel destroyed/
Looking at others when comparison's the thief of joy/
It's because of competition that the scene's a void/
As soon as people get their heads together dreams can join/
But I can't talk, I'm a moody selfish stick in the mud/
No time to hate yours when I think my shit isn't good/
Listening to my own stuff thinking "this is just guff"/
Thank God I've got my missus to keep lifting me up//
CHORUS
So I probably shouldn't hate so much/
Everyone knows it's my shtick/
People don't even bother to show me stuff/
Cos I'll probably say it's shit/
But when I find summat that I like/
I'll never stop going on about that/
But 99% of the time these days/
Everything I hear is crap//
Said everything I see is crap.
Said everything I watch is crap.
Said everything I do is crap.
And everything you do is crap.
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8. |
Do
02:50
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CHORUS x4
Whenever I say that I can't I won't I shan’t I don't I mustn’t I (do)/
Whenever life's getting me down and I feel like I don't know what to (do)//
Waddya (do) is a question most commonly used/
What they mean is, "how d'ya pay for your food?"/
Well I (do), a bit of this and I (do) a bit of that/
But no I don't make any money from rap/
But I (do) try my best to invest my time/
So there's less spent working and more working on rhyme/
(Do) not believe in proper jobs and rent/
My commodity is hours I decide how their spent/
But I (do) understand it's not as easy as that/
And believe me I graft, run an LTD and that/
Need cash, there's bills still to pay/
Bin rapping about money from then till today/
But (do) you care, nobody does/
Got their own problems to deal with, and opening up/
With my emotional stuff/
I hope is enough/
To get me through what I (do) when life's hopeless and tough//
CHORUS x2
Whenever I say that I can't I won't I shan't I don't I mustn’t I (do)
Whenever life's getting me down and I feel like I don't know what to (do)
...Need to get better at making drums/
It's cheating to use a good break but fun/
Ella Fitzgerald remains the one/
I bin sampling her since the day I begun/
And I (do) stick to what I know/
Fruit Loops, Cool Edit Pro/
Just got Cubase on the go/
Same Brauner type mic since 08/
Used it to record everything to date/
Same studio - renovated it gradually/
Now I can stand sitting in it in January/
Monday nights I'm usually sat till 3/
Writing bars or trying my hand at beats/
Can't explain why I (do) what I (do)/
I just know I (do) what I (do) in order to get through/
If I say that I can't I won't give it a go/
If that's how I live my life then I guess I'll never know...so//
CHORUS x2
Whenever I say that I can't I won't I shan't I don't I mustn’t I (do)/
Whenever life's getting me down and I feel like I don't know what to (do)//
I could stop making music for sure/
Doesn't seem likely I'll ever sell out a tour/
I could (do) nothing and just let my life pass/
Get depressed ‘bout it and feel like crap/
Or I could (do) a load of drugs, try and shorten the odds/
Of making 40 without being a corpse on a block/
(Do) not know where I could score any rock/
To be fair I could have it and not be sure what I've got/
(Do) you know I'm white middle class and privileged/
Tiny violins if I say life is still a bitch/
People struggle more than me day to day/
Tracks about getting old are my favourite made/
And I (do) gravitate to the relatable/
Cos it's safe and it's warm and escapable/
And I'm capable, of being able to evade the bull/
When I create in my safe bubble - buhbyeee//
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9. |
High Horse
02:54
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So easy to take the moral high ground/
When you're way up on your horse having a ride round/
Just through day to day life I've found/
You need to pipe down when your mind's talking right loud/
Cos it's much easier to pass judgement/
Than it is to be the person getting judged just look up/
Catch the guy there on his loyal steed/
Having the time of his life being royalty/
Handing out decrees on how something should have been/
When it comes to sorting summat out they're nowhere to be seen/
Just straddling a saddle in a paddock in a dream/
That we need another lecture from the king or maybe queen/
Full of self confidence built on self esteem/
Or is it just a wall so we don't see behind the scenes?/
Mate it's not required we don't need you on the team/
So do one with your massive mare and friggin’ leave us be//
On ya high horse...
Get off ya high horse
If you read the Daily Mail and all that other shite/
Put stilts on your horse and ride the mountain sides/
Cos no horse... is too tall... that we can't smell the man you're/
Covering up, when you're sprouting all that rancour/
I'm sure that you were encouraged to debate/
During your time in Oxbridge, Eton or some other lovely place/
But it makes us distrust the heads of state/
When they stood up, said some stuff and people made out it was great/
Cos it sounded anti-freedom, anti-human, pro-cash/
And cash is the only thing that dunt exist and won't last/
They make us chase while they maintain a gold stash/
Dashing round on horseback telling us, "don't hold back/
Let the planet take the battering it's old hat/
We need energy by any means: burn the oil, frack/
Let the wildlife be damned it'll probably grow back/
Now I'm off to dodge tax and stable the old nag"//
It's my high horse
Get off ya high horse
On ya high horse...
Get off ya high horse
Sometimes...I can't descend from my high horse/
Wonder whether I'm even up on it to climb orrfff/
Am I offering some thoughtful advice/
Or am I the awkward guy who's also all full of shite?/
People's eyes rolling as I stroll in, legs wide open, atop a stallion/
I know things so take polite notice, turns phones to mute and desist from your chattering/
I need a battering, it's embarrassing, it's not flattering, and now I'm panicking/
Cos how often have I bin up on horseback/
Without realising it was me giving a short chat?/
On my opinions, unwelcome as they are/
On what you should have done in order to make it far/
On what I know it is to be alive and also me/
Regardless of your problems, my horse and I agree//
We're on the right course
Why's that?
Cos it's my high horse
On my high horse
I need to get off my high horse
....After this next track.
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10. |
Don't Care At All
03:46
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CHORUS x4
They don't care at all
No they don't care at all
(Oh no they don't)
Well I'm Mr Organised my reputation precedes me/
My CV is full of gigs, releases and CDs/
Specialise in getting people together it's easy/
If things aren't working how they should I tend to get peevey/
Cos...I'm trying to make stuff happen/
Can't decide how many guys would even be rapping/
If I hadn't bothered to grab em and push em in front of a mic/
Sit there with a red light, mix it right, give a shite/
Is this like, irony, I'm working too hard/
But they're cursing me personally cos I work em too hard/
I'm not being considerate of their feelings/
So it isn't appealing we have a gig in the evening/
And in my dealings of group endeavours/
I'm nought for four in keeping a motherchuffin' crew together/
Cos this guys leaving to here, or someone doesn't like this/
Someone's got a virus, someone's double booked five gigs/
And I sit, in the middle of it/
Being the organiser, manager, baby sitter a bit/
Cos musicians are shit, they're very good at being creative/
But useless at everything else except complaining/
What!? I'm not your parent or/
Some kind of boss who sorts your wherewithal/
Take some ownership and grow a pair of balls/
You make a mountain from something fairly small//...But
CHORUS x4
They don't care at all
No they don't care at all
(Oh no they don't)
People so busy saying they don't give an "F"/
Like that's a good thing to feel when you wake or rest/
When in fact you should be seizing every minute, yes/
Not giving me a reason to get this off my chest/
You bloody lay about piss-taking good-for-nothing dosser/
Waste of space, nightmare, life draining knobhead/
...That feels better, I get in a real temper/
I forget to be level-headed, temperament's real weathered/
And my patience is paper thin/
If I've had a bad day in my brain you might say something/
And I'll take it the other way/
It makes me a bloody pain and maybe why some o't mates broke free to run away/
Cos I insist I'm laid back/
Chilled out relaxed don't care but face facts/
My wife says I'm uptight and a control freak/
I had to add that information to a spreadsheet//...what?
CHORUS x4
They don't care at all
No they don't care at all
(Oh no they don't)
...Nah, they don't care/
Sit doing sweet FA while I'm going spare/
Pestering these guys/
Sort the set and place and time/
Then getting shouted at for requesting a reply/
I guess that maybe I am the root cause/
...I'm the one that set up the group cos/
I need support as my self esteem's too short/
I can justify my lyrics if the crew's sure/
And this solo stuff makes me nervous/
Once I write a verse I have to write another verse plus/
There's just me, I can hide behind no-one/
At least if summat needs doing though it gets fucking done/
And if this offended you/
I never intended to, it's not meant for you/
It's meant for me, remember to write more solo/
Cos I'm damned if I'm doing any more for them ohh nooooo//
CHORUS x4
They don't care at all
No they don't care at all
(Oh no they don't)
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11. |
Normal Gigs
03:16
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I don't do normal gigs/
....I do awkward gigs/
...I do Yorkshire gigs/
You can guarantee that it's not my sort of shit/
But I still drag myself up out of my comfort zone cos I love my home/
Gripping tight to the dice till it's right for another roll/
Cos two things can happen once I exit my safe place/
Summat good, or summat bad will take place/
Cos I dunno if you didn't know but I'm little known/
So promoters booking me aren't guaranteed a ticket sold/
Hard sell for them and a hard sell for me/
Trying to hustle online with the heartfelt-est tweet/
Most people don't go to gigs....even if it's free/
And rap is so rarely right live, the reasons tend to be:/
Bad sound, bad mic technique, bad acoustics/
And sound guys that know what they're doing are mad elusive//
I don't do normal gigs/
....I do awkward gigs/
Where I support some dick/
Whose online presence is glorious/
And he can chuck a couple crumbs from the table to the promotion disabled/
Cos I'm not able to drum up the same interest/
And support slots were once a sure shot/
Nowadays groups opening up for big artists will invest/
Buy onto the tour, it might open the door/
While I hope for applause from my localish audience/
And every gig is always on some awkward shit/
The money's crap, timing's change, sound is awfulness/
"Oh watch out for the the mic lead mate it's a bit dodgy" - course it is/
...The headliner wants to go on before I spit/
So they can get their money and call it quits/
Cos this venue's not designed for rap performances//
I don't do normal gigs/
....I do awkward gigs/
I do warm up gigs/
And act like I motherchuffin' tore that shit/
Day after I'm on Twitter and Instagram like the flippin' man:/
"Bigup to this and that, last night was the friggin' jam"/
Rappers are always buzzing after gigs, it was probably lame/
Trying to find a pic where you can't tell nobody came/
How do you make a room of twelve people look busy/
When DJs check their emails and play a whole city?/
Hundreds of people packing in to dance/
To summat they've listened to for years, man I understand/
That's why old bands are killing it/
We all love the familiar/
Still touring stadiums with albums from last millennium/
...Give the new guy a look-in/
"What's he cooking?"/
A track about how his gigs are crap/
"Fuck him"//
I don't do normal gigs/
I do boring gigs/
8 acts on, doors at 6/
By 9 even the promoter starts to snore and shit/
There's a few people with pints/
A few here for the night/
But they'll speak all the time that you speak on a mic/
To me, yeah that's alright/
But see what is the point?/
Buy a record at the door - go home to your life/
But playing live does have its good sides/
And it's always when the audience is having a good time/
Just right, sound and mic's cool, good level in the monitors/
And everyone's bopping along solidly to your offerings/
And probably the reason I'm so down on it/
Is cos the amount I've done where the sound is shit/
Go to Northamptonshire, Corby town for gigs/
Cos time and time again man the crowd is sick//
But mostly I don't do normal gigs/
I don't get booked for the awesome gigs/
How can I talk to the audience/
...When there's four of em?/
I don't do normal gigs/
I do awkward gigs/
I don't do normal gigs//
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12. |
Failing
03:58
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I'm afraid I'm afraid of failing/
I put my soul into the songs I'm making/
So when they fold cos no-one will rate them/
Then my whole confidence is shaken/
But I'm told everyone has bad days/
And I know that the music I make/
Fills a hole that nobody has braved/
Cos most rappers still think that trap's great/
*Raspberry*
Michael Jordan lost nearly 300 games/
Harrison Ford was told that he'd never make/
It, he tried for two years then landed a role/
As an uncredited part in a film you don't know/
Charles Darwin dropped out of college twice though/
And was stopped from travelling cos of the shape of his nose/
Which was supposed to prove he couldn't handle the trip/
But he went in the end, and was immediately sick/
Van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime/
Richard Branson's Mum had to give him a lifeline/
She re-mortgaged her house to pay off his debt/
Cos some of the records he sold weren't labelled correct/
And he got hit up for tax and a big fine/
And James Dyson owes a lot to his wife/
She gave art lessons to help prop his business up/
While he made prototypes, and most didn't work/
But when he nailed it was taken to retailers/
Who said it wouldn't sell and dubbed it as a failure/
5 elections were lost by Churchill/
And Star Wars was rejected by Universal//
CHORUS x2
It's ok to fail/
It's ok to suck/
But it's only ok if you pick yourself up/
It's ok to lose/
If you fall then stand/
Doubt kills more dreams than failure can//
So if you don't succeed/
Try again/
It's funny how life depends/
On your shite attempts/
Cos as one door shuts, a window opens/
A lot of us don't see it we just stare at the closed ones/
And hope does nothing, like thoughts and prayers/
It's nice to have faith but nought compares/
To a get up and go, a little effort can show ya/
That the bend in the road is not a permanent closure/
It's not a reason to stop, if your belief in a God/
Helps you keep on your plod and eases the fog/
Just don't stop others needing their Gods/
Everyone looks up to someone, believe it or not/
We need role models, whatever they do/
But don't think for a second that they're better than you/
They gotta crap, sleep and eat, put up with junk mail/
Pay bills, make small talk and most of all, fail//
CHORUS x2
It's ok to fail/
It's ok to suck/
But it's only ok if you pick yourself up/
It's ok to lose/
If you fall then stand/
Doubt kills more dreams than failure can//
I failed my driving test no less than three times/
First two were nightmares the third I was robbed blind/
By the fourth one it felt like the examiner was kind/
And took pity on the guy who failed all the time/
Went to Uni to study, accountancy/
Managed a year, but was meant to be around for three/
I did one and left it, cos although I was accepted/
I failed to get it while 18 year olds bested it/
And it's a similar story with the rest of it/
I failed to bring Sinoptic off a precipice/
Cos I was stressed with it, I let my head just quit/
And chose the easy route instead of grit/
And my failures eat me alive daily/
But one day my vital organs might fail me/
So I keep facing my failures because/
One day I may not be able to get up//
CHORUS x4
It's ok to fail/
It's ok to suck/
But it's only ok if you pick yourself up/
It's ok to lose/
If you fall then stand/
Doubt kills more dreams than failure can//
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ExP Leeds, UK
West Yorkshire based hip-hop musician from Flame Griller & Tough Crowd
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