"UNDER CONSTRUCTION"

Inner City Blues (Revisited)

I understand why Marvin sang the inner city blues
Every night I watch these fools
Make mockeries of their heritage on the 9 o’clock news
And I ask myself “will it ever end”
Born into sin
We so often give in
To our “inner selves”
Shelved are the morals and values of our ancestors
When small jesters like
Not giving up our seat on the bus spark revolutions
Where one man’s dream was the solution to centuries of inequality
He probably be
Summer salting in his casket
Cause these bastards really don’t get it
Can’t fit it in to their program
But rather scam and shortcut their way through
And doing what I gotta do becomes the excuse
And we excuse them
Then lose them
Like untamable animals in the wild
Where niggas hunt for weed like cave men hunt food
An eternal quest to get high
“Say dog, you know who got that fire?”
I can’t stand em’
Fucking Barbarians
Hunt for a job
A piece of mind
Search for GOD
I’m so sick and tired
Of our people being SICK and TIRED
Like I’m sick of niggas killing niggas
When we need to murder
These generational curses
That burden
The black community
Disrespect for time
Lack of family unity
Bad credit
No sense of direction
Inability to edit
Or change our behavior
Sometimes I feel I’m the last man on earth
Sincerely seeking our savior
Well if I am legend then we are the infected
Disconnected
From…….
Reality
Each other
And most importantly GOD
Can’t come out in the light
So we hide in darkness behind a fake ass facade
When really we under attack by that bull shit
From politicians to the pulpit
Soliciting your funds and teaching empty tradition
Leading lost souls with sub par religion
In an attempt to pad their pockets
Not addressing real issues
Cause we all got em’
And if you are not part of the solution
Then you are part of the problem
DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

For Meka.........

I’m trying to eloquently capture my exact thoughts
Composing words and arranging them in a manner that makes sense
Re- writing verses to make them as magnificent
As she is
But I realize that’s not possible
Cause she is
The beauty beneath butterfly wings
That feeling you get listening to Luther sing
She is the sweet in sugarcane
The soothe in the sound of rain
Things that can’t be explained
Or verbalized…………..
Riding high above the clouds at about 10,000ft
A few seconds away from deep comatose, half sleep
My eyes at the invitation of the sun
Stretch the horizon
Watching the warm ultraviolet rays
Grin in a way that mimics her smile
But not quite
Cause not even the most beautiful star is as bright
It’s like
The heavens opened and she descended down a rainbow
Smearing traces of pastel colors across the sky
And I didn’t see her coming
Like a car crash or lightning flash
Striking right next to me
She happened
Unexpectedly
Like a tree uprooted from stiff soil
She took me up and out of something I’ve grown to know
Loneliness
And if only this feeling were real
And it is
I crave her love so bad it hurts
And I often think of her
I sometimes feel her arms wrapped around me
Like bed sheets during a comfortable sleep
Her hands grasp between my shoulder blades
Embracing my soul like church pews
Fingers sliding down my spine
Covering my back like my favorite T-shirt
Her scent lingers between my sheets
Like fresh bread in a bakery sparking my appetite
I see my self falling into her dimples like coins in a wishing well
Wishing me well
Her eyes are like chocolate covered almond spheres
Rich, sweet and I’m eating them up
Her hair rests upon my face like
Ocean waves on the shore of the beach
With our legs intertwined like twizzler sticks
We lay in the warmth of each other’s summer
She’s my walk in the park, my shade on a hot day
She’s my cold glass of milk with hot chocolate chip cookies
And we all know how much I love chocolate chip cookies
She soothes me like rhythm and blues
Jazz tunes
My C sharp, B flat
She’s my songs in A minor
And it’s the minor things about her that I love the most
And we’re so close like the conditions of po’ black folks
But we enjoy the wealth of each other’s passion
If only one could imagine………
Good thing I don’t have too.

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holla)

I sing the inner city blues
Life has me feeling used
Like old garden tools……dirty and hot
Fused in the land of haves and being a have not
This ain't living
Giving yourself to broken dreams seems to be the thing these days
Over worked and under paid
No money saved looking for means to pave the way
Victim to an unfair system
No one listens
Can't even get weekend visits
And we wonder why young black men become statistics
They don't get it
What is this?
Court ordered child supporter
But given no parental rights
The only man in my community willing to stand
And not being given the chance to fight
Make me wanna holla
Throw up all my hands
This ain't living
This ain't how I was taught
Done fought for freedoms that I can't exercise
Bound and gagged my hands are tied
I'm tired
Of struggling
Juggling
Jobs to get by
Moving bricks piece by piece to build the empire
I throw up all my hands
Inner city blues confuse a man
Rain drops off 3rd floor project porches
Like the moisture that precipitates my face
Screams unheard like a crack feen's cries inside a ghetto staircase
Make me wanna holla
I try to shout
But nothing comes out when my lips part
No one hears the black man's screams
Or sees him cry in the dark
This ain't living
I sing the inner city blues
But much is not forgiven
We cry it's the white man
But he ain't the only one sinning
I look in the black community
And I know this ain't living!!!!

Beautiful Woman

Woman is GOD’s most divine creation
And they are so splendid to me
Most guys try
But can’t see their inner mystery
And to them I say
It’s in the strength of her character
The sway of her walk
The gentleness of her voice
The silk in her talk
She’s a woman
Beautifully
Beautiful woman
Is what she is to me
Folks don’t understand why I give women so much praise
Ask the reason I treat them like every moment is their birthday
And I say
It’s the elegance of her touch
The cool of her breath
The grace of her collarbone
The feel of her neck
She’s a woman
Beautifully
Beautiful woman
Is what she is to me
Appearance is only skin deep
And that’s not where their secret lies
Look into her heart and you’ll see
It’s not hard to recognize
I say
It’s the flow of her spirit
The wave of her hair
The tenderness in her ear
The love in her stare
She’s a woman
Beautifully
Beautiful woman
Is what she is to me
You feel her presence
When she walks in the door
And upon her exit
She leaves you wanting for more
She makes the temperature fall
Or maybe she makes it rise
And you still wonder why
But I realize
It’s the small in her back
The thick in her hips
The smooth of her tongue
The full in her lips
She’s a woman
Beautifully
Beautiful women
Is what they all are to me

rainy July days

It’s like rainy July days
When it’s supposed to be hot outside
Like my smoldering insides
Turning upsides down
Its like gravity and I can’t escape it
Pulling me in several different directions
It embodies perfection
Our undeniable connection
I live to lie in her moments
It’s like
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
An eight dimensional octagon
Stone Hinge
Ancient Egyptian Pyramids
Hiero-gly-phics
All the beautiful things I can’t even begin to fathom
Random like
Twilight nova rays
Beyond remote Milky ways
Rainy July days
When it’s supposed to be hot outside
It sizzles like Mojave Desert heat
Blazing trails onto bed sheets
With the balls of her feet
In the smalls of my back
I leave the window crack
To listen to the rain outside

Pouring out what’s left of our souls
Into the Earth until it grows
Us into a forever constant
And I love to lay in it’s remnants
Where recollections of pillow prints laced with her scent
Still dwell beside me
Inside me festers the fruits of our labor
Indescribable behavior
Kissing places below the navel
My emotions unstable
And it’s got me doing things I said I’d never do
Things inconceivable
Like moonlight skylines 50 different shades of blue
When I can only imagine a tone or two
Cause it’s beyond my comprehension
It’s………..astonishing
It’s………..anointing
It’s………..brilliant
It’s………..peaceful
It’s………… love
And it’s like
Rainy July days
When it’s supposed to be hot outside
Like my smoldering insides
Turning upsides down
Its like gravity and I can’t escape it
It makes it the bond in which we connect
It's undeniable, it's unexplainable, it’s perfect
And It makes her perfect

My Prayer

Dear GOD,
Thank you for spending time every day wih me
Keeping me safe LORD at night you lay with me
On my knees you pray with me
You've never done away with me
Heavenly father I'll go to any measure to make sure you stay with me
You are my savior
You love me sometimes despite my behavior
LORD I need you in my life my soul craves ya
You blessed me and my neighbor
I know I have your favor
It's through you heavenly father that all things are able
It's through you they are possible
That's why I preach your gospel
I can't help myself LORD it's in my soul I gots to
And with every breathe I won't stop
I give you the respect that's proper
I have order in my life LORD and your are on top
You are the head that I claim
I lift up and glorify your name
And through praise and worship I know for me you'll do the same
Cause you give me my blessings when the time does come
I work by your schedule, It's thy will be done
And I am thankful LORD for everything that you give to me
And I give you the credit for my every single victory
You have lifted me
I put my hands in the air
Praise your name and feel better, cause I know that you're there
You have cleansed my soul LORD, and truly salvaged me
And I'm saved because I know what happened back there on Calvary
You sent your your only begotten SON to die for my every sin
And for that I thank you in JESUS name.....may the people of GOD say Amen

Gotham City

(sing chorus)
City of justice, City of love
City of peace for every one of us
We all need it
Can't live without it
Gotham city........
The city where
Love is replaced by mean mugs
And the only hugs and shoulder shrugs
Are given when catz embrace slugs
White gloves are used often
To carry coffins
Of black men lost in
The city
Gotham city
Where the streets show no pity
Plenty lost lives and souls empty
Down street drains
Flooding jail cells like hurricanes
Cocaine and street fame
Keep cats locked to the game
Nines and glock 22's to the brain
Claim the young brothas
Caught in the hustle
Where black men just as well cut cha
Than luv ya
The city where crooked cops pollute city blocks
The absence of Pops
Lead to the street hustlin and selling rocks
Can't stop
Won't stop
Living by the code of the streets
A man's worth measured by the number of gold and platinum teeth
Beat by the system, a victim
Of Willie Lynch......ism
No longer hanging from ever greens and oaks
But from marijuana plants and dope
Mind full of no hope
Can't cope with the idea of being broke
Thoughts clouded by weed smoke
Morals and family values are a joke
In the city
Where social acceptance is the only goal
Tight whips and clothes come before saving souls
Beautiful sistas are bitches and hoes
Slammed like car does
Stepped on like floes
Once descendents of Kings and Queens
Now dealers and crack feens
All behind that bling bling
Where's my commissioner Gordon or Batman
Streets ruled by the gatman
AKA the Blackman
Goblin up the youth like pacman
And the same catz who do these crimes
Morn the deaths at second lines
Trying
To imitate the catz that spit rhymes
And they don't realize
It's just lines
Said inside
Of studio booths
And the truth
Is those boyz would probably run
Before the draw heat and shoot
But they sell that crap to our youth
To pollute their minds against hard work
And doing what I gotta do
Justifies the hurt
They create
And is worth
One's fate
Dead or in jail
No parole, no bail
Forced to find GOD within the confines of a cell
Where the glitch in the system has failed
Making true what Willie Lynch said back in 1712
We don't have to beat them any more
Use their fear, distrust, and envy against them
Pitch the young niggaz against the old niggaz
The light skin niggaz against the dark skin niggaz
Make them envious of each other's social status
And it will forever keep their minds locked in bondage
And well in check
And that's why we still wear chains around our neck
Value money with a tight grip
Put so much emphasis on having the tightest whip
Trip when someone has something better than us
So we rob, steal and kill using our guns to bust
In the city
(sing chorus)
City of justice, City of love
City of peace for every one of us
We all need it
Can't live without it
New Orleans city............

Sometimes

Sometimes I sit down to write

but the light

is never just right

or I'm not in the mood

don't quite have a taste for food

or i'm just not moved

so i just sit

pen in my finger tips

words flowing from my lips

but seem to slip

from the page

the blind rage

in my heart never makes the stage

so many thoughts caged in my head

it makes my noggin swell

they say good intentions pave the way to hell

so i'm force feeding my hunger

and i no longer

just sit down to write

cause the light

is never just right

or I'm not in the mood

don't quite have a taste for food

or I'm just not moved

not by love not by hate

not destiny or faith

no joy

no pain

no sunshine or rain

can leave traces of ink stain

on white plain

recycled tree trunks

so many thoughts junked

and forgot

those two cats from Watts

can't collect it all

and Kanye can't

remix

this hit

when it all falls

when the last curtain calls

when i'm all alone

sitting

writing

thinking

trying to capture my feelings

soul healing

from life's experiences

from this world stealing

my joy like Ocean's eleven

but I still recognize GOD

as if I could write my way to heaven

he lives in my dreams

all one and seven

trying to unlock the cavern that they are all kept in

so here I am at the biggest gun fight in my life

and tonight

I don't even have a knife

can't us my hands cause

they tied behind my back too tight

and how the f#$k am I supposed to write

when depression has raped my sight

struggle has me too tired to fight

and every time I sit down
the light
is never just right
or I'm not in the mood
don't quite have a taste for food
or i'm just not moved

Always Writing

I am always writing
Always reciting
Fighting my thoughts, trying to produce the perfect line
To compliment the perfect rhyme
That generates portraits and sublime………..
Emotions
That motion
Others to see visions
Making incisions
Into your thought process, regress your worldly views
To a place where objects no longer have color but different hues
Where the sky is no longer just an assortment of blues
It becomes a vast horizon of endless possibilities
Translated through metaphors and similes
Clouds become stepping stones to stars
And no matter what your dreams are
They are never too far
Just a line or two away
And words don’t just say
But they mimic how you feel
And experiences become almost surreal
Taking you to a place where ignorance is pure bliss
A place where a kiss is never just a kiss
A hug never just a hug
And love……….is never just love
Love becomes like a field of jasmine and clover
Love becomes that first kiss replayed over and over
Love is as high as a mountain’s peak or as unreachable as the ocean deep
Love is breathe taking sometimes to heartfelt to speak…….
But easy to write
And words in black and white
Become expressions of life
My thoughts twirl in my head like Milky Way galaxies
Where dry ass realities
Are exposed to things unseen and become new found dreams
Like those of Dr. King
They allow us to achieve even if by any means
And it seems
Like I am always pushing my pen
And maybe something I inscribe
Will help the movement begin
Words that I compose
May be those
That lights a fire under enough toes
To spark movements
Or maybe just be for some one’s amusement
Either way my pen just keeps moving
Using
The language of Webster to confess
And translate the Morse Code the beating in my chest
Is trying to express
With every breathe
With every bit of energy I have left
As long as I have life
I will always continue to write

African Son

I HEAR THE BEAT OF A MILLION DRUMS,
THAT BEAT LIKE THE FEET OF A MILLION STALLIONS,
THAT RUN TIL THEIR DONE IN THE ARFICAN SUN
I AM THE AFRICAN SON
THE AFRICAN DE-SCEN-DON
A FATHER TO MY SON,
MY FATHER’S SON,
BUT A SERVANT TO MY QUEEN AND THE MOST HIGH,
AND WITH THE TIGER IN MY EYE, MY WILL TO SURVIVE,
MY DRIVE WON’T EVER LET ME DIE
ONLY THE STRONG ARE DONE WRONG,
AND THAT’S WHEN THE PRIDE INSIDE DECIDES TO NO LONGER HIDE,
IT TREADS FROM THE OCEAN DEEP TO THE SHORE TO RISE
AND HERE I STAND, A MAN
SHHHHHHHHHHH!
CAN YOU HEAR IT?
THE DRUMS
THEY MAKE MY HEART THUMP LIKE A MILLION PUMPS THAT PUMP
THE FUEL THAT FIRES MY DESIRE,
AND MY PASSION AND STRENGTH BURNS THE BLAZE HIGHER,
MY STRUGGLE AND DETERMINATION MAKE SURE I NEVER TIRE,
BECAUSE LIKE THE AFRICAN SUN I WILL NEVER RETIRE,
JUST BURN BRIGHTER
PAIN IS MY FATHER AND STRUGGLE IS MY MOTHER,
BUT MOVEMENT IS MY SISTER AND CHANGE IS BROTHER,
THANK GOD FOR MY SISTER BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT I LOVE HER
SHE IS THE BECON OF LIGHT BESIDE HIM IN THE WATER,
SHE IS THE AFRICAN DAUGHTER
BUT I AM THE AFRICAN SON,
STRONG AS THE FEET OF A MILLION STALLIONS,
RYTHMIC LIKE THE BEAT OF A MILLION DRUMS
I’LL NEVER BE A VIC-TIM AND THE SYS-TEM WON’T GET ME,
AND I’LL STAND TALL, A MAN WHEN THEY HIT ME
BECAUSE I’VE BEEN KICKED, I’VE BEEN KNOCKED DOWN,
BUT I’LL NEVER BE WHIPPED AND THEY CAN’T LOCK DOWN
THE PROFOUND BEING THAT I AM, NO ONE CAN,
AND HERE I STILL STAND A MAN
THE AFRICAN SON
THE FORGOTTEN BEING,
SO IT SEEMS
THE LIGHT GLEEMS AND PEAKS MY BROW,
IT ALLOWS ME TO REMEMBER YESTERDAY BUT LIVE FOR NOW
NO REASON CAN HOLD ME BACK
BECAUSE I REMEMBER THE BROKEN BACKS,
AND THEY WONT ALLOW ME TO DO THAT
THE WORK FROM MOTHERS BACK, MY FATHERS BACK,
MY FATHER’S SON’S BACK AS HE HANG ON THAT CROSS,
HE PAID THE ULTIMATE COST SO I WOULDN’T BE LOST
AND I’M NOT
THE BRIGHT AFRICAN SON GUIDES ME EVERY DAY,
AS IT PEAKS THE DARKNESS EACH MORNING, IT PAVES THE WAY
I AM THE AFRICAN SON
AND THE STRENGTH OF A MILLION MEN MARCH IN MY HEART,
AND THE STRENGTH OF A MILLION SINS CAN’T TEAR ME APART,
CAUSE THE STRENGTH OF A MILLION HYMMS RAIN MY HEART,
AND I REALIZE THE POWER PRODUCED BY THOUGHT
THOUGHTS SPARK THE INSPIRATTION THAT GREAT CREATIONS
ARE MADE OF
A THOUGHT SPARKED MY CREATION THAT INSPIRATION
WAS LOVE
THE AFRICAN SON WAS BORN
I WAS BORN
FORMED IN MY FATHER’S IMAGE NURSED BY MY MOTHER’S BREAST
A STUDENT OF HIS WORD FROM MY FIRST TO MY LAST BREATH
THIS PAST TEST HAS LEFT MY CHEST POUNDING
BUT I HEAR THE DRUMS SOUNDING
AND I SEE THE STALLIONS ROUNDING
THE CORNER
AND THAT LETS ME KNOW THE AFRICAN SON WILL RISE
IN THE MORNING
EVERY MORNING
I HEAR THE BEAT OF A MILLION DRUMS,
THAT BEAT LIKE THE FEET OF A MILLION STALLIONS,
THAT RUN TIL THEIR DONE IN THE ARFICAN SUN
I AM THE AFRICAN SON

What You Are To Me

NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY
I JUST CAN’T DENY
WHAT’S INSIDE MY HEART, MY MIND
WHAT GOES ON IN THE SPACE BEHIND MY EYES
I REALIZE THAT FOREVER YOU AND I WILL BE INTERTWINED
BONDED FOR LIFE OUR SOULS ARE TIED
I ASK MY SELF OVER AND OVER….WHY
HOW COULD THIS BE?
THE ANSWER IS VERY SIMPLE
IT’S BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU ARE TO ME.
YOU ARE MY CALM IN THE STORM
YOU ARE MY PEACE
YOU ARE MY EARLY MORNING SUNRISE
YOU ARE MY EAST
YOU ARE MY SERENITY
IT’S WITH YOU MY SUN SETS
YOU ARE MY PIECE OF MIND
YOU ARE MY WEST
YOU UPLIFT MY SPIRIT
IT’S WITH YOU I’M AT MY BEST
YOU ARE THE FEELING I CALL MY HEART
WHICH POUNDS INSIDE MY CHEST
YOU ARE MY INSPIRATION
THE REASON WHY I WRITE
YOU ARE THE NERVE THAT GIVES ME STRENGTH
TO GET UP AND RECITE
YOU ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF MY BUILDING
YOU KEEP MY FOUNDATION TIGHT
YOU ARE THE CELESTIAL BODIES IN THE SKY
THAT ILLUMINATE MY NIGHT
YOU ARE THE REASON I REST SO EASY AT NIGHT
THE REASON WHY I SLEEP
SO I CAN HAVE ENOUGH TO GET UP IN THE MORNING
AND FULLFILL YOUR EVER NEED
YOU ARE THE REASON WHY I WORK
BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS
I WOULD GIVE MY PAYCHECK IN A MOMENTS NOTICE
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME THEN HERE IT IS
YOU ARE THE REASON THE GRASS GROWS
THE REASON A HUMMING BIRD SINGS
YOU ARE THE GENTLE BREEZE SO EASY AND FREE
YOU ARE THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS
YOU ARE THE REASON MY HEART IS UNLOCKED
YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HOLDS THE KEYS
YOU ARE THE AIR MY LUNGS CONSUME
YOU ARE THE REASON THAT I BREATHE
YOU ARE THE REASON THE ROSES BLOOM
THE REASON THEY SMELL SO SWEET
SO AS YOU WALK THROUGH LIFE’S JOURNEY
I CAN THROW PEDALS AT YOUR FEET
WE ARE LIKE EINSTIEN’S LAW OF RELATIVITY
YOU ARE THE E TO MY MC SQUARED
IT’S COMPLEXED YET SO SIMPLE
THE SYMBOL IN THE MIDDLE IS HOW WE’RE COMPARED
AS EQUALS, BUT I LOVE YOU MORE.
I LOVE MORE THAN THE NIGHT SKY HAS STARS
MORE THAN THERE ARE MILES FROM PLUTO TO MARS
AND BACK AGAIN
I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE MEASURED DISTANCE
FROM TO HERE THE HORIZON……….UNLIMITED
I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE NUMBER OF TEARS
IT WOULD TAKE TO FILL THE OCEAN
AND I DON’T MEAN JUST ONE
I MEAN ALL SEVEN OF THEM
I LOVE YOU SO, SO MUCH THAT YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE
NOT EVEN YOU CAN MESS UP THE LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU INSIDE OF ME
AND STILL I WILL TRY TO LOVE YOU MORE