Death is just an illusion Here to cause us confusion I’d probably have fooled the world If it wasn’t for this here music Change is the only constant I wear the reaper to remind me that today’s state of peace could be Tomorrow’s conflict Love is very conditional When it’s coming from people Give somebody the world And they say they not feeling equal Play them my magnum opus They’ll find a way to hate it Like, “The beat is that fucking fire, but his style is overrated.” Yeah, well the school that I came from And the one that y’all are from evidently ain’t the same one When I was coming up, we had rules and laws To determine whether you was a fuckin Fool or not You won’t ever catch me Riding in back of a cop car, Double cup lean sippin or spittin Without bars Got my wings out Draped in elaborate gown, flying high You bitchin that those feathers Weighing you down [Chorus] I’m never gonna be why you want and Keep quiet, I ain’t ever done talking I’m a do my thing when I’m a live Get the most out this bitch before I die Y’all know that I’m free I ain’t ever gonna walk like, talk like... Be something I’m not, for the spot light... I’m so done tryna be perfect I know that’s making you nervous Y’all know that I’m free Don’t put faith in your identity Might be disastrous recipe Thought I had to be what was expected of me But that shy is the biggest enemy All we got is our cojones and convictions Tryna clear the path so we can breath easy—Flonase Been at it before ‘Ye had a rocafella chain Repping whips that’s the same color as mayonnaise Simply put, I thought I had to do it The way that I saw, or be what I heard Or so why was told to me Whether it was on the microphone or at home, or tryna holler for a minute Or just bagging my groceries Now I understand that every construct and standard as a man is outdated And bullshit anyway Gotta do your own thing Gotta do my own thing Trying to keep me the same is asking me to be insane [Chorus]

[James] Even if this sound funny, know that it isn't Ever since I envisioned myself participating in hedonism I isn't Here in the present. I'm representing losing the vision Instead of talking to God with the pencil, I'm chasing women In need of perspecitve There's a hole that's growing inside of the deepest recesses and I need to respect it 'cause no matter how many c-notes, dro, "hoes," and liquor I cast into it The influence is that it's getting bigger Music and writing is all that I have exciting enough to ignite the feeling That this emptiness is an illusion Like the feeling of separation from god and everything else that's in the universe as a symptom of being human Go 'head and prove it Tell me that you can do it Show me you have an answer to everything that's elusive I wanna be lucid But instead I have a head, two arms, two legs, and a heartbeat that's so intrusive [Chorus] [x2] Who ever told us that we live in a man's world is lying (Why?) 'Cause all my favorite men are dying with this hole deep inside their heart This dark soul that we have tearin' us apart (Now where we at?) [Paradigm] I never claimed to be a saint, true breeze New me, awaken light of a new steeze Grew seeds in my garden. New trees Cool breeze, smokin' papers: Blue cheese I'm tryna hit'em like a therapist Feed my spirit with greenery. No spinach or asparagus You African, I'm African American This is food for thought, and half of it is perishing We gotta fight to keep our heritage Tryna find me in this chaos. Feel like a terrorist in my own body Nature's homebody Let the truth be told, it's Godly I look for ways to expand my mind Set trends I can stand behind Transcend through the hands of time Redefine all of man's designs Can't align 'cause I am divine It's Paradigm, the jovian one I write rhymes to a jovian drum and I shine like a jovian sun Maybe that's why I feel so connected to the cosmos So much further than Chicago One time for my sisters and brothers One time for my single mothers We all hail from the motherland Stolen but never lost, from the palms of our mother's hands Gotta hold it together like rubber bands Feeling like I'm hella out of place Like I'm from outer space Without a trace of a history for me to explore Open doors but they keep closing Hope for more but I keep knowing Things only get worse before improvement I make music Feeling like I can't do it God, I can't do it And I don't mean to drag her name through it Knocked out, but then I came to it I'm wide awake [Chorus x2]

Abuse at home, ran away, there's abuse alone The doctor said I got fetal alcohol syndrome and I don't know what that means, really But when you compare it to the rest of my life, it only seems silly I was young when introduced to this line of work He used to drug me and beat me and make me sell the skirt Sixteen with a gun in my purse Rape is a daily occurrence I guess I'm lucky that they don't do me worse One night I get a job with Johnny the john He picked me up near the Sonic We get back to his apartment And I notice he got a gun laying in his closet Tell him I don't wanna do this no more, I'm not an object He reaches under the bed What if he grabbing a gun? What if I'm about to be dead? I'm filled with panic I grab my purse Pull out my weapon, let off a round Grab his wallet and now I'm doing life I'm Cyntoia Brown [Chorus] Is it justice or is it just us? (x3) We got a system that's broken, we need a new one Can someone please explain to me why there's an IQ cap On people training in academy to wear that badge? I don't know what to think anymore. I'ms ick of the news All it does is remind me I'm lucky I wasn't you Tired of feeling there ain't shit I can do I thought that azurite would help somebody out when I wrote it By shedding light on certain situations Tell me what happened, tell me it made a difference The system still failing people, so yeah, I know it didn't There's still unarmed black people that's getting slain Even if you not black, you still might get the same Family in Puerto Rico suffered from the hurricane Trump saying they should be helping themselves, pointing blame Mr. President, there's slavery in Libya You more focused on playing golf. Are you serious? Sometimes I hate this world I'd make a difference if I was famous but right now I'm nameless and I'm ashamed of being human I guess the Truman show had it right Venture out in the world and hit a wall, they call it life What is the price that our leader would need To get in touch with reality and abandon actions rooted in greed? And ain't it funny that all the countries you consider a shithole Are full of citizens with dark skin Are we lost in an alternate dimension where reading, comprehension, and science have been abandoned and replaced with defiance you define with, either the bible or the dollar? We're passengers in an airplane with a sleeping pilot I'm sick of violence but I wake up and I wanna riot You say you pray to Jesus You act like you unaware who Jesus Christ is And my friends are making announcements that they gonna start a family Have a little boy or girl I'm happy for them but personally, I couldn't see myself bringing another innocent life into this world that's fucked up [Chorus]

If eternal life appealing to me I wanna die on tv I don’t want them to do me how they did to Prince Be I wanna die on TV This is the ticket This is our reason for living The reason that man created television If it ain’t on the news then it’s superstition I wanna die on tv Hurry! Put it on, it’s happening right now Throw the clicker out and keep your voice down Only had the doctor talk to me so he could tell me if he like the choreography Go to channel 3 Go to channel 6 Twenty-seven if it’s satellite dish We got a camera for what’s on my wrist I wanna die on tv Death broadcast: that is success No live stream? Then it’s suspect Have them bury me with a fat check If someone retrieve it Then they get to keep it Highest rating of the evening, guaranteed Post mortem golden globe nominee Selfies with my corpse Diamonds on the floor No tears allowed I ain’t really gone Comment on my page Like one of my songs Free syrup if you wanna die with me Bring some money, they gon’ auction my kidney Merch table: bet it’s gonna sell out Sex tape will be the first one to leave If you emotional, there is a fee Apathetic people get in for free Did I mention that I need to die on TV? It’s the only rational decision for me ‘Cause when I was breathing no one listened to me Yeah When you make your life about a singular thing Are you dying anytime it isn’t in reach? Do you numb yourself? Me too “Don’t ask no questions, just follow directions!” This is what modern society stresses Your life is just as valuable as your death is Or if you got a necklace Family fortune and handle it reckless Do free advertising for a corporation When your people suffer, they keep masturbating I wanna die on tv How else can an artist who carries a message expect it to be in your reach? If I for some reason would be dead tomorrow then all this music wouldn’t be A thing of consequence to anybody It’d be probably buried underneath All the sponsorships And the million views And the algorithms that they said would help How’s it possible that I’m independent And I still feel like I’m getting shelved? Well if that’s the case...

I was supposed to be the greatest I was supposed to be the one to change your life any time I hit the stage The pressure that I put on myself is outrageous Nowadays I ain't ever have a lot of leeway Too young to impress y'all with the bars, too old for the teenage Everybody wanna tell me something new None of'em are people I should listen to I was raised up worried about the craft Only kraft they cooking is the single. So American Rap game disparaging I'm not the same as when I came in it 30 now and I feel like there's shame in it Use too many words for entertainment Yea yea yea yea I feel like I'm getting too old, yeah Maybe I missed the lil boat, yeah It's too late for James to get known, yeah What happened to bearing your soul? Yeah Always felt it's out of my control, yeah But I got the heart of a soldier A friend of mine used to ask At what point do I hang it up if I'm still working on the task Eight years ago, I done told her ass 8 years But when it feels like your success has an expiration date It's hard to stay here [Chorus] (x2) See that must be nice That must be nice (x3) When you're feeling in control of your life That must be nice (x4) When you never had to sacrifice

Dressed in all black, mourning my old ways Good morning I gotta get up, get out and go get something This pressure is weighing on me dramatically My own personal gravity But coal never became a diamond Fragilely Actually, I’d been born inside of a vice already My skull was tight enough to make noodle kind of spaghetti Them plates were locked in like Desk drawers of a deacon With fresh drawers and a weekend of freakin a Puerto Rican somewhere in Belize My parents begging on knees I’d emerge from the surgery not a casualty Thank god for the hands of the man operating Can’t afford to take a single day casually So despite all of the doors that I had shut in my face And all the setbacks that made me good at running in place If we get to decide who we wanna be everyday I’m deciding I need some self-love, compassion and faith [Chorus] We survived. Still Alive (x8) I swear that God told me This dark cloud got a silver lining waiting on me. Think about everything that you’ve been through and take a bow now The fact you still here means you refused to bow down Even when all of the voices are in surround sound, you found a way And hopefully none of them are as loud now You might be going through something nobody understands That don’t invalidate all of the feelings that you have The fact is, being a human being is tiring So if you listening to this song, know you inspire me to be my best and reach new heights You might be facing something that is threatening your life Or looking in the mirror tryna find something you like Regardless of what you are going through don’t be too light about the fact that Up to this point you have survived You never folded Take a deep breathe and realize that it’s a special moment This song is for you and I hope that it gives you some enjoyment I’m proud of you and together I know well keep on going [Chorus]

Fuck like a king, Rap like a priest, tired of seeing blacks getting wacked by police. tired of seeing facts getting scratched on repeat. rappers can’t rap. singers can’t sing. contact pac with a ouija board. have him lick a shot at everybody with a tiki torch. keeping y’all from sleep like the pea in the princess mattress labels making movies all i see is actors. ACTION. how many takes do you need? punching in like they Swiss and they making some cheese. if your skill was proportionate to all of your greed, you’d maybe be as nice as me back when they called me MACHINE. but instead you loosing steam like you came off the stove yous a busta I’m a busta rhyme and give me some mo. flipping the mode. only mode you in is ala with pie. allah told me go tell you to kiss your career goodbye. So if you pray pray mo. talking slick say mo. if your grind is to lie. I suggest you lay low. beard looking all wet like its made of day glow. i ain’t shining from no diamonds this a fucking halo. Mr Master Chief every time he speak its a master piece. straight from the tit. y’all fake as kraft mac and cheese. actually that might be too real for you still. wouldn’t leave y’all the ink that i leave on my will. that ain’t talking about the fresh prince in a pen store. I’m just offended i just wish y’all would care more. challenge yourself for the pussy if you like. you would do anything for it accept actually rhyme. if you can’t if you won’t. doesn’t matter yous a lame. If they still give you the pussy they should really be ashamed. Gold foil the only thing they ever putting on my name. tried to tell y’all if you stick around i aint to blame for your downfall. why you plotting on me I ain’t dead yet. chocha slick as okra we ain’t even been in bed yet. Bet, only rapper who be lining up my chakras. while I’m loading up the pen like when i spit it’s blocka blocka. Big as Shaq. Always on the road, man never hot. cause you iced out. but my heart is an ice box. I would die for this shit cause it’s all that I have. I ain’t in your top 5 cause you never do the math. take a bath, take a shower, take a seat, brush your teeth. In the booth I’m the truth, all you do is spread your cheeks. I be flexing with my words, you be flexing your physique. Ask my mirror who’s the dopest? and myself is all i see. look at you. look at me. I’m the best guaranteed. writing hooks, writing books. if you book me there’s a fee. Joker told me if good at something don’t do it for free. steady working, y’all are free to fall off as you please. If you do then we through, Fuck — fuck a parachute. trying to walk my path Fuck a— fuck a pair of shoes. Candle sticks in the bed room. You ain’t had the clues. phone playing your shit when I hit the fucking snooze. Y’all can be playing with me but I ain’t playing games, gasoline on the bed, if you sleeping then its flames. When she pop that pussy bet she pop it in my name, never worried ‘bout the last all you gotta say is James, HO