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(Intro – A.J. Throwback)
Man
It’s crazy when I think about it
Couple years ago, I was tryna put this off as long as I possibly could
But I knew as a young boy
I wanted this experience
I just never thought it’d be as fun as it is, ya know
Check
(Verse 1 – A.J. Throwback)
Our little healer...welcome to the world
Although some people thought that you would be a girl
And if you were, I would've loved you just the same
But I'm glad I got somebody who will work to keep the fame
‘Cause the Gs in your name ain't for "goblin" or "gremlin"
There's meaning to your name, you are Godly and gifted
A helper, a harbinger that God truly saves
And for you to make it here beyond circumstance is brave
You're the rave that so many people prayed for
One of the reasons me and Mom are in this game for
And I don’t know who you'll become, but you're primed to be great
Spoke life into your bones before your eyes were awake
To think about you following my steps is kinda ill
When the world becomes an oven, you’re the coolest kind of chill
It's real, you're more than just a lyric that I write
You're a spirit full of fight, you're our miracle of life
(Chorus – Michael Jahlil)
Took a little time for you to get here
So please, won't you stay a while
So I can marvel at the way you grow
Thank God how He made you smile
Gonna teach you how to be a man
Have fun and let you be a boy
With every part of my spirit
You're my heart, you're my lyric, you're my joy
(Verse 2 – A.J. Throwback)
You should've had a sister or a brother
Who very well could've made a difference and discover
Some necessary cures, maybe even be a poet
But I had 'em wearing cotton, taking trips to the Potomac
It's code for the cold and I know it
But Poppa gave his soul to them rollers and I wasn't tryna blow it
Of bringing him or her into a home that wasn't focused
On the bigger goal of fitting into roles and devoting
All your love…not to mention I was frightened
Between your Pop-Pop and I, there'd be too much a likeness
And for whatever reason, either speeches getting heated
Or cheating, my inner fears were leaning on me leaving
But the home that you entered, departure's not a choice
And how can it be when love is emanating from your voice
My boy, you're more than just a lyric that I write
You're a spirit full of fight, you're our miracle of life
(Chorus – Michael Jahlil)
Took a little time for you to get here
So please, won't you stay a while
So I can marvel at the way you grow
Thank God how He made you smile
Gonna teach you how to be a man
Have fun and let you be a boy
With every part of my spirit
You're my heart, you're my lyric, you're my joy
(Verse 3 – A.J. Throwback)
I often thought (what you think) when I'd hear about you coming
I'd get a noose's worth full of knots in my stomach
Look up like, "Come on, You really think I'm able?
I barely keep enough for me and Beeb on the table
And Lord, I ain't perfect, how can I be a model?
I'm scared I'll either be too hard on him or I'll coddle
Try to get him from the bottle to the spoon rather soon
Potty train him all wrong and his confidence is doomed
And what about my music? Am I selling my equipment?
I'll rarely have the time when he's crawling 'round and limping
I don't wanna resent him, he never asked to be"
Then He said, "Joe, whatever passes Me has to be
Please believe…I wouldn't take you through the stressing
If I didn't have a solid plan to take you to the blessing
I chose you to father him, and though you didn't father them
I molded you a certain way so you could potter him"
So Jay, if I come across like a Derringer
Shooting through your spirit, it's completely out of character
‘Cause as much as you're in training, so am I
And neither one of us succeeds if your leader doesn't try
I'll mess up for sure, I'll screw up for certain
But I'll bear the brunt of pain if it means you're rarely hurting
You're worth it, you’re more than just a lyric that I write
You're a spirit full of fight, you're our miracle of life, for life
(Chorus – Michael Jahlil)
Took a little time for you to get here
So please, won't you stay a while
So I can marvel at the way you grow
Thank God how He made you smile
Gonna teach you how to be a man
Have fun and let you be a boy
With every part of my spirit
You're my heart, you're my lyric, you're my joy
You’re my joy
You’re my joy
Yeah
Every part of my lyric, you’re my joy
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2. |
Rolling Blackout
04:38
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(Verse)
'86, too adjacent to the places where his kids would hang
Fixin’ in the kitchen, but no pork and beans or chicken franks
Spoon of doom, trouble when it would bubble
Subconscious attacks that would later leave ‘em befuddled
A family full of thinkers, but drinkers between the blinking
But blinking came as a luxury, bubbly had 'em sinking
As their lids started fading, memories would evade 'em
Then wonder why black and whites had to handcuff and degrade 'em
Flip the pages...past stints in the cages
Mad flippant in haste when that bag of liquor enraged
Skip the patience...or when feds performing searches
Nickels and quarters surged 'cause he couldn't ignore the urges
But who's perfect? Word is not even a nerd
Whose lane was with the D.A.R.E. campaign, could abstain
But a ten-year-old lame with brains just ain't the same
At 20, you French kiss Mary Jane and go insane
How insane...well...try mirages of construction fences
Or arcades with flashing lights are mucking up your senses
You hearing Ben Franklin say, "You got me and you're happy
But coming at you is a Blood, stop your staring at me..."
Moving train, brain trying to make a prison break
T-top skull, letting the air in, thinking, "This is great..."
Ate seven half smokes, laugh, joke
Smashed then you crash until two half past, awoke
Months later, your vice morphs into liquid courage
It's the 20th drink and your folks are getting nervous
They try to feed you some pizza to soak the spirits up
You and that slice ain't agreeing, you get to fisticuffs
You take a hit to gut
You can't even stand, so your mans gotta pick you up, made you sicker, spitting up
Your girl caught it on her kicks, still spiffed you up
Sicked your duck, now you sittin' stuck like, "This is love..."
Let's pick it up, circa June 6th, spliff it up
Game One, NBA Finals: "Wow, the Sixers won?"
Delayed reaction, stated the day after
You watched the whole game, but was blazed in a daze, captured
It's all vague, piecing the recollection
Ebony shades your brain, can't see it in retrospective
Light bulb flickers, you seeing that late check
And instantly remember, "Dang, I forgot to pay the electric!”
36 hours is all it takes
Spend too much time in the dark, no telling if you're awake
Whether you're half baked or toasted
Now you're blinded and debating your approaches
Whether it’s bone crusher Saturday on empty stomachs
The only one that knows the way back to the room while all your visitors are simply flummoxed
You give directions, simply rubbish
Just another picker upper, spitting up enough vomit for like fifty drunkards
Your mailbox flooded with late notices
Fine print simply says, "You ain't focused, kid..."
But you forget 'em, shove 'em off in a corner
Next to the Worker's Testament tucked away in that drawer
You hear Jesus, but listened to Johnny Walker
Only one interaction, too rowdy a talker
Spoke the loudest silence while he covered your eyes
Then you rise and reply, "She said we did it...where was I then?"
Bachelor party for younger brother
You're four drinks in, but they pouring you up another
While your brain bubble utters, "I get it...when in Rome
I told 'em that I would drive, so how I'ma get him home?"
Now the liquor gets to thinking for you: "Pick up them keys, Joe
You've done it plenty already? It's a breeze, Joe..."
But it's different when family fastens the buckle
Their life is now in your hands, if you crash, imagine the trouble, bruh, you
Better hope that that accident snubs you out first
'Cause if it doesn't, your mother will cuss you out worse
But in an instant, you're sitting in your Maxima
Scratching up your head, but been a while since you had eczema
"Oh crap, which way did I take him home?
295 or the Douglass?" You struggle to make it known
But tucked away in that zone, you see that paper and phone
Get your lights back, even if plans of payments are gone
You're praising God harder than Baptists and Resurrection
Praying that He forgives you for all your dreaded rejections
Could've been dead, could've been messed up, bad batch of the sticky
Involuntarily laughing, you're scratching, but took a bath, dig me?
Making all these installments via confession
Your blurred vision's restored, see your reflection
You come to...then you're still kinda perplexed
“Why's this operator so busy tryna to whine bout her ex?"
This ain't the company you meant to dial, dumb-dumb
You pressed 7-0-3 thinking it's 9-1-1
(Outro)
Son...I'm not playing when I tell you I totally blacked out
Like...I drove all the way home that night
And I couldn't remember a thing
I just thank God that everything ain't go black for good
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A.J. Throwback Silver Spring, Maryland
D.C.-born artist A.J. Throwback has produced for The Healacist, Ransom Rellic, Klutch Da Rapper, BRIXX, DH MVJOR, Lady Cee, Debo Wayne, Mic Mountain, Anaymous Touch & Night Train 357. He has released two mixtapes, two beat tapes, two EPs, and was creator, DJ & co-host w/ Ramsey Brown of 'BARS'. In 2024, he released two R&B instrumental singles, "Something New" & "Fluent in My Language". ... more
A.J. Throwback recommends:
God Hates Gucci
by Let The Dirt Say Amen
Let The Dirt Say Amen (aka Tim Hicks from The Cornel West Theory) is EASILY one of my favorite hip hop artists from D.C. and this is evidence--not to mention it should be in the AOTY convo for 2021.
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A Tale of Two Masters (Deluxe Edition)
by Prowess The Testament
Another one of the most talented lyricists from D.C., the amount of thought, purpose and artistry Prowess the Testament puts behind this album is unmatched. She's simply rapping on another level.
go to album
The combo of Nathaniel Star on vocals and Vintage (on 90 percent of the production) is FLAWLESS. Simply put, this is my favorite R&B/soul album from any artist in the last decade.
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