Nothing at last is sacred. Oh how the great have fallen
What have I done to myself? It`s been way too long!
We need to reacquaint. Things are different now, I ain`t the same man I was
Hi, how are you doing? I`m new and improved with even less to lose
A collector`s edition version of a virgin drink ordering cocktail teller
Gone way wrong...to the point of no rerun
Over the edge and burned out before I even got my shine
Holding my head in pure doubt
Out of insight. Out of mindful things to shout or rhyme about
Yeah, I know I was supposed to change the world and all
But it looks like the world got to me first
If you can`t beat em, join `em..
Then hurt the team by beating yourself
I`m different...in a different way
The only thing that stays the same is change
While people claim their states, I state my claims
Sage Francis made a name for himself
For the record my mother calls me Paul
Which was my father`s middle name, but Ray
Stepped in and raised me
It`s crazy, but this is a game I play
called Shut the fuck uuuuuuup!
Don`t bother calling me at all because I`m not answering
Is that a voice-mail-bomb-threat or a broken promise I`m mishandling?
Gambling away my money issues, somebody owes me big bucks
My career depends on explosive vacuums sucking me in and blowing me up
Poetry struck a nerve in the listenership
Spoken word then got `em all interested
Now I don`t have to serve ice cream to little kids
I serve emcees who think they`re rippin` it
And poets who think they`re somehow significant
Meanwhile both are loud and ignorant
And don`t know how to speak to a crowd in an intimate environment
I am different. In a different way
The only thing that stays the same is change
While people claim their states, I state my claims
I`m a quiet natured player who outwardly hates the game
I shake what I got, which is a jingly pocket
I do my mini-market research and make noise for myself when I walk quick
I talk with authority while I question it
When I ask, Who am I? I`m left guessing
But if you`re a poor man`s version of ANYTHING
It is your self-perception
Growing up in a microscopic town prepared me well for this petrii dish
Where talk is invisible to the eye and they hate the guy they`re speaking with
I`m a real vegetarian: No chicken...not even fish
I`m a real underground rapper
My tape quality sucks, my records are warped and my CD skips
Lady Luck is a greedy bitch with itchy palms and a case of the gimmes
I`ve got an outtie if she`s got an inny, I`ll clean her pipes and then sweep her chimney
The beat that`s in me is polyrhythmic. You`re only 60 heart beats per minute
A human second-hand-me-down-to-earth-guy who will thriftshop-lift his hiphop
I may be getting too big for my britches
but I paid my dues when the cost was climbing
If I burn too many bridges I`ll never get off of this awful island
As long as I`ve been rhyming, they only started listening
Because for a while they didn`t like how
I wouldn`t smoke the pot that I was pissin` in
Plus I had no dead homies to pour out the liquor I don`t drink
You can flash your shiny objects in front of my eyes and I won`t blink
I`m motherfucking different. Oooohhhh yyyeeeaaahhhh..
I`m motherfucking different. Oooohhhh yyyeeeaaahhhh..
