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Let's get right to the proceedings this evening
I'm meaning to be a gracious host, I don't wanna be deceiving
But even with the best intentions I'm having
It's hard for me not to slip back into bad habits
Been writing this album my whole life, my baby
It's grown up, it's moving, and I'll be all alone
Life crisis at 30, think I'll get a sports car
Or get a new hobby, one that won't break my heart
I was gonna make some beats but fuck that, I'm just out
Might do a few verses but I'm done with solo
An although I've stumbled a couple occasions
I'm gonna light up one for this celebration
Been casing the joint out to get the best way in
I'm staying, leave my tag, like Meuwl was spraypainting
I'm facing the future, whatever it may hold
Two Two Seven, he blessed me, he laced me, so let's go.
I wanna take you higher, you have to understand
To get to this moment it took everything I had
And now the curtain's opening, the spotlight's on me
A journey of great power and responsibility
Now let it marinate, sink in, otherwise, wild out
Organize, mount up, break something, ride out
One among a million, don't care about my peers
My masterpiece will live on after humans aren't here.
This is ASM fifty, throw my costume away
It's time to grow up and quit playing with my toys
Even tho it brings me joy, I got to just finish
If not, no one else will just get the commitment
I'm sentenced to life with an imagination
That works 24/7, no sign of vacation
It's hard to be grounded when I'm always dreaming
It's hard to be focused when my brain is scheming
On the next new thing that'll bring me excitement
Extend the Kelen "B Hyphen" Conley brand more
I poured over every detail in this album
So excellence can be the only true outcome
Without him they'll see a genius that passed them by
The end of the road but you please do not have to cry
I took this name from the Dynasty album
Soon you'll understand this is more than a title.
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Now everyone wanna be down with the Hyphen
Girls all swoon when I clash with the titans
Enlightening, the masses with great satisfaction
Can't sit still, I'm a man of action
Finally, finally, the Hyphen has returned
All bullshit dies when I'm fully concerned
Any doubt they can learn I'm the best in the world
And rumor even has it, I'm the best in your girl
So what you wanna do, let me guess, prolly nuthin'
You a pussy, you a bitch, my life leaves you wantin'
Jealous and jaded that's how you start your day
And how you fall asleep, what more can I say
I'm set in my ways like NWA
You won't get the effort unless I get my pay
Pretty much perfect in every facet
On my heel shit, consider this a promo package.
When I walk in the place, everything just stops
People go crazy, bout to blow they top
In great form with a pocket full of gwap
Making all the rules, you don't need no cops
And I'm better with bacon when he's on the boards
Reconz squad with a sound so sure
And my jam knock all around the world
x2
Now everyone wanna be down with the Hyphen
Adamantium tucked when I'm ducked down writing
Best at what I do and what I do ain't nice
Cross the wrong way, might ruin your life
So what do you do when the Hyphen come thru?
It doesn't matter what the fuck you gonna do
Always on the move, always with the crew
Always a fan favorite, don't matter who I screw
Whoo! In Parkersburg just for the weekend
Shout out to Anthony, Tricycle rollin'
Strollin', like I seem without a care
Never a dull moment even with no one here
Be prepared for the worst, accept only the best
Accept any challenge then cave in their chest
Talk yo shit and be disrespectful
And never apologize for living out your passion.
Now everyone wanna be down with the Hyphen
Y'all all small prey, call me predator, sharkin'
Harken, back to the days you were free
Cause you have no hope of getting away from me
Team Bring It, don't wing it, leading all the classes
Fuck a motto, this a lifestyle: boots to asses
You the wack and classless, bunch of cheat code hoes
Even in Bo Jacksons, can't compete with the pros
I know, you're looking for a break
Oh for goodness sake, quit crying you fake
This the road I take, you're good I'm better
Yeah you're that dude but I'm that nigga
I'm Michael, you Tito, the comparison you know
I get over, never job, get the Gold, never robbed
Throw the lob and dunk it, take the shot and win it
While you learn the steps, I already done did it.
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There ain't no room for squares here
Mountaintop is the pinnacle original the ritual tho mind over physical
And it's detrimental to know the handshake
Or miss your invite to the annual clam bake
I'm saying that's the kind drug I'm on
And if you wanna try some best bring yo funds
Cause I ain't paying, for you and me to stand out some
Cause rule number 1, I don't mess with bums
I got a lane, carved in stone over years
You can call me nomad cause I have no peers
No tears shed here cause look what it got me
So rude to your face like I work at Pop Copy
Not so cause I don't really harbor no hate
I just show up late looking fresh steal your date
Eat ya steak if you ain't home to try to stop me
I pack a lightsaber so go head son try me.
What you see now ain't available in sto's
I'm pure cut raw yes fresh as snow
Don't hang with no lames I'm my own name brand
And even yo mama wanna be in my band
No room all seats occupied
My Delorean only wants me inside
No room I'm just stating the facts
All you triangle players you can just re lax
Bridging the gap 'tween cliques and social outcasts
Anywhere I go's exactly where the party's at
And if I feel the need to no-show and lay low
Then trust me you ain't getting entrance to my do'
I am not stuck up but you will not bore me
No patience for dumb neverending stories
Whole life's a novel including cliffhangers
Y'all minor characters trying to be plot changers
It's danger to test me my waters never safe
That's like being a superhero wearing a cape
I like my movies Pixar bizarre and involving
I don't call girls baby I simply call em darling
I'm hauling all your chips in cause ya bluffing
You jocks go ahead I'd rather be McLovin
And that's the steez I'm on till the break of dawn
Skip the sidewalk just to walk on your lawn and I'm gone.
Hook
Say old Wu slang just for fun son
Super Tecmo Bowl over Madden son
Kick it in the comic shop for conversation son
Brown liquor is my potna no vodka son
The chief rocka son till the day is done
Pick it up where I left it back at it son
Automatic son Larry Legend type aim
And your girl knows son way she says my name
Nah son who cares about your accolades
Nah son you ain't getting Yankees paid
Nah son a square is a square to me
Nah son the in crowd does not accept keys
There's nothing to it you're trying too hard son
No acting allowed on my cloud son
Matter fact son stop breathing my air
Cause secondhand oxygen is stored over there.
Hook
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4. |
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I met her my first year at college
I was far from a scholar but I had to try to holla
And by holla I mean just speak
Cause one thing about the Hyphen, my game's pretty weak
So anyway, that's when I wore the bandannas
People thought it gang related but I'm not bananas
Wanted to stand out, not trying to play hard
My bandannas matched my clothes, that's my reason, there you are
Here we are, back to the point of it
Yeah she's bad, there's no way I'm gonna pull that
And in fact, she gotta man, and he look like a bitch
But she so infatuated I might as well not exist
So I go off on my own, all alone on campus
First time away from home, and I'm feeling anxious
Then I saw her, girl I used to know from high school
So I ask is it cool if I sit for a few.
How you doing, oh I'm just fine
Just an imaginary player trying to bide time
I'm young and I'm ready, these girls so fly
Wonder how many that I could make mine
The weather's warm and I'm feeling all this sunshine
Love you from the front and love you from behind
Oh, I make you smile, you are too kind
Let me love down and then maybe re-wind.
I was hanging with my high school jump off
Next thing I know, things started to pop off
We were getting hot n heavy, I was 'bout to hit it
Then my roommate interrupted and then she wasn't feeling it
Took her to her dorm feeling so frustrated
As she went inside, another girl came pacing
She said I need some air, you can walk if you wanna
But we need to get some papers cause I got some marijuana
Just my luck, get high and get laid
I laugh now cause what would my mama say
But back to that day, we walked the city for hours
Smoked a couple of j's, in her room after hours
I was about to make a move, it led up to this
Pulled her close to me and went for the kiss
Then she said I gotta be up at 8 AM
You gotta go tonight but we could do this again.
There was one chick, we chilled after dinner
Fooled around in her room, but she didn't want nothing in her
Then she stopped talking to me like I did something wrong
Turns out the whole baseball team all went long
Hypno and Easy were smashing breezies
Kept saying to me, Hyphen it's so easy
Had one girl hit me up late just to talk
Had another girl interested until her ex sulked
Got a booty call on AIM, I was home for the weekend
Got back to campus, she wasn't feeling freaky
Met a girl from Jersey, we were in her room at 3
All she wanted to do is argue Nas & Jay with me
Really it all worked out cause the girl I got now
Would never be with me if those effs went down
But 95's beat just brought up old memories
Of a clumsy ass Hyphen who was always missing pussy.
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5. |
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'Fit jammin', real not imagined
Boy from the Dub made a bonified classic
Beats so savage, yeah he's braggin'
Armed with whatever, he slays the dragon
Hopped on wagon, son caught me taggin'
Said you can ride, better not be slackin'
Never doubt the mackin', hoes he be packing
Big and small he don't care he's tappin'
Ill with the rappin', made a couple classics
Redshift, Blueshift, ya history's lackin'
Verbal assassin, math to the mappin'
COD king, yeah them players are droppin'
White Boy Rodman, could've been rotten
Always wanted more so he wanted better options
And that's my dude, by the way this beat's knockin'
My name's B Hyphen, officially clocked in.
'Fit jammin', everybody dancing
Hey little mama why don't you put your hands up
I'm just saying bruh, you don't gotta do it
But I won't tell if you get stupid
x2
'Fit jammin' on the long train runnin'
Doobie on the sample with the Fruity Loops drummin'
Strokes all diff'rent but by name ain't drummond
So what you talkin' 'bout, I don't know how you comin'
I don't know who you summoned, but you won't see me runnin'
If you're Pac-Man, I Pacquiao no bluffin'
You Mayweather frontin', no money team stuntin'
I stunt on hoes, oh six Joe Budden
I'm in the mood for nothin', 2 outs, no buntin'
I'mma swing for the fence cause I'm trying to start somethin'
Tryna rally the troops, tryna get some runs in
Cause I want Cash Money like Rule, Get the Fortune
Don't want no piece, want the portion
Don't want no Ford, want the Porsche and
All the recognition that come with it, I am that specific, you can ride if you with it!
'Fit jammin' on the everyday grind
Bang it in your headphones when you in line
Spit that shit when you run into a dime
Make that yo' code, live by it all the time
Don't accept no fault, call that design
On yo' Mary J. shit, yuup feeling just fine
Don't take no direction, you know yo' sign
They all hate sour grapes until it's made to wine
When they say they so clutch, put they ass on the line
When they call you a sucka, say you ain't that kind
When they laugh in yo' face, tell them they'll find
You laughing at they ass when they left behind
Nah, fuck that, they don't get a rewind
I've put it down once, one time for your mind
I've dropped some knowledge, don't mean they'll find
They way to the top, don't mean they'll shine cause...
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6. |
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I still wanna be famous, I can't deny that fact
Cause every time it comes back, it still muthafuckin' irks me
Yeah, that's right it hurts me, right down to my soul
Feel like I let down my inner eleven year old
I'm almost 30 years old, been rapping 15 years
You would think I'd have accomplishments instead of being here
And here's not famous, but trust me I'm respected
My opinion not neglected I just can't go get a necklace
Can't hop up on that private jet, hit Vegas for the night
Call some hoes, get some mud and then watch them bitches fight
No headline show at SOB's, kicking it with Elliott Wilson
No jam of the week, no Funk Flex and afternoons with Angie
But I'm saying b, by not being famous does that really hurt me
Just cause I haven't toured once do I lose that credibility
Do all these songs and all these mixtapes really just count for nothing
Or am I overthinking it and all of its a blessing?
What will I really be known for?
Will it be scribbling these rhymes?
Will it be this voice of mine?
What can the people hold on to?
Besides their memories of me?
Is there something they can touch or see?
Or will they even remember?
Am I just a memory in time?
And someone who just slips their mind?
So what will the people say?
That I accomplished in this time?
What will be this legacy of mine?
Legacy of mine.
29, no record deal
No big breaks, no dope wheels
No nice house, not even a nice watch
No San Tropez, with an ocean spray, with a dope babe, giving up nice crotch
But I got heat rocks, whether you like it or not
Writing this on the clock instead of opening shipping box
In a tight spot, telling my boss I'm not a rapper
Cause she makes fun and I don't wanna hear it cause she don't know what I'm after
This is my final chapter, no John Byrne
Stay on my Nerd Fresh shit, what?, no heel turn
Gotta let it burn cause these attention spans ain't lasting
Gonna move to the next and cash in, will these rhymes be everlasting
I don't really know, just one man with a microphone
With a dream to be famous since New Year's Eve in ninety fo'
I should be happy with my catalog and at days end I will be
I just know as soon as I quit that's when these fuckas start to feel me.
So if paper lays still, you can write anything on it
And now I say you got dreams, you can build anything upon it
I know you've heard it befo', I'm leaning positive
I'm not gonna tell you you'll fail, there's no prerequisites
And that's just it, I could blow tomorrow
But would that cure the sorrow, would my time be borrowed
Would I wanna be famous if I was really famous
Or would I wish for a simple time when I was nameless
There's no shame in this, my mind always wanders
Wonders what if, I'm human, I just want many options
But what I really want is my music to mean something
To one person I don't know without any discussion
If I get that, I'm cool, you can have this rap shit
I'll drop these last projects and live a life of happiness
But I'll never know fo sho if my rhymes have any reach
So yeah I'll stop rapping and I'll start making beats.
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7. |
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I'm the new John Shaft I'm a bad muthafucka
Piss you off with my presence you the C. Delores Tucker
At Rucker with my feet up as your girl smiles big
Writing this on March 9th but I always think Big
Toss the cigs light a black disrespectful how I act
I'm settled on a path one that you can never map
Never nap I'm working I will not be outgrinded
Dream it and you can find it hustle you'll realize it
Arriving with lights trained directly on me
Where you be in the stu still repping dub vee
I revel with glee when you I see you fail
Hit the nail on the coffin where they don't post bail
Set sail thinking you're gonna be better off
My shadow won't reach and you won't be called soft
Until you lay down for that first nights sleep
Haunting all your dreams every night of the week that's me!
Never befo seen never to be cloned
Never to return for now I'm in my zone
I'mma 1 of 1 limited edition
Signed sealed delivered and built from tradition
Man listen the win streak remains and all is well
Everyone who tried me got left when they fell
I excel and I hold my position
Never take my title there is no competition.
Human highlight my life spins on the reels
Kill for things to still but only thru sheer will
Can I deal with the stress and things I am asked
Supposed to be off now I'm up to bat
That's only cause they didn't execute
Had the wires and the water didn't electrocute
A minoot detail that I never miss
Cause after the homerun it's off to your bitch
She got an itch that you never scratch
Bet you got feelings and you want attached
Plus she knows I won't be here forever
I'll give up the strap retire to some nice weather
Sign autographs for new old and fans
Live at the show to prove I'm still the man
Pedigree the boss if he crosses the line
And go in the hall of fame inducted by 95.
Young Thack: No definition for the league I'm in
I'm headed for the stars never to be seen again
And since out is how they counted me, fuck em all who doubted me
As long as the man in the mirror stays proud of me
I don't need a single soul to give approval
I know my shit is brutal, you don't know the roads I gotta stroll now do you?
They try to hold me under water
The fact they even tried I take it as an honor
I must be a big threat, the one to easily forget, but now they sweat
It's funny, they ain't even seen the shit yet
They all say they fly 'till they wings get wet
And they ain't ready to weather the storm, I bet
While still I got back against the wall, against all odds
If ever shall I fall, I shall fall on time
Put it on everything, I do it on my own
They never had a clue but the should've known.
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8. |
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Man, I really miss Miami
That first winter chill had to get me fore it hit me
That I'd rather have it sunny & breezy instead of shitty
But really yo, that winter depression is starting to hit me
So many what if and why dids, I don't know what to do
So many times I wanna kick my ass at 22
Look little nigga, don't do this and do that
Cause when you're 29, you won't like where ya at
Dirty ass bathrooms that I don't even own
My credit's shot to shit, still paying student loans
Can't even afford to heat my home up properly
Cause I'm saving this paycheck to pay rent on their property
Bullshit monopoly, I keep going to jail
Can't pass go, can't own shit, my paycheck's for sale
Oh well, to tell the tale, maybe it helps
To keep you from making the same mistakes yourself.
Man, I really miss Miami
Only there 3 days and it felt so heavenly
March it was 70, plus, it had me stuck
Lounging by the pool, giving cero fucks
Tough, another Dub Vee winter
Less sunlight to see and the regrets enter
Take up residence as the days get colder
Holding back positivity as they just smolder
Eats at you, relentless, Walking Dead shit
Ill predicament, bullshit you get sick with
Ya done quick, cause ain't no cure for it to lessen
Word to Joe Budden, welcome my friend depression
Worse impression, no manners, it don't care
Never discriminates, gets at anyone near
And it's clear that it's here for the long haul till spring
No sawed off could bring relief to the chaos it brings.
Man, I really miss Miami
Saw the ocean from the whip, helped restore my sanity
License plates called vanity, liquor stores twenty fo'
And malls full of women, beautiful women, fo' sho
I know, my Miami is a fantasy
Far from reality but I lived so casually
So care free, no stress for me
Then I left on three jet planes for the West V
And I'm here, 30 degrees, soul's listless
Barely paying bills, filling an Amazon wish list
Drinking on Tuesday 'stead of scheming to find a way
To make something of myself so my life's not a throwaway
Dark by 5 and it's darker inside
And my moment's still waiting to say I've arrived
Life would be much easier without these thoughts
But the top won't be the same without the bottom, so why not?
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9. |
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Go ahead, try to categorize me
I've never listened well, gave my dad no options
Left my mom nauseous cause nothing was getting thru
Imagine lil Hyphen shipped to military school
It almost happened, right when I started rapping
Almost Randolph-Macon, no Hampshire in the making
Steps that I was taking, was leading down the wrong path
Got my act together but I never came back
See, my lane is mine, never falling in line
Always called a soldier but now those days are over
I could've told ya, that I was always something special
Reminisce to ninety five, provided by Chris Kessell
A lyrical bless you, for everyone saying they ill
I'm over that slang, you know what, I'm just real
Making music I love, and that's what matters
And loving life, cutting away from same patterns.
Man, I'm so past it, feeling fantastic
In an independent headspace, so classic
In my own fashion, forget a reaction
Everything I do timeless, everlasting
x2
Back from the borough, yet I'm so thoro
Employ a New York flow but I'm Dub Vee for dolo
But you don't know doe, woo woo you know it
I come in so Raw with my fist pump heroics
But yo, I can slow it, in fact I can throw it
Back to the fact that I'm doing me and I love it
Rise above it all and bring on the tests
Refuse to go to my grave knowing I ain't done my best
No unless, that's it, that's why I take my
Free time aside to unleash my designs
I'm fine, I don't really need no stardom
Real recognize real as I beg your pardon
I'm an artist, just sharing my art my way
I suggest you do the same 'fo' time slips away
And you're asking what if in that nursing home
No regrets, nothing less, take control of your own.
If this my last year and I call it a career
Like I said when Meuwl passed and this is my last
And this birthday bash is my last performance
May my musical moments relieve your torment
Never let dreams lie dormant, take a chance explore it
If they tell you no, motivate and floor it
If you feel held back, break away and go
Cause no one knows your flow, you're the star you know
And when you hit the ceiling break thru that bitch
And keep climbing til you're out of oxygen
Never take the L cause in your blood pumps win
Jordan didn't get 6 by just giving in
Sound like Volume 1 with my inspirations
Didn't do all that I could do with my situations
But I feel good, and that's word to James Brown
I faced the man in the mirror and I've reached higher ground.
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10. |
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I never thought it would be like this
So many projects come and gone, discography like this
So many friends made and so many nights drinking
So many jam sessions, so many times bitching
So many rhymes lost and corrupted audio files
So much time missed, trying to get that one line
But I wouldn't change a moment for the world
From getting questioned by some Bloods to going out on mini-tours
Putting out these mixtapes for basically my friends' sake
But never doing the album thinking I wasn't that great
But now the moment's here, yes, we have arrived
I wish I could give you this feeling that I have inside
From the first rap I wrote a few months after Pac passed
To when I decided in oh nine that 30 would my last dance
To every drop of ink I used and every notebook I went thru
I did it all for hip-hop, most of all, I did it, for you.
Don't cry for me, I promise you, it's all right with me
I'm moving on to the new, this ain't the last of me
There's nothing else to say, so raise your glass for me
Even tho I'm gone, remember that I live on thru my songs
A world without the Hyphen isn't scary at all
Thank you for letting me have a place within it all
This wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for Chiv
He's the one who told me to rhyme
I was singing at the time and I felt that it would be fine if I stayed in my R&B line
But like I said the bars came, 411 was the name
We was gonna take over the world
Manifesto by oh two, shit ain't never changed since
And I wouldn't be who I am if he hadn't talked sense
Met Monstalung at 123 in oh five
At a Katrina benefit, he told to me to stop by
Played my music on the Diner and I never felt finer
Knew I could learn from this guy, had to let em be the driver
So much time in the studio and backstage at shows
Even in 100 years, still won't know all that he knows
And the bond grows stronger even when the music stops
And we're probably talking about Melo's selection of shots.
Never give up on your dreams no matter what no one says
Work hard, love hard until the day that you are dead
And even if it's only one time that you do it
Your actions spark actions, you're always an influence
That's the best advice I got at 29
Holla at me down the road, preferably at 49
To every drop of ink I used and every notebook I went thru
I did it all for hip-hop, most of all, I did it, for you.
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Explicit version.