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1. |
Transformerz
03:44
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Verse 1:
This the final straw, the guns are drawn. The wound’s too deep to scar
No triumph songs when we’re mid-war. Blood red, white feather, black tar
Cherokee, Choctaw, Blackfoot, Seminole
On a trail of tears to a new frontier, Black cowboys - Yeehaw
We’ve been here before. Sailed the seas guided by the stars
Gatekeepers, opening doors. Tomb builders, ancient explorers
Black sun. Gold daughters. Cell blocks new slave quarters
Jailbirds and Black farmers planting seeds on block corners
Scared crow call the beast on us, put the heat on us but we alchemists
Stir in they belly - won’t feast on us, nor sleep on us. We spin gold from this
And platinum, this for BLAK and them. Born Lord And King is the acronym
Black, Black, Black and all its synonyms. Sea salt, cayenne and cinnamon
I sip righteous rage with my juice and gin. Burn the sage, uncap the pen
Tattoo the page so I can free my kin. If it ain’t forward it’s back again
Black/Black again on the track again. Jackie Joyner for the race I’m in
Black Panther in a world of mice and men. Stay awake for Breonna ain’t no sleeping in
Transcription from Nikki Giovanni In Conversation with James Baldwin, 1971
JB: And it's very hard to recognize that the standards which have almost killed you are really mercantile standards. They're based on cotton; they're based on oil; they're based on peanuts; they're based on profits.
NG: To this day.
JB: To this hour… It's when you begin to realize all of that, which is not easy, that you begin to break out of the culture which has produced you and discover the culture which really produced you. Do you see what I mean?
NG: Yes.
JB: What really brought you to where you are… What it's all about is the attempt now to excavate something that has been buried. Something you contain and I contain and which your kid contains… Something one has to hand down the line for the sake of your kid and for the sake of future generations, and even for the sake of white people, who have not the remotest idea what this means.
Verse 2:
This for liberation like Passover. Remembering all that’s been passed over
Step forward. Step closer. But learn from the past - that’s Sankofa
This invocation of our dead soldiers, fire light when the griot’s spoken
The blade charged when it carves the totem. This the fear of God like the preacher told us
This for constellations and quilt patterns, for pig guts and bread batter
For light beings and dark matter. This the Afro future on Mars and Saturn
So saddle up, time to settle up. Chop it down ‘for we level up
Burn it down now to ash and soot. This for fertile soil turning underfoot
This for old ways under new moons. Planting seeds when the blood moves
Record players riding deep grooves. This for Howlin’ Wolf and the Lightnin' tunes
This Blacks and The Blues. These raps for the wounds. This herbs for the brew
Ain’t no “Rest in Peace”, ain't been restful sleep since we napped in the womb
The Christ is risen. The lotus blooms. From pitch black, muddy roots
This for back doors lead to back rooms. We’ve forgotten more than we ever knew
This for making way, for making do. With a washboard and a pair of spoons
With a plot of land and a pair of mules. Trauma transformed and we forging tools
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2. |
Lightwork
02:52
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Chorus:
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
VERSE 1:
I’m not the one to play with, get caught in my cadence
It’s all in the phrasing, I’m Charlotte in this web of a matrix.
I duck the jab and Satan hates it, I dab in these haters’ faces
They sweet n’ low, I’m no replacement, let’s face it
I’m an assassin, move in the dark, remain faceless,
Some no name but I’ll still give your favorite rapper a facelift
Bravado flow that lets me know y’all listening when I say this:
The Lost Tribe is the high vibe been missing from your playlist
I chose lightwork, pay the bills to make the lights work
Rather that, the path chose me, talking bout my life’s purpose, my life’s service
Spoken word but I first heard it, ride the wave, I control the current
Revved up like she said she purring and the sacrifice is more than worth it
Feel the spirit surging, if it’s toxic then I purge it
Demons hiding in the dark, I pull the curtain
Sometimes, there ain’t no time for no rehearsing
So to stay ready I grind heavy and keep putting my work in
Chorus:
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
VERSE 2:
When there’s pain in my heart I don’t know where to start
But I figure it’s art so I paint it, whether taking
Shots in the dark, taking walks in the park
I am sharpening darts cuz I’m aiming (yeah)
Past the clothes and the cars, past the moon and the stars
Won’t settle for Mars, I want Uranus
I ain’t the one to play with, these cats are fouling flagrant
ain’t wanna but it seems that I’ma have to go and take it, (yeah)
Like the last of the Mohicans, I’m the last of the MC kids
Never tweaking over sneakers, I’m just worried about my speakers
And however far they’re reaching. Refine the words I’m speaking
To define me as a beacon for all that we are seeking
Cuz when I’m on the mic I’m sharper than Einstein
Leave all these MCs square while I push lines
Every rhyme I drop is complex
They bars is suspect, my bars say success. It’s
Chorus:
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Light Light Lightwork
Outro:
Scared crow call the beast, put the heat on us but we alchemists
Scared crow call the beast, put the heat on us but we alchemists
Scared crow call the beast, put the heat on us but we alchemists
but we alchemists but we alchemists but we alchemists but we alchemists
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3. |
Sacred
03:36
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Verse 1
This ain’t bout cars or the clothes
This ain’t bout silver or gold
It’s a groove with a sexy soul
So take shorty hand and move to the floor
But just keep one ear on the speaker
You and your fam, I’m trying to reach ya
Not reach you like trying to teach you
But like reaching out in a manner of speaking
Consider this an invitation
I couldn’t be more blatant
We’re all descendants of
The Lost Tribe of the Imagine Nation
Yes, I imagine nations
That are free from the war and the hatred
I let me music state it
Mindframe it and maintain the sacred
Chorus
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Verse 2
Om Shanti Shanti Om
Check the timezone, ET phone home
This mantra not poem
Get into my zone, I’m both here and gone
That’s word to my moms
Ishtar on the mic, these not hands these claws
And I don’t spit just because
Hock it, cockpit then we taking off
Are you even here right now?
Put your name on sacred ground, stomp loud
Let these be the vows
I got us in mind when I write it all down
And I got half a mind to tear all this shit down
Rebuild, realign with my tribe, sing out
I won’t silence the war chant
or stifle the rain dance cuz all this joy is sacred
In the face of these haters, in the face of the demons, these accusers, these slanderers: we maintain our positive energy, we keep our heads high, we keep our smiles bright and we laugh in the face of that, that energy HA HA HA HA
In the face of haters: ha ha ha ha (HA HA HA HA)
In the face of haters we tell em: ha ha ha ha (HA HA HA HA)
In the face of haters: ha ha ha ha (HA HA HA HA)
In the face of haters we tell em: ha ha HA
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
Maintain the sacred
You joy is sacred
Your pain is sacred
Your rage is sacred
Your love is sacred
Your body’s sacred
Your sex is sacred
Maintain the sacred
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4. |
Warrior Spirit
04:40
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She’s been touched and not by the hands of God,
She changed, felt shame and nobody saw
The demons unleashed behind closed doors.
And still, under His eye, in the house of the Lord
She got crept up on and felt up on,
Girl child with a boy twice her age, that’s wrong.
Creep underneath the pews where they sing them songs,
Basement staircase where he debased they psalms.
She couldn’t face her moms. Thought cuz she played along
It was her that was wrong, she held the guild like a bomb.
Only a matter of time before it got to her spine
Rounded her shoulders and infected her mind
So many “me oh my”s and “why oh why”s, she set fires
An S.O.S. in every tear she cried and meanwhile
Her screams fell silent, the pain was compiling,
Still had to go to church Sunday morning suffering and smiling./
She turned to food when she need to be soothed,
Sweet tooth hollowed out the root, a deep groove
What was left, a dark tomb and a changed mood
Young brain, broken frame before the blossom’s in bloom
And that’s not even the half, More pain in the aftermath
The sacrifice of the calf caught ablaze in the backdraft.
And it turns out the pastor knew, so what’d the bastard do?
Nothing! Lead Sunday school in the afternoons and she starts to brood like,
“Fuck all of y'all and fuck God too!”
Rage flames in her veins but remains covered up like the dark moon
Cuz her mama said, “You can’t keep crying in your room,
Just pick up the rug, grab the dust broom and keep moving.”
Suppressed, compressed, no rest, depression.
Teflon pressed on, kevlar, the vest’s on
Her soul’s armored, heavy plated, the gold’s tarnished
She asked her father, “Why’d you betray your sole honor?”//
Protector? Protect her? Nah that’s all varnish.
Now she barely hug her papa when she’s headed off the college
And she’s angry at her mama, that’s the consequence of trauma
On the whole tribe, now let me rewind this whole saga
Don’t wanna miss shit, gotta tell her whole story.
The internal battlegrounds are the ones that’s most gory,
She worried. She poked and prodded herself
She ate to gain weight so she could hide in herself.
She lost pride in herself, apologized for herself.
Thank God she chose to write what she felt
But she couldn’t right it herself, the anxiety didn’t help
It took time but she’ll find she owns every single part of herself
Resenting being a target, she turned into a marksman.
Reaped the harvest of a rotten seed planted too often.
These devils breed in the silence and darkness
While little girls are taught to lean into their softness.///
But instead, her edge sharpened.
Hawk eye, night vision on the thieves and the vultures.
Mean-mugging so they think twice before they approach her
Older and wiser she saw it’s ingrained in the culture.
From the Wild Wild West to the Hip-Hop heads,
Brutal stories glorified in the eyes of men.
She idolized her big brothers, tried to get like them
But just like them, it’s performative, it’s all pretend.
She loves jazz and the blues and that boom boom bap
But even the most “conscious” was misogynist in they raps.
She was scared to chase her dreams, she almost fell back
Tho she’s an artist so she carved herself a place on the map.
A well springs forth. Telling her own story is the healing.
Finding the chords on the keyboard to say what she is feeling.
She speaks for women and femmes found dead and unreported.
She is the picture of strength in a world meant to distort it.////
Warrior Spirit.
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5. |
In My Bag
03:09
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Verse 1
Cooking in the stu, say “Fraze, throw the beat on!”
The scene ice-cold man, we finna turn the heat on
We on. Go below, above and beyond
Lightwork, shine bright, loud like neon
Mama mia, it’s time for a re-up
Need the dough, flip a pie, pizzeria
We-a, need the cheese and the guac, quesadilla
See I rip the mic, cast a spell, brujeria
B.S. don’t float, I rock the boat like Aaliyah
Hush your mouth or you’ll miss my demeanor
Bang it through your speaker cuz you know I need the
Real love like Muhammed and Khadijah
Caravan through the desert just to see ya
Not macking señoritas, I’m rapping for the bleachers
Rhymes come twist a lime, margarita
Bitter truth turning all the doubters to believers
Chorus
I’m in my bag
Can’t jack my swag
I’m not like this or that
Don’t boast but I’m might brag
I’m in my bag
Can’t jack my swag
I’m not like this or that
Don’t boast but I’m might brag
Verse 2
This ain’t about a double-tap no mo’
I’m blind to the haters, I don’t see no foe
I slow mo hoes that’s tryna block my flow
I dead the heads that turn red when my green’s on go
So, like it or not this a bop, steady rock
For the fiends, bend them knees, make it drop
Make it shake, make it clap, make it pop
But all that capping in your rap homie please make it stop
I only spit that real real, no deal and no fear
Kush and water flow, this that loud and clear
So handle with care or beware, oh dear,
My mind sharp like the head on a spear
No joke, this beat knock-knock like, “who’s there?!”
Ha ha, nah these dummies don’t dare compare
Yea these guys patronize but couldn’t wear my pair
No side-eye, flow Medusa, make ‘em stop and stare
Chorus
I’m in my bag
Can’t jack my swag
I’m not like this or that
Don’t boast but I’m might brag
I’m in my bag
Can’t jack my swag
I’m not like this or that
Don’t boast but I’m might brag
(Just bop to this)
I’m in my bag
(Just bop to this)
Can’t jack my swag
(Just bop to this)
I’m not like this or that
(Just bop to this)
Don’t boast but I’m might, I might
Fraze:
One two, one two
Get your light feet going
One two, one two
One two, one two
Get your light feet going
One two, one two
It goes, step step one two two
Get your one two two
Get your one two two
One two One two
In my bag too
One two One two
In my bag too
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6. |
No Fear
03:54
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No Fear
Verse 1
Sometimes the work ain’t fun. Sometimes the stress ain’t real.
It ain’t all glitter and gold when you get that deal.
If you ain’t have “it” then you ain’t gon have “it” now.
I’m not talking bout paper, nah this ain’t bout clout.
The grass not always greener, the truth’s not always told
In a world full of illusion, it’s the lie that’s bought and sold.
Tear the smoke screen down and bare what’s on my soul
Cuz that’s all you can take with you and the prize is growing old.
Yea, I wanna be seen but I’m not a fiend for applause.
Wanna make music and children who make children who call me “Grandma”
My sight’s long. I write songs that I can stand on.
My platform got no trap doors, word to my grandpa.
I don’t slip through the cracks, I create ‘em.
Through concrete floors and steel doors still found a way in
Simultaneously carved a path for the way out
Now 16 bars map the escape route so come now
Chorus
Tribe is on my side (no fear)
Heart’s open wide (no fear)
Casting fear aside (no fear)
A lion in the pride (no fear)
Post-Chorus
I look my demons in the eye, tell em “no fear”
I look them haters in the eye, I ain’t got no fear
Look my demons in the eye, tell em “no fear”
Look them haters in the eye
Verse 2
Sometimes it seems that this music thing is all that I got
It’s all that I want, so fuck it, roll another one up
And put the beat on repeat until the rhyme is complete
Cuz when it’s unfinished I lose sleep and feel the urgency
Pen pressed to the loose leaf, nightmares with the loose teeth
On brink like, “what my ancestors tryna teach me?”
I thought I heard but apparently I wasn’t listening
On some, “I know, I know” shit. Now I’m all alone just
Me and my poems. It’s a rose until the thorn pricks.
Blood drips down, red ink across the manuscript.
Edit it, redirect the path that I was headed in
Competitive, too concerned with who I’m worse or better than
But ain’t nobody ever been me
That ain’t a flex for who’s best, I’m talking lineage and legacy
My fingerprint, the indent that my letters leave
It’s mine. No man or matter of time is smudging me
Tribe is on my side (no fear)
Heart’s open wide (no fear)
Casting fear aside (no fear)
A lion in the pride (no fear)
I look my demons in the eye, tell em “no fear”
I look them haters in the eye, I ain’t got no fear
Look my demons in the eye, tell em “no fear”
Look them haters in the eye
(She was scared to chase her dreams, she almost fell back)
(But she’s an artist so she carved herself a place on the map)
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Kala and The Lost Tribe Brooklyn, New York
Arianna "Kala" Brame is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, poet and MC based in Brooklyn, NY. Kala and The Lost Tribe, has performed on stages in the NYC metropolitan area at venues including Baby's Alright, The Silent Barn, Don Pedro's, The Bowery Electric, National Sawdust and had the esteemed honor of playing Blue Note's Late Night Groove Series. ... more
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