hatt's crib

Blaze the Afghan green, this black man seen through my lazy hindsight
Get your mind right, relate to the times like
So much pressure, young black gifted measure for measure
Snakes poison in our neck and yet you feast from it
Drink it down and participate in the evil ways
That man want us to authenticate
Make a trademark to slay ours
You my brother, I don’t want to have to blaze y’all
But motherfucker this a warzone
The soldiers we emulate walk a crooked line
I wonder if we’ll ever get it straight
So much hate, it’s like life it has no value
So many gone before they had a chance to figure out
Who or what they could’ve been, so many peers in my teens
Were left as nothing but tears down their mother’s face they stream
Man I swear

Sometimes I swear I hear them angels singing

It seems it’ll never change, not a day sunny
I feel it will forever rain as my brain takes me back to the day
When I first met my nigga Graylin under the rail in my apartment staircases
He had the new ASICS, pass the el, we started battle rapping
Niggas jumped him, he started packing
Got shot up when we was eighteen, it’s been three years
But sometimes and I know it sounds kind of weird I swear
I hear his voice in the air, beautiful like angels singing
I know he’s still here and I swear

Sometimes I swear I hear them angels singing

Niggas obsessed with death, Grand Theft Auto infatuations
When I reflect it seems I’ve been to more funerals than graduations
Or birthday parties and weddings, it’s so upsetting
These life lessons niggas keep forgetting that death is just a blessing
In disguise so why keep that beef alive when people die in vain?
I try to explain to myself that the world we live in
Is Hell, no Heaven above, what happened to love?
What happened to us? Before we know it we’ll be nothing but dust
It’s hard to reach through, sometimes I try to speak to my people
They think they’re Al Pacino and Nino
This ain’t Casino, you are not Robert DeNiro
What it is about a man of evil that makes you call him a hero
Zero tolerance, my man O had a scholarship to play football
But a week before he took off his soul was shook off when them shots took off
Wrong place, wrong time, now he in that long line
I wonder if his spirit’s resting, so many questions, no answers
Why does it have to be so? So many people losing their life
Every time the breeze blow, mothers killing their daughters
Husbands killing their wives, cruising spirits turn into clouds
Help to fill in the skies, for every life in the making there’s one in the taking
Murdering the population, perfect balanced equation, fifty-fifty
Life or death you choose your fate
Karma exists, remember this with every move you make
The streets will take you under quicker than the current
The rose that grew from concrete need light to flourish or will wither away
To my niggas that are no longer with us today
I’m okay, I’m still here, believing in hope, I hope you resting
Even though I’m still seeing your ghosts

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[Verse 1]

Woke up in a Motel Six at ten to six
Someone pinched my wrist, this fat bitch eating a Twix
Did a backflip out the bed, I crawled to the exit
She screamed, “Wait a second! You got me and my sister pregnant!”
Looked up, another big bitch in my face
I said, “Wait. There’s some mistake.” (Did you say steak?)
Kicked their legs out, I tried to run out
But the bitch pulled a pump out and started to dump out
Shots whizzing by me, I ran through the lobby
Before I hit the door security boy tried to stop me
I blew right past him but I didn’t get far
Cause the man with the tow truck repossessed my car
Wait that’s a lie, I don’t even drive
What the hell happened to me? Where the fuck am I?
I walked three miles to a Texaco
Asked the store clerk, he said you about three miles from Mexico
I was ? what I learned in this discussion
Then I heard this just in, pardon the interruption
Authorities believe Shareef the thief lazy
Had just become a recent escapee from a shady
Mental ward so if you see him please move to safety
He’s considered armed, dangerous, and mad crazy
He ate a baby and robbed several convenience stores
In the county and his bounty is behemoth
Hundred grand for this man dead or alive
Around this time a clerk put a gun to my eye
But to his surprise I knocked it away and started to bail
Half way to the border, either freedom or jail

[Chorus]

Now this ain’t funny so don’t you dare laugh
Just the result of getting thrashed too fast
Sweet looking pills are all combined
And in our mind shit like this happens all the time

[Verse 2]

I made it to the border, they had it surrounded
No stone unturned, no inches unfounded
I thought for sure I’m done for, death was my cause
Till I heard someone say, “Hey mister, you wanna buy a horse?”
I said, “Hey yo, I’ll give you twenty pesos if you slip me in your country.”
He said, “Fifty.” We rolled through this deserted town in the desert
Filled with nothing but the poorest of peasants
He said he needed to talk to someone in this bodega
When he went in everyone started eyeing the stranger
A big diesel dude walked up and started staring me down
Obvious that I’m probably not from the town
He asked me in perfect English if I was American
Started to reply but instead I just stared at him
And that’s when my guide came running outside
Pushed me off the horse, into the sunset he rides
My big burly friend let out a sigh and said
It seems like your friend has left you to die
Before I had a chance to muster any type of remark
Felt a whack over my head and everything went dark, let’s go

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]

Woke up in a basement tied to a chair
Mouth gag made it hard for me to breathe any air
The door opened and an angel appeared I swear
A man in all white glide gently down the stairs
He whispered, “Fear not.” moved the scarf from my lips
And in the midst of cloud of smoke from the cigarette lit
”Welcome to my home, amigo.” the voice said quietly
I said, “That’s how you treat your guests? How about untying me?”
I cannot do that, I don’t know your intentions.
I do know you have a choice, listen to my proposition.
I have connections in your country, I am very powerful
I help you if you help me with something very valuable
A guitar from the Spanish Wars is in this case
Take it to America and in three days
You’ll receive a phone call and I’ll tell you where to take it
That is of course if you can make it through the snake pits
A lot of people want to get their hands on it
If you do this for me my friend there’s five hundred grand on it
That’s a lot of money but I cannot take the boat
I am banned from your country for slicing a gringo’s throat
But I have connections at the border to get you across
But only if you’re willing to follow my orders
Well what’s my other choice? Do it or I’ll feed you to my pig farm
First you’ll be beaten and then pissed on
Hm, let me think, okay, I’ll play, show me the way back to the USA
I’ll get you there today, my head started spinning again
I’m about the black out pass out beginning again

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]

The next morning I woke up in my bed and it seems
That everything I heard and seen was part of some dream
I went to the bathroom, saw my shirt was red
My leg bore a bullet wound and there was bumps on my head
Then I heard a beeping instant message on my pager
It said Reef get outta there, you’re in grave danger
Then I heard a crash and my dog started barking
I hid in the hall closet and heard a Spanish nigga talking
Silence followed by car tires screeching
Downstairs I’m creeping and don’t believe what I’m seeing
My crib looked like the ending of Scarface
On the TV read a note, we want the guitar case
If you want your dog to live and your crib not to be blown up
Meet us at city hall, no cops better show up
Ran upstairs, under the bed I dug to my dismay
There it was staring me in my face
The gold case with a dragon emblazed on the side
I decided to open it to see what may cause me to die
When I opened up the case I felt a lump in my throat
What I thought was a guitar was forty bricks of coke, oh shit

Popularity: 2% [?]

[Verse 1]

In December of ‘81 way before rhyme was relevant
A child was born during a winter storm to Evaline
My pops was Eddie, I don’t really think he was ready
The nigga left me damn near as I came out the belly
From what they tell me from day one I have always been heavy
Not weight wise, they say I have been here already
I’m starting to believe em, sparking my weed
And I’m coughing and wheezing, I talk with demons
Ghosts are real, I swear to God I see em
In the back of my mind I travel back and through time
When I was nine and I would practice this rhyme
But my step-pops said stop or get your head popped
If I did not I swear ahk he’d put me in headlocks
My feet dangling, just kicking his thighs
He’s six two, I’m three five, eye to eye we meet high
See I got pain bottled up so deep
And so much stress it’s like my first CD on repeat
Number nine when I rhyme and these herbs see me
Up on stage with artists raised they’re like hey look at Reef
Then I’m okay but when I lay at the end of the day
I’m dealing with grown men issues and I’m still underage
Underpaid and overworked, I feel like I’m worthless
I kept these facts under wrap but now I pull back the curtains
Till my situation reverses these verses will serve the purpose of
Cleansing my soul until it’s dirtless yo

[Chorus]

You don’t know what it’s like to be me (This is my life)
And y’all swear I got it so easy (This is my life)
But you don’t know the half, believe me
The pain in my heart exceeds me, ask my nigga Sleepy (This is my life)

So much stress, ain’t nothing changed dawg (This is my life)
So I get high until my brain’s gone (This is my life)
Until the pain’s gone, the same song that plays on
In my head making my days long (This is my life)

[Verse 2]

I stare at these questions, my rhymes are my homework comparing these lessons
Preparing for my weekly therapy sessions
Aggression and anger combined with a weak mind, that’s danger
The eyes of a painter trying to paint the eyes of a stranger
That’s why it’s hard for me to open my heart
When those I let in have just stepped in it
And broken my heart, not just women
But those who claimed to be my niggas too
Those fake father figure dudes, I figured you would try to reach me
Eventually you try and leave me but why did you leave me?
The only question to you I pose, I’m okay though
I’m still alive, trying to survive in this Holocaust maze
Spend my days in a daze wanting to fly away
It’s hard to stay focused when these jokers in your face
Just to get paid but yet my pockets is still flat
My knowledge is still intact but as years go by dawg I feel that
I’ll never make it, record execs like, “You’re not good enough.”
Kid face it, the next stop hip hop sanctum
My mother’s basement remembering the good old days
I can’t take it, the possibility I never sign a deal
It didn’t matter now I’m getting older, it’s getting colder
I need a shield or career, year or two I have to be noticed
The greatest rapper since the other two were massacred, at least they were famous
I’m popular to you but everywhere else I’m nameless
I guess that’s how the game is, the older I get the younger I wish I still was
No longer deal drugs but still get high to feel love
I’m real buzzed for a minute then it begins to escape me
These demons I pushed behind are forcing themselves to face me
Maybe I’m crazy, nah I think I’m too sane for my own good
I know I zone hoods to find what makes me spit like this
And tick like that and I flip like that and if I fall I get right back
On the right track until I’m dead gone
But the only tracks I follow are the ones in my headphones, yo

[Chorus]

You don’t know what it’s like to be me (This is my life)
And y’all swear I got it so easy (This is my life)
But you don’t know the half, believe me
The pain in my heart exceeds me, ask my nigga Sleepy (This is my life)

So much stress, ain’t nothing changed dawg (This is my life)
So I get high until my brain’s gone (This is my life)
Until the pain’s gone, it’s same song that plays on
In my head making my days long (This is my life)

[Verse 3]

This nine-to-five grind got my mind losing its juices
Come inside and you’ll find that even though I’m popular and I know how to rhyme
Everything ain’t what it seems, I just know how to lie
To my peers for years but I can no longer hide
To that man in the mirror and when I look in his eyes
I see a child who has no idea of what he’s doing
Sometimes I wonder if this music will only lead to my ruin
What I’m pursuing is to get rich doing rap songs
Old head saying you ain’t that strong, you need something to fall back on
Here’s the dilemma, lose life or become a winner
End up a working-class stiff or flip back to sinner
Either way I feel the saga will never conclude
You need to know my views before you step in my shoes
My life’s become a full-scale drama of mass confusion
I’ve yet to scratch the surface, already I’m disillusioned
So either you’re part of the problem or offer a solution
Cause people I used to love are now considered nuisance
It’s been proven, you dudes got no love for me
You place me on a pedestal and pull the rug from under me
It’s kind of sick, these cowards that build my confidence
Only to hide the dominant the presence of their incompetence
It’s not that I’m being selfish not trying to share the wealth
But please don’t act like you’re in my life for yourself
I’m a rhyme stand-out, niggas hands out, they want to kick it
Ride my back like rap’s Amtrak without their ticket
Check your bags at the door along with your ego
Cause it wasn’t until the high life that I talked to you people
Now I walk with you people, all of a sudden niggas acting like
Cousins and brothers, motherfucker you play a part of nothing
Waiting for the moment for my career to start jumping
So you can be right there when the cheese begins to cut in
And here’s a percentage, get the fuck away from me, I’m finished
The jig is up, give it up, just stop pretending
What a tangled web we weave, got me trapped in the nonsense
But I will no longer ignore my conscience

Popularity: 4% [?]

When I smoke with my brethren I conjure thoughts that could open the heavens
Envision capers to get more paper than Oceans 11
These smouldering sessions got me quietly reflecting
On this great paper chase dawg and it’s time to count these blessings
To be paid heavily and steadily, becoming more aggressive
What drives me to rhyme has now become necessity
A way out is hard to find debauchery
White guys in ties mocking me knowing deep down they wish to copy me
My pockets be the same as niggas that’s unemployed
I’m still young, gotta make noise before I am destroyed
Internally burning these candles on both ends
I feel I won’t win this battle of good versus evil and I don’t know if
It’s ever gonna change and the stress is never stopping
And I need oxygen, breathe with me niggas

I breathe oxygen

Dear momma your boy’s about a day from straying away
From the wisdom you used to relay, live legit and be honest
I tried to flow with the waters but it was filled with piranhas
Who hate me more? Uncle Sam or that damn Uncle Thomas?
Trying to get me fired, brother you should be trying to get me hired
That’s why I’m steady smoking hoping to get higher
Escaping my reality also in my surroundings
Knowing that my mind combined with rhymes could move mountains
Days turn into weeks on these streets but who’s counting?
Niggas keep on moving with or without you
I figured out truth is what you make it
Who you are is reduced to your possessions
And what you make in your skills could elevate the masses
But instead I’m debating on staying at work
Or taking classes, that is of course this album
Doesn’t nothing I try to tell myself, Reef you don’t have to prove nothing
To no one but in my brain the fact remains
That it’s never gonna change and the stress is never stopping
And I need oxygen, breathe with me niggas

I breathe oxygen

This rap game is such politics, the road to riches and dollars
Is built on a path of lies, they want me to follow it
But not I, I will spit what comes naturally
No man aside from God can tell me who I have to be
Sometimes they love you but often times it will be the opposite
Sometimes they give you your props, often times they don’t acknowledge it
The problem is they smile in your face, you know they ain’t feeling you
So you smile back but inside your pride is killing you
But what it taught me niggas gonna forever be salty
I must be doing something right cause now these critics can’t ignore me
If you saw me I guarantee you’d feel me when I perform
These cats got underground mentalities, I’m thinking much beyond
But it ain’t gonna change and the stress is never stopping
And I need oxygen, breathe with me niggas

I breathe oxygen

If the sky’s the limit I think I’m going way past it
What I speak is not record, it is poetry and passion
I’m hatching a plan to escape from flows I illustrate
I will intake the scenery in a perfect picture I paint
The mic is my brush, I use my voice to stroke the canvas
The scholar with more power than any professor on your campus
Schooled by niggas with bullet wounds and hands that built houses
My grandfather’s knowledge, don’t know if I’d be here without it
Whether I sell I drugs or remain a working nigga
Get my own distribution or sign with Jay Jerkin
Niggas remain humble when I speak
Create a breeze like when the train rumbles past you
From day one though, this young soul
Has been observing, witness the cultural murder
I know I insert the pipe, a way to deal with it, the hood is way wild
Instead of Doughboy and Ricky I’m more like Tre Styles
Made it out by the skin of my teeth, the Cauze is still lost
But this here is the beginning of Reef Gladiator
Oxygen, breathe with me niggas

Popularity: 4% [?]