Stop the press
Brother aliDamn, Brother Ali where the hell you been? What, you disappear?
Stop the presses, give me couple seconds
Let me tell my friends what's up with big brethren
New year new beard a new record
Made a few adjustments I want to discuss it
In a life of pain and sadness
Never would've guessed that a taste of success
Would've been the first time I ever got depressed
I know I'm blessed, I just couldn't adjust
In life all I ever knew how to do is fight
Scrapped on the playground, fighting for the mic
Trying to build a life with an insane wife
Fighting for a little bit of time in the light
Then I got a daughter, a car and house
No one left to fight with but myself
Gained a lot of weight, wasn't thinking about my health
Maybe the music that I'm making could help
I can't drive 'cause this albino sh*t
Told you I was legally blind, that's legit
I ain't want Ant to have to come scoop the kid
So I bought a crib a couple blocks from his
That's the greatest friend I ever had
Like a brother to me, a borderline dad
Maybe making a record will get me on track
Help me fix whatever's wrong with my head
I jumped back in the basement at once
Made the album Us in a couple of months
But I can't lie to y'all, I felt lost
Energy I brought might've been a bit off
Couple great moments though of course
Babygirl, Puppy Love and The Travelers
I toured two years off that album
Was on the road ten months out of one of them
Did the globe with my brother BK
My life coach slash DJ
Literally been with me since day one
Had a lot of hard times, had a lot of fun
Long story short he got hell of a wife
Catastrophe damn near ended her life
Brought our wifeys out to Hawaii
These f*ckers got pregnant on Waikiki
He said "I need to talk to you Ali
This is what you were born to do, but not me"
So after Soundset two thousand and ten
Say goodbye to my Deejay but not my friend
My career ain't stop it just grew
I rocked the bells and Glastonbury too
Close enough to smell Beyonce's perfume
But it just ain't the same without dude
Couldn't slow me down no lord
Stayed on the planes and the buses and cars
Brought a young DJ into the squad
Sucker quit on me cause I toured too hard "Wahhhh"
On to the next one
Then me and Ant had trouble connecting
If I was here then he was always there
Touring or recording with Atmosphere
What the hell's goin' on with my career
Within a year my team disappeared
Got a phone call on the 4th of July
My dad died, he committed suicide
Sh*t, I should've been there for him
Had to fly home from Europe to bury him
I'm sorry, I need a minute
Bismillah... alright, listen
Trying to hold this marriage together
But me and my baby barely see each other
I'm in France with the fans taking pictures
She's with the kids making dinner doing dishes
She ain't got to worry bout me screwing other b*tches
But that ain't enough to make a woman feel precious
If we don't start to intersecting
We got no choice but grow in different directions - damn
I got that phone call again
You know the kind you never want to get
Mikey's mom couldn't get a hold of him
And found him dead in his apartment
Just drowning in tears
Probably won't get over that in all my years
I'll remember forever
A day later boarded a plane for Mecca
And the next month changed my life
Listening to God in the holy sites
Inklings I had had all my life
Suddenly presented themselves in plain sight
Any doubts I had about the mic
And whether or not what I write is right
Fell out of sight like tears on the floor
Now I'm going harder than I ever did before
Got a couple of beat tapes from Jake
Genuine dude and his music is great
I told Zach to hold my tour dates
Roll the tape, I got something to say
So, I'm gonna go make this album.
Let me start it off right though