MACKLEMORE

[Shadow Hunter]

"NXNW Remix"

"NXNW Remix"
[Verse 1: Geologic]
Now we live from the side of the last of the four corners
Just short of the northern international border
Was born a town upon the pond that all the people call The Sound
It's time to call 'em out, you standin' up or fallin' down?
Saba dug inside a crate and Jake responded, he was on it
We interpreted the sample canceled
The opportunist on the corner acting stupid
We plotting to take it back
The crying and dedication on Gentrification Ave.
No imitation of way back, preservationist rap
We honor the past maybe to move it toward the future
From fresh tracks to emerald street, it's foundation
And Mr. Anthony Grey paved the way and now we chase him
But they didn't have the patience to place it as a priority
Herbs and haters never have served the greater majority
Words will never capture the glory of our story
Performing but never forgetting who came before me
In the northwest, northwest, northwest, north west

[Verse 2]
I'm from the city where it rains at
Where we bring the pain at
Put you lame cats where the lames at
We fly, we fresh, we hood
And in the northwest, Seattle...
I'm good with that nonsense
See I'm on everything constant
So you better ask him who I'm is
The lost city is the last one standing
We came through the forks so the crown demanding

[Verse 3]
The town is enhancing at the current date and time
And in the state of refinement definitive when the climb [?]
When it's sink or swim
You want to test us? Better think again
Going hard 'til we reach the end
One day at a time I just move faster, I just move forward, I just move past ya
This is a new chapter from here on after
206 north by northwest we... [?]

[Verse 4: Thig Natural]
I'm from the city of rain and we came to spit flame
But come equipt with many mix that could solicit your dame
I'm kind of sick with it mane
I'm from the city where you probably find 'em twisted in chain
I keep it natural that's the name
I love my town so damn much I never change
But I will speak to you through rhythms and over melodies
Travel the Emerald City with visions that you'll never see
And clowns that front ain't worth my energy
So here's the remedy

Northwest, northwest, northwest, northwest

[Verse 5: Macklemore]
I was that kid on 23rd and Alder
With the ghetto blast that jacked and ran and told my mama
Came back, quarterback, playing Steve Largent
With lines and stay on your mind like Brian Bosworth
Aw heck no, this the best coast
Since Vida was ridin' rays on the metro
One radio station they're really not playing it
We need Cube like we need to build another stadium
From Chop to Showbox to the spots that we playin' at
We rock it like this rock, rock turn it hella quickly
There really isn't anything that you could tell my city
The crowds gonna be like "oh wow that was hella filthy" (That was hella filthy though)
I brought my showtoes with me long ass march, but the clientele's listening
Now while I'm at it I'll throw in a backpack
Put the northwest on the map, then go out and sell fifty

Anybody contest, North by Northwest
And it's still no rest 'cause we're not finished yet
We're broke, but not broken
Cold, but not frozen
Lost but not forgotten, we're kickin' the doors open

Anybody contest, North by Northwest
And it's still no rest 'cause we're not finished yet
We're broke, but not broken
Cold, but not frozen
Movin' in slow motion, it's that Northwest classic

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Fallin"

"Fallin"

I swear I've been here before, there's a war in my heart,
Inside my chest is a thorn it's been torn from the start,
The picture painted is warped, the hearts aching and scarred,
Music's the band-aid I'm too afraid to take this shit off
Another drink at the bar but I'm not drunk enough,
Each shot burns less but the chest isn't numbin up,
A voice keeps talkin' in my head and I'm a fuck him up,
Fill the gun with lead and bust until the pump shuts him up,
Emos and rockers and rockers and emos another shot of some vodka to get myself up off of my ego,
There's a door to my conscious, I can't unlock it or see the peephole,
This angel held my baggage and then vanished like where did she go,
I was beside her but I was walking by myself though,
Break the silence with my cell phone it doesn't help though,
I can't believe this is happening, sinking into depression,
I've been here before and now I'm back again

I keep fallin, I keep fallin, I keep fallin, down the rain
Keeps pourin, keeps pourin, I don't know if I can get up today
Keep fallin, I keep fallin, fallin, down the rain
Keeps pourin, keeps pourin, I don't know if I can get up today

6am hung over leaving my booty call watch the sunrise
Head over I-5 headed North but there's no sign of sunshine,
Empty brandy bottles spilled on the forgotten memories
Know I gotta let it go I'm just to selfish to set it free
Like forced release, two hours later I just got up and bounced
If she could only see me now head lost swallowed and drowned
The path is up but I followed it down
A man gone and hollowed out because you opened it up,
You can't start over now
What's to keep going for? validated by drunken whores bloody knuckles so numb and sore from punching these rusty doors
Freeway signs underpasses man stranded dusty mattress
This world is bipolar, beautiful for some for others the fuckin' saddest...
So sick of lugging baggage
All I got is drugs and alcohol and these cuts of passion
Brain serenade razor blade punk madness
Pain is love plug the drain but the rain keeps crashing like

I keep fallin, I keep fallin, I keep fallin, down the rain
Keeps pourin, keeps pourin, I don't know if I can get up today
Keep fallin, I keep fallin, fallin, down the rain
Keeps pourin, keeps pourin, I don't know if I can get up today

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Church"
(feat. Geo)

"Church"
(feat. Geo)
[Jim Valvano speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards:]
Time, time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left and I have some things I would like to say.
Hopefully at the end I'll have something that will be important to other people too.

[Geologic:]
Stand up, sit down, stand up again
Morse Code sent to God, are you listening?
He must have been too busy fixing other shit
No call, no response shows the opposite
We confess to the man who was faceless
I still do the same but to thousands of strangers
Went through some changes, some said I'm faithless
'Cause I replaced the altar with a basement
I often fought the explanation of where people go when their bodies let go of the soul
Does it just turn cold?
Or do we get judged and told where to go?
And if so, how the fuck would you know if nobody came back and said I'm telling you, bro?
I could never get past the shit that was spit out the pastor's lips
And the rapper's started making more sense
I guess that's the reason that some people cringe when they kids get a hold of my shit
If the grip of a God is insistent on not questioning if he truly exists
No wonder that I got caught up in the music it filled my spirit to the brim, amen
Motha fucker

[Macklemore:]
This is my offering card
The only thing I have to offer is bars
The only time I felt like I was talking to God
Was in my Walkman walking with Nas
Alright see I be going to Sunday school every week
In the back trying to read, but see that something was off
Maybe it was 'cause I was trying to huddle in the yard
Preacher didn't connect when he would mumble the Psalms
I was in my head and I was bustin' with Pac
Takin' off my wifebeater and getting drunk in the park
After that part, I found God, it wasn't Jesus
Some psilocybin and the ink released him
I began to hold communion every time my music came out the speakers I used it
And it fuled my movement I believed in, voice of reason, just me and my Adidas
And I could achieve it, I put my hand over my heart, pledge allegiance
I solemnly swear by the faith that raised my since Kool Herc dropped the needle
The South Bronx, that's hip-hop's Egypt
The word of our God is manipulated and twisted by the same system
That is infiltrated and falsely interpreted Jesus
One life, one love, one God, It's us, treated your neighbor how you would want to be treated
The universal laws of God, don't look too far it's right here, us human beings
The spirits right here and I don't have to see it
Now every time I want to connect with God I put my headphones on
Then I nod, grab my pen, my pad, let it seep in, in
And that's my process
And God's always watching
Got God in my Walkman
Go ahead and top that

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Letterhead Remix"
(feat. Illmaculate, Sapient)

"Letterhead Remix"
(feat. Illmaculate, Sapient)
Yo
I've been obsessed with words ever since I was a little buck
Then I grew bigger and figured drawing pads weren't big enough
I wanted to use a wall, but in school was taught not to
And that graffiti was the root of all evil
It's just letters and making them unnatural shapes
So clean caps, surgical masks is actually sayin activate
To coat our empire
Liftin' mad cans of paint from Fred Meyers
Empty 'em out under bridges and walls of alleyways
Givin the graph task force a sour taste
The same flavor that makes haters salivate
It was my goal as a minor, caught a felony, so now what they
I don't struggle to prove nothing to you
I get a head full of letters,
I'm cuttin 'em loose, speakin the truth
Cousin, it ain't a gift, it's a habit
Whether good or bad, I won't regret it when I'm lookin back

Cause I'm a letterhead
I'm a letterhead
So don't sweat the technique
When I represent me
Get em

Lunch time, I was tryin to bring that realness back
Fuck the lunch line, cause I ain't have no sprill or sprash
I was on the way to Fred Meyers just to fill my bags
Steppin in the home improvement section with my sticky hands
That's why I got these baggy pants, to conceal the stash
But undercover security can't conceal his badge
I know every single camera that this building has
And I racked so many cans that I'm almost feeling bad
That's exactly what a bad look ain't
Cause it's quite good, like the backwood taste
And I never stole a Snickers but I have took paint
So hello my name is pickers in the black book, thanks
Shit, I'd be admired if I was trying harder
But I'm a riot starter, beef igniter
Just a street writer but I hope to die a martyr
Freedom fighter, woulda stolen pilot marker

Why you got all that spray paint on your finger tips?
Cause I'm a letterhead
I'm a letterhead
So don't sweat the technique
While I represent me

I was just a kid in Seattle doin kick flips in a flannel
With some fat cats, I wracked off midget enamels
In Cali, they rhyme chateaus with mellows
My posse was on Broadway, scribin on the Metros
Gettin pound by the bus driver
"Hell nah! "
I was a letterhead, my life was graffiti
Letters I lived, I put pride in that mean street
Adventures to your ribs, I'm not goin to the precinct
You can buff me, you can cuff me
You can't stop me
I'm young, cocky, gettin up with my sharpie
Michelangelo with the concrete
That little ball in the paint can was the metronome to my heart beat
I put my freedom on the line, for the letters on the walls
Shubu, patriot, flat black up in my palm
Cherry red in my blood, I bleed the ink through my arms
It's like America bombin buildings and not gettin caught

Nope I'm not gettin caught
Cause I'm a letterhead
Yes I am, I've been tellin you that
Don't sweat the technique, while I'm killing these beats

Bitch.

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Keep Marchin"

"Keep Marchin"

Still trying to figure out what I find comforting
And who's gonna take account for all this suffering?
It's not always gloomy I'm assuming if you sing too,
It might give me the power to wake up again
Let's be honest, it's kind of hard to find beauty here
And a cobweb of a longleg, solace it would appear solid
Mr. blockhead with a wooden spirit
Tell the doctor we're all dead and it's looking serious
I've been at shows where the acted like they couldn't hear it
So I substituted my saliva for truth serum
This crooked look is piercing, it could burn a hole through you
I see through your two-faced ways despite the both of you
Askin' for a penny in a mechanical city
Black phantom of the back alleys, poet of the square smokers
Rappin filthy where the animals with guilty pasts
Ration out their fat yellow bellies? the share holders

Damn it's cold here
Will the people start dancing when the smoke clears?
I need a reason to keep walkin
Daydreamin of the evil in my walkman
Say a prayer for the people in the audience
Say a prayer for the people in their coffins
And keep walkin

Vanish through the alleyways (ghosts)
Past the green room
And have drink tickets to the point where I can't perceive truth
If god is in the building then I can't see you
Even if they put their hands up in the air that won't redeem you
It's the place where they start fables
They spend money on jack and coke but are flat broke when they hit the merch table
Now we hand out for the wolves and the people that are hungry
And won't sacrifice records to get some cheddar with their lunch meat
I just pray for that some day, around here we get more rain then we ever get a sun break
It's never enough to get something and I wish I could say that I was humble enough to be blessed at some king
But it feels like hip hop's dead, I don't know who killed it
The poison in the pen or in the heads of who built it
If I don't know the ledge how can I expect that the children won't jump to their death when they question what real is?

There is cold here
Will the people start dancing when the smoke clears?
I promise that I will leap first
Just a starving artist surviving off eating my words
Say a prayer for the people in their coffins
Say a prayer for the people in the audience
Keep walkin

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"And We Danced"

"And We Danced"

And we danced, and we cried
And we laughed and had a really really really good time
Take my hand, let's have a blast
And remember this moment for the rest of our lives
Our lives, our lives, our lives, our lives
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
'Cause tonight's the night
Am I right?

Dance!

Feels like night for a party
My nature so naughty
There's a knock on the door, it's the neighbors
Quit cock blocking
We're having a ho-down, you hoe's down?
Don't let me pull my hose out
'Cause it's big, long, pink, strong
And known to dance like all night long
Grab my hand, play this song
DJ save my life, come on
Leave your fear, back off the wall
Free of beat and pussy pop
If you don't have a pussy
Pop a cock into a booty
To a booty

And we danced, and we cried
And we laughed and had a really really really good time
Take my hand, let's have a blast
And remember this moment for the rest of our lives

I am not, I am not going to stand on the wall
I will dance, I will dance, I will break that ass off
And I see you in the corner, corner looking so small
Doing the robot like if I die tonight at least I went hard
I will not, I will not give a damn who watches me
I will live, I will live liberate the fox in me
I will be the disco ball, freak and give my all
To whatever girl's booty I'm freaking on
I'm not skeeting nah, it's just freaking hot
Alright I skeeted
I will not be a mannequin
The ego banish it
The roof's on fire
Let's burn down the Vatican
I will moon walk to Pluto in honor of Michael Jackson
In heaven he'll be saying that man is tight at dancing
RIP to the king, Michael Jackson, we learned it all from you
Dedicate this to the dance floor
Party up the sorrow 'til tomorrow morning happens
We pledge allegiance to the DJ put your hands up

And we danced, and we cried
And we laughed and had a really, really, really good time
Take my hand, let's have a blast
And remember this moment for the rest of our lives

You see me looking at you from that bar right over there
But your friends are huddled up and they are hating on a player
I just want to dance with you, get on the back of you
Tip tap the boots, extract the truth
Da-Dance with you, get on the back of you
Da-Dance dance dance
Awesome

Oh-ee, oh-ee, oh
Oh-ee, oh-ee, oh

Hey-oh, hey-oh
Hey-oh, hey-oh

Uh-ah-ba-bo
Uh-ah-ba-bo

Zib-oh-da-we-bab-ba-dap-bop-bop
Zib-oh-da-we-bab-ba-dap-bop-bop

And we danced, and we cried
And we laughed and had a really really really good time
Take my hand, let's have a blast
And remember this moment for the rest of our lives

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Vipassana"

"Vipassana"

Yesterday, forget it
Tomorrow is, nada
The present is, right here, through the breath, watch it
Atheist Jesus piece, hangin' on a cross
We sit and discuss God on lawn chairs
About how we got here,
What it is, what it isn't, shit
Fate versus faith, scrimmagin' with coincidence
Leave out the market and hold up on the business end
Focus on the genuine, with everything else, you can shed the skin
I was a couple moves away from being dead
In that ER overdosin', eyes bleedin' red
I fell in love, made an album, got a buzz
Lost it all, sobered up and guess what?
Now we meet again
And I'm back, finally just laughin'
Expectations are resentments waiting to happen
Studying the Dharma, Karma of a pastor and his practice
Bahá'u'lláh Buddha, God, to the mountaintop and I'm traveling
Learnin', yes, reflectin' on what matters
People, permanence, lack of attachments
It's space and time, a couple man-made distractions
The measure of a spirit that no human can ever capture
Church, this booth is my Vatican
I don't control life, but I can control how I react to it
Student of the breath, brick beats and balancin'
Desire versus truth until I finally find happiness

I was put here to do something before I'm lyin' in that casket
I'd be lyin' on the beat if I said I didn't know what that is
The world's a stage and we play a character, I found him
It took me 20 something years and a bunch of shitty sound checks
I'm not gonna be content, until I find gratitude
Regardless of my sales or the record deals they're handin' you
If the next generation takes our legacy and samples you
We'll have a bunch of mp3's and misled kids to pass 'em to
I use my veins to create the color I paint from
Delve into something 'til my heart becomes my paint brush
I told my mama I'm not stoppin' 'til my name's up
Thinkin' those comments on that blog is gonna save us
Searchin' for everything but Gods and validation
Get insecure and then we start blamin' the haters
Used to look to women to fill a part of me that was vacant
Truth, the only thing that I ever used in moderation
So I stare into this paper instead of sitting at a cubicle
Take all ugly shit inside and try to make it beautiful
Use the cement from rock bottom and make it musical
So the people can relate to where I've been,
Where I'm going, what I've seen, what I've heard
From the guts, fuck the glory
Just a person on a porch putting it all into recording
Many in my past and many that came before me
I just keep walkin' my path and blessed to share my story

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Crew Cuts"

"Crew Cuts"

If it ain't fresh then you ain't gettin' play in my tape deck
Way back, I used to rock the hat with the suede strap at ABC's
Bought my food from the Arabs
Played craps on corners where the OG's slang at
Cross colors I'm the boss of the playground
I hit you on the nuts 'cause I know how to play house
The 8-ounce baby from '84 to grow up
Cleaner than my Easter suit was with my shoes buffed
Don't step on my new ones
These Reeboks beat blocks, you give 'em a few pumps
Baby while you're at it too boo boo
She came from a new school and all I wanna do is my zoom zoom
My uncle stayed faded like crew cuts
But I was just too young to know the what's-what and the who's-who
'Round here, they could give a fuck if you got props
You get clowned for rockin' British Nine to the sock hop

The BK stood for "black kids, " the hood was crackin'
And Poison was on everybody's tracklist
Spandex was in fashion, back then
And bad chicks had tracks in that lasted

Before CD's, and internet the kings was in effect
You fiends wasn't gettin' respect
Before MP3s and CD-J's we pop in a tape cassette
Chain on my chest, I'm fresh

Let's take it back, b-b-b-back to the days of AC/DC Back in Black
Gimme a mullet, a 1984 Chevrolet
Alright I'm lyin' I was listenin' to rap

OshKosh B'Gosh, stone wash, so hard
Overalls hung, one strap on, one off
Eatin' on my cold lunch, grabbin' on both nuts
Mom I want a jerry curl; fuck this bowl cut
Ice cube's got one
Quick in my walkman
Blowin' on the cartridge
Hypercolor: "awesome!"
Cube's in my pocket and I'm outta here
I'm bouncin' and Sam Goody's not gettin' shit from my allowance

Day dreamin' in class, know I'm zonin' out and
Rosie Perez's titties are right where my mouth is
Who says that white men can't jump? They were hella wrong!
A'ight they were right, but I was really good at tetherball

Before the days of gettin' drunk at kegs
We were bumpin' some jodicie and dry-humpin' legs
That's right: I was born in the '80s
Pimpin', adventure shined upon my babysitter

House party? crackin.
Humpty dance? crackin.
Never find the baby: David Bowie, Labyrinth.
Why don't you reminisce and bring it back, rap shit
Dodge caravan, humpin' in the back: classic.

Before CDs and internet the kings was in effect
You fiends wasn't gettin' respect
Before MP3s and CD-Js, we pop in a tape cassette
Chain on my chest, I'm fresh

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Life Is Cinema"

"Life Is Cinema"

I don't know why
But it's like I can't stay quiet
This is my voice
I can't let it die inside me
See I'll be scared if there wasn't a riot
Pushin and pullin, grabbin some hair,
Pukin and fuckin up the sidewalk
This battle makes it interestin
I abide desires
Like a dog pissin on the hydrant
Just to spite the fire
It's not to be taken lightly
The page is a set of eyelids
The booth is an instrument that God created
To record us tryin to find him
But don't let the word throw you off
Religion and spirit are two different pilots
Just know that it's bigger than me and my ego
When I'm flyin
Take me higher
I've got somethin to pray for
Please leave me when I'm guided
Who said that life is cinema
This is epic, be present

I'm right here
Selfish, selfish, selfish me, yeah, me
Yeah, girlfriend, break-up, new one, one-night stand, cheat, cheat, repeat that
Drug use, clean up, drug use, drug use, clean up, drug use, rehab
Fuck you I suck dude, self-loathing, self-esteem, ego, then me again
Put a soundcheck right in the middle
A never ending quest to try and get fans
There you have a beginning, a middle and a really shitty end
Nah, give me a break through, can I get a montage, come on I need that
Humble me, give me a conflict, a hardship, let me break through this cement
They're gonna be so disappointed when they roll the credits in
I realized that my movie sucked and I was the only one that could edit it
Well the course, the chain of events, that would be the evidence, some say it's coincidence
I say I found something greater than myself and started accepting it
And I can see, feel, taste and smell again
And I'm the only one with the hammer to break this shell I'm in
It's gonna take me crackin' this mirror to finally be myself again
Met my potential a long time ago and I'm not stopping til I resemble him

(I got soul but I'm not a soldier...)

 

[Shadow Hunter]

"Otherside"

"Otherside"

Oh girl, this boat is sinking
There's no sea left for me
And how the sky gets heavy
When you are underneath it!
Oh. I want to sail away from here.
And god. He came down down down down down down down down
And said (down down down down down down down down)
Nothing (down down down down down down down down)

He rolled up, asked him what he was sippin' on
He said lean, You want to hit it, dawg?
That's the same stuff
Weezy's sippin' huh?
And tons of other rappers that be spittin' hard
Yup yup five a bone
When he passed him that Styrofoam the Easter pink, heard it in a rhyme before
Finally got to see what all the hype was on
And then he took a sip, sittin' in the Lincoln thinkin' he was pimpin' as he listen to the system
Little did he know that it was just as addictive as bass
Not the kind of hit from the kick drum
Hot box, let the bass bump
Take it to the face, gulp
Months later the use went up
Every blunt was accompanied by the pink stuff
But Goddamn he loved that feelin'
Purple rain coated in the throat
Just so healin'
Medicine alleviate the sickness
Liquid affix and it comes with a cost
Wake up, cold sweat, scratchin', itchin'
Trying to escape the skin that barely fit him
Gone, get another bottle just to get a couple swallows
Headed towards the bottom couldn't get off it
Didn't even think he had a problem
Though he couldn't sleep without gettin' nauseous
Room spinnin', thinkin' he might've sipped just a little bit too much of that cough syrup
His eyelids closed shut
Sat back in the chair clutchin' that cup
Girlfriend came and a couple hours later said his name shook him but he never got up

He never got up, he never got up
We live on the cusp of death thinkin' that it won't be us
It won't be us, it won't be us, it won't be us
Nah, it won't be us
Oh girl, this boat is sinking
There's no sea left for me
And how the sky gets heavy
When you are underneath it!
Oh. I want to sail away from here.
And god. He came down down down down down down down down
And said (down down down down down down down down)
Nothing (down down down down down down down down)

He just wanted to act like them
He just wanted to rap like him
Us as rappers underestimate the power and the effects that we have on these kids
Blunt passed, ash in a tin, pack being pushed, harassed by the feds
The fact of it is most people that rap like this talkin' about some shit they haven't lived
Surprise, you know the drill
Trapped in a box, declined record sales
Follow the formula violence, drugs, and, sex sells
So we try to sound like someone else
This is not Californication
There's no way to glorify this pavement
Syrup, Percocet, and an eighth a day will leave you broke, depressed, and emotionally vacant
Despite how Lil Wayne lives
It's not conducive to being creative
And I know 'cause he's my favorite
And I know 'cause I was off that same mix
Rationalize the shit that I'd try after I listen to dedication
But he's an alien, I'd sip that shit, pass out or play Playstation
Months later I'm in the same place
No music made, feeling like a failure
And trust me it's not dope to be 25 and move back to your parent's basement
I've seen my people's dreams die
I've seen what they can be denied
And "weeds not a drug" - that's denial
Groundhog Day life repeat each time
I've seen Oxycontin take three lives
I grew up with them, we used to chief dimes
I've seen cocaine bring out the demons inside
Cheatin' and lyin'
Friendship cease, no peace in the mind
Stealin' and takin' anything to fix the pieces inside
Broken, hopeless, headed nowhere
Only motivation for what the dealer's supplying
That rush, that drug, that dope
Those pills, that crumb, that roach
Thinkin' I would never do that, not that drug
And growing up nobody ever does
Until you're stuck, lookin' in the mirror like I can't believe what I've become
Swore I was gonna be someone
And growing up everyone always does
We sell our dreams and our potential
To escape through that buzz
Just keep me up, keep me up
Hollywood here we come

Oh girl this boat is sinking
There's no sea left for me
And how the sky gets heavy
When you are underneath it
Oh, I want to sail away from here
And god. He came down down down down down down down
And said
Nothing