[Verse 1: Asheru]
Ash ketcham
Pokemon emcee
Empty clips on Babylon
I'm armed, you swarmed, been warned
How hot it could get when I let off two at a time
My rhyme's designed to uplift not tear down
Wear down you clowns with gift
Gifted not lifted
Random or specific
Atlantic to Pacific
I get in gear then shift it
You know the game – multi-task, pivot
Gotta have more than one edge
You know the ledge, gotta live it every minute
Second, hour, to the third power don't miss a drop
I do many things but it always comes back to Hip Hop
Stage show virtuoso most folks won't know what hit ‘em
Now I think about it, Eric B and Rakim woulda said it was the rhythm
I miss them
Theses youngins out here missed them
Wouldn't know ‘em if they slapped ‘em in the face
Then claim to be rappers what a f**ing disgrace
OK enough of that
Don't let me soapbox
I could rap all day about the f**ery
But I'd rather just be and get mines in spite of
That's enough for me
The long years of toil 'bout to pop like a boil
And pay off in a major way --
When O. Retnu and Asheru threw on the capes, who saved the day??
Maaaan I do this sh** for real
It Ain't Hard To Tell
A Homeowner, stack chips/ pay bills like you n***a
It Ain't Hard To Tell
I been raised in the ways since back in the days
It Ain't Hard To Tell
Unfazed by the glaze of the media haze
It Ain't Hard To Tell
Got The ELs behind me, DC to co-sign me
It Ain't Hard To Tell
I got gifts in abundance I use to stunt with
It Ain't Hard To Tell
Made by the Most High I'm unbreakable
My faith in myself is unshakeable
No comparing me to anybody else clearly
Because the difference is unmistakable
[Verse 2: Asheru]
Guerilla Arts
By any means necessary
We carry the torch
Then scorch the ground
Blaze trails for miles
Real life and sound
Better ready your ammunition
Beg forgiveness over permission
Listen twice as much as you speak
That's how you play your position
Advance one step at a time
Learn to separate time
Between the real and the fugazi
Put your all in one
Put none in the other
Gotta avoid being too lazy
At all costs be a boss
Don't follow you lead
Don't wait for a break
You got everything you need
First make up your mind
Then make up the lines
To write your own story
As you proceed --
That's rules to live by
One to grow on
For those who get their flow on
And so on
Dedicated to the artists in the field
Whose pen is their sword
And pa**ion their shield
Dedicated to the whole Diaspora
DC Caribbean to Africa
I ain't talking Umfoofoo
I'm talking Ubuntu
Dogon, Ibo, and Zulu
Dedicated to the yout' dem
Who don't see the forces
Tryna uproot them
They grow before their time
Get plucked from the vine
Their own brother or police shoot them
Happens all the time
Some say all is well
Try so hard to win
Seem to always fail
But the meek shall inherit
When it's all for sale, huh--
It Ain't Hard To Tell!!!!