Heres the story of a dude named Jack Kerouac
who hit the road cause he was never coming back
to write an epic book and see the country
with a very close friend named Neal Ca**ady
they were lovers but we didnt know until much later
cause America then was full of h*mophobic haters
it was all about the journey and spontaneous prose
at the Six Gallery he heard Ginsberg flow
cause Jack went hard and got turnt up
pa**ed the port after he filled his cup
A Catholic Buddhist with a giant heart
wrote everything down the in the service of his art
went to Big Sur, saw a dead otter
thought about his mom his cat and his father
drank himself to d**h in his Florida home
was laid to rest in Lowell at 47 years old
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(The French Canadian Dharma Bum, who lived his life to the maximum)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(Writing poems down in Mexico, left his mark just to let you know)
Tupac Shakur, yes Im sure,
was the Kerouac of rap cause they both opened doors
they defined a culture, both died really young
both came West and had hella fun
they went out in the club with with their fans getting hyphy
up in the bar with their crew drinking nightly
prolific and brilliant and real and alive
made poetry mainstream and changed peoples lives
East Coast to Marin well they both made the treck
the Thug Life purveyors who always caught wreck
poets who loved and supported their moms
and when they were focused their words were the bomb
maligned by the press for their derelict ways
the gangster aesthetic, a sideways beret
the posthumous gifts of two iconoclasts
RIP Tupac and RIP Jack
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(No commitments, feeling free, up all night writing constantly )
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(Literary iconoclast, who grabbed the moment and made it last)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(A Lonesome Traveller, On the Road, writing prose about the life he chose)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(Stacks of paper, piling up, shot of whiskey up in his cup)
And Im talking about the Beats
not the ones youre hearing on Ableton
cause the whole hip-hop generation
really could not have been enabled son
to express a postmodern view point
form the streets to the stage to the stadium
without Burroughs or Ginsberg or Kerouac
cause antiquated norms they were changing them
with art and music and poetry and prose
but counterculture then was a big no no
cause Cold War America was all about fear
conformity and status, 57 was the year
when On the Road changed the game
then Howl and Naked Lunch set the world aflame
it would never be the same as you already know
Kerouac opened doors with that beatnik flow
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(World renowned for his honest words, shouted loud 'til his voice was heard)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(Defined a movement and paved the way, so MCs like me could take the stage)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(Bad reviews all in his face, but no one else could ever take his place)
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that?
(A Roman candle in the dark, who exploded like a spider across the stars)
Nowadays everybody want,to tweet like they got something to say
But nothing comes out when they move their thumbs, they just let their fingers run
And bloggers wanna act like they forgot about Jack [x4]
Whos that? Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac! Whos that? [x2]
Whos that?