GZA - B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) lyrics

[Hook] Life is a test many quest the universe And through my research, I felt the joy and the hurt The first shall be last and the last shall be first The basic instructions before leaving earth [Verse 1: k**ah Priest] Knowledge this wisdom, this goes back when I was twelve I loved doing right but I was trapped in hell Had mad ideas, sad eyes and tears Years of fears, but yo my foes couldn't bear I searched for the truth since my youth And went to church since birth, but it wasn't worth the loot That I was paying, plus the praying I didn't like staying cuz of busy-bodies and dizzy hotties That the preacher had souped up with lies Had me cooped up lookin at loot, bu*t, and thighs Durin the service, he swallowed up the poor And after they heard this, they wallowed on the floor But I ignored, and explored my history that was untold And watched mysteries unfold And dropped a j**el like Solomon, but never followed men Cause if you do your brain is more hollow than Space oblivia, or the abyss With no trace of trivia, left with the hiss Does it pay to be deaf, dumb and blind? From a slave we was kept from the mind And from the caves he crept from behind And what he gave, was the sect of the swine When the bible, it condemned the pig I don't mean to pull your hems or flip your wigs But we used to wear a turban, but now we're in the urban No more wearing beanies and dress like a genie No hocus pocus cause I focus on the facts And put it on the tracks and brought it through the wax I speak on Jacob, it might take up some time And too much knowledge, it might break up the rhyme I did it anyway just to wake up the mind Of those who kiss stones or prays on the carpet Those who sit home, or sell books by the market Need to chill and get their mind revived For years religion did nothing but divide The basic instructions before leaving earth [Hook] [Verse 2: k**ah Priest] I strolled through the books of Job to unfold And open bibles, instead of hoping on revivals Calling on His name and screaming hallelujah When he hardly knew ya, that's how the devil's fooled ya See look into my eyes brethren, that's the lies of a Reverend Why should you die to go to heaven? The Earth is already in space, the bible I embraced A difficult task I had to take I studied till my eyes was swollen, and only arose when I found out that we were the chosen I deal with the truth, and build with the youth And teach my son as he kneels on the stoop Son, life is a pool of sin, corrupted with foolish men And women with wicked minds, who build picket signs To legalize abortion, the evil eye distortion I quiz Son with my wisdom Before I converted, I was perverted, and knowledge was a**erted The study of wisdom, I perferred it The understanding, it gave me mental freedom I even learnt Caucasians were really the Tribe of Edom The white image, of Christ, is really Cesare Borgia And uhh, the second son of Pope Alexander The Sixth of Rome, and once the picture was shown That's how the devils tricked my dome I prophesized to save a man, but no one gave a damn For my nation - the seed of Abraham Blessed with the tongue of Hebrew Now we're strung on needles, and some are plungin evils So study and be wise in these days of darkness Peace to my nephew Marcus The basic instructions before leaving earth [Hook]