[Intro]
[Verse 1: Chance Fischer]
Scratches on paper labeled as stigmata
Still possessed by what our sins taught us
Can't fully explain how we were brought up
So we built with some quills and some ink as the mortar
Purging toxins through lyricism
Our magic with the words turned to urban mysticism
As we quietly observed, recounting life as a Third Eye
Nestled in our corners you couldn't see us from bird's eye
Conjured the words that made the earth shake
A special type of sorcery
Making love to us was first base
Our potion was potent, you'd agree?
But the wisdom of a wizard is seldom well-received
They cursed us for being different and living how we believed
As thorough as Henry David at Walden pondering leaves
Scarlet letters every time my pen bleeds
[Refrain: Chance Fischer]
Scarlet letters every time my pen bleeds [Repeat 3x]
[Verse 2: Chance Fischer]
Look at what n*ggas created, we practiced Black Arts
We took it back to The Roots with all these Black Thoughts
Persecuted for being born with a tan
And making this "Jungle Music" convince their daughters to tan
Urban Renewal, our freedom in barren lands
Made for gentrified castles Le Corbusier wouldn't stand
The fire of crosses burning inspired LeVar Burtons
Rise of the black author - society's scorned burden
Harnessed our inner James Baldwin
And inner city stories told by mothers holding premature coffins
"10 cents a day" is less than two cents from Harvard
So, we had to work smarter
That's why we took a pen and a pad and a drag to ease
Some wrote about bagging cotton some others on bagging weed
Wishing this cup would pa** on our turn in Gethsemane
Scarlet Letters every time my pen bleeds
[Refrain: Chance Fischer]
Scarlet letters every time my pen bleeds [Repeat 3x]
[Closing: Chance Fischer]
To everybody who came before me
And paved away for me as a writer, and as an artist
Thank you for your sacrifice