[Intro: The Asoka]
Sometimes you have this idea of what paradise will be like. The stuff that dreams are made off. But when you actually get there… It's something completely different from what you imagined. But see the key is… To never give up hope. You just gotta hustle!
[Verse 1: The Asoka]
Wake up in the morning, tired still yawning
Raindrops flowing down, they're still pouring
Learn from the water, always keep flowing
Life gets hard, imagine being no one
Selling CDs right out of your car
Going up to folks, they don't know who you are
Trying to express how you feel in a bar
All of this sh** in the name of good art
No one believed I could spit this game
Till the magazines came and they pressed my name
Maxim gave me a taste of the fame
Like (Heath) Ledger in the paint, I'll never be the same
Now my videos be… up on MTV
Little ole me with a free EP
Haters been hating, I've been low key
Only my hustle can define me
Paid my dues, made my art
But society still wants to doubt my heart
“You don't fit in, don't belong in hip-hop!”
Things like that use to make my heart drop
All this time man it felt like jail
These A&Rs made my life a living hell
“An Indian kid in America well…
Well, that's something that'll never sell.”
They made me not want to live anymore
They made me wish that I had plenty dough
Some even said “He ain't got any flow.”
But God knows, I was born ready thou
[Chorus: Chris Lightfoot]
Yeah, feels like high or low
We're treading water… treading water
Yeah, will they ever know
How hard we try (hard we try)
Oh, it's burning, this yearning
To fly… to fly oh oh
Will they ever know
How hard we try
To bring it to life
[Verse 2: Hittman]
I was chosen (Whaaat?)
Back in 98 I was strolling (Whaaat?)
Back pack full of raps, had goals intact
Flowed at Encore, was a motherf**ing wrap
Mel (man) and Big Chuck were like you gotta meet Capt
That's what they called the Doctor
Interrupted Eve's session like Cool J in Krush Grove
When he said “Box!”
Spitting for Andre till he said “Stop!
That's all I gotta to hear”
Then and right there dreamed of ballin` and gear
All in all an illustrious career
Well I thought wrong, thought I was on, got hella gonged
Now I'm KickStarter pledging like a telethon
For project funding
Sometimes stepping-stones are really blocks for stumbling
Opting out my contract was it a smart or dumb thing
The block is mumbling
My hustle's not a fun thing, it's stressful and humbling
For real
[Chorus: Chris Lightfoot]
Yeah, feels like high or low
We're treading water… treading water
Yeah, will they ever know
How hard we try (hard we try)
Oh, it's burning, this yearning
To fly… to fly oh oh
Will they ever know
How hard we try
To bring it to life