Joe Metro

I reach beneath the skin and the street with each step
Walkin' closer to my final destination of death
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs, kills the pain in my chest

Take six quarters out of the pocket, and drop it in the box
Hop the 48, off to pay homage
It stops off and I jot my observations
Watchin' citizens walkin' off of the Joe Metro college

Proletariats and wayward sons
With old Filipino men speakin' in they native tongue
And the day has just begun
Greeted by the scent of a bum smellin' something like beer, barf, and dung

A brother into cloves, in the back all alone
Marinating in a pair of half-broken headphones
Mumblin' rhymes, same time begin to pen mine
Appreciating God's design, rewind sista

Reminds me of a smile in the back of my memory
I wonder, if I see her again, will she remember me?
I'm not tryin' to holler, I swear
I'm just weary of the way we hop a ride and just sit there and stare

Prepare for my 9 o'clock work meeting
A couple pale folks slide right by with no greeting
But the people with my phenotype follow with a head nod up
Cuz we acknowledge that the shit's fucked up

North of Martin Luther King, a straight war zone
Detours through the concrete, cranes, and bulldozers
No, the hill is not over still
Every block got a coffee shop, it's overkill, focus, know the deal

Dope to see Khalil back, the medicine is good again
The feeling of leaving and coming back to your hood again
Is priceless, I write this, our lives are in crisis
Most talk but don't walk the path of the righteous

Despite this, I measure each step
Walkin' closer to my final destination of death
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs, kills the pain in my chest

Clutch the moment, a transfer in my hand, still listenin'
Lookin' out the window to the gold and the green
And the sun might be shinin' but it's colder than it seems
'Cause the weather's dialectical, there's no inbetween

In walks an old soul
A first nation native, cat chiseled like a totem pole
No words, as he stands and looks over us
He gets off and says "Have a good day, you foreigners"

I crack a smile one time for the acknowledgement
Northbound, now we start to pick up more college kids
They try to study on the ride
To make up for the fact they probably kicked it hard last night

And I ponder if it's time to save up and get a car
And pay for the gas that we're takin' from the war
I'd miss all the colorful faces, the places and spaces I've embraced
With the faith that I can rest and raise kids here

Even with these cats that trippin', to bringin' 95 back again
Same old conditions
From Reagan to Bush to Clinton to Bush the second
No matter the neighborhood and the city you reppin'

It's gettin' serious y'all, you can even hear the rebel call
Gettin' off, leavin' hella pieces on the walls
Seen it all, sittin' sideways with my townmates
Only place left where majority is brown-faced

Now we headed downtown to trade our labor for cash
I thank the navigator once and walk fast
I walk past the next round of cats to jump on it
Locked in deep thought, we ride around in silence

Across Rizal bridge, I watch each step
Walkin' closer to my final destination of death
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs, kills the pain in my chest

I remain blessed, steppin' on rain with each step
Eyes heavy from the lack of the cousin of death
When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath
The Northwest fills the lungs y'all

You know the rest

You know the rest (you know the rest)
You know the rest
It's like that y'all (that y'all)
It's like that y'all (that y'all)

And that's all