sub chorus
If I Had to Fight
I Would  Fight for Truth n’ Rights
and if You Couldn’t Fight, I’d Try to Fight for You


Ay, 2 Men Enter 1 Man leaveth
it’s that Turn the Other Cheek that Make the Disciplined Look Weakest
but I'll Turn My Face and Even My Backside if I Have to
but One Day God’s Wrath will Still Come Through
Then We Can Examine the Matter of Who’s Hard n’ Soft
Like Catchin the Hot Potato when the Alarm Go Off

-What You Got in You
I Got War...and I Got Peace
Wish the War Would Cease but there’s Always Sumthin Worth Fightin for
However When it’s Over,  Losers Can’t Handle it, Ready for More

-What You Got in You
I Feel Like a Violent Pacifist
Throw up the Peace Sign, but if the War Hit
it’s Like Gandhi Goes Ghetto - with 2 Clenched Fists
Like Battlin was Bred all Up in My in My Bones
When I’m Fed Up, it Feel Like Blows Gotta be Thrown
--Would Rather Extend Mercy
but Let No Man Hurt My Friends or My Family

-What You Got in You
I Gotta Lion and a Lamb
I Gotta Strong Arm of Power, with Nail Holes in it’s Hands
I Got a Glorious God, who Came and Saw to it
that the Strong Plans of the Enemy, Through His Pain, He Sawed Through it
Cut it in Half, with No Condemnation and No Wrath
Said “Follow the Light Path”, where Demons get Blasted Back
Halleluiah! Praise God! I got Power in My Words
so I don’t Even Gotta Touch those that Act Up Absurd
I Got the Book of the Ages, the Holyspirit Wrote the Pages
Copyrighted the Red Letters, so No One Could Upstage Him

(dancehall toast)
You Have Catholic, Buddha n’ Hindu Religion
Confused with Confucius, Rasta and Muslim
so Why You Wear Christ on Your Neck, but in Your Heart You Praise Allah
Said Which One-a You Religion
Cuz When Mi Was a Youth Mi Use to Fear Jehovah
Cuz I-Man Feel Dat He Come fi War Over
But Now Me Come a Man, Mi Get fi Understand
Said Jehovah is Life and Salvation
Jehovah is Right and Babylon-a Wrong
Jehovah, Jesus Christ Lift Up in the Song
That’s Why “Anything That I do, Has to Praise Jehovah”
Hear We Say “Anything That I do, Has to Praise Jehovah”

​

vs.1
in My Hemoglobin the Blood Cells are Steady Mobbin
with Rhymes, My Heads Throbbin,--- I'm Sick   
…. (echo next through next line)
Hip Hop Will be the Death of Me, of this I’m Sure
Cuz there's No Cure but to Make Sure the Track is Pure
the Vaccine is Sent Up thru the Mic Cable
Tap the Needle for Air Bubbles, Make Sure the Dose is Stable
I’ll Smash an Emcee Down to Ashes
and Run Through His Black Sabbath with Gas and Matches
in Christ there's no Condemnation
Study Scripture, Meditate and, Outloud, Pray them

-chorus-
“Can’t Say mi Never Warn You
Can’t Say You Never Know”


vs.2
If I Was Clark Kent You're Clark Can't
Faster than Bullets, Made of Steel, Kill with Psalms and Chants  
Eric B. and Rakim is My Descendants
get Migraines in My Head from the iPod Implant
Terabyte.... I Punch Parasites
this Aint Firecrack Rap, I hand Write this Dynamite
n' When I Fast I Eat Berries and Twigs
Bury Myself in Scripture, Where Snakes Can't Dig
n' Depend on Heaven for a Godsend
Waitin for Visions so Deep, its Hard to Comprehend
Like When I Saw Hiphop Submitted to Christ
but When I Awoke, it was Sirens, Guns and Knives
So I Cried for Thirty Days, Like "Take My Life"
then an Angel Came, Gave Me an Amp n' Said "Bless the Mic"

-chorus-

vs.3
I Leave Whole Bodies Smashed into the Concrete as I Bomb Streets
Bomb Your Show too! Blow Up Your Box Seats!
with More Ammo than John Rambo, Animal Mandibles
Throw Words Like Asteroids to Impact the Mantle
Vicious Verb Vandal, Deliciously Dismantle
Satan is Expendable, Trampled in the Beat Samples
the Holyspirit Makes Mysteries Understandable
John the Baptist, Original Locust, Wore Puma Sandals
-Some Say East Coast, Some Say West
the Rest Could Care less, they Know Hiphop’s in the Chest
Plus, Devils and Angels are Fightin for Your Afterlife
Like Bloods n' Crips, Isreal n' Caananites

-chorus-

You Say I’m a Fool for Fastin and I’m a Fool to Pray
but when the Rain Start Fallin, it’s too Late Bab-Bay
Before they Close that Door on the Ark, get Your Heart Sparked

​

(Dirt's Verse)
I Sniff Gun Tips After they Blast, I'm Coked Up
on Drumkits, No Joke, WHAT!?, get Choked Up!
SkullBones Crush Under the Weight of the Mystic
-Acoustic Activist, with Biblical Emphasis
I Fight My Wars with Sound Like Jericho
Against the Enemies of Hiphop that Pervert the Flow
---Leave Em Dead, Deep in the Concerto
DJ’s Put this on Wax n’ Reverse em Slow
find Backwards in the Backmask, I Mastered the Backlash
Snakes Bring the Backstab I Backhand Witchcraft
-I’ve Come Here to Rattle the Bass Cabinet
Hiphop was Meant for Life, Fake MC’s Stabbin’ it!
the Mainstream Just Care What They Can Grab from it!
STOP! We-a-bring the Catalyst
-I Spit Raw Jigsaw Leavin Yall Puzzled
Then Spray Spittle Answering the Riddles, I’m in Tunnels
Underground Prophet Roamin’ Caves, I’m Enslaved
to Unfold Mysteries n’ Leave em Laid in the Soundwaves!
Walk Careful, -Soon Cometh Judgement Day
Devils Play Tricks, the HolyGhost Keeps 'em Away!



Afraid of No Man, Dem Cyan Harm We
We Hold Bibles Like Glocks, Dem Cyan Disarm We

V.1
I was Cool with You from the Get Go
Loved the Way You Moved Confidently Through Streets, Uptown or the Ghetto
Everybody See You Comin, Start Crackin them Jokes
how You a Big Man n' Kinda Old, but then they Choke on the Smoke
You Used to Roll POD from the Southtown till they Moved On Up
Got a Tour Bus, Passed You Down, Turned You Shadow Locust
You Was Hiphop Ever Since, Rolled with Us to Represent
Carried Our Gear to the Back Door of Every Event
I Remember You Like it was Yesterday
Could Never Go Less than a Hundred and Twenty on the Freeway
Bet You Never Seen a Tank Drive Like a Honda Civic Stick Shift
Tokyo Drift, Lickety-Split,  -- Joe was Swift

V.2
Windshield Wipers to the BPM’s
RPM’s too, Keepin the Beat, Peepin them Gem’s, Creepin on Men
Pedal to the Metal, Gas Tank Hip Hopped in Heavy Metal
Your Life was Full Throttle, Got those Hot Blows, Pistons Never Settled
on the Highway Asphalt- People Followin the Lines
You Stairway to Heaven, Make Your Own Way, don't Follow No Lines
High Octane, Christ in the Veins, Life in the Fast Lane
Crank Case Cookin’, witha Manifold Destiny to Move Insane
Sometimes I Think how Much Music my Man Brought to Yall
n’ Never Even Seen a Show, Stayed in the Parkin Lot Security Guardin yall
the Gear and the Crew to Every States Stages
Took Us Places, Brought Us Culture, Plus Kept us the Safest
WHAT!?

sub Chorus:
cause That's What Best Friends are For
When You Down, They Never Let You Stay on the Floor
if You Don't Got it, Man, they Never Let You Stay Poor
Pick You Up, Carry You Through to Where You Gotta Be Door-to-Door

V.3
in No Time Flat, Burned Down the Line, Like Hell’s Eraser
and Hours Later, Still Topped Out on the Accelerator
when You Got Old You didn’t Act Like it --
Like You Ignored Every Scratch and Dent to Stay God’s Servant
how Many, Times at the Last Minute, I’d Hit You Up
but You was Always Ready to Roll, No Matter the Deal, that's Whassup
n’ I was Never Homeless, You Always Told Me I Got a Home with
Stay in the Back til You get Your Life Back on the Right Track, Uplift
when You Got Hurt, I had to Leave You to Go Get Help
Came Back to Save You, Found Out Some Dudes had Robbed You of Your Health
Smashed You Up, Took Your Shoes, Left you in a Ditch Singin the Blues
You Never Recovered from that Attack and We all Miss You

Harlot is a spoken word poem (by Michael Card, "Forgiving Eyes) that was done by a girl (Jennifer R./Akhon Apire) I met while in New York recording. She was one of Jesse’s friends and she came to the studio specifically to help with this track. I always wanted a female voice to do it.

            Jen was a testimony in and of herself. She was born Akhon Apire in Africa (I hope I get this story right!) she was born to a woman who died during childbirth. The surrounding clans people lived in such poverty that none of them could even imagine taking up the raising of an extra child. So Jen was simply placed in the corner of a tent as everyone waited for her to die.
            There was a missionary from an American church organization that was visiting the settlement and he heard the loud wailing of an infant. He asked the people to take him to the baby and they did. They explained to him what happened. And his heart, no doubt, broke! He lifted the little crying baby girl out from the corner of the tent where she had been condemned and told them that he would take her. He ended up adopting her and brought her back to America where she grew up. He gave her an American name and an African name. We, over here know her as Jennifer. But her tribal name was Akhon Aphire, which means ‘motherless child’.

            As she told me about this part of her life, I could see in her eyes how much of a redemption story she knew she had. And it didn’t hit me until later of how much she paralleled with the poem I wanted her to read. I didn’t write the whole poem. I read something that inspired me and used some of it, but have long forgot where exactly I what the original was (if someone knows, email me the name of the original author). It’s a well known story in the bible (John 8:1-12) of a woman who is caught in the act of adultery, a very serious sin in those days. She was taken out to Jesus who was teaching by some pharisee’s that wanted to catch Him saying something they could use against Him (in the old laws such a person should be stoned (Lev. 20:10). If Jesus was against her stoning he was ‘against the law of their forefathers. But if he agreed then they could say that he was a cruel person. So they asked him what they should do. And Jesus stooped to the ground and started to write in the sand, acting like he didn’t hear them. They asked him again and he said,’ Let him who is without sin cast the first stone’.

            This convicted the crowd so much that they threw down their rocks and walked away. This woman was condemned to death just like Jennifer. Two women at different times, in different circumstances, but both receiving the same judgement by man. Both women experiencing an awesome salvation! It was all too good for me!

            So Jennifer read the poem and it became the intro track to the ‘a War to restore’ album.

            Ok, maybe not that easy! Jennifer was a bit shy to record on that mic. We had all agreed that we wanted a bit of emotion in her voice. But she couldn’t ‘act’ with all of us standing there watching her. So eventually we had to hit the record button and leave the booth while she recorded with a friend in solitude. I dunno what her and that friend (Luke) did to get that emotion out of her but it worked!

            After Jen left, Jesse and me rented some old ‘Jesus’ movie and sampled pieces of this particuliar scene behind her (I don’t think a lot of people picked up on that!).  we did that in the same ol’ ghetto way as best I know how (see ‘Theophilus’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’).

            When the album released I thought it sucked the way some people took this track. My idea for this project was to make the first part of it a ‘concept album’. This means that my goal was to take the listener through a specific audible journey. And that ‘journey’ (without sounding too preachy) was certain steps of the salvation process in which God redeems sinful people back to Him! (look at the first 6 tracks: Untitled is a loop of a man saying ‘God make it stop haunting me’, ‘Harlot’ is the condemnation one feels in sin, ‘Blunted Edge’ is the struggle of a person living outside of Gods will, ‘Christ’ is the solution to that struggle that brings peace, ‘Scripture’ is where you learn about that Salvation plan, and ‘Saving Private You’ is how sometimes a friend has to come and help pull you out).

            But some peeps that reviewed the album complained that I didn’t just get up and move right into the album off the bat! No intro, just get to it! But the point I was making with the first 2 tracks is that any body can hit skip and go directly to their favorite songs. But I wanted to create an album that was pleasing at the times when you just pop in a CD and do house chores and actually listen to the whole thing. I wanted to give something to the people that want to take in the whole scene in patience.

HARLOT 
Surrounded by shouts, the cruel accusations
dragged to the court, no hope of salvation
all hope was lost, becuase those who contain me
knew who I was, they caught me in my iniquities
I thought it seemed strange as we entered in
they're stopping a young Rabbi to ask his opinion
'Imma prostitute', that's why they hate me
my body can feel the stones that await me
my judge...a man from Galilee
yet in his eyes I can see
a Father, a Brother, and a Son
a Lamb, and a Lion
the crowd is gathering, so angry and violent
as he stood beside  me, so peaceful and silent
then with one word and one question
 He shows them
that they too are guilty, and cannot condemn
what does He write in the sand
this man
that's asking me 'were are they'
I open my eyes...and through tears, see a courtyard that's empty
the stones that were gonna taste my blood
had been dropped back onto the ground were they came from
........
and in this new light, I now understood
that He would not condenm me, even though He could.....
(end  with  echo)

        Its quite obvious what the track is about (end days, armegeddon, Revelation, ect.). I always loved the way 7Lock ripped his verse. He used what he called his ‘Jamaican style’ where he spit it all with a ‘rudebwoy’ slur. This added to his gruffy vocal tones made for a verse that was intoxicatingly ununderstandable! So many people tripped off of it, “YO! What was he sayin anyway!?”

            GoldenChild was supposed to be on it too, but I couldn’t get my label to buy into the idea of spending the loot to get him on. Nowadays it’s a lot easier to just have some dope computer software and track these things yourself. But back in 96 the only way to do it was to pay bucks for a studio (which would have taken a lot added to the fact that GC lived in Florida). It was one of the major let downs of the album because he wrote a phat verse, and I really wanted him on it! In the beginning of the track I say some stuff that seems like I am giving a shot out to a ‘dead’ Goldenchild. Don’t worry he isn’t dead. But in a way I felt like the circumstances ‘killed’ his opportunity. So I gave that shot out in respect to the illness that he had written that would never be heard.

            The vocal sample in the beginning is from some TV show about disasters (recorded in the same ghetto way as the sample from Theophilus!). The piece towards the end is from a mythology record that says ‘I must be perpetually on my God, lest that movement which sweeps everything along, should hurry me along also’. I thought was a nice touch. The last sample is actually the ‘end’ of the album. A Rasta friend of mine once gave me a tape from one of his trips back home to Jamaica. It was ‘the Gospels in Patwois’ (Patwois is the slang and terminologies used in the Jamaican ghettos). The story clipped in the song (Mark 4:35:41) is when Jesus and the disciples are on the boat and a big storm comes and threatens all their lives. But “Jesus stayed asleep in de back a de boat”. And his followers scrambled to wake him up. So he went to the bow of the boat and commanded the winds and the seas to be still (“cease, Seckle”). And they did! And according to the taped story, Jesus ends by saying, “You still no believe that me run tings!”

            C’mon now! You gotta love that!

            My verse is literally me rhyming a ‘clip note’ version of the book of Revelation and its prophecies in order as they happen according to the book. 7Lock then comes in and adds by explaining how it might feel to be part of the rapture! I feel this track was a powerful ending to the album. It was a good finish. Sometimes I will listen to peoples stuff and they start out good but it fizzles at the end. I like to try to cap it where I will put any tracks that lack a bit in the middle but the ill ones at both ends. I dunno, just the way dirty dirt likes to do it!

            I feel the song moves through it’s ‘quitting point’ by the way Fingaz switched up the main loop halfway through my verse and then flipping back halfway through Lock’s.

If you listen to the sequencing of the whole track (I am peepin it as I write this) you can really respect the dope ear Fingaz had with music.

            This was another track that was a crowd pleaser when me and 7lock got to perform it. In 99 was probably one of the last times we both performed it though. But as of recently I been doin a few of the ‘oldies’ again. Bringin back the ol skool! I took this songs instrumental and chopped it up so that I could spit my verse when I am solo but I added this crazy gunfight and bombs exploding in the middle! I performed it at Cornerstone festival ’02 and it went off hot!

APOCALYPSE NOW 

(GoldenChild –verse not on album version)
IN  REVELATION  DEVILS  APPEAR  IN  HUMAN  FORM
TO  CONFORM  THE  LUKE  WARM, PROPHECY  SINCE  THE  VEIL  WAS  TORN
IT  ALL  BEGAN  WHEN  THE  SON  OF  MAN  WAS  BORN
IN  THE  FINAL  HOURS, YO  THE  GOLDEN  TRUMPET  BLOWS
DISAPPEARANCE  OF  CHRISTIANS  BLAMED  ON  U.F.O's
FROM  HELLISH  ASHES  THE  ANTI-CHRIST  AROSE
ASCENDIN'  TOWARDS  THE  SKY-QUIK  LIKE  THE  TWINKLIN'  OF  AN  EYE
TAKE  THE  MARK  AND  IN  THE  BEAST  YOU  WILL  CONFIDE
WICKED  BLOOD-BROTHERS  NOW  SWAP  D.N.A
LOOK  TOWARDS  THE  SKY  AS  THE  CLOUDS  TURN  GRAY
MANY  STAY  SILENT  WITHOUT  A  THING  TO  SAY
BETTA'  GET  READY  FOR  THE  SEVEN  YEAR  DELAY
ALLIES  ON  THE  FRONTLINE  BECOME  THE  DEVIL'S  PREY
ABOMINATION  OF  SIN  IS  WHAT  THEY  DISPLAY
WICKED  GENERALS  WITH  NOTHIN'  MORE  THAN  CROOKED  SMILES
SATAN'S  HENCHMEN  EXPANDIN'  ACROSS  FOR  MILES
I  SIT  BACK  AND  WATCH  AS  THEY  SINS  START  TO  COMPILE
YOU  BEST  LISTEN  TO  THE  WORDS'  APOCALYPSE  NOW
IN  THE  ENDTIMES  YOU  BETTA'  LEARN  TO  PREPARE
OPEN  UP  YOUR  HAND, INSERT  COMPUTER  SOFTWARE
SOCIETY'S  CLONES  LOOK  AT  ME  WITH  COLD  STARES

(Dirt)
ARMEGGEDEON  YOU  BETTER  RUN
SECOND  COMING  OF  CHRIST,  DEMISE  OF  THE  EVIL  ONE
BLOOD  SPLATTERS  THE  PAVEMENT
INIQUITIES  OF  FLESH  BECOME  THE  PEOPLES  ENSLAVEMENT
TELEVISED  PROPAGANDA
DEVILS  GIVING  OUT  GIFTS  LIKE  THEY  NAMES  WAS  SANTA
CULTS  THAT  BLASPHEME
"AVOID  GODLESS  TEACHING, SPREADING  LIKE  GANGRENE" (2 Timothy 2:17)
A  SERIES  OF  DISASTERS,  AFTER  SEALS  HAVE  BEEN  BROKEN 
CONQUEST  LEADING  SLAUGHTER,  DISEASE,  AND  FAMINE  (REVEL Revelation ATION 6:2-8)
FORCES  OF  DESTRUCTION,  HELD  BACK  BY  ANGELS
AT  THE  FOUR  CORNERS  OF  THE  EARTH (Revelation 7:1-2)
.......A  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY-FOUR  THOUSAND  CHOSEN (Revelation 7)
CAPTURED  BY  IGNORANCE,  BUT  MAKE  THE  TRANSITION
TRUMPETS  ARE  BLOWN,  HERE  COME  THE  JUDGMENTS (Revelation 8:6-13)
THOUGH  SEVERE,  ARE  ONLY  MEANT  TO  BRING  MEN  TO  THEIR  SENSES
(Revelation 9:20-21)
TURN  AWAY  FROM  IGNORANCE
AND  RUN  TOWARDS  REPENTANCE
FORCES  OF  EVIL  RELEASED  UPON  THE  LAND
LOCUST  FROM  THE  ABYSS  WITH  POWERS  OF  SCORPION (Revelation 9:3)
STINGS  THAT  CUASE  SPASM
PEOPLE  SEEKING  DEATH  BUT  IT  DOES  NOT  FIND  THEM (Revelation 9:6)
SEVEN  PLAGUES  STRIKE (REVELATION 15 AND 16)  BEFORE  THE  FALL OF BABYLON
FINAL  DESTRUCTION  OF  APOLLYON ("Devil" in  Hebrew)
WATCH  IT  GO  DOWN
YOU  TALK  ABOUT  LATER, I TALK  ABOUT  NOW

(7Lock)
BLOOD  DRIPPED  FROM  THE  SUN, ME  SAID  ME  SEE  WHITE  RIDER
ME  KNEW  THAT  BOY IT WAS  THE  HOLY  SON  OF  JEHOVAH
FOUR  WEEKS  THAT  I  HAD  PASSED  AND  I  WAS  SURE  DANG  COOL
CAUGHT  UP  IN  A  RAPTURE  AS  I  FLEW  THROUGH  THE  SKY  I  KNEW
ME  SEEN  THE  RAIN  FALL  DOWN  ME  HEARD  THE  BABYLONS  SHOUT
"PLEASE  HELP  ME  JESUS  'FORE  THE  LAKE  OF  FIRE  I  DO  DROWN"
ME  LEFT  MY  FLESH  ON  THE  EARTH  FOR  ME  KNEW  IT  WAS  CURSED
THE  BEAST  WAS  UNLEASHED  MAKING  RAINBOW  SHERBERT  OF  THE  EARTH
"I  WISH  I  WAS  A  BORN  AGAIN  MAN"  SAID  THE  BABYLON  MAN
AS  THE  PLAGUES  ATE  HIS  ARMS  AND  HIS  HANDS
YOU  DANG-DANG  FOOL,  YOU  SHOULD'VE  BEEN  LEARNED  MY  SCHOOL
AND  BOWED  DOWN  TO  THE  LAMB  WITH  THE  MOST  HIGH  RULE
I  HEARD  A  SEVENTH  TRUMPET  RISING,  RISING, RISING  ON  TOP  OF  
MT.ZION  WAS  MY  LORD  AND  HIS  CREW
A  SEVENTH  TRUMPET  RISING,  RISING,  RISING  ON  TOP  OF  MT. ZION  WAS
A  FACE  THAT  I  KNEW

                      >>>SEE THE LYRIC VIDEO HERE<<<
 This song became the epitome of me writing something too deep for anyone to pick up on. There are a couple ideas so interwoven into this track that some did not pick up on them alltogether.

            The main one is that it’s a song about a gun. Which most peeps understood. I actually concepted this track after what happened from the ‘Operation E’ song (gunfire at a house party I was performing at). I was tired of bullets in our culture!

            My uncle Merle told me about a scene in a Ray Bradbury book called ‘Farenheit 45’. I still haven’t read it but its something about a guy who see’s these crazy visions of war but in reverse. So the bullets are actually flying out of people and back into the guns. I thought that was dope!

            If you pay attention to the second verse of this track I go through the story of a gun in the same way. Normally we dig the ores out of the ground, melt them down to metals, fashion the metal to guns and bullets, shoot them into people, and doctors have to pull them out. But I go in reverse:

-‘capsules of metal with evil intention/ were placed within my body with delayed explosion’

-‘this one had a handheld device…he pulled the trigger twice’ (he had a gun which he used to suck the bullets out of me)

-‘heat the oven up…we melted the bullets down’

-‘we took the secret of the gun and buried it deep within the earth’

The second idea was the acronym for the word heat in the song. I thought it was cool but alotta kids didn’t get it. HEAT stood for: Holyspirit Embodied As Teacher. And in the chorus I am saying that emcee’s can be dope as heck but if they aren’t led by God then they are still wack. People started calling the song ‘heat’ instead of ‘WoodBurnsFire’ (which was derived from the backwards gun idea).

People didn’t grasp onto the ideas as much as I wished they would have. Even so this was a popular request at shows. I would usually not do the second verse though, replacing it with a lot of crowd interaction. I would usually end a show (especially on my tours with P.O.D) with ‘Heat’ and then ‘Chant’.

In the song I liked how 7Lock backed up the track too. It ended up sounding real nice. Fingaz rocked the ill scratch of a Jeru song at the end. And if you listen in headphones you can hear the first time I used my now infamous ‘whisper’ backups.

            This track was recorded in Hollywood and remixed a few times in L.A. and San Diego before the final version

WoodBurnsFire 
(H.E.A.T-Holyspirit.Emodied.As.Teacher)

vs.1
THEY  TRIED  TO  DIS  THE  LOCUST  FIST
CLIMBIN  SIDEWAYS  THROUGH  THE  WINDOW,  BUT  THE  SECOND ONE  GOT  DISSED
SATELLITE  CONNECTION-CONNECT  ME  TO  MY  NUMBER  ONE
INSECT  REINFORCEMENT  MEET  AT  THE  JOINT  LIKE  SKELETON
EVIL  GRASSHOPPERS  MADE  A  MOVE  ON  US
CREATED  A  NEW  WEAPON  CALLED  CRANIUM  RUCUS-OR  GUN
RECEIVE  THE  PERIMETERS  OF  MY  MISSION
LETS  PUT  THE  SQUEEZE  ON  THEM  BUGS  LIKE  TWO  HANDS  AND ACCORDION
SOLAR  WIND  FASHION
PLANT  EXPLOSIVES-N-RUN
I  WANNA  GET  HOME  QUICK  SO  I  CAN  SEE  MY  CINNAMON
AND  CHILDREN-LETS  BLOW  THE  WICKED  OUT  THE  LAND
MOBILIZE-AND  SYNCHRONIZE  WATCHES  AT  MY  COMMAND
POSITIVELY  CHARGED-RADIUS  IS  LARGE
SECRET  UNDERGROUND  AGENTS  LIKE  MASONIC  LODGE
BEFORE  WE  DISMISS-AND  TAKE  CARE  OF  BUSINESS
RAISE  YOUR  ANTENNAE  AND  SING  THE  ANTHEM  OF  THE LOCUST.........

-EMCEES AIN'T NOTHIN IF THEY DON'T GOT H.E.A.T.
DON'T WEAR THE ARMOR-GET CRUSHED LIKE WHEAT
YOUR GHETTO SOUNDS ARE SWEET MELODIES
BUT THEY DON'T GOT NOTHIN IF THEY DON'T GOT H.E.A.T.

vs.2
A  CLOUDED  MIND  SEES  NOTHIN'
ALL  ALONG  THE  WATCHTOWER  THEY  SAID  THEY  SAW  AN ARMY  COMIN,
SOME  WERE  ON  HORSES-THE  OTHER  ONES  WERE  RUNNIN-                                 
IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  WICKED  MEN  THEY  SAW  THE  WEAPON
RUNNIN  PLOTS  TO  MAKE  US  BOW  LIKE  CELLO  OR  VIOLIN
WICKED  INSECTS  SNUFFIN  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MARANATHA
LETS  BREAK  UP  THEIR  PLANS  LIKE  BIRTHDAY  KIDS  AND  PINATA
----SPYIN ME WIT DEM BAD EYE---------
I  CALLED  BACK-UP  TO  THE  SPOT-LETS  STRIKE  WHILE  THE IRONS  HOT
BUT  THE  ENEMY  JUMPED  BACK  QUICK  AND  MY  SHIRT  WAS CAUGHT
CAPSULES  OF  METAL  WITH   EVIL INTENTION
WERE  PLACED  WITHIN  MY  BODY  WITH  DELAYED  EXPLOSION
I  SCREAMED  BLOOD,  MURDER  STYLE-BUT  NOBODY  HEARD  ME
THE  NEXT  DAY  I  AWOKE  WITH  VISIONS  OF  CEMETERY ACTIONS-STRONG  LIGHTS  WERE  BLAZIN  ON  ME
WHEN  I  CAME  TO, I  RECOGNIZED  DOCTORS  AROUND  ME
THIS  ONE  HAD  THIS  HANDHELD  DEVICE
TOUCHED  MY  SKIN  COLD  AS  ICE-HE  PULLED  THE  TRIGGER TWICE
I  LET  OUT-AS  THE  BULLETS  WERE  SUCKED  FROM  MY  CAVITY
MY  ANATOMY  NEEDED  TWO  WEEKS  OF  RECOVERY
NOW  LETS  FIND  THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  WEAPON
HEAT  THE  OVEN  UP  FIFTY-ONE  HUNDRED  DEGREES  LIKE  DRAGON
FLAME-WE  MELTED  THE  BULLETS  DOWN
I  SEEN  THE  SECRET  COMPOUND
INSTILL  MY  PEOPLE  WITH  FEAR  AND  MAKE  THEM  LIE  DOWN
WE CAN'T  LET  THIS  INFORMATION  GET  AROUND.............
I  SEARCHED  MY  HEAD  FOR  AN  ANSWER  BUT  ONLY  ONE  COULD BE FOUND
THE  DEVILS  WORMS  ARE  AT  WORK
WE  TOOK  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  GUN  AND  BURIED  IT  DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH............

 There’s not much behind this track. I just liked the beat initially when Fingaz let me peep it. It’s first impressions were of a dope Bboy type of track that all the crews could get down with on the linoleum. So that is what I eventually wrote with in mind. 

            I will however tell you the interesting story behind the name. It comes from the old ‘Dinotopia’ book. You gotta go back and check it out. It’s a fictional fantasy story about an island where dinosaurs never died out. Humans get shipwrecked on this island through out the ages and have to stay there because the way the currents flow around the isle, no boat is able to get out into the sea. So the main thrust of the story is about how man and dinosaur live on this island together in harmony (some of the dinosaurs can even talk).

            Well the book I read was about a father and two brothers who get washed up on the island. Their boat wrecks and dolphins save them from drowning by swimming them to the land (which is quite normal according to the story). then from there, the 3 are opened up to the exciting world of Dinotopia (go get a library card and check it!) and so and so forth. Find the book and read the story yourself fool!

 On the island people greet eachother by saying ‘breathe deep, and seek peace’. One day the younger son finally asks a native what exactly does that phrase mean and he is told that it is in reference to the dolphins that saved most of the inhabitants lives.

Dolphins are obviously mammals that need oxygen to survive, but yet they have been placed in the ocean surrounded by water. Well instead of complaining about it and being upset, they have chosen rather to learn how to adapt to their envioronment. They taught themselves to take deep breathes (breathe deep) and deal with the cards they have been handed (seek peace instead of being upset).

I just thought that was all cool. So much so that I even have a tattoo on each arm written in Chinese characters, one saying ‘breathe deep’ and the other saying ‘seek peace’. So when writing this track I used the name here again.

This track was remixed, by DJ Theatre over a new beat for the ‘Upsetter Mixtape’, 2009

BREATHE DEEP 

1st  breath 
ANSWER  THE  QUESTION, "WHY  DO  THEY  WANNA  STEAL THUNDER?
I  MAKE  YOU   WONDER  WHAT  KIND  OF  CAT  WANNA  BE  LIKE  THAT
STICK  MY  FEET  TO  LEVEL  PATH (ISA.26:7)
BUILD  MY  HOUSE  HIP-HOP  BECAUSE  THAT'S  MY  HABITAT
MONOTHEISTIC
BRAIN   PATTERNS   NEVER  SIMPLISTIC
OTHERS  PACKIN'  UP PIPES  WHILE  I'M  PACKIN'  UP  MANUSCRIPTS
GROWTH  LIKE  BOTANIC-SATANIC
THOUGHTS  ALL  UP  IN  ME  BUT  I  BLOW  THEM  LIKE  VOLCANIC

 2nd  breath 
SEEK  WISDOM   LIKE  MAGI
HANG  DEVILS  LIKE  HAMAN (Ester7:10), REVEALING  PLOTS   LIKE   MORDECAI (Ester2:19-23)
MISTIFY   LIKE   VAPOR
EMCEE'S  ARE   RUNNIN'  OFF  THEY  MOUTHS  SO  I  GET  THE  MASKING  TAPE
I  DO  NOT  FRET  BECAUSE  OF  WICKED (Psalm37:1)  MEN 
THAT  TRAVEL  SELF MADE  PATHS  AND  ADHERE  TO  THEY  OWN  RELIGION
I  KNOW  THAT  THEY  DRINK  AN  EVIL  GIN
AND  WHEN  THEY  PICK  UP  MICROPHONES  THEY  ONLY  SPIT  OUT  MENTAL  POISON
I'MMA  BURN  IT  UP  LIKE  GOMORRAH
CARRY  MY  SWORD  AT  ALL  TIMES  LIKE  CONAN  THE  DESTROYER
I  AIN'T  DOWN  WITH  SPIRITUAL  SLAVERY
MICROPHONE  IS  BLOWTORCH  TO  BURN  THE  SKIN  OF  ENEMY
AND  LEAVE  'EM  SUBDUED  LIKE  CANAANITE (Joshua)
WHO  TRIED  TO  KILL  ME  WITH  CAR-BOMBS  BUT  IT  WAS  ONLY  MY  PROTOTYPE
I'M  AFFLUENT  IN  THE  WAYS  OF  RHYMIN'
SPIT  SEEDS  FROM  MY  MOUTH  AND  WAIT  FOR  FERTILIZATION
I WREAK  HAVOC  LIKE  THE  4RTH  TABLET
A  MASSIVE  HEADACHE  TO  YOUR  MEMBRANE
GET  RELIEF  FROM  THE  BIG  CHIEF
EXTRACTING  JUICES  FROM  THE  TREE  (TRI)
THE  ANECDOTE-AAAHHH-TO  THE  SIN  THAT  YOUR  IN
THEOLOGICAL  LYRICS  ACTIN'  LIKE  POISON
IF  ONE  CAN'T  STAND  HOW  'BOUT  THE  OTHER  MAN
LET'S  MAKE  PACTS  IN  THE  DARK  AND  SMUGGLE  REAL  STUFF  LIKE  CONTRABAND
PROJECTION  LIKE  GANG  MAN  CARRY  GUN
VIBRATION  FROM  THE  SON  FILLS  UP  MY  LUNG

       This track was constructed around the chorus. The actual lyric content isn’t too centered on anything but phatness! It’s the chorus that delivers the main idea. Theophilius is an old Hebrew word that means ‘lover of God’. In the chorus we were saying that we love God too but when the church people met up with us they rejected us because we don’t do things exactly like them. We don’t dress like them, we don’t look like them, and we love hiphop. Because of this we get turned outside and considered as less.

            The point of the song is to say that we are human too and we deserve to praise God in our own way. That he accepts us as we are because He judges the inward and not the outward.

            The vocal sample in the beginning is from a TV show I was watching on Discovery channel. It was a documentary on the ‘Elephant man’, Joseph Merrick. He was born in London in the 1800’s and suffered from a severe case of elephantitis that deformed a majority of his body. Because of this he was a social outcast. He was treated as an animal most of his life until he met a doctor who took him in and allowed him to stay at the hospital. There, Joseph became quite popular amongst the social elite, even getting a few visits from the queen herself.

            Although Joseph had an exterior that was repulsive to view, he had the mind of a genius. While at the hospital he built a couple miniatures of famous London buildings out of cardboard. These replicas are exact to the finest details and made completely out of original pieces cut and glued together by hand. They are almost identical scaled models of the original buildings constructed only from viewing photographs of the structures.

            Joseph wrote a small diary before he died (some think by suicide) and what you hear in the beginning of the song is the narrator of the show reading the last entry of that writing. The last words that Joseph wrote before he left this world. I had seen the show and thought that it would be a dope sample for the intro to Theophilus:

‘Tis true my form is something odd

but blaming me is blaming God

could I create myself anew

I would not fail in pleasing you

If I could reach from pole to pole

or grasp the ocean with a span

I would be measured by the soul

The mind is the standard of the man.’

I had to wait for the show to rerun to catch the whole sample. And even then I applied ghetto techniques to catch it on tape. I ran a mic from my mixer all the way out into the living room where the TV was. Then at the right time I ran back into the Redroom and hit ‘record’ on my tape deck. GHETTO FABULOUS BABEE!!

I liked how the song came out. But alotta people didn’t understand the chorus as easy as I thought they would. Regardless, 7 and me had a lot of fun performing it.  And when he wasn’t with me, I would do my verses and then add some freestyling and crowd interaction.

We both recorded the song at the same time in south San Diego at ‘Abbot Sounds’.  The track was mixed down a few times before the final on the album. I let the drums ride out at the end for so long just to see if I could irritate somebody! HAHA! I remember trying to explain why to Fingaz and 7. I didn’t really have a good reason, I just wanted to see if someone would email me and complain about it. No one ever did. So get to it! Email me about it!

   This song was remixed by DJ Theatre for the ‘Upsetter Mixtape’, 2009.

THEOPHILUS 

(Dirt)
I'M  DOUBLE  SIGHTED  LIKE  SIAMESE
THROW  GRENADES  AT  YOUR  TOWN  LIKE  VIETMESE
VIETCONG, I'M  WORSER  THAN  IGNITION
WHEN  I  START  TO  CHANT  AND  WATCH  ALL  LOCUST  COME
HEED  THE  WARPATH, OR  SUCCUMB  TO  GOD'S  WRATH
SOULS  ARE  STRIPPED  OF  UNGODLY  PRIDE  IN  THE  AFTERMATH
GO  AND  GET  YOUR  HANDGUN  I  DON'T  NEED  ONE
MY  MIND  IS  MY  WEAPON-HA
WALK  THE  WAY  OF  CAIN  AND  GET  BURNT  LIKE  CREMATORIUM
THE  OUTCOME, YOU  THOUGHT  YOU WAS  SMART  BUT  YOUR  A  DUM-DUM
EVIL  GETS  BEAT  LIKE  WUVY'S  SET  OF  DRUMS........
"THEOPHILUS"  I  THOUGHT  YOU  KNEW  ME

(7lock)
LET  ME  RUN  MY  SCAM  , SON,  CAN  YOU  DIG  IT 
BRINGIN  YOU  THE  STYLE  FROM  THE  NAZARITE  SHIN  DIG
BRING  YOUR  BUDDHA  MONKS  AND  YOUR  36  CHAMBERS
AND  SON  I'LL  BRING  MY  STAFF  SWINGIN  ANCIENT  OF  DAYS
KNOCK  YOU  OUT  YOUR  FRAME  KID
KICK  IT  IN  YOUR  BRAIN  KID
BOY  LIKE  A  MAD  KANGAROO  NOW
WHAT  YOU  GONNA  DO  
WHEN  I  NAZIRITE  WARRIOR  OUT  THE  66  VOWS
LOCUST  SWARMIN  ON  YOUR  PATH  TO  BRING  YOUR  FOUR  WALLS  DOWN
BOOM-PA, MIGIS  IN  THE  JOINT  SCREAMIN  AAAHHH!!!!
BREAKIN  UP  YOUR  POW-WOW
GIVING  YOU  THE ZZZZZZZZ
LEARN, SONNY,  LIKE  BUTTER  FROM  THE  CHURN
I  COME  REAL
BRINGIN  YOU  THE  TRUTH  IN  YOUR  GRILL
ALL  HAIL  TO  THE  FIRST  TABLET
SON  GRAB  YOUR  MIC  LIKE  A  MAN  AND  STOP  YA  BABBLIN
SHADOW  10-STACKIN  EMCEE'S  BY  THE  PILE
BE  KNOWN  TO  WRECK  YOUR  CREW  LIKE  A  MASTA  OF  AN  UNKNOWN  STLYE

(chorus)
THEOPHILUS
I  THOUGHT  YOU  KNEW  US
BUT  WHEN  WE  CAME  TO  CRUSH
YOU  REJECTED  US               2Xs

(Dirt)
I  BURN  YOUR  TOWN  WITH  MENTAL  GASOLINE
CHECK THE CRIME  SCENE
I  STACK  KNOWLEDGE LIKE  JENGA
SCRATCH  UNRIGHTEOUS  LIKE RECORDS TO FINGAZ
AUTOMATICS-LET THEM HAVE IT
I  COME  IN THE  NAME  OF  THE  SPIRIT  TO  DEVOUR
THINK GODLY THOUGHTS INTO BRICKS AND BUILD BIG  
TOWERS
THE FORTRESS IS BUILT
BUT  IF  THE  FORTRESS  IS  BUILT  ON  THE  SAND
THEN  THE  FORTRESS FALLS
MY  VOICE  RISES LIKE INCENSE
POWER  COMES  BACK  DOWN  INTENSE
PROTECTION  ELECTRIFIES  LIKE  SECURITY  FENCE
LET  ME  SPARK  A  REVOLUTION
BECAUSE  WIDE  IS  THE  ROAD  THAT  LEADS  TO  STAGNATION  

(7Lock)
LIKE  A  LOLLIPOP,  KID, I  STRAIGHT  REPRESENT  THE  TRIUNE
GRAB  THE  MIC  LIKE   I ,  KARATE  ICHE'  RI
K.I.  ON  AN  EMCEE  STEPPIN
BEEN  KNOWN  TO  WRECK  YOUR  CREW  AND  MAKE  YOUR  WHOLE  SHIP  SANK
BOY  THINK   BEFORE  I  SEND  THE  BOUNTY
RAIDING  ON  YOUR  CAMP  LIKE  THE  MOUNTY
SON  IT'S  COMIN  DOWN  LIKE  SHOOP-SHOOP-SHOOP-SHOOP
NAZIRITE  RIDERS  ON  THE  STALLION  CREW
KNOWN  TO  BRING  IT  FORTH  LIKE  THE  TABLET  OF  THE  FIFTH
ARMY  ON  YOUR  CREW  LIKE  THE  SPECIAL  FORCES
RECON  MARINES,  STEALIN  ON  YOUR  GRAIN
LOCUST  ON  YOUR  CROPS  LIKE  GUERRILLAS  FROM  UKRAINE

            On September 28, 1996 my wife and I was at a house party chillin. There were probably about 400 peeps packed tighly in and around this house down in Chula Vista. When I came to the spot all these cats were freestyling in the backyard by the DJ who was spinning some phat instrumentals. Everything was peace! Instead of everyone on ‘battle’ mode it seemed like the emcee’s were just vibing and enjoying the fact that there was a mic, PA system, and a crowd! Even though there were different crews assembled there everyone was actin cool and united. No one was tryin to showboat and get all crazy. It was really peace.

            My wife was pregnant at the time with our second kid. We were both standin over by the sound system. The mic was being passed around and some people were telling me to get a piece of it. All of a sudden a couple of gunshots rang out from the far side of the backyard and the whole crowd started to scatter like a stampede! I was afraid for the life of my girl and the baby inside her, so I pushed her to the ground and layed over her. If bullets were flyin around I wanted them to hit me before they hit her. I was tripped out scared that my wife or the baby would be hurt!

            After a few minutes everything cleared up and most of the people had either left or were on the street in front of the house. A fight had started with two gansters in the back and one of them pulled out a glock and started firing. The half funny thing is that all he hit was the other dudes butt cheek! But nevertheless I was pissed off! To be sitting at a party and have so much positivity flyin suddenly interrupted by that drama was wack! To make it worse, I felt like the life of my child and wife were violated as someone acting stupid could have killed them with a stray projectile! I was mad!

            So mad that when I got home later that night I sat down and wrote this song from start to finish in less than an hour, which was a first for me. Usually I write a bit. Stop. Come back to it later and finish up when I can. But my emotions were running deep and the end result was Operation E.

            I got the name from an old Eek-a-Mouse song called ‘Operation Eradication’ which was about getting rid of violence in the shanty towns. The ironic thing was that this song was my ‘anti gang’ song but it seemed to be the gangtsas favorite jam! I performed it rarely but when I did, some crazy creased Dickie, flannel wearin cat would tell me he liked it.

            If you listen real close to the backups in the backround of the song, you can hear Rueben and me talking. I am telling him about the story above. We all thought that was a good effect. It made the song feel more like a conversation. ‘Dirt is telling you that guns are bad in the hands of evil people’.

            The track was recorded in the Hollywood sessions and mixed a few times before the final album version.

OPERATION E.

initiated  September  28, 1996 

FREESTYLE  FANATIC
RHYMES  COME  CLEANIN'  OUT  THE  DUST IN  YOUR  ATTIC
FOR  REAL,  SPRAY  THEM  LIKE  AUTOMATIC--WEAPON
OPERATION  E.  EQUALS  GUN  DESTRUCTION
ORIGINAL  TEXT  READER
MAINTAIN  POWER  LIKE  RADIO  RECEIVER
I  BRING  NAILS  TO  YOUR  STACKS  OF  LUMBER
LIKE  PHSYCICS  BRING  800-TELEPHONE  NUMBERS
INVITATIONS  TO  ROCK  THE  PARTY  SCENE
BUT  WHEN  THE  INSECTS  MOVED  IN  THE  PEACE  GREW  LEAN
PEOPLE  WALKIN'  CROOKED  LIKE  UN-V8-ED
LYRICS  BURN  UP  HOT-EVIL  GETS  CREMATED
HOODLUMS  APPROACH  ME  BUT  THEY  DAFFY  LIKE  DUCKS
TRYIN'  TO  COME  AROUND  AND  MAKE  MY  EONS  FLUX
PEACE-THAT'S  WHAT  I  GIVE  TO  YOU
AND  IF  YOU  DON'T  GIVE  IT  BACK  I  STILL  GIVE  IT  TO  YOU
RHYMES  AS  ASSUALT-CHICK-CHICK-HIT  THE  ASPHALT
LYRICS  HIT  THE  BODY  NOW  GRAB  THE  CHALK
MAP  THE  TERRAIN
BECAUSE  I'M  MOVING  IN  YOUR  FRAME-OF  MIND
AND  NOW  YOUR  STRUNG  UP  WITH  TWINE  
AND  WHEN  IT  BREAKS, WHAT  DO  YOU  HAVE  TO  FALL  BACK  ON
FAMILIES  OF  TREACHERY  OR  HOLY  SON
GET  MAD-PULL  GUN-SHOOT  ONE-CROWD  RUN
PUT  DOWN  YOUR  METAL  AND  CHOOSE  TRUE  WISDOM BECAUSE  THOSE  LIVING  BY  THE  GUN,  DIE  BY  THE  GUN

(  Chorus  ) 2X'S

GANGSTAS  THROW  YOUR  SIGNS-IMMA  DRAW  THE  LINE
KILLING  MY  INSIDES  ONE  MOMENT  AT  A  TIME
GANGSTAS  THROW  YOUR  GUNS  AND  YOUR  GUN  BATTLES  AWAY
BECAUSE  TOMORROW  IS  NOT  A  PROMISED  DAY
TAKE  HEED  TO  YOUR  WEAPONS  AND  USE  THEM
WATER  REFLECTS  FACE  SO  HEART  REFLECTS  MAN (proverb 27:19)
SECRETED  ON  EARTH  BUT  SCANDALOUS  IN  HEAVEN
YOU  THINK  IT  WAS  UNSEEN  BUT  ASK  THE  BIG  MAN
ADHERE  TO  THE  LESSONS  OF  PROVERBIAL  MAN
AND  WATCH  THE  DEVIL  GET  CRUSHED  LIKE  FOREHEAD  TO  CAN
YOU  WANNA  BATTLE,  WELL  BRING  IT  ON  MY  FRIEND
I  BRING  MY  BRAIN  YOU  BRING  YOURS  BUT  THERE'S  NO  EQUIPMENT
ALWAYS  YELLIN',"KEEP  IT  A  HUNDRED  PERCENT!"
BUT  THEN  YOU  BUY  DRUGS  AND  GOLD  BEFORE  YOU  PAY  RENT
WELL  GUESS  WHAT,  NOW  YOUR  STUCK  IN  THE  CEMENT
CAME  HARD  LIKE  TITANIUM  BUT  YOU  STILL  GET  BENT
AND  FOR  YOU  GUYS  OUT  THERE  THAT  SAY  THAT  YOU  KNOW  ME  
GET  TO  KNOW  ME,  BEFORE  YOU  TELL SOMEONE  THAT  YOU  KNOW  ME
GUNSLINGAS  PLAY  THAT  HARDCORE  GAME
SEEKING  HOW  MANY  BULLETS  CAN  A  BODY  MAINTAIN
THEY'RE  ATTACKING  OUR  CHILDREN
AND  YET  WE  CLOSE  OUR  EYES  AND  ACT  LIKE  WE  DON'T  SEE  THEM
WELL  IF  THOUGHT  IS  THE  ROOT  TO  ACTION
I  THINK  I'LL  THINK  ABOUT  THEIR  DESTRUCTION
AND  ACT  UPON  IT
WITH  IMMEDIATE  APPLICATION
GUN  ERADICATION
AND  STOP  THE  INTIMIDATION
YOU  CAN  STRIKE  MY  BODY  BUT  MY  SPIRIT  FLIES  FREE
THEN  I  BLUNT  YOUR  REALITY  LIKE  REFUGEE
ROCKIN'  THE  PARTY  400  DEEP
BUT  SOME  FOOL  SHOT  A  GUN  THEN  WE  ALL  HAD  TO  LEAVE

(out  on  chorus )