Stop the Press

Another one of them long ass breaks. Damn, Brother Ali where the hell you been? What, you disappear? Stop the presses give me couple seconds Let me tell my friends what’s up with big brethren New year new beard a new record Made a few adjustments I want to discuss it In a life of pain and sadness Never would’ve guessed that a taste of success Would’ve been the first time I ever got depressed I know I’m blessed I just couldn’t adjust In life all I ever knew how to do is fight Scrapped on the playground fighting for the mic Trying to build a life with an insane wife Fighting for a little bit of time in the light Then I got a daughter a car and house No one left to fight with but myself Gained a lot of weight wasn’t thinking about my health Maybe the music I’m making could help I can’t drive ‘cause this albino shit Told you I was legally blind that’s legit I ain’t want Ant to have to come scoop the kid So I bought a crib a couple blocks from his That’s the greatest friend I ever had Like a brother to me a borderline dad Maybe making a record will get me on track Help fix whatever’s wrong with my head I jumped back in the basement at once Made the album Us in a couple of months But I can’t lie to y’all I felt lost Energy I brought might’ve been a bit off Couple great moments though of course Babygirl Puppy Love and The Travelers I toured two years off that album Was on the road ten months out of one of them Did the globe with my brother BK My life coach slash DJ Literally been with me since day one Had a lot of hard times had a lot of fun Long story short he got hell of a wife Catastrophe damn near ended her life Brought our wifeys out to Hawaii These fuckers got pregnant on Waikiki He said "I need to talk to you Ali This is what you were born to do, but not me" So after Soundset two thousand and ten Say goodbye to my Deejay but not my friend My career ain’t stop it just grew I rock(ed) the bells and Glastonbury too Close enough to smell Beyonce’s perfume But it just ain’t the same without dude Couldn’t slow me down no lord Stayed on the planes and the busses and cars Brought a young DJ into the squad Sucker quit on me cause I toured too hard “Wahhhh” On to the next one Then me and Ant had trouble connecting If I was here then he was always there Touring or recording with Atmosphere What the hell's goin on with my career Within a year my team disappeared Got a phone call on the 4th of July My dad died, he committed suicide Shit should've been there for him Had to fly home from Europe to bury him Im sorry, I need a minute Bismillah...) Alright, listen Trying to hold this marriage together But me and my baby barely see each other I’m in France with the fans taking pictures She’s with the kids making dinner doing dishes She ain’t got to worry bout me screwing other _______ But that ain’t enough to make a woman feel precious If we don’t start to intersecting We got no choice but grow in different directions -Damn I got that phone call again You know the kind you never want to get Mikey’s mom couldn’t get a hold of him And found him dead in his apartment Just drowning in tears Probably won’t get over that in all my years I’ll remember forever A day later boarded a plane to Mecca And the next month changed my life Listening to God in the holy sites Inklings I had all my life Suddenly presented themselves in plain sight Any doubts I had about the mic And whether or not what I write is right Fell out of sight like the tears on the floor Now I’m going harder than I ever did before Got a couple of beat tapes from Jake Genuine dude and his music is great I told Zach to hold my tour dates Roll the tape I got something to say So, I’m gonna go make this album. Let me start it off right though