Forgot About Jack - MC Lars

Here’s the story of a dude named Jack Kerouac

Who hit the road 'cause he was never coming back

To write an epic book and see the country

With a very close friend named Neal Cassady

They were lovers but we didn’t know until much later

'cause America then was full of homophobic haters

It was all about the journey and spontaneous prose

At the Six Gallery he heard Ginsberg flow

'cause Jack went hard and got turnt up

Passed the port after he filled his cup

A Catholic Buddhist with a giant heart

He wrote everything down the in the service of his art

Went to Big Sur, saw a dead otter

Thought about his mom his cat and his father

Drank himself to death in his Florida home

Was laid to rest in Lowell at 47 years old

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(The French Canadian Dharma Bum, who lived his life to the maximum)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(Writing poems down in Mexico, left his mark just to let you know)

2Pac Shakur, yes I’m sure

Was the Kerouac of rap 'cause they both opened doors

They defined a culture, both died really young

Both came West and had hella fun

They went out in the club with with their fans getting hyphy

Up in the bar with their crew drinking nightly

Prolific and brilliant and real and alive

Made poetry mainstream and changed people’s lives

East Coast to Marin well they both made the trek

The Thug Life purveyors who always caught wreck

Poets who loved and supported their moms

And when they were focused their words were the bomb

Maligned by the press for their derelict ways

The gangster aesthetic, a sideways beret

The posthumous gifts of two iconoclasts

RIP 2Pac and RIP Jack

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(No commitments, feeling free, up all night writing constantly)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(Literary iconoclast, who grabbed the moment and made it last)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(A Lonesome Traveller, On the Road, writing prose about the life he chose)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(Stacks of paper, piling up, shot of whiskey up in his cup)

And I’m talking about the Beats

Not the ones you’re hearing on Ableton

'cause the whole hip-hop generation

Really could not have been enabled son

To express a postmodern view point

Form the streets to the stage to the stadium

Without Burroughs or Ginsberg or Kerouac

Cause antiquated norms they were changing them

With art and music and poetry and prose

But counterculture then was a big no no

Cause Cold War America was all about fear

Conformity and status, '57 was the year

When On the Road changed the game

Then Howl and Naked Lunch set the world aflame

It would never be the same as you already know

Kerouac opened doors with that beatnik flow

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(World renowned for his honest words, shouted loud 'til his voice was heard)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(Defined a movement and paved the way, so MCs like me could take the stage)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(Bad reviews all in his face, but no one else could ever take his place)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(A Roman candle in the dark, who exploded like a spider across the stars)

OUTRO:

Nowadays everybody want, to tweet like they got something to say

But nothing comes out when they move their thumbs, they just let their fingers

run

And bloggers wanna act like they forgot about Jack (x4)

Who’s that?

Jack, Jack, Jack Kerouac!

Who’s that?

(x2)

Who’s that?