Catch as Catch Can, Pt. 2 - Mr. J. Medeiros, MacKenzie

Started this road when I was 19 regarded as a pipe dream

No smoke blowing I wrote knowing you light green

As a means to ripen as it seems my writing

Came from battling with free’s had me traveling for fee’s

We were five men Rez, Stro, me, Q, and Vice then

Getting shows in any juke that had a mic stand

Local groups they hated us focused youth

It made what had broken through the get they rust

Ain’t none of you up staging us

At least that’s what I told myself calling it survival

Made a beast out of my smaller self to call out any rival

Full of small town mentality’s grabbing at the crab to beat

Then craftily pulling you down when they at your feet

Actually when y’all look around and do the math you’ll see

Life is naturally pulling you down call it gravity

Halves of me were having these visions to play a rapper

Ambitions to play a pastor divisions I prayed to master

As synonyms religion and men remain a factor

Must have been the sin in them that made me ask

Much later playing churches debating what my worth is

Cus they payed me like a star

Displaying merch near where they worship sunday service

Now is it worth the cost to go

If they use your money to build concert halls instead of hospitals

All I know is that the thought never escaped me

Feeling like I was caught in something make believe

Well, well, well

There’s got to be a better way

Oh I know I know

There’s got to be a better way

I was a rocky mountain rapper doubting what I rap for

Feeling trapped for half my county’s in Iraq Wars

The other half would have me counting down to rapture

Asking bout my path and if I’m that sure

Roller coaster focus no longer youthful more like hopeless

Plus Q just told the crew that he had multiple sclerosis

All before he wrote his opus four was once five

On a tour with Pharcyde we were the new openers

Fast forward now who you think we’ve opened for

Traveling the road for four years doing sold out tours

We had The Roots, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest and more

I mean Hyro, Mos Def, we slept on floors, in vans, a homeless shelter

Blessed by those adventures

Though the stress of getting so much less it never left us

At times feeling helpless reminded who the help was

Every time we saw the line up you know why people line up

The headliner in most minds we just the tail

Plus ones with some merch to sell

We went from being a big fish to being one that’s outta water

With a quarter and wish tryna work the well

You gotta pick up the scraps if you wanna go public

Feeling shackled to the struggle call it work detail

Cus sometimes hanging with kings takes a rope and a sac

Cus ain’t nobody giving rings to the opening act

Well, well, well

There’s got to be a better way

Oh I know I know

There’s got to be a better way