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Mike:
You ready? Let’s go!
Yeah, for those of you that want to know what we’re all about
It’s like this y’all c’mon
This is 10% luck
20% skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure
50% pain
And 100% reason to remember the name
Mike:
Mike
He doesn’t need his name up in lights
He just wants to be heard
Whether it’s the beat or the mic
He feels so unlike everybody else
Alone / In spite of the fact that
Some people still think that they know him
But fuck ‘em / he knows the code
It’s not about the salary
It’s all about reality
And making some noise
Making a story / making sure his clique stays up
That means when he puts it down Tak’s picking it up
Let’s go
Tak:
Who the hell is he anyway?
He never really talks much
Never concerned with status
But still leaving ‘em star struck
Humbled through opportunities given
Despite the fact that many misjudge him
Because he makes a living from writing raps
Put it together himself / now the picture connects
Never asking for someone’s help
Or to get some respect
He’s only focused on what he wrote
His will is beyond reach and now when it all untolds
Trough the skill of an artist
Ryu:
This is 20% skill
80% beer
Be 100% clear ‘cause Ryu is ill
Who would have thought that he’d be the one
To set The West in flames
And I heard him wreck it with the
Crystal Method "Name Of The Game"
Came back, dropped Megadef
Took ‘em to church
I like “Bleach” man
Ryu had the stupidest verse
This dude is the truth
Now everybody’s givin’ him guest spots
His stock is through the roof
I heard he’s fuckin’ with S-Dot
This is 10% luck
20% skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure
50% pain
And 100% reason to remember the name
Ryu:
They call him Ryu he’s sick
And he’s spittin’ fire
And Mike got him out the dryer / he’s hot
Found him in Fort Minor with Tak
What a fuckin’ nihilist
Porcupine / he’s a prick / he’s a cock
The type woman want to be with
And rappers hope he get shot
8 years in the making
Patiently waiting to blow
Now the record with Shinoda’s taking over the globe
He’s got a partner in crime his shit is equally dope
You wont believe the kind of shit that comes out of this kid’s throat
Tak:
Tak / He’s not your every day on the block
He knows how to work with what he’s got
Making his way to the top
He often gets a comment on his name
People keep askin’ him was it given at birth
Or does it stand for an acronym? / No
He’s livin’ proof / got him rockin’ the booth
He’ll get you buzzin’ quicker
Than a shot of vodka with juice
Him and his crew are known around as one of the best
Dedicated to what they do and give a 100%
Mike:
Forget Mike,
Nobody really knows how or why
He works so hard / it seems like he’s never got time
Because he writes every note and he writes every line
And I’ve seen him at work when that light goes on in his mind
It’s like a design is written in his head every time
Before he even touches a key or speaks in a rhyme
And those motherfuckers he runs with
The kids that he signed
Ridiculous, without even trying
How do they do it?
This is 10% luck
20% skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure
50% pain
And 100% reason to remember the name
Mike:
Yeah
Fort Minor
M. Shinoda
Styles of Beyond
Ryu, Takbir
Machine Shop
03 - RIGHT NOW [FEATURING BLACK THOUGHT OF THE ROOTS AND STYLES OF BEYOND]
Mike:
Someone right now / is leaving their apartment
Looking down at the street and wondering where their car went
Someone in a car is sitting at a signal
In front of a restaurant / staring through the window at
Someone right now with their finger in their teeth
Who could use a little floss / right across the street there’s
Somebody on the curb / who really needs a jacket
But spent half the rent at a bar getting plastered
Now he’s gotta walk / 14 blocks just to
Work at a shop where he’s about to get fired
Someone right now / is looking pretty tired
Staring at a laptop / trying to get inspired as
Somebody / living right across the street
Just wrote the best thing that she’s written all week
But her best friend is coughing up blood in the sink
He can’t even think what happened / feeling so confused
And he knows it looks bad but nothing he can do
I wonder what it’s like to be right there in his shoes
But
Yo, I’m just taking it in
Out the window of a hotel bedroom again
Tomorrow I’ll be gone / I don’t know when I’ll be back
But in this world everything can change just like that
Like that
Ryu:
Somebody right now is dropping his vote inside a
Box trying to not get shot in his throat for the act of freedom
Right now / somebody’s stuck in Iraq
Hoping that he gets shipped back breathing
In a war but he’s not really sure the reasons
So we show our support when the press mislead him
Though we mourn / remain proud / salute the troops
Get some / I know you boys got some work to do
Tak:
Meanwhile / right now someone’s 25-to-life-ing
Standing on a corner with their thumb up hitchhiking
Scratching off a lotto ticket hoping for a real winner
Sneaking through the border just to work and eat a real dinner
Right now someone wishes they were you and I
Instead of second-guessing fatal thoughts of quiet suicide
But right now I’m staring out the window at a fiend
With holes in his arm and / holes in his jeans
He pulled out a cigarette and sparked a light
And walked right around the corner just out of my sight
But
Yo I’m just taking it in
From a second storey hotel window again
The TV’s on and my bags are packed
But in this world everything can change just like that
Like that
Yo I’m just taking it in
From a second storey hotel window again
The TV’s on and my bags are packed
But in this world everything can change just like that
Like that
Black Thought:
Yeah / right now somebody’s sittin’ in the darkness
Tryin’ to figure how to put some heat in the apartment but
They got a little mattress / little carpet
And they appreciate it ‘cause some people on a park bench
You see ‘em rushing to get to the office
Wife ride by ‘em when she comin’ home from the market
Right now somebody comin’ out the pocket
Tryin’ to dump that rock / they runnin’ round the block with
Same time the cops is raisin’ the glock
With aim to fill your legs and your back with some hot shit
Right now somebody’s struggling to stop this
Man that’s kicking and punching and cussing at the doctors
Down the hall a child is takin’ its first breath
The doctors ain’t even passed him to the nurse yet / yo
I wonder if he understand what it’s worth yet
Life / the time spent while we here on the earth yet
The answers to the questions we all seek
Can be found / it depend on how free y’all think
Right now / it’s somebody who ain’t eat all week
That would kill / for the shit you throw away in the street
I guess one man’s trash is a next man’s treasure
One man’s pain is a next man’s pleasure
One says infinity the next say forever
Right now / everybody got to / get it together man
Uh I’m just taking it in
In another strange hotel lobby again
With my luggage on my back / I don’t know where I’m at
I’m in a world where it all changes just like that
Like that
Mike:
Yeah I’m just taking it in
Out the window of a hotel bedroom again
Tomorrow I’ll be gone / I don’t know when I’ll be back
But in this world everything can change just like that
Like that
04 - PETRIFIED
Y'all are not, not, not Ready HO
Not not ready HO
We're gonna drop it steady so
Do it like that
Like that (like that)....
Now why is everybody so petrified?
WHAT?
Petrified?
WHAT?
Step aside.
And just drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON! [x2]
Yeah
How you doin', y'all?
My name is Mike.
I'm fooling with the new shit
I'm doing it all like
I like what i do
I do what i like
I could quit and get it back like i'm riding a bike
Like stop...
...bring it back, bring it back
We got that balance keeping us on track
That ya get what ya move and quit, wit no slow
You stare like you don't care
But you do it though
I know
You really must be so lonely
Puffed up, lookin' tough, but so phony
You and your boys, you don't know me
You really wanna hold me show me, homie.
Lets get it over with for good
I got a friction addiction i wish you would
Machine Shop rockin' when we step inside
And we got everybody so petrified
Now why is everybody so petrified?
WHAT?
Petrified?
WHAT?
Step aside.
And just drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Listen you are not ready
Like children in a building you can't stand steady
It must be the beat so heavy
Coz i panic attacks like a crack in the levy
Give you that Rob or plant
Dancing days are back
Feeling all in the track and in fact
For those knowing the name
Of back with some brand new crap
Who can do it like that?
You really must be so lonely
Puffed up, lookin' tough, but so phony
You and your boys, you don't know me
You really wanna hold me show me, homie.
Tough talk doesn't mean a thing
You know for yourself you know when we're up in a scene
Its Machine Shop rockin' when we step inside
And we got everybody so petrified
Now why is everybody so petrified?
WHAT?
Petrified?
WHAT?
Step aside.
And just drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Now why is everybody so petrified?
WHAT?
Petrified?
WHAT?
Step aside.
And just drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Yall are not, not, not Ready HO
Not not ready HO
We're gonna drop it steady so
Do it like that
Like that (like that)...
Yall are not, not, not Ready HO
Not not ready HO
We're gonna drop it steady so
Do it like that
Like that (like that)...
Get UP
Now why is everybody so petrified?
WHAT?
Petrified?
WHAT?
Step aside.
And just drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON!
Drop that...
COME ON! [x2]
Like stop...
...Bring it back Bring it back
We got that balance keeping us on track
Like stop...
...Bring it back Bring it back
We got that balance keeping us on track
Like stop...
...Bring it back Bring it back
We got that balance keeping us on track
Like stop...
...Bring it back Bring it back
We got that balance keeping us on track
Stop...stop...stop...stop...stop...stop...stop...stop..[fades out]
'Chine Shop! shop...shop...shop [fades out]
05 - FEEL LIKE HOME [FEATURING STYLES OF BEYOND]
Yeah
Mike:
These days are dark and the nights are cold
People acting like they’ve lost their soul
And everywhere I go I see another person like me
Trying to make it all feel like home [x2]
Mike:
Standing on the bridge in the dark and I’m seeing my breath
Trying to make it home without freezing to death
And my grandfather’s face / stuck in my mind and how
Seeing him tonight’s gonna be the last time
I should’ve brought a jacket
Blowing in my hands like it’s really gonna stop the chill
I buy a cup of coffee with a five dollar bill / thinking
Laying in that box people look so stiff
At times like these you start thinking
Your first breath in and the clock starts ticking
I’m not trying to bum anyone out
Not trying to be dramatic / just thinking it loud
Some defence from the cold that I’m feeing outside and for a minute
Escape with some rhythm and rhyme and
Get away from the grey
Just a bit of the time
Ryu:
Yeah / kinda funny how this world can treat you
Like a freak in a sideshow / a carnival creature
Climbing outta cans / I’m a diamond in the sand
But you can’t tell the difference on a beach full of rhinestones
My life’s trying to swallow a pinecone
It’s tough when you live fast / just to die slow
Talk to dial tones / my dreams are far fetched
It seems / so I sleep underneath this park bench
I know it don’t make sense
And I don’t expect for you to know what it’s like
Smoke / drink / piss / sniffing everything in my sight
Push rocks in a pipe
Liftoff / I keep puffin’ ‘till my lips turn white
And my chest gets tight
But who the fuck really cares / when you’re
So far left that even death looks right
All I can do is hope for the best and pray
That it gets a little better than yesterday
Chorus
Tak:
Yo pardon me / I think I’m next to url
Too many problems going on / that’s why I left my girl
Packed my bags and I travelled with a pen and my notepad
Pissed that I was broke and all the things that I don’t have
But still
I try to find a way to escape
From all the hate planted in my head which lead to mistakes
But now I’m breathing the mold / see I was patient and calm
Many sleep in the rain / but I’m awake in the storm
Writing my life in a short film / The Rise and Fall
How I managed to scorch hills / and climb the walls
Pound pavement / aimless in this cold existence
Even though thangs are changing / I’m going the distance
Overcoming the doubt that had controlled her so long
And put it all behind me / ‘cause life still goes on
Now I’m much stronger and know where I stand
While lost souls search over and over again
Mike:
These days are dark and the nights are cold
People acting like they’ve lost their soul
And everybody’s trying not to cry / trying to get by
And trying not to feel out of control
And if you look hard enough
Sometimes you’ll find a place that might just remind you of home
But if it doesn’t feel like home
You can do what I do
Just pretend you don’t feel so along
Feel like home…
06 - WHERE’D YOU GO [FEATURING HOLLY BROOK AND JONAH MATRANGA]
Holly:
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Mike:
She said
Some days I feel like shit / some days I wanna
Quit / and just be normal for a bit
I don’t understand why you have to always be gone
I get along but the trips always feel so long / and
I find myself trying to stay by the phone
‘Cause your voice always helps me to not feel so alone
But I feel like an idiot working my day around a
Call that that when I pick up I don’t have much to say / so
I want you to know it’s a little fucked up / that
I’m stuck here waiting
At times debating telling you that I’ve had it with you
And you career
Me and the rest of the family here
Singing where’d you go
Holly:
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Please come back home…
Mike:
Come back home / you know that place where you used to live?
Used to barbeque up burgers and ribs
Used to have a little party every Halloween
With candy by the pile
But now you only stop by every once in a while
[Shit] I find myself just filling my time
With anything to keep the thought of you from my mind
I’m doing fine / and I’m planning to keep it that way
And you can call me if you find that you have something to say
And I’ll tell you:
I want you to know it’s a little fucked up / that
I’m stuck here waiting
At times debating telling you that I’ve had it with you
And you career
Me and the rest of the family here
Singing where’d you go
Holly:
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Please come back home…
Mike:
I want you to know it’s a little fucked up / that
I’m stuck here waiting
No longer debating
Tired of sitting and hating and making these excuses
For why you’re not around / and feeling so useless
It seems one thing has been true all along
You really don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone
I guess I’ve had it with you and your career
When you come back I won’t be here
And you can sing it
Holly:
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Where’d you go / I miss you so
Seems like it’s been forever
That you’ve been gone
Please come back home…
Brad Delson:
“When you made me that initial batch of songs, I was like… That’s the shit right there”.
Jay-Z, Mike:
“Holla!”
“Hahahahaha”
07 - IN STEREO
Jay-Z:
“That beat is hard”
Mike:
This is how it goes
Welcome one and all to the show
We’re wired up / fired up / fucking ready to go
In the back of the parking lot outside of the bar
Twenty deep / twenty feet from the boulevard
Black hoodies
Black caps
Black label in glasses
Previewing the new shit before all the masses
‘Cause the first thin I need when I’ve got a new beat
Is to see how it sounds / echoing off the street
I just take it for a spin
Pop the CD in
Slide it up to ten and get that rearview shaking
Then / play it again so there’s no mistaking
San Andreas the block
Get this bitch earthquaking like
Oh
Chorus:
Oh / ready for it here we go
We got the whole block rocking in stereo
We’re taking control / letting everybody know
And if you feel it / let me hear everybody go
Mike:
You’re not ready
I got plenty cuts for twenty months dropped steadily
Plenty tracks to empty on your wack pedigree
I’m backed heavily while you’re back peddling
Forget the chitchat on me homie / kick back
I’m on that shit that can get your homie bitch-slapped
So zip you lip back / listen and watch
We got the whole block rockin’ off the way the beat knocks
You don’t have to warn the people on the corner / they know
That if you’re standing on that corner then you’re getting that show
World premiering you’re hearing that Machine Shop flow
San Andreas the block
Get this bitch earthquaking like
Oh
Chorus
Turn the key / turn the volume up to loud
Roll right / roll every window down
Let the whole block know what this is about
Turn it up y’all
Mike:
Burn out that system like,
Oh!
Chorus
Mike:
Let’s go ahead and test out the speakers
You ready?
Let’s go, like this!
08 - BACK HOME [FEATURING COMMON AND STYLES OF BEYOND]
Common:
Uh
Yeah
Ya’ll
We ‘bout to take you to the… to the crib
Let’s do it Mike
Yeah
Back home [back home]
Everybody’s searching for somethin’
But all they can find is a whole lot of nothin’
Back home [back home]
Ain’t nobody hoping and praying
‘Cause they feel like nothing can save ‘em
And they try to hold out but they can’t fight the fact that
Life goes black when those lights go out
But I guess you gotta just watch out for your own
‘Cause ain’t a damn thing free
Back home [back home]
Common:
Back home / they holler “disciple” and “blackstone”
Some black they freebase yo we trapped on
Where our grandmothers marched / the guns clap on
There’s liquor stores, beauty supplies, and rap songs
I travel the world just to come back to it
The crib got a lot of soul like black music
I’m attached to it
In many ways this city raised me / and gave me
The drama, honor, and bravery
The streets seem hollow / when I go to Chicago
It’s cheap wine and sorrow
Times hard to swallow
In search of God’s tomorrow / I borrow words from the
Bible / and use them for survival / gangs rival
Signs painted on the walls like hieroglyphics
I tell ‘em that this is all tribal
Used to do dirt / shorty’s goin’ through the same cycle
And trials like Michael / tryin’ not to stay idle
Back home
Yeah
Back home [back home]
Everybody’s searching for somethin’
But all they can find is a whole lot of nothin’
Back home [back home]
Ain’t nobody hoping and praying
‘Cause they feel like nothing can save ‘em
And they try to hold out but they can’t fight the fact that
Life goes black when those lights go out
But I guess you gotta just watch out for your own
‘Cause ain’t a damn thing free
Back home [back home]
Ryu:
Back home it’s not Compton but close
The same problems exist and the pain throbbin’
And folks are so common
It don’t / really bother us much we just swallow it / uh
Crack the bottle and smoke / hope tomorrow something
Magical happens that’ll put me back in the biz
But the chances of it actually happening’s kinda slim
Back home / we get the good life at glimpse
In the form of a rap start, drug dealers, and pimps
I’m back home
Tak:
Back home / I try my best to keep it together it’s cold
Like the Windy City streets of December
I pace back and forth / looking for the courage to shine
But can’t tap the source / need something to nourish my mind
I know we all lose quite a bit in life
Only to gain some
Life or the dark winding roads we came from
But I move with the night / so I’m used to the shade
And never lose sight / bringing truth back to the game
Mike:
Back home / we’ve got a lot of shit on our minds
We’re always behind on something cause there’s not enough time
And we’re non-stop / bottom line / doing what we gotta do
To get some food in the fridge and stay out of the hospital
Back home there’s people calling us hopeless
People trying to tell us all we need is some focus
But focus
Focus is overrated
Cause you see very blemish and mistake and can’t change it
Back home is Alvarado / K-Town and J-Town
Or Little Tokyo for those that don’t know
Where figures shiver / living right in the litter
Where kids write nigger / right inside the L.A River
On the concrete / a symbol of out everyday way
It’s that color and concentration over heavy grey
And by the time the ink dries on this page
I’ll be half a day away from the place where I stay
Yeah
Back home [back home]
Everybody’s searching for somethin’
But all they can find is a whole lot of nothin’
Back home [back home]
Ain’t nobody hoping and praying
‘Cause they feel like nothing can save ‘em
And they try to hold out but they can’t fight the fact that
Life goes black when those lights go out
But I guess you gotta just watch out for your own
‘Cause ain’t a damn thing free
Back home [back home]
Common:
We’re taking it back home yo
Yeah it’s Common Sense
I’m got Mike
Mike:
What up Com’?
Common:
Yeah
S. O. B.
Yeah the song we wrote hey… it’s good music
Hip Hop
Yeah
Mike:
Don’t stop
Common:
Yeah
This song is for me, baby
Yeah
09 - CIGARETTES
Mike:
Yeah, go ahead and uh, cue the special effects…
Yeah!
Mike:
Man, I love this rap game
Mainly cause it’s cool to add a little
Spice to the life you’ve been through
Everyone exaggerates a tiny little bit
Make this shit sound more gangster than it really is
You can’t appear weak / man / we wanna hear street
We wanna hear you spit your thug over this here beat
Don’t take it as sarcastic / I can’t get enough
I’m telling you
You can call my bluff / if it’s not rough
Then I don’t really need it
I’m not even ashamed
I got too much reality that’s filling up my brain
So sell me on the product / I’m addicted to the game
Suck it up like a cigarette / light it up man
Chorus:
It’s just like a cigarette / it’s something that I do
Once in a while but between me and you
It’s just like a cigarette / nobody’s really fooled
I don’t want the truth I wanna feel fucking cool
Mike:
Lemme tell you something that I realized tonight
My hip hop radio’s like Marlboro Light
They’re both selling stories
And they sound about the same
Cigarettes say they’re safe
Rapper claim they really bang
We don’t care if it’s true when we lay the money down
We don’t believe the words
We just love the way they sound
They’re acting we’re like idiots / they’re lying to out face
Maybe we are idiots / we buy it anyway
I’m running out to get the rapper’s next CD / just
Sucking up the guns, drugs and misogyny
The same way that I suck up all the stories when I breathe
That little bit of death supposedly cancer free
And everything they say’s got the truth twisted up but
But twisted up’s what I want / man
I can’t get enough
‘Cause even though we know it’s all just a big bluff
We just light another up / what
We don’t give a fuck
It’s just like a cigarette / it’s something that I do
Once in a while but between me and you
It’s just like a cigarette / nobody’s really fooled
I don’t want the truth I wanna feel fucking cool
It’s just like a cigarette / it’s something that I do
Over and over but between me and you
It’s just like a cigarette / nobody’s really fooled
I don’t want the truth I wanna feel fucking cool
Mike:
Man / listen to my words / listen for while
Lip service radio / don’t touch the dial
If you’re in the car / turn up the track / man
Give your whole neighborhood some second hand rap / hey
Matter of fact / listen for a while
Lip service radio / don’t touch the dial
If you’re in the car man turn up the track and
Give your whole neighborhood some second hand rap
It’s just like a cigarette / it’s something that I do
Once in a while but between me and you
It’s just like a cigarette / nobody’s really fooled
I don’t want the truth I wanna feel fucking cool
It’s just like a cigarette / it’s something that I do
Over and over but between me and you
It’s just like a cigarette / nobody’s really fooled
I don’t want the truth I wanna feel fucking cool
10 - BELIEVE ME [FEATURING BOBO AND STYLES OF BEYOND]
Chorus:
I guess
That this is where we’ve come to
If you don’t want to
Then you don’t have to believe me
But I
Won’t be there when you go down
Just so you know now
You’re on your own now
Believe me
Ryu:
Yo I don’t want to be the one to blame / you like fun and games
Keep playing ‘em / I’m just saying
Think back then we was like one and the same
On the right track / but I was on the wrong train
It’s like that / now you’ve got a face to pain
And the devil’s got a fresh new place to play
In your brain like a maze you can never escape
The rain / every damn day’s the same shade of grey
Mike:
Hey / I used have a little bit of a plan / used to
Have a concept of where I stand
But that concept slipped right out of my hand and now
I don’t really even know who I am / yo
What do I have to say
Maybe / I should do what I have to do to break free
What ever happens to you / we’ll see
But it’s not gonna happen with me
Chorus
Mike:
Back then / I thought you were just like me
Somebody who could see all the pain I see
But you proved to me unintentionally
That you would self destruct / eventually
Now I’m faking like the mistake I made doesn’t hurt
But it’s not gonna work cause it’s really much worse than I thought
I wished you were something that you were not
And now this guilt is really all that I got
Tak:
Uh / You turn your back and walk away in shame
All you got is a memory of pain
Nothing makes sense so you stare at the ground
And hear my voice in your head when no one else is around
So what do I have to say
Maybe / I should do what I have to do to break free
What ever happens to you / we’ll see
But it’s not gonna happen with me
Chorus
Mike:
Yeah
Let’s go!
Chorus
I’ll do what I have to do
You’re on your own now
Believe me
What ever happens to you
You’re on your own now
Believe me
What do I have to say
You’re on your own now
Believe me
It’s not gonna happen with me
You’re on your own now
Believe me
11 - GET ME GONE
Mike:
The dude, he said that, like, when we were making the first Linkin Park record
He was like
"Yeah you know, I don’t know about the rapping like, I don’t know... maybe you should just be a rock band"
You know what I mean, like, trying to change us
Like they signed us as an act like what we sound like and then he’s like
"Oh I don’t know maybe you should just play keyboard"
Mike:
Before the first song that you hear me on
There were people already trying to get me gone
Telling me to quit rapping / just play the keys / that
“My band had a singer”
“They didn’t need me”
But my band had my back
So we did the tracks / put out the album
And the talk went flat
It was funny at first / but then the humor faded
When some magazines printed that our label made us
We were too good to be true
Some were saying ghostwriters were writing all that we do
So we had to disprove it / we spelled it out
To the detail / how we do it / when we’re making this music
After that I made it a rule:
I only do email responses to print interviews
Because there people love to put a twist to your words
To infer that you said something ducking fucking absurd
Oh / did I lose you at “infer”?
Not used to hearing a verse that uses over first-grade vocabulary words?
People used to infer that we were manufactured
Now I’ve got the interviews on file
Which people said what / which number to dial
So now every enemy screaming insanity
All they’ve ever gonna be’s another big fan of me
Bitch
Mike:
Hahahaha
You believe that?
Like that’s crazy, it sounds crazy right?
Like at this point..
At this point you think...
You hear it out, you’re like:
"That guy was out of his mind"
But honestly at that point I mean...
Besides the fact that he wanted me to just
Play keyboard and whatever
Didn’t want me to rap
He was like:
"Maybe Joe Hahn should, uh, wear a lab coat and a cowboy hat"
On stage
Like when we play
Yo
I swear to god he was crazy
Cowboy hat?
Yeah
And later on he claimed that he wrote all... all our songs
So that was really nice
That guy is definitely out of his mind…
12 - HIGH ROAD [FEATURING JOHN LEGEND]
Mike:
Let’s go ya’ll!
Mike:
These people are running off at the mouth
Trying to convince me that I’m running on empty
Trying to convince themselves that the record with Jay was a fluke
That the record I’m making is a mistake
And I can’t take this
Let me tell you where I’m at with this
You bastards are gonna have to take back that shit
I’m not plastic and fake / when I make tracks
I take facts and lay ‘em out for the masses
You assholes are gonna see soon that I’m not playing
And start asking me the name that I’m not saying
But I’m trying to be bigger than the bickering
Bigger than the petty name calling
Under the breath talking
Rumors and labels and categorization
I’m like a struggling doctor: no patience
But you can say what you want about me
Keep talking while I’m walking away
John:
You can say what you have you say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
I’m taking the high road / going above you
This is the last time that I’m gonna trust you
You can say what you have to say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
All that bullshit you talk might work a lot
But it’s not gonna work today
Mike:
You people are running off at the mouth
Trying to make me take myself off safety
Trying to make my friends turn their backs
On the team we’ve built
Building up some mistaken information
And I can’t take this
Let me spell it out plain for you angry groups
Complaining ‘bout the things we do
I’m not changing direction
I’m stepping up my game
Maintaining my name / same way that I came up
You’re gonna see that I’m not playing
And start asking me the names that I’m not saying
But trying not to mention the names of
People who wanna siphon attention / you like the hype but
Pretending you’re part of the picture you won’t pass
You’re like a high school drop out: no class
And you can say what you want about me
Keep talking while I’m waling away
John:
You can say what you have you say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
I’m taking the high road / going above you
This is the last time that I’m gonna trust you
You can say what you have to say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
All that bullshit you talk might work a lot
But it’s not gonna work today
John:
Why does it always have to be
Somebody’s always watching me
All I really need is some room to breathe
Is anybody out there listening
‘Cause I can’t stand to keep this in
All I really want I’ll say again
Mike:
Uh uh,
Like that!
John:
You can say what you have you say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
I’m taking the high road / going above you
This is the last time that I’m gonna trust you
You can say what you have to say
‘Cause my mind’s made up anyway
All that bullshit you talk might work a lot
But it’s not gonna work today
13 - KENJI
Mike’s father:
“My father came from Japan in 1905. He was fifteen when he immigrated from Japan. He worked until he was able to buy - to actually build a store”.
Mike:
Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream
I don’t know why I have to tell it but I know what it means
Close your eyes and just picture the scene / as I paint it for you
It was World War II when this man named Kenji woke up
Ken was not a soldier / he was just a man with a family
Who owned a store in LA / that day
He crawled out of bed like he always did
Bacon and eggs with wife and kids / he lived on the
Second floor of a little store he ran
He moved to L.A from Japan
They called him “immigrant” / in Japanese
He’d say he was called "isei" / that meant
First Generation In The United States
When everyone was afraid of the Germans / afraid of the “Japs”
But most of all afraid of a homeland attack
And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat
His world went black ‘cause
Right there / front page news
Three weeks before 1942
Pearl Harbor’s been bombed and “The Japs Are Coming"
Pictures of soldiers dying and running
Ken knew what it would lead to
Just like he guessed / the President said
The “evil Japanese” in our home country will be locked away
They gave Ken a couple of days
To get his whole life packed in two bags
Just two bags
Couldn’t even pack his clothes
Some folks didn’t even have a suitcase
To pack anything in
So two trash bags was all they gave them
When the kids asked mom / where are we going
Nobody even knew what to say to them
Ken didn’t want to lie
He said the US is looking for spies
So we have to live in a place called Manzanar
Where a lot of Japanese people are
Stop it / don’t look at the gunmen
You don’t wanna get the soldiers wondering
If you gonna run or not ‘cause if you run then you might get shot
Other than that / try not to think about it
Try not to worry ‘bout it being so crowded
‘Cause someday we’ll get out / someday / someday
Mike’s aunt:
”Yeah, soon as war broke out, the F.B.I came and… they just come to the house and, you have to come. All the Japanese have to go. They took Mr. Ni, the
people couldn’t understand, why did they have to take him because he’s just an innocent laborer”…
Mike:
So now they’re in a town with soldiers surrounding them
Every day every night / looked down at them
From watchtowers up on the wall
Ken couldn’t really hate them at all
They were just doing their job and
He wasn’t gonna make any problems
He had a little garden / vegetables and fruits that he gave to the troops
In a basket his wife made
But in the back of his mind he wanted his families life saved
Prisoners of war in their own damn country
What for?
And time passed in the prison town / he wondered
If he’d live it down when they were free
The only way out was joining the army / and supposedly
Some men went out for the army / signed on
And ended up flying to Japan with a bomb
That 15 kiloton blast put an end to the war pretty fast
Two cities were blown to bits
The end of the war came quick
And Ken got out
Big hopes of a normal life with his kids and his wife / but
When they got back to their home / and
What they saw made him feel so alone
These people had trashed every room
Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors
Written on the walls and the floor:
"Japs not welcome anymore"
And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside
He looked at his wife without words to say
She looked back at him wiped the tears away
And said Someday we’ll be okay / someday
Now the names have been changed but the story’s true
My family was locked up back in ‘42
My family was there
Where it was dark and damp
And they called it an internment camp
Mike’s father:
”When we first got back from camp, it was pretty… pretty bad”
Mike’s aunt:
“I remember my husband said “Oh, we’re going to stay ‘till last”. Then my husband died before they closed the camp”.
14 – RED TO BLACK [FEATURING KENNA, JONAH MATRANGA AND STYLES OF BEYOND]
Kenna:
Oh oooh…
Mike:
I had a friend named Victor
The two of us used hang every single day
And it seemed like overnight that his whole life / just changed
I know when his mom and his dad broke up / it didn’t make sense
But I know that his dad was a drunk and he gambled away the rent
Pretty soon Vic was seeing red / pissed off / but instead
He’s drink every night ‘till he passed out
Then he’d do it all again
The whole time / smiling on the outside to cover the pain
But on the inside / all he was trying to do was get away
Chorus:
He’s dying to get away
Let the pain of yesterday
Go slipping through the cracks
Hiding himself away
Watching all the memories fade away
From red to black
Tak:
Funny how thing change color
Then fade to another shade / when you had it made
It was all good / but now look / just another day
It was so fresh / it was so clean
Now it’s all gone / one, two, three
Lights out / which way to turn
Can’t get a grip / all alone in a big white house
Every day gets worse / and you just curse ‘till your head bursts
And it hurts so bad / she left / now you suffer
Should’ve thought of that one first
No family / no kids / can accept what you did / now you wanna
Run away but you can’t ‘cause the past comes back again
Ryu:
Slippin’ through the cracks / sip a little Jack
Go to bed half dead
What about a rent? Why does every cent gotta be a bet
When’s it gonna end
Oh my god / we don’t got a penny left
My mom’s gotta find a way to get a job
Outta debt / outta dodge / out of breath / out of this big problem
My pop’s wanna get away from the pain
In a better place in his brain
But the medication he takes makes him wasted
So sick he was gonna think the good Lord would come to take him
I’m shaking him
Wake up you son of a bitch!
Chorus [x3]
Slipping through the cracks…
15 - THE BATTLE [FEATURING CELPH TITLED]
Speaker:
Time’s up, time’s up, time’s up
Celph:
Yeah
Speaker:
Hold on
Celph:
I, that’s all you got?
Speaker:
I, Celph, you got 30 seconds, ‘re you ready?
All right, Celph Titled, here
Celph:
Yeah listen!
Yo
Celph:
There hungry rappers battle for a buck and some change
There really be kids starving / give a fuck if it change
Shock rap / not that / you get signed you might blow up
Release “Party In Iraq” / you might blow up
I see you trying to think a few lines you might get at me with
Slap happy with babies who’re born with crack in they cribs
Too much to cram under your oversized fitted
And the public school system failed you / either you’re ignorant or…
16 – SLIP OUT THE BACK [FEATURING MR. HAHN]
Mike:
You know me
I used to get caught up in everyday life
Trying to make it through my day so I could sleep at night
Tried to figure out my way through the maze of rights and wrongs
But like you used to say
Nothing feels like it’s really worth it
Forget perfect / I’m trying not to be worthless
Since I last saw you I’ve been looking for a purpose / well
I met this kid who thought like I did
He had a weird way of looking at it
This is what he said
Chorus:
Slip out the back before they know you were there / and
At the worst you’ll see nobody cares
‘Cause you don’t wanna be around when it all goes down
Even heroes know when to be scared
Mike:
Now / I don’t remember where I met him
Or remember his name
But he walked funny like he was just too big for his frame
Just over five foot / but he weighed a buck fifty
And what he said just seemed so right it stuck with me / listen
It’s like poker / you can play your best
But you got to know when to fold your cards and take a rest
And know when to hold your cards / hold your breath and
Hope that nobody else is stacking the deck / because
I don’t need to tell you that life isn’t fair
It doesn’t care
It arbitrarily cuts off your air
And like you / I want someone to say it’s okay
But in the truest part of our hearts everybody’s afraid / we’re just
Underappreciated and overwhelmed
Fighting so hard to hide our fear that were scaring ourselves
You understand what I’m saying / ‘cause you always did
But its different in the words of a cowardly kid
Chorus
Mike:
And I’m no hero
You remember how it was / you know
All I ever did was worry / feeling out of control
To the point where everything was going end over end
I’m spinning around in circles again
This is where you come in
All of this to explain to you why I had to
Separate myself away from yesterday’s life
Please remember
This isn’t how I hoped it would be
But I had to protect you from me
Mike:
That’s why I
Slipped out the back before you knew I was there
I know you felt unprepared
But every single time I was around I’d just bring you down
And I could tell that it was time to be scared
That’s why I
Slipped out the back before you knew I was there
And I know the way I left wasn’t fair
I didn’t wanna be around just to bring you down
I’m not a hero
But don’t think I didn’t care
17 - BE SOMEBODY [FEATURING LUPE FIASCO, HOLLY BROOK AND TAK OF STYLES OF BEYOND]
Lupe Fiasco:
Ugh, M.S., Lupe
You know I’m a fan, man, I’m a real fan
Feel real honoured to be up in here,
[Holly: Wanna be somebody]
you know I’m saying?
[Holly: Wanna be someone]
They had to bring out the expensive mics for this one
[Holly: Wanna be somebody]
You know I’m saying the $7,000 headphones for this one here
[Holly: Wanna be someone]
Know I’m sayin’?
Come on, talk to me
Mike:
This is a story of them against us / win or lose
Forcing your feet into someone else’s shoes
Everybody’s got something to say / that we ought to
Live their way, / what we’re doing’s not okay
In this world everybody’s got a chip on
Both sides of the neck / got no respect
Wait up a sec
You ever feel like the pressure is
Too much to take / Too much weight
Ladies and gentlemen
If anybody can hear me right now please shout back
We’re not the only ones feeling so trapped
In the dream of somebody else / in fact
They got their heads full of some overblown scheme
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Holly / Tak / Mike:
Gonna be somebody
[For anybody telling me I can’t]
Gonna be someone
[For anyone who told me I had no chance]
Gonna be somebody
[I’m telling you the time has come / like that]
Gonna be someone
[And maybe you’ll get it when I’m finally done]
Mike:
We dont sleep to dream / we sleep to build stamina
Energy to do our thing / get your camera
‘Cause this ride is about to begin
Sit down and buckle it in / lemme say it again
In this world everybody’s got a chip on
Both sides of the neck / got no respect
Wait up a sec
When I was young they said the
Odds of making it were slim to none
Ladies and
Fuck it / I’m tired of them saying the dream you have
Doesn’t exist / telling you you’re worthless saying you should quit
Basically telling you that you’ll never be shit
Really they’re pissed cause they’ll never achieve some
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Lupe Fiasco:
Uh
They’re gonna think crazy
Mumbling to yourself / in the basement all day
Uh-uh-uh-ing and to yourself
My pops didn’t dig it / with shoveling it to myself
My boys used to get it / they dug it because they felt
My undertaking took me / I was making in my stealth
A wealth of rhymes of crazy / I would chuckle to myself
Then they went into the mental rolodex
See I knew ‘em by heart like a brain in my chest
Then I / took ‘em to school where subjects were getting felt
Books under my seat / notebook laying on my desk
My teacher’s like, "Mr. Jaco?”
"Yes?”
“With all that knowledge, you ain’t trying to college
Be a lawyer or a doctor, get a whole lot of dollars
Rather degrade woman and glorify violence?"
Well the work that works for me might not work for you
No homework / I got work to do
Gonna be somebody
[For anybody telling me I can’t]
Gonna be someone
[For anyone who told me I had no chance]
Gonna be somebody
[I’m telling you the time has come / like that]
Gonna be someone
[And maybe you’ll get it when I’m finally done]
Mike:
Yeah, this one goes to those fantastic human beings that keep us down and hold us back
And give us fuel for what we do
Thanks!
20 - THERE THEY GO [FEATURING SIXX JOHN]
Mike:
Ready?
Sixx:
Yeah
Mike:
Let’s go
Sixx:
Yeah, ladies and gentleman
Pleased to meet you
I go by the name of Sixx John
Of course you know Mike Shinoda…
Mike:
Yeah!
Sixx:
Uh oh
Uh oh
Let’s go
Let’s go!
Mike:
One time / for my Machine Shop crew and then it’s
Two times / S.O.B and L.P too and then it’s
Three times / It’s Mike and Sixx on the track and then
Four times / when we come in through the back
They’re saying
Chorus:
Oh no / close the door
Shut the lights and start the show
Better let everybody know
Get on the mic and there they go
Oh no / close the door
Shut the lights and start the show
Better let everybody know
Get on the mic and there they go
Mike:
Armed and dangerous / bitch
Y’all can’t really hang with us on this
Everybody’s so afraid of us / shit
Makes me wanna hang it up and quit
Forget about all the things you heard before
‘Bout time that we’re kicking down your door
Everybody’s gonna hit the fucking floor
Like “please Mike don’t hurt me anymore” / I don’t gotta have a
Secret lie or an alibi / everybody knows why I’m here
I’d just as soon crack a bottle
As crack you over the head with a bottle of beer
So just listen up there powder puff
Better believe that I’m not playing
You can love it you can hate
But don’t mistake it everybody’s saying
Sixx Chorus
Mike:
What you really wanna do is this
Just make believe that I don’t exist
But you won’t / cause everytime you go to spit
I talk over you just like this
It’s annoying / just for you
You could scream all day ‘till your face is blue
I’m getting’ in your head and you know it too
And that’s just me you don’t know my crew
My man Sixx John / understand though
The way that he flows you can call him Rambo:
Never miss a shot / never run out of ammo
Come out with heat like a goddamn commando
And add in S.O.B
Ryu / Tak / Vin Skully / Cheapshot
Now you see
Fuck with me? / nah / Sixx
Sixx John:
Uh oh / whatever you yell when you see that door close
Imma bail through the back [fo’ sho’]
Straight to the bar so I can act [a fool]
I figure you guys would get a little surprised
Your eyes wide when it’s me an’ Mike Shinod
I’m just plain old Sixx John from the Nam-District
This is not supposed
I still talk with awkward speech
I’m like a dog that’s off his leash
Step out with a Fort Minor patch on a black tee
Niggas scared to walk these streets
I ain’t trippin’ homie / talk is cheap
Acapellla or we can bark on a beat
And if that ain’t enough action / I got
Seventeen pages in this little magazine I keep
Chorus
Mike:
We got this place rockin’ / beat knocking non stopping
If y’all are with it let me hear it now yeah yo
Mike:
One time / for my Machine Shop crew and then it’s
Two times / S.O.B and L.P too and then it’s
Three times / It’s Mike and Sixx on the track and then
Four times / we do it like that
Sixx:
Like that
Sixx:
Clap
Clap bitches
19 - THE HARD WAY [FEATURING KENNA]
Kenna:
Yeah-ooh …
Mike:
Come with me / let me walk you through the world that I currently stay in
You can take a look around and tell me if I’m mistaken
You can meet and talk to / everybody that I live with
Maybe you can tell me why everybody’s so distant
Is it me or maybe / when I look around daily
I don’t even know the people I can put my trust in lately
People that I used to hang with / now they’re acting so different
I’m still the same person why doesn’t anybody listen
Can somebody please / just explain to me
What happened to way that we always said we’d be
Right now I don’t know why I pushed through the pain that I got through
And I’m losing hope
Kenna:
Deafening voices / that frequency inside my head
That says / I’m going at it the hard way
I focus / get everything inside out of my head
That claims / I’m going at it the hard way
Mike:
Come with me / let me walk you through the world that I currently live in
Not a thing is forgotten / not a thing is forgiven
Nobody can hold their own underneath the weight but
Nobody can take the blame for their own mistakes so
What do you do when somebody lets you down
And you wanna say something but you can’t ‘cause they’re not around
Inside you think they know the extent of the pain
But they won’t even admit that they were the one to blame
Can somebody please / just explain to me
What happened to way that we always said we’d be
Right now I don’t know why I pushed through the pain that I got through
And I’m losing hope
Kenna:
Deafening voices / that frequency inside my head
That says / I’m going at it the hard way
I focus / get everything inside out of my head
That claims / I’m going at it the hard way
Kenna:
Voices…
Voices…
In my head…
In my head
Mike:
Can somebody / please just explain to me
What happened to way that we always said we’d be
‘Cause right now I don’t know why I pushed through the pain that I got through
And I’m losing hope / Gimme one reason not to
Kenna:
Deafening voices / that frequency inside my head
That says / I’m going at it the hard way
I focus / get everything inside out of my head
That claims / I’m going at it the hard way
Kenna:
Yeah-ooh …
