The Calling Lyrics (Static's Verse) Cause I remember back when I was just a kid Completely oblivious and filled with innocence Was introduced to rap music from an early age And became attached to it from an early stage Cause Eminem told me to ‘Sing For The Moment' Told me to loose myself in the music and k** the opponents And Nas told me that ‘One Mic's all I'm gonna need And if I worked hard that ‘I Can' be what I wanna be I remember having desires to start rapping I remember being inspired by Pac's pa**ion Was fascinated the way that they flowed lyrically The way the words rhymed on the beat was just so sick to me From the moment I first heard it I forever loved it Which is ironic cause my parents kept me sheltered from it Cause I was taught that rappers are people you don't follow But what they perceive as villians I saw as role models Cause they taught me how to stand on my own And that their ain't a situation I can't handle alone Taught me that if I was dealing with problems music could help And most importantly they taught me to stay true to myself So while you only see the negatives of mic checking And all you found is ignorance, I found life lessons And honestly I can't explain the obsession Or explain the feeling I got when I first came to a session All I know is that it's obvious I felt a connection And you can hear the hunger in my voice with pain and aggression And I've been chasing that feeling daily since middle school It boosted up my confidence and made me feel invincible So I'mma grab some headphones, Castro dim the light switch Let that beat ride out and I'mma leave this mic ripped Cause there's more to me then flowing to beats There's motion to my poetry to leave emotions released That's why I'm finished and I'm done with immaturity So every word that's coming off my tongue, I spit it purposefully It's more then music cause there's substance in the words I speak I used it as a way to overcome my insecurities It made me positive and changed my mentality Allowed me to temporarily escape from reality So no I'm not concerned with the audience who doubted me Cause once I'm in my zone it's like a force field's surrounding me I'm untouchable on the mic's what I tell rappers Cause once I step in that booth it's like nothing else matters Which to me creates the ultimate buzz That feeling can't be reproduced by any substance or drug, nah So when I rhyme I'm gonna strive for perfection And always vow to give the track my undivided attention But it's hard to keep going when you see no progress Cause being an established musician's a slow process That's why at times I feel like nothing is worth it Why do I keep writing these verses? What the f** is the purpose? Damn, cause I've been struggling severely with this gift And honestly it would be so much easier to quit But I was raised better and to always lead, resist defeat But it's hard to persevere when all you see is disbelief I've had some people say I'd never be good enough And I've had hopeless moments where the memories could've stuck I've had some dreams I was embarra**ed to chase I've had some of my supposed friends laugh in my face So what are you supposed to do when it's a risky equation? What do you do when your parents don't even think you can make it? What do you do when you try and you just get instant rejection? And you're told that rapping's not a realistic profession Cause you've got large amounts to pay in loans that you're not close to So get a good starting salary as a stockbroker So you should quit rap and find a new alternative Forget about your dreams and just learn to live conservative But f** that, I'd rather die than retreat So I'mma keep rhyming to beats until my time is complete Cause I choose to write to poems in a zone of sobriety And refuse to be grown as a clone to society Who stays persuaded by the lies within this sinful nation Cause they've been manufactured as products of manipulation Tricked to believe they need to follow the norm And that they can't achieve the dreams they've always wanted to form Cause they've lost their inspiration and they don't know what their pa**ion is And think that making money is the only road to happiness But don't believe them when they say that you'll fail They only tell you that because they've never made it themselves Why else you think they say success is what I'll never achieve Cause their dreams are long gone, and mine are well within reach Cause they're living in the past the more they say about their memories And jealous of the fact my glory days are still ahead of me That's why I worked my a** off from the start So while you follow what you're told, I'm gonna follow my heart So now it's me against the world until my audience builds And I'll pursue my inner pa**ion till my calling's fulfilled (Zoo's Verse) It's hard to write with no music But I have no choice, so f** it I'll just do it The pain ain't new, I've already been through it Had a second chance you could probably guess that I blew it Third times a charm, at least that's what they say But everyday I think about it and it ain't going away Ready, set, go, here's a message to relay I'll ‘Sober Up' so ‘Pray For Me' bump Budden on replay My thoughts are getting evicted, they really can't stay Someday they'll make me money but I really won't know where to pay So here's a penny for my thoughts Sit back and listen so you don't get caught Caught up in this whirl pool, spinning, sinking fast Thinking of my sinning past, linking it with where I am at last Back in rehab, you can say I'm figuring myself out While the nurse is eagerly tryna figure my health out Let my emotions pour out, no more of the pure doubt Cause lately it's been a drought I need this, I need this, I shouted in the mirror You need, you need this, in my head I can still hear her I said it, she said it, so it's a done deal Hah yeah right I wish that's really how I feel After everything I've been through, still I want it more then ever Under pressure, still digging for this buried treasure It's either in the back of my mind or the bottom of my heart My potential's somewhere I just don't know where to start The devil's talking to me every morning, every night Every left, every right, every theft, every fight And when I place my pen to the paper Problems perceive to vapor, it just seems safer To write it instead of fight it Let my emotions go before they can build up Empty my conscious before it can fill up After she broke my heart, I broke a pill up Used to hide the fact that I'm an addict when I need to embrace it Used to pa** this motivation cause I'll never be able to erase it Run away from the high when I always used to chase it Never caught it but it caught me Knocked me out but never fought me And here's the lessons that it taught me Never bite off more then you can chew My eyes were always bigger then my stomach yet I never knew Take less, give more, yet I never do Finish what you start cause I rarely ever follow through By the way the only thing that you should ever follow is your own heart People come and go but it's there from finish to start Keep your circles small and don't forget old friends If you're at odds with one be sure to make amends Cause they could be here today and gone tomorrow And the tombstone will talk and wipe away your tears of sorrow Don't burn bridges cause sharks are in the water You can't swim across an ocean alone, it's suicidal slaughter In fact you can't do much by yourself Besides write a book for the space on your mom's shelf Read and write everyday for as long as you can There's a lot of people in this world who can't even pick up a pen Don't forget the pen is mightier then the sword And there's never an excuse for you to feel bored Word your body and your mind one at a time Go for a run and then write rhymes You need to practice prayer often, don't wait for a sign Everybody has problems, take a number, wait in line And as a matter of fact anxiety still makes my heart pound Driving through my hometown, I can't be a let down I have before and I could be again The devil feels like I should be again Thankfully I'm searching for the higher power Next time I face the devil I'll have some firepower I'm a bronco amongst cattle so I'm not easily rattled It's a life long battle that's knocked me off my saddle And if I've learned one thing in life, it's get up when you fall down Keep your head up when it's all down Even if you're fed up from a small town There's no reason to do crack, coke, pills, or dope All of it breaks you down and k**s your hope Robs you of your feelings and ability to cope Every excuse will tempt you to use From a bad day at work to a cut or a bruise Even watching your favorite team loose But if you're next to me as I'm writing this, all of this is old news So if I could say one thing, it'd be If I could say one thing, it'd be choose what you do And don't let what you do choose you