This is a dedication to those who won’t abandon me, To my best friends, my lover, and my family When every dream I follow feels like I’m gambling, With understanding you walk hand in hand with me It’s hard to explain how much you all mean, Tryna plant magic beans ever since I was a teen Grown man now, found doin’ the same thing, But if I got you in my corner there’s no need to leave the ring So for all those times I had my headphones on for half the day, You saw the outside of my door more than you saw my face It was nothin’ against you, it was no kind of spite, Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a choice when I gotta write So for all the nights I said I’d rather hang out by myself, And all those days I left every last book sittin’ on the shelf, Every misanthropic moment, every flash of inspiration, Every time I lost my patience to a software complication Each day I wasn’t on time, thinkin’ of a bassline, Knowin’ if I stepped outside I’d let it slip out of my mind I apologize if I ever did or do come off wrong May I be washed in a sea of words comin’ from every lost song Rest in peace to lecture notes that got surpassed, Head up in my notebook, jottin’ rhymes in class Never meant to disrespect you, I intended no offenses, But this tree right here’s got sturdy roots growin’ deeper than my debt is ‘Cause ever since I lost so many thoughts out a broken window, I’ve been on a mission not to let that sucka win, so I’m givin’ it my all, defeat – never acceptin’ it Blood, sweat, and tears for your ears, here’s what’s left of it This is where I’ve been, where I’ve been pourin’ my time, Puttin’ heart, soul, and mind into every last line Whether on a roll or truly feelin’ the toll, If it means anything to y’all then I already met my goal

Verse 1, Fricktion: Inside these crowded streets, Nothin’ in my mind but the sound of beats With the rhythm mimickin’ the poundin’ feet I feel adrift in the sea, but still I drown in sheets You see I’m free it seems to roll with my dreams When I climb these beams to the highest of trees While I’m up there, I find I’m always on some next shit But I find my scope narrowed while I’m hunchin’ over breakfast I come from cornfields, call the exurbs home The land of diesel truck fumes, dip spit, and chrome, Cheap herb, long drives, small minds, and clones, Where glue poured outta orange bottles holds together homes So I had to find my own to hold together my dome, Didn’t come with a prescription, it came with rhythms and flows, Beats bangin’ out here where we call ‘em roads, not streets Learned to get my mind free underneath the pine trees Chorus, Corey Banet: Attracting black holes I know you can handle it You’ve lived your life in a box Now stand up and step out of it Bridge, Fricktion: No traction, slow backspin Kinetic action splintered into fractions Abstractions all that I can fathom Thoughts swingin’ like a hammer with the speed of a MAC-10 Silent as a still life, is this still life? I’ve been there and this isn’t what it feels like A waking fantasy, banishing reality A welcome sanctuary to escape from life’s banality Verse 2, Fricktion: It starts to take shape deep in the subconscious, Bobbin’ in a sea of darkness only escaped by the strongest Risin’ and fallin’, rollin’ like a tide, Pulsin’ through the membrane between the conscious mind and the sublime Long before a rhyme, a quick flash movin’ down the line, A flash, a spark, a flame, a conflagration blazin’ in my mind Meticulous machinery chuggin’ on in time With a helpful heap of elbow grease keepin’ the pump primed It’s days like these that keep my pistons firing Few sparks left, vagabonds in my wiring Horizons as my walls, bulbs beat out by the sun, Runnin’ on just enough fumes to be mistaken for fun But a wordsmith’s work can never be done, Always two more come from every one, But clever enough and you can make one greater, From the pencil and the pad to the knob and the fader

Sometimes it seems the cycle’s never gonna stop The coppers hate the people so the people hate the cops A red kills a blue so a blue kills a red And there’s never any shortage of youth to end up dead Turn to crime ‘cause there aren’t any jobs to be had Now the jobs won’t hire ‘cause your record’s lookin’ bad No job, no money, no food up in your tummy And when people get desperate, that’s when things get bloody When conditions get rough, it’s easy to look down Especially when it isn’t happenin’ in your hometown And if you want to make a change, where you gonna get the funds? The government’s too busy funding new prisons and guns So we leave ‘em disenfranchised – Fuckin’ walkin’ landmines Eye for an eye in a drive-by state of mind And how the hell can any of ‘em claim the blame When these products of the game just came up in this skewed frame? As the world keeps turnin’, the mess gets thicker While people sit and bicker, this shit just gets sicker ‘Nother place to buy liquor, ‘nother sherm stick dipper ‘Nother finger on another American made trigger So it spins and it spins without a stop to get off Every night another set of shots is gettin’ let off If everybody stopped and took all of their blue and red off How would you know who you were gunnin’ at before you sped off?

Verse 1: Once upon a time I lathered myself with neglectful thoughts Built myself an exoskeleton, impenetrable box Thought I’d be secure the only one who had the key to my locks But me and my doubts ate each other alive and what’s outside began to knock One defining moment in this presently short life of mine Internal revelation with no persuasion from the divine To realize if I lie, stuck in the past I won’t define who I can be, but who I was last Chorus: I already lost it, so it’s only up from here It’s far too caustic, so no more livin’ in fear I know I won’t get far lookin’ in the rear view mirror Sometimes it takes a downpour before it gets more clear So I woke up and I’m not goin’ back to sleep Keep my eyes wide open, feet beatin’ concrete With admiration for the strong and compassion for the weak Through rain, snow, or sleet, won’t stop until I reach my peak Verse 2: There’s a certain something that’s terrifyingly beautiful ‘Bout knowing nothing’s set in stone – the whole world’s mutable Pass right through it like a drip through a membrane Whether goin’ up in a blaze of glory or goin’ down in flames Prints in the sand, each fading after the last So each action in our life is relegated to the past But takin’ every step like one stitch in a suture You can keep it movin’ til you find what suits ya They say a penny saved is a penny earned I say a minute spent waitin’, debatin’ is a minute burned And a life that’s lived without purpose Is a life that’s quickly made worthless It took a couple decades to realize I’m not impervious The type of realization that can make a person nervous But ‘til they close the curtain I’m on track, no swervin’ ‘Cause this is one of the only things in life ‘bout which I’m certain Chorus: I already lost it, so it’s only up from here It’s far too caustic, so no more livin’ in fear I know I won’t get far lookin’ in the rear view mirror Sometimes it takes a downpour before it gets more clear So I woke up and I’m not goin’ back to sleep Keep my eyes wide open, feet beatin’ concrete With admiration for the strong and compassion for the weak Through rain, snow, or sleet, won’t stop until I reach my peak Verse 3: Got my eyes to the sky ‘Cause the prize is too far away to devise in my mind But I’m redefinin’ my grind and I’m on it ‘Cause failure’s harder to swallow than hot scotch and comet Gotta get this shit out like a colonic So when I step into the booth I only promise to be honest Here I stand, hands shakin’ like a man taken with Tourette’s As I raise one up to wave my farewell to regrets Whatever holds me back, I’m buryin’ it No longer let it pull my strings like a marionette I’m still becoming a man despite the hair on my chest And I’m stressed, it’s damn hard not to be scared of what’s next My goal has never been to be compared to the best Only wanna pull my own weight and be prepared for the rest ‘Til I reside in the land, bones barren of flesh I’ma spend my life in this lab like I was marryin’ meth Chorus: I already lost it, so it’s only up from here It’s far too caustic, so no more livin’ in fear I know I won’t get far lookin’ in the rear view mirror Sometimes it takes a downpour before it gets more clear So I woke up and I’m not goin’ back to sleep Keep my eyes wide open, feet beatin’ concrete With admiration for the strong and compassion for the weak Through rain, snow, or sleet, won’t stop until I reach my peak