AGAINST THE GRAIN / SHINE MEDLEY (NPR MUSIC’S TINY DESK CONCERT)

Part I: Against The Grain

[Spoken Word Intro: Tobe Nwigwe]
Uh, we just wanted to against the grain a little bit
So Miss Madeline Edwards, if you would

[Chorus: Madeline Edwards]
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun

[Verse 1: Tobe Nwigwe]
Aight, I feel like the masses on melatonin when it come to melanin
I grew up melancholy 'cause I ain't realize that the hemoglobin in my skin
Was connected to a lineage that never ever had to penny pinch
Serpent hissing at me, I take the blade to his neck to kill all the hissy fits
Ugh, please don't try me, I get more than grimey wen it come to Juju
Hence why my name is Tobechukwu and the flow like a tutu
Wrapped around the waist of Misty Copeland
Graceful even though I hail from broken
Places where they say that none are chosen to rise among the raptors
Like DeRozan, ugh
Flow o so, so Jurassic
Tough to find a suitor in my bracket
Where I'm from
My hood was filled with bastards
Not they fault
They daddy had it backwards
Hopefully they don't adopt the habits
Of the seed that turned them to a savage
'Cause

[Chorus: Madeline Edwards]
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun

[Verse 2: Tobe Nwigwe]
The atmosphere where I matured
Was less than friendly
Before they'd chase a dime
They'd squeeze the nickel
For a pretty penny
Hey look we had beef on every corner word to Wendy's
And I wanted to get away, or fly away, word to Lenny, Kravitz
It's always hella static
When you can't establish
How to get some cabbage
Or form a habit
To make ya cash a tidbit more acrobatic
Ouu, Ouu
You know flipping cake not hoarding it
Not hoarding it tryna change my mama
Geographical coordinates
'cause, 'cause she made it out the village
She deserves the tropics
And I was raised around them killers
You know, round them rockets
Where they'd put metal to yo mouth
Just like an orthodontist
No gas at all I went from convict
To being a comet
Ouu

[Chorus: Madeline Edwards]
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun
'Cause you were made to
Do what no one's done
And though they shade you
You shine like the sun
Sun, sun, sun
Oh-oh-ooh

Part II: Shine

[Chorus: Tobe & Madeline Edwards]
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine on all of them
Shine on all of them
My umi said to shine your light
So shine on all of them
Oooaayyeee
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine on all of them
Shine on all of them
My umi said to shine your light
So shine on all of them

[Verse 1: Tobe Nwigwe & Madeline Edwards]
We in the land of milk and honey
But ain't nothing sweet, these demons hungry
They go bananas for the money
But not me, I'm no circus monkey

[Pre-Chorus 1: Tobe & Madeline Edwards]
It's crazy, it's crazy
No Shaitan can drown us, we wavy
Too smooth to be fooled by Fugazies
I guess that's all part of what made me

[Chorus: Tobe, Madeline & Both]
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine
Shine on all of them
Shine on all of them
My umi said to shine your light
So shine on all of them
Oooaayyeee
Climb
Climb
Climb
Climb
You were born to win
You were born to win
Don't let them make you colorblind and not adore your skin