Do It All Over Again

[Danny!]
And they wonder why niggas that made it
Sounds so bitter on the record, why they filled with the hatred
Bumping The Minstrel Show six years ago, damn they was sore
The critics said the angst, made the casual listen a chore
Even I was like, "Dag, yo why they rappin so mad?"
But now I get it fam, bein overlooked is a drag
That's why I take seven years of bein resentful
Compose my instrumental, then I drop a classic album on you fags
But then... that's when the wack reviews come in
When they purposefully deduct a point or two from a ten
Like when... you handing in the perfect term paper
And the teacher takes away a point for writing in pen
It's the same thing cause everybody knows that D. Swain's king
But they act like he ain't here or that he's not entertaining
They say he's self-absorbed and only talk about himself
Motherfucker I'm a rapper, what the FUCK is you saying?!!

It isn't easy bein everybody's secret
If underrated is a compliment, then keep it
If you support an artist, you should never keep it
To yourself and, nobody else (Tired of bein overlooked man, c'mon)

Yeah I give you my hits, with a personal twist
Put myself on Front St., this the thanks that I get??
I get it, you take my life and throw it square in my face
I'm only mentioned when you're lookin for a charity case
Give me eight and a half stars, hopin I'll disappear
A month later, twenty rappers emerge
And it's THEM you revere for doin the same shit, I did for years
Y'all gon' make me lose my mind, up in here, here, here...
Y'all gon' make me lose my mind, up in here, here, here...
Ask me would I press rewind? Nigga yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Despite the pain and disappointments I've experienced
I still would do it all again, agaaaaaaain...

[?uestlove]
Ehh, I-I guess I can let this out the bag..

{beat changes}

[Danny!]
Yo, we one in the same
Went from burnin CD-Rs' now we runnin the game
Yo I used to sell these beats for 'bout a month and some change
Nonstop, just so I can cop some ones and a chain
And a stack of records, cause I'd rather mint these beats
So the process sorted like lather, rinse, repeat
"Yo it's gotta be more to life," I would say to myself
I ain't makin it for my health, man I wanna make a name for myself
I name my price and it was scarin 'em
So I had to low-ball, rap game was totalitarian
Finally found a decent asking price
Man it was so rough, I used to sell the same beat twice
Almost got my ass beat for that
They had a nigga writin everyone's receipt for that
Linked up with my nigga Ill Shawn from the gutter
We would be up in the studio 'til dawn, motherfucker
Makin classics, Shawn was in the zone with the mic
I provide 'em with the beats 'til that fateful night
I spit a verse, Shawn was like, "I didn't know you could write
Stick with me, and I promise you'll be straight for life"
After that, he was literally my biggest fan
We sold dope in our respective fields, that was the game plan
'Til his girl called me, told me that my boy got knocked
Drugs found, ratted on by some toy cop
They sent him upstate, now I'm back to square one
I had to trust fate, take my fuckin snare drums
And keep pushin with no days off
And Shawn would promise me that everything would soon pay off
("One, two, three, four!"
I used to call up all the stations, yo whatever it took
For me to get some frickin leverage
Shook my creditors, callin for student loans
I was callin up all the editors
Of all the magazines, I wanted +FaceTime+ man
Nobody facetime him, yo I was gettin annoyed
By then, I dropped my first two albums but they didn't make noise
2006, you had to use the blogs for promotion
Shot heard 'round the world, what's all the commotion?
This little 'Dida skinny nigga with beats
+The College Kicked Out+? Yeah, but he's workin with heat
The Grammys loved "Charm", the little opus that could
Despite the hype, that record still sold wood, but we'll get to that
Figured out I took the long route
So I got wit' a sick-ass clique and went all out!
PSSH~! Well that was short-lived
Way too may egos, trim the fat like pork ribs -- sayonara
We parted ways, I got back to me
Tried to colab with other artists but they asked for a fee
Ya fuckin losers, still got an attitude
Ya {reverse} {reverse} {reverse}
I couple that with my imminent dimishing hype
Due to fickle motherfuckers that expect me to write
AND record an album daily so I won't disappear
Cause seven months is eighty centuries in internet years
And you see why I left, while y'all was asking +Where is Danny?+
I was asking questions too, where's my sanity?
Career wasn't goin fast enough
Rappers comin after me steady passin me up
That's wassup, I dug into my bag of tricks
Took it back to '03 when my swag was sick
Interscope stamp of approval, that's more bucks
Got little fanfare but I'm gettin warmed up
Re-release, Danny! say hello to 12K!
That'll make up for Alex and his selfish ways
I'm laughin, "Danny! yo, how you get them fuckin cameos?"
Wouldn't YOU like to know? They probably do too man
Brother ?uestlove had talked to Jigga
And Jigga told 'em I'm that nigga
But round the egdes I'm rough, so Okayplayer signed a diamond
And buffed that motherfucker 'til that shit was shinin
To reiterate, Jay co-signed him
?uesto groomed 'em, system boomin
Thanks for tunin in... Yeah
Uh... and that's the story
You bastards bore me, fill out my fuckin FAFSA for me
I'm gone... I'm gone...

("One, two, three, four!"

{*long instrumental*}

[?uestlove]
Danny! - with an exclamation point at the end of his.. uh, name

[Joi]
That Tuesday..
Was a particularly cold one and I'll never forget it
Wish I could tell you my heart wahn't heavy that day but it was
I walked up those courthouse steps and I remember thinkin to myself
"PLEASE do right by him! Please do right by Danny!"
Television cameras were everywhere, it's a media frenzy
They were callin it the Trial of the Century
I watched from the balcony and saw the jurors gathering
They had reached the verdict that everybody was waitin to hear
Whether or not he was gon' hafta serve that possible life sentence
But they would never get to even read the verdict
Hmm, that shit happened quick as lightning
Danny! grabbed that pistol out of the bailiff's holster and shot himself - in - the - head
Right there in the courtroom...
The media wanted a story, well dammit they got one that day
After the commotion died down, so did my Danny!
He was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m
Reporters swarm the scene, interviewin members of the jury
..then they revealed that the verdict was, in fact -- not guilty
Someone said, "Danny! killed himself that day for nothing"
But I say, the public had killed Danny!'s character long before he took his own life
Ohh, I'm gon' miss him
I know his heart was in the right place all along
But now his soul's in a better place...
Rest in peace, my sugar
I'ma think about you whenever I raise my head to the sky