11th and final track from 2013’s The Night’s Gambit
In this track Ka sketches his backstory in enigmatic, abstract terms, skillfully weaving in the titles of no fewer than 64 classic hip-hop albums that were formative influences on his life and artistry.
In the music video for this track Ka digs t...
[Verse: Ka]
These pages tell my life in the 'ville
Out here raising hell with license to ill
This raging bull trying to get paid in full
Going off, not knowing soft gauge to pull
Runaway Slave, wanted dead or alive
I hide good, but my hood I could never disguise
Not a quarter, drank muddy water
We was needy, 6 feet deep fate, can't escape like Whodini
On the road to riches, a driven youth
All my adventures were slick, I'm living proof
In fact, if life was wax, I'd spin & rewind it
Get your minerals grinded being criminal minded
Doing wicked acts, no righteous moves
Press this, let's remove that necklace, nice & smooth
A lot of grit, not a bit of a sweet town
Try to match, catch a critical beatdown
I'm poor from young, being called a bum
My team was branded nubian, we all for one
No lie, doe or die, weight out a bundle
Tryna rule so we could move straight out the jungle
My answer was walk like a panther
Cause life is too short, and poor is a cancer
Take a look around, we all repping with the neener
You know, in case a fool wanna step in the arena
In the beef, we at least taking magnums
So if it pops, I'm licking shots, breaking atoms
Fear of a black planet so they go in leary
For knots we can't be stopped, that's low end theory
After flips took trips with swiftness
No enjoyment, our deployment was strictly business
The inf is tight spent the night on the block
The solution for heavy bread is as light as a rock
Rolled rude for soul food, totally a threat
Seeds is speeding, needing holy intellect
No retreat, we deep, try devising
Wild so sheets could pile 3 feet high & rising
Raw crew, all true, you heard we blitz strangers
Came wack, got aimed at with 36 chambers
To the death, that's how we kill static
For reasonable doubt, squeezing out that ill 'matic
We ready to die, the nights was real
Fam learned how to kill a man in Cypress Hill
Back the fuck up, my gun a new Beretta
Put us on a hard job, no one could do it better
The pawn spoke, born broke, lived in pain
No favors, coke saved us, long live the 'caine!
Soon as I blew, knew nothing would limit me
Be that mighty g from '93 til infinity
Dead serious, with women, we was foul
Had her smoking chronic to hit her doggystyle
As far as respect, we failed as teams
Was colder, now we older it's all hail the queens
Hated we tainted that innocent girl
Rudest bitch from most beautifullest thing in the world
Vented the rage like we was battin' in cages
Slow grind, now it's showtime, enter the stage
We lusting yo, bum rush the show
Legal drug money, got much to throw
If I ain't mention this, we was infamous
Now I seek to school, speak jewels in his sentences
By margin dodging surprise of the beast
Connects with the west, but son rise in the east
I hold a four cause I know the score
America's most wanted, my code is raw
In full gear is your best protection
Against the llama's, this ain't no promise or resurrection
Write out the diary this war report
Got supreme clientele, I give 'em more to snort
Stay obedient, never get numbers this large
Thought main ingredient was be the youngest in charge
My strong plea all eyes on me, this is precious
'Fore things fall apart, I pray your heart get the message
[Hook:]
I was donned with baggage
All these psalms calmed my savage
How I live was often hectic
All this is off the record
I was donned with baggage
All these psalms calmed my savage
How I live was often hectic
All this is off the record
Off The Record was written by Ka.
Off The Record was produced by Ka.
Ka released Off The Record on Sat Jul 13 2013.