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Community Service

by Imago Dei

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1.
Intro 00:49
2.
Yo let's get it crack a lacking Imago Black light Bout to make it happen not just rappin but impacting the hurt/ These niggaz spaced out I bring em back to the earth they celebrate crack and attach it shirts/ Like that shit won't put brothers in the back of a herse/ and have his family packing the dirt over his grave/ tombstone, and flower over it laid/ this bullshit is overly played/ sit back and listen/ With these rap cat's you can't tell fact from fiction/ confusing like a mosque packed with christians/ They act rich but ain't got a pot to piss in/ Ain't gotta a dolla to your name/ But they still rhyming about diamonds in the chain/ It's a God dame shame peeps going without meals/ and this muther fucker go and put half a mil in his grill/ riding big wheels trying to feel like a king/ Call his women a bitch so she don't feel like a queen/ you can rock ya bling, but material things can only put a band aid on ya self esteem/ Let's elevate and see our true worth even though we've been told from birth that we're curse/ programed in school and programed in church/ Spend more than we make so we programed to work/ But I reverse the program/ for poor man/ Who for the doe man might become a snow man/ and decide hold grams and lose his whole fam/ end up dead or in jail studying to koran/ to my peeps in the belly of the beast/ find light in the dark/ get knowledge get free/ see they trap our body but can't hold our soul/ cause we strong on our back we can hold the globe/ I refuse to fold/ like oragami respect the ideas of Gundi/ i'll discuss it calmly/ but before i turn the cheek and let you harm me/ I'm gonna get my people to stand and form an army/ My neighborhood watch got beef with the cops/ but we still have to run them dope boys of the block/ You can have it on lock but not on my street/ I'll go to war so my kids can play in peace/ protect my family like a real man should/ You sambos don't stand like a real man would/ Everything you do you say you do it for the hood/ but why you do anything if you ain't doing no good/ and I know some of yall won't like the way that I word it/ but when you hear for the first time you feel it like virgins/ merging my skill and my purpose/ to make the game nervous/ this is more than just an album it's community service/
3.
Still Niggaz 00:49
I’m not a rapper/ cause now a days rappers is fools/ I’m a modern day Langston Hughes/Expressing my views/ to start a renissance/ and push the envolope/ so we can see through all the mirrors and smoke I write so thought get provoked/ And feet inspired to move/ The block to hot to try to be cool/ I don’t care if I’m rude/ cause you dudes is tripping/ Say you ain’t a role model but these kids is listening/ they try to be like you and get caught in the system/ And before you had your deal you wasn’t evern pimping/ Wasn’t trapping/ staying strap and clapping any nigga/ Studio gangsta rapping with your finger on the trigger/ You Figga you can be the next 50 or Jigga/ Get ya own shoe by reebok and your own liquor/ But wait let me paint the real picture/ Hip-hops big business but to them we still niggaz/
4.
War On Drugs 04:20
Verse 1 There's a war going on, a war outsides/ Take ya goocie shades off, nigga open ya eyes/ they use lies to get ya to move pies/ so you gotta man-up- muthafucka choose side/ Got ya mamma strung out, gotta ya daddy in jail/ flood ya neighbor hood with Guns and give your dope to sale/ Crooked preacher on the block saying God won't fail/ How you believe in heaven when you living in hell/ Ain't hard t o tell it's a fight for your life they trying to get you in the system and then give ya 3 strikes/ lock you up for life with no chance for parole/ with situations like this there's no chance for ya soul/ convicted felon/ convicted of selling drugs to survive/ while BET and Mtv Free to sell genocide/ George Bush, George Bush he's out to bury us/ George Bush, George Bush your neighborhood terrorist Verse 2 There's a war going on, a war outside/ take ya louie glasses off, nigga open ya eyes/ see the devils in disguise who tries to get ya vote/ They'll give you welfare but still leave you no hope/ But this can start a war or stop a riot/ It can quench you thirst or add fuel to the fire/ it can deflate ya ego like a nail in a tire/ It’s that rock in the sling shot that killed Golaith/ It’s the sound of revolution/ like Heuy P. Newton/ And Bobby Seale/ sitting down the build/ Figure times is real so ain’t no time to chill/ And even the good book says it’s a time to kill/ Now I don’t want to climb that hill/ but If I have to I will/ Cause when my tanks on E and I can’t find meal/ While Haliburton go to Iraq and sign a deal/ That’s a bad mix like liqour behind the wheel/ Verse 3 There's a war going on, a war outside/ take your versace shades off and open ya eyes/ My people stand up we in a fight for lives/ a soldier dies once a coward dies a thousand times/ let's straigize and figure out how to play this/ Like MlK or Larry Davis/ we can march in streets or get them guns a blazing/ See the method is determined by the situation/ Cause they use us a pawns in the political games/ acting tough on crime try to put us in chains or come through the hood shooting not taking no names That's why there's no joy here so we brandish the pain/ So you gotta watch ya step cause streets is foul/ In concrete jungles we hear the call of the wild/ over crack viles bothers put each other in graves but black on black crime is the hate that hate made/
5.
To my ancestors, those who came before To my children, those who come after My ancestors, those who came before To my children, those who come after My ancestors, those who came before To my children, those who come after I'm link in the chain I'm link in the chain I'm link in the chain that runs through out time I was born free, kidnapped, carried in the belly of a slave ship whip and strip of my of name/ Force to become a Christian and work in the fields/ built this country on my back with blood, sweat, and tears/ Family separated and sold then freed into chains/ oppressed by Jim Crow but still we overcame/ from shackles on my feet to marching in the street my ancestors died so I can live free
6.
Young World 03:40
He had the blood of a slave and the heart of a king/ but nobody ever told him to follow his dream/ they said his father wasn't shit so won't be anything/ so the ghetto dictated what his future would bring/ His moms tried to raise him the best that she could/ but it was just her against the rest of the hood/ You know they say it takes a village to raise a child/ but what happens to the child if the village is wild/ At sixteen a hustler took him up under his wings / taught him how to be fly/ and get cream to the sky/ didn't tell him from this life you couldn't retire/ It was only two ways out was go to jail or die/ he started off small time selling nickels and dimes/ the money came fast but he just stuck to his grind/ cause getting out the hood was in the back of his mind/ but before he could two slugs hit the back of his spine/ What up young world I know times is hard/ But you gotta see through the merage They say the only out is by that snow the block is hot so we can deal with the cold/ What up young world I know times is hard/ But you gotta see through the merage My people die from what they don't know/ They got us getting high to can deal with our lows/ She was a pearl cast into a world of swine/ body so fine it blocked out her beautiful mind/ cause her divine thought never got her attention/ she screamed out for help but nobody would listen/ so she used her head and got her extension/ pushed up her breast/ heals no less than 4 inches/ tight jeans tight skirt when she walk she switching/ all the latest fashion but something was missing cause niggaz asked could they hit it, fore they asked her name/ Just called her barbie like she had a plastic frame/ and all the mascara do is mask the pain/ cause since her pops left she don't act the same/ she had goals but now her dreams deferred she convince herself it better to be seen than heard/ to you that might seem absurd/ but in so many black home this scene occur/ What up young world I know times is hard/ But you gotta see through the merage never a queen only a hoe/ The way only to get attention is to take off your clothes What up young world I know times is hard/ But you gotta see through the merage My people die from what they don't know/ So my sisters sell their bodies for the price of their souls/ He said nope it'll never happen to me naw, dawg it'll never happen me just so happen to be that new skirt he was chasing/ use to sneek around with this dude name jason/ Now Jason was in a situation with Jazmine/ who knew she could have men wraped around her finger/ She once work her charm on an R&B singer/ Who use to fuck around with this groupie named Tina/ Now Tina was freak who stayed in the street/ Had a different nigga every day of the week/ One being Pete who she screwed for months/ After the sex they always blaze blunt Tina was confuse cause she heard Pete was gay/ But he was only half gay cause he went both ways/ Now Pete's partner Dave took test last week/ And it just came back positive for HIV/
7.
Black Angel 03:41
8.
Don’t try to act like you don’t know what it is/ You searching for the truth I’m a show where to dig/ Where what you holding to live/ could have you holding a bid/ And they place a world of weight on the shoulders of kids/ And they cook up their dreams on the eyes of stoves/ And if you get any sleep only one eye is closed/ Where lies are told that make us die for clothes And fight for crumbs to add up and drive a rolls/ Where paying the bill is harder than fuck/ Like pissing in the wind and catching it in a cup/ Where soldiers line up with their gats in tuck/ And cops try to put our hands behind our backs in cuffs/ Where politicians only show up/ every four years/ And promise to build things that never appear/ If this the home of the brave why we living in fear/ Yeah they dropping bombs but they ain’t got dropping them here/ Hip-Hoping and sharing cropping it's all the same Flash your chain and your watch but you don't own a thing The pride of a panther, too wild to tame/ So ain't nothing but to bang/ So we bang (For Justice) Bang (For Freedom) Bang (For Justice) Bang (For Freedom) Bang (For Justice) Bang (For Freedom) Bang (For Justice) Bang (For Freedom) Strange fruit used to ripen on southern trees/ Now we conditioned by the subtleties/ That are slipped into our psyces/ nighty/We believe the hype despite the/ Fact it got us trading lives for nikes/ Trading crack for respect/ on ya set/And a chain around you neck/ For a check/ Real cats get animated like shrek/ And rap make believe rhymes about their make believe lives/ That don’t really live/ And I don’t give a fuck, you think I preach to much/ Say I’m to deep, you ain’t deep enough/ I Bang, cause the CIA put cocaine on planes and boats/ And brought it over here to be smoked by black folks/ The fund their military objective and nobody’s objecting/ As long as only niggas affected/ And we accept it like fools/Make jail cool/ this why the build more prisons than schools/ Gun shops and liquor stores/ So when someone’s shot dead it’s plenty of liquor to pour The story of the black and pour living in hell And Labels package it and ship to shelves/
9.
The Hustle 03:59
10.
Ms. So Fine 03:38
Hey Hey Hey Ms So Fine Can I, Can I Get a second of ya time Just a, Just a moment of ya time hey hey hey Ms So Fine Pardon me Ms. So Fine/ Ms. So Elegant/ Ms Classy, Ms Sexy Ms. Intelligent/ I'm wanna know how to be your Mr. Relevant/ So Would you please help me with this development/ Like Lewis and clark/ I''ll explore the terrain of your mind to get to ya heart / And navigate through your all of your body part/ Nibble on your ear to your final frontier See you got the substance of Dreams/ the aura of queens/ the body of a Goddess, the desire of kings/ Jazzy like Coltrane a love supreme/ Mona Lisa smile paint the scene blue and green/ Like Miles you got style and flavor/ like now a later/ Undercover freak down for some wild behavior/ from the sofa, to the table to the sauna/ I'll sutra ya kama and justify your love like Madonna/ Yeah Ms. So Erotic/ Ms. Melodic/ the way you move ya hips to the beat is hypnotic/ every thing i want you got it/ exotic/ delicate/ but still strong in all of your feminine elements/ Ms. Inspiration for the songs that angels sing/ No need for cover girl or maybaleene/ your beauty tops the list of my favorite things/ whether you dress up or in your favorite jeans/ you still got my attention undivided/ my guilty pleasure is provided/ when you walk by with/ Your head to the sky like you don't notice me/ but that look in you eyes is the muse for my poetry Confident but grounded/ cultured and well rounded/ you personality is perfection personified/ Exquisite, Wonderful, in your skin your comfortable/ you enter a room and then make it come alive/ Ms. soft skin, Ms lucius lips let walk up ya back with my finger tips we can slip into ya fantasy/ what ever your taste whip cream/fudge/ honey strawberries and grapes/ Ms Flirtatious, Ms Curvaceous/ let's move to the rhythm put my hands where your waste is/ Step one Step two step one Step two
11.
Hook We don’t need another rapper, we need revolutionary/ So fight for ya people,And ride ya people Live for ya people And die for ya people Fuck the bull shit grind for ya people/ Verse 1 This for my hustlas, ballas, gangsta, cap pillas/ To survive in the hood you gotta be a killa/ But naw, that’s what they put in our mind/ With these rhymes design to have the blind lead the blind/ So we can’t find time to think/ bout to be extint/ We go decisions to make, cause we living on the brink/ Of death of revolution/ This is propaganda recruiting/ But the hammers cocked back ready for shooting/ We try to move the movement with the pen instead of the rifle/ But we do what we gotta for the people survival/ We can’t depend on the goverenment, you saw Katrina/ This our home land security, fuck a Fema/ Tax ya income but not there we you need em/ Lock up the niggaz and then give Iraqis freedom/ For that petrol to get doe, bush gone let moe/ Young Soldier die for a lie like death row/ Verse 2 This for my Trapstars, dope boys, and niggaz holding weight/ To survive in the hood you gotta know how to bake/ But wait/ and take minute to comtemplate/ Cocaine didn’t arrive in the place by mistake/ Why you think you can makeing cake, cooking crack/ So they can lock ya ass up that’s why they call it the trap/ 65% or prisoners are black So they want you to sell crack and stay strap/ Cause off of that they pockets can stay fat/ They get Free labor off ya back/ Matter of fact/ It’s the new plantation/ No compensation/ no occupation/ When you out on probation/ they want you back in the same situation/ No education and no jobs for ex-convicts So it’s a new day ya but the same old shit/ So I spit for change fuck the money fuck the fame/ May not sell I mil but I’ll still be critically acclaimed/ Verse 3 This is for my ruff necks, thugs pimps in the club/ To survive in the hood you can’t show no love/ Uh uh, that’s what they want you to believe/and breath/ They bread seeds that lead us to bleed on streets/ We confuse greed for need/ and unleash the heat/ On our brothers man so now he can’t teach his seeds/ It’s killing us but we still just feed the beast/ Live in the fast lane and die from our need for speed/ Together we stand divide we concede defeat/ Self hatred yup, that’s how they mislead my peeps/ Cause I’ll hate you if in your eyes I’m seeing me/ But if we love we can achieve and indeed succeed/ We need to see through the lies leave the truth uncover/ This twisted system got us turned against each other/ Crabs in the barrel we can’t get no further We rather kill our brother than kill for our brother/
12.
13.
Rise 03:32
14.
Alone with my thought sit down at the table/ I let the pen make love to the paper/ giving birth to letters of hope with every stroke/ my words and notes decide to skip town to elope/ it's a match made in heaven, made by the hands of God/ to help me through when times get hard/ they say I'm dreamer but they sleeping/while i'm reaching for my goals/ I just work and keep it on the low/ Cause success is achieved behind the scenes/ and I know that the end justify my means/ that's why they say that I'm extreme/ But can't walk the worn path to find my dreams/ Gotta think outside the box/ Gotta color outside the lines/ be creative my legacy is the art of my life/ Paint my portrait on the canvas of time/ Hook Do more than dream your dream/ You got to be discipline and focused Verse 2 With the flavor of my soul/I cook up my goals/ Faith is a part of the recipe/ toil and plant seeds in the garden of destiny/ Aggressively work to reap the harvest/ Bright but I can't say I'm the smartest/ Just an artist with a vision sculpted over rhythm/ taking of shape in your mental land scape Like the ancestors dreaming to escape to north/ you can hear freedom in my voice/ I'm freedom fighter/ A freedom writer/ labor today to make the future brighter/ for my kids/ Cause through them and theirs my spirit will live/ on forever/ Me and my queen push on the together/ through the stormy weather/ til the sun breaks through the cloud/ God gives us strength through our daughter's smile/ Hook Do more than dream your dream/ You got to be discipline and focused
15.
Verse 1 it's that... its that... its that vibe that you feeling/ roof on fire straight burn through the ceiling/ it's that love that be healing /but we love seeing killing/ like in the book of life we striaght root for the villan/ mother nealing/ lifting up a prayer for her son/ he so heavy on heart its like he ways a ton/ she sheds a tear as the words rise from her tongue/ hoping love got more power than that of a gun/ some people hearts jump when they hear their lovers name/ some jump out of joy some jump out of pain/ some become suicidal, want to jump out of a plane/ some get their lover's name tattooed on their frame/ some couples get married but the love is missing/ some love to be alone some love attention/ Karma come back in the form you send it/ so how you gone get love when you love disension/ Hook (Love) it can brighten you day (Love) it can make your heart break (Love) it can make you feel safe (Love) but still some push it away (Love) it flows from the tip of my pen (Love) the beauty the shine from within/ (Love) Share between family and friend Cause only when love start can living begin/ They said they loved you, and it was on a crackin/ and hopeless romantic and long for passion/ but naw that was the wrong reaction/ cause love's not shown in words, it's shown in action/ when love songs is blasting/ it's easy to say/ but the following day, will it be the same way/ or when their hair turns grey and weight is gain/ twenty years from now, will you still love them the same/
16.
They say the revolution won't be televised I say it will be acted out in our daily lives So I make love as a strategy of war Pour my heart into my people Raise my children as building block of a nation Instead of the first swig of liquor as a ghetto libation I build the future as a monument to the ancestors Do what i can to help my brothers and sisters Cause love will fuel the Revolution To educate and enlighten, is to adopt the best tactics fighting our oppressor you apply pressure to the system every time you Hug you mother Kiss you lover Dap up you brother And Communicate sincere love to one another Cause love is the breaking of chains the healing of pain The knocking of the cycle of willie lynch off it's axis Black love is the best course of action in the war on the black mind Cause black on black crime plays into the hands of the enemy so instead of hate i send out positive energy And let love fuel the revolution Cause love will fuel the revolution I'm a warrior The Vanguard of my village And if i have to spill blood to protect it I will But i won't be because hatred has tainted my soul oh no. it will be because my people are my gold My treasure and i'll never allow it to be plundered Spiritual Rich I'm high off the people Using good to overcome evil By any means necessary, legal or illegal Cause black love is contraband in a system that prospers from black death A system that took us from Pyramids to projects Replaced the plantation with the prison industrial complex So i guess black love is a threat to the economy And financial analyst use black harmony or disharmony as barometer To forecast profit margins My goal is to crash the market To bankrupt the institution And let love fuel the Revolution Let Love Fuel the Revolution Let Love Fuel the Revolution Let Love Fuel the Revolution One Love

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released July 7, 2007

All Songs Written and Produced by Imago Dei

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Imago Dei Atlanta, Georgia

Imago Dei is from Richmond, VA by way of Atlanta Georgia. He is a father, husband, producer, emcee and community activist.

Imago is truly an artist with his music. He paints pictures with rhythm and poetry. Some have called him an emcee's emcee because of his mastery of flow and superb lyricism. He is a man for the people, inspiring his fans to make their world a better place.
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