The Dao of Sun Zoo
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Escaping

It was barely 8 o’clock when he stepped in the store
An old man, with his back to me, next to the door
He looked fragile and poor, I forget what he wore
But he was shaking, he could barely take a step on the floor
I looked at my boss like, “What the fuck should I do?
This is an island, there’s no hospital to run the man to.”
But my boss didn’t seem to even notice the dude
Though he was looking sick, shaken, beaten, broken and used
So I stood there, and as the man walked up to me
It was obvious the dude found it hard just to breathe
I was figuring he suffered from some awful disease
When he concentrated, looked into my eyes, and said “Please,”
“Do you think you might have any whiskey in back?”
I gestured to a shelf: “Sorry, all we got now is that.”
He looked sad, but like he already knew
It didn’t matter, he went to the shelf and found eighty proof
The bottle of vodka shook, though he gripped with both hands
He placed it on the counter, but he couldn’t get it to stand
And knocked it over, then I took it, while the register scanned
I watched him and I could see he was ashamed of his hands
He finally walked out the door with the drink in his mitts
And I watched him out the window, still thinking he’s sick
He climbed in his old truck, almost licking his lips
Before he drove off, I watched him take a swig of the shit

By the time my boss tells me, I can see what it is
The man was shaking so badly ’cause he needed a drink
And what’s worse, my boss said, is that his wife doesn’t know
So half the bottle will be gone by the time he gets home
He’ll just keep buying liquor every day till he’s broke
My boss finished, then he walked away and left me no hope
But I guess you see a lot if you’re owning the store
That sells booze in a town mostly broken and poor
Where half the population lives serving the rich
And the other half mostly makes their earnings in fish
Being subservient is probably never good for your health
And I should know, I worked there as a servant myself
And I can understand after days of polishing brass
And keeping dust off of the nice shit that you’ll never have
How it’s so easy to become broken, bitter, and sad
And want to sip a little vodka just to get out of that
And then a sip becomes another sip, or maybe a glass
Maybe a few if it’s enough for you to break with your past
Till every day you’re buying liquor just to save being sad
You probably don’t even notice till you’re shaking as bad
As the man in the store, ’cause you’re needing a drink
To get through the day and function, and even to think
Until it’s worth hiding things from your wife and your kids
Just to distract yourself from how miserable your life is

And this same kind of story can be found all around
How crack kills in the ghetto booze kills in small towns
And if it ain’t booze, it’s probably cigarettes or scratch tickets
Spending grocery money on them for the chance to cash in it
Same faces every day, same games is getting played
So shit, ain’t no surprise it all goes the same way
Listen close, becuase this could affect all of you
This is the same shit I fucking lost my grandfather to
You probably didn’t know him, but you know someone else
Who plays the lotto and drinks when all that money could help
Them buy themselves their next meal or a better education
Or some far more productive way of escaping

I gotta get away, gotta escape

Just Fuckin’ Around

I’m not famous, I don’t spit for a deal
And I’m not from the streets, don’t give a shit if it’s real
I just flip it and kill every mic, and I spit what I feel
Make sure every fucking syllable’s ill
I’m killin’ em still, when I’m not tryin’
And other rappers wanna claim their shit is better but I’m not buying
I’m not kidding, if you say your shit can top mine then
Maybe you should make like David, and stop lyin’
Serious words got ‘em fearin’ a verse
So fuck a battle, I’m putting their career in a hearse
Not ’cause I challenge other emcees…it’s just after a crowd
Hears me they don’t wanna hear them speak
It’s ’cause I got range, I’m never the same
I’ll yell fuck the industry, then try to get in the game
But I ain’t hard to understand, here’s a hint at my brain
I just wanna eat, sleep, and play videogames

HOOK:
I’m dope as fuck, but I don’t even try
So if I quit this rap shit yo, don’t be surprised
You wanna sign me to ya label? I don’t wanna be down
‘Cause I ain’t trying to get rich, I’m just fuckin’ around

I never gave a fuck about rapping
I’m just gonna use this to start careers in basketball and acting
Actually the fact is I’m a sarcastic bastard
With too much free time and just rap to pass it faster
Me being this dope was a mistake
I only wrote my first song to get a free copy of some mixtape
“Seventeen bucks? I don’t think I can do it!
Uh, here yo, take this song, it’s exclusive.”
And I won’t front like I ain’t lazy as fuck
Just look at my face, it’s clear I haven’t shaved in a month
Still, me fakin’ the funk? Couldn’t pay me enough
I don’t wanna make the effort, fuck you labels and stuff
Yo, I ain’t changing my game or even changing my name
That’s work motherfucker, yo, I’m stayin’ the same
So before I take a day of your fame, I’ll freak out worse than Rick James
and motherfuckin’ throw a brick straight at your brain

HOOK

They say start every verse with something to quote
But I’m lazy, and I don’t care…so I don’t.
Frankly, you’ll be lucky if I finish the song
“Yo, how much I got left dude? This shit is too long…”
Nah, but in all seriousness I’m not serious, just
I do this to be blowin’ up spots, period
Spit furious, while I respect a lyricist
Words is no good without dope flow to hear the shit
So I kick this sick shit for y’all to bump to
Then run through your neighborhood screaming out “Sun Zoo!”
Just ’cause I want to, I do it for kicks
I get a beat, grab the mic, and say the stupidest shit
That I can think of and still crowds is lovin’ my steez
Emcees ain’t as sick as me, they got some other disease
I’m the cat that every other rapper wanted to be
I’m just too lazy to take all the shit that’s offered to me

HOOK

November Alone

Mid-November, and I can feel a chill in the air
And with the sun down, I can feel that winter is there
It’s dark and cold, but I like that
I’m sitting on the steps outside watching people try to fight back
With collars up but eyes down as they walk past
Hurrying home for a shower or a warm bath
And I’m alone but don’t mind ’cause it’s more that
I’m trying to catch this night in my mind before I walk back
I’m not unloved, and yet something is missing
Got friends, but feel alone even when I’m with them
So I watch some couple’s street romantic kissing
And can’t stop from thinking that I fucked up the system
A square peg that doesn’t fit in the hole
My whole family’s around, I’m still sitting alone
The one player on the team who can’t get in the zone
The only person in the room who ain’t getting the joke
But yo, it hasn’t always been like this
I used to feel like I could depend on shit
And I hope a few people at least, I still can
I just can’t tell them everything the way I had planned
So I tell my notebook and then it tells the mic
And my speakers tell the people what I can’t in real life
But something about this just doesn’t feel right
I’ve thought a lot about it and I just feel like

HOOK:
It doesn’t really matter what you do with your life
You could have kids, good friends, a girl or a wife
You could have a whole family that was treating you right
And still all it really takes is a twist of the knife
One twist could have you feeling like a stranger at home
Because no one’s lived a whole life the same as your own
And when you finally realize, you feel naked and cold
You can’t share your whole life, you gotta face it alone

The truth is girlfriends pass, friends move on
Family is family but they do you wrong
Even your wife could do any dude she wants
That’s just life, and the hardest bonds to lose are strong
But people die, old friends change
And you change even if they stay the same
I remember when my aunt used to play our games
Now she looks at me and can’t even say my name
I finally see there’s no happy ever after
And eventually tears have to follow after laughter
People act close ’cause we’re all a bunch of actors
Motivated by our own greed, love, and other factors
Stare life in the eyes and their glitter reveals
A whole vast emptiness beyond her bitter appeal
But I’m sitting on the steps with a smile on my face
Cold and alone but I like the time and the place
‘Cause I like myself and this mind that I’ve made
Alone in good company, I kind of relate
Friends are great, but use your mind when alone
And learn to love yourself for the times when they’re gone
So when life gives you a lemon throw it right at her dome
And say, “Fuck you, I’m not alone, bitch, I’m home.”

HOOK

Hope Flies

I can’t get back…
To the place that I was, man, I been trying
But I find I ain’t able enough
To change my mind or replace all this stuff
That has happened and this time I couldn’t say what it was that
Pushed me over the edge, it could have been friends
It could have been death, it could have been getting left
It could have been stress, it could have been just
that this time the same shit different day just wouldn’t digest
But what has it left? I’m fucking depressed
Well ain’t that a big surprise, man, who the fuck would have guessed?
I wanted the best, drew the short end of the stick
But even in the bad times you never get what you think
I thought I knew who I was throughout all this
But now I’m looking in the mirror goin’ “Aw shit”
Whatever caused this fractured my brain, I have to retain
The thought that I’m actually sane
Like, if I was crazy would I be so confused?
If I was crazy would I still wanna go to you?
If I was crazy would I know what I’m supposed to do?
If I was crazy would I have any hope to lose?
I ain’t crazy ’cause I still got hope
And I live in the only city where hope still floats
In the Ocean State hope still flies
So fuck the path that I walk, I walk the Providence streets and look at the skies
Local cats understand what I mean
But I don’t think anybody understands what I’m seeing
And I ain’t trying to be cryptic
I just don’t have any idea what I’m thinking at this instant
Can’t decide so I’ll decide to not decide
Can’t think so I guess I’ll just stop and ride
I let if flow, so don’t worry yo, I’ll be fine
See you around, right now, I got to fly

Glass House

I know a lot of hypocrites, and backstabbing motherfuckers
If you ain’t there they talking shit, but if you are, they like a brother
But, small wonder, when the chips go down
You suddenly never see these little shits around
Like dude I used to know, dude taught me to rap
But after that I practically carried the rat on my back
I gave him free beats, fucking track after track
He recorded on my shit and I was actually glad
To help him out so I mixed it and mastered it too
All the time never knowing what the bastard would do
The thing is, it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford
To buy the things that I had, yo, he could have had more
He was rich, I worked my ass off, spent over a thou
On the equipment, all he had to do was open his mouth
I wasn’t bitter, and I wasn’t gonna complain
I was way better than him but still lettin’ him play

HOOK:
There’s a lot of people out there with slow brains and fast mouths
Who always act foul, never wanna back down
I just laugh when karma leaves them assed-out
You shouldn’t throw stones if you live in a glass house

So one day I get a chance to kick a rap at this show
Opening set for a band people actually know
I heard a month before and as soon as they asked me to flow
I knew I’d need a hype man so I was at this kid’s door
I asked him to do it, and he was like OK, yo
But I told him if he wasn’t sure that he should say no
That way I’d have a little time to find someone else
But he assured me it was fine and he could do it himself
I spent the month practicing, getting psyched up to flow
Then this dude calls me up the fucking night of the show
He can’t make it, ah, fuck, what the fuck do I do?
Yo, I guess I do it solo, I got nothing to lose
After every time I helped him, all the shit that I did
He skipped out on my show to fucking kick it with friends
But fuck it, I don’t even care anymore
‘Cause now that bitch has no beats and nowhere to record

HOOK

Picture this, a little cat, maybe five foot six
At my show, being a dick, probably high as shit
I’m trying to ignore him ’cause I’m doing a show
But this motherfucker’s shouting and he screws with the flow
He wanna battle, swears that he’s the illest rapper out
And he could fuck with my shit onstage without a doubt
A loudmouth, and ain’t no fucking way to drown out
Dude’s voice, everybody wants to hit him with a roundhouse
And while no one wanna see cops get involved
He’s killing the vibe, and I can tell he’s not gonna pause
He stopped the applause, the audience has walked to the doors
So I call him out, now the bastard got what he wants
He freestyles a verse and the shit is garbage
Then they give the mic to me and he’s demolished, no contest
The crowd laughs ’cause dude got what he deserved
He got what he wanted, and he got served

HOOK

Something is Wrong

I didn’t wanna write this, I thought that I had stopped writing period
And finally got serious, I’m not a lyricist
I just had to write this to survive
‘Cause shit I see every day was starting to eat me inside
On the news, everybody’s screaming out of control
While Fox pushes Botox into reality shows
And I just sit on the couch thinking how did we go
From hunting for our own food to companies without souls
Controlling everything we see? This ain’t no conspiracy theory
This shit is real, yo, it’s everywhere, please hear me
Let’s exercise a little critical thought
‘Cause I don’t think most people realize half the shit that gets taught
Look at the swan, and look at what it teaches our kids:
“You’re not a model, but that’s nothing this procedure can’t fix”
It’s kind of scary, but people do believe in this shit
And find it worth spending time on, and even in print
We get the same messages and the same goals, look at the news
It’s just reality TV with a suit
It’s the same entertainment, to get the same ratings
To attract the advertisers so they get the same payment
It’s all calculated carefully and thoughtfully
But we don’t wanna see that, we wanna see what’s on the screen
They just show us what we wanna see
The more I think about that fact, the more that fact is haunting me

BREAK

I wish this was a conspiracy, or somebody’s plan
‘Cause if it was, we’d have a lot less blood on our hands
But as it is, it’s just supply and demand
And there’s no demand for truth as society stands
How did we get so apathetic, paranoid, bored and pathetic
That we bought into the SARS epidemic?
We just dance to the flickering light
And hope the entertainment takes our minds off miserable lives
So we watch doctors cutting ugly people with knives
And though it’s sick, there’s a million people eager to try
They think there’s something wrong with them, believing the lies
For big boobs and botox these kids are risking their lives
That shit is twisted, these people have a hellish existence
Instead of helping them out, we put them on television?
What’s the obsession, I don’t get it, man, I never have got it
So people watch these shows and I just do my best not to vomit
And I don’t watch the news because they’re all a bunch of puppets
Who all make a lot of noise but ain’t really saying nothing
Despite endless dumb pundits having endless discussions
They argue for the sake of argument and nothing comes from it
Turn on your TV, this shit ain’t just in a song
60 channels, 24 hours, always it’s on
I think it’s pretty fucking clear that something is wrong
We need to try to fix this before our country is gone

Get Free

I can’t take it, turn on the radio, it’s fake shit
Turn to my man like ‘Change the station”
You can seek for ten minutes yo, it’s the same shit
And I ain’t even got a CD to replace it
It’s all sex, lies, and videotape
Diamond rings, big chains, and high-class champagne
These rappers wanna front like they owning an airplane
They can barely afford to even rent for a damn day
Yo, I understand how the industry works
You on a contract, then you probably finna get jerked
I know it’s big bills they be giving at first
But they don’t pay for your studio and it’ll get worse
When you find out you have to pay back the advance
Before you see any money that they make on your jams
Too many of you rappers put your name on the line
And then end up broke when your label is fine

HOOK:
If you signed a contract for your life, need to get free
If you don’t own none of your rights, need to get free
I see the chains and the ice, but don’t tempt me
Turn off the radio, people, and get free

Now you got some old dude and you owe him your life
Because you signed a contract for the dough and the ice
Well, I hope you got it and I hope it was nice
‘Cause now this dude has control of what you flow in the mic, man
You wanna get real, he wanna get hard
You wanna heal wounds, he probably wanna make new scars
Controversy sells, yo, he knows the biz
But now you don’t know whether you should show your kids
But shit’s on the radio and getting some love
Nobody gives a fuck what you did in the club
But they do love to dance so your shit will get played
Nobody really cares what you think or you say
Plus you can’t send a message ’cause the tapes of your shit
Have to get approved by the fucking label exec, who’s like:
“Nobody wants to dance to political shit,
Get back in the studio and make us a hit”

HOOK

One Sip

I don’t know if I should say this, afraid that you might hear the song
And think I’m fucked up, and then you’d be gone, I couldn’t take it
I’ve lost enough, I need you as a friend,
I don’t know what the fuck I’ll do if it ends, yo, for real
I’ve been through too much shit in one week
To hear the five words you know I want to hear you un-speak
But you can’t change your heart, I understand that
So I’ma let you do you while I just stand back
But I can’t act like it didn’t phase me, like I haven’t missed you lately
And I don’t need the things you gave me
Hope floats, but I won’t fly on the wings of maybe
The question is, who do I call now when shit is crazy?
‘Cause I don’t want to seem pathetic, and even more than that
I know you’re busy and don’t need another headache
I gotta deal with my depression, not for myself
But for the sake of our friendship

HOOK:
One sip for the girl
One sip for the world
One sip in the hopes that I can make the room swirl
Drown my sorrows in a bottle of beer
And wonder what the fuck am I doing here?

This ain’t a love song, in that way, I get that you’re gone
But I’ma pray everyday that our friendship is strong
Becuase I can’t deal with tough shit just in these songs
I need someone to talk to when the pressure gets hard
My life ain’t hard, ain’t usually do or die
But I don’t usually have friends thinking about suicide
Who drank a lot of booze, took a couple of pills
Then bought some cigarettes and went out for a walk on the hill
And won’t answer phone calls or say where he is
We walkin’ round the whole city hoping maybe it’s just
Some kind of joke, but everybody there knows that it’s not
And I’m just walking by myself feeling hopelessly lost
Thinking ’bout my friend, thinking of you
Thinking why do people do the fucked up shit that we do
My friends fine, but I’m still here sipping on brews
Thinking maybe that I should have just listened to you

HOOK:
One sip for the girl
One sip for the world
One sip in the hopes that I can make the room swirl
Drown my sorrows in a bottle of beer
I’m only thinking that I wish you were here

Sometimes it’s hard to keep from going insane
When there’s some fucked up shit drilling a hole in my brain
So I…mix a drink with the hope it’ll change
And if I drink enough I won’t even notice the pain
But yo, you know how that goes, it only remains
I end up sitting by myself feeling lonely and strange
I can’t cry, my tears are ink and they flow to the page
I hope it helps, and without God, hope is my faith
And…hope flies, yo, I hope that’s true
So I’ma let it free and then I’ll go ask you
If you’ve got a minute to talk, I know that you do
So fuck this song yo, I’ma go and get you

HOOK:
One sip for the girl
One sip for the world
One sip in the hopes that I can make the room swirl
Actually, fuck that, never mind
I’ve got my hope, and I’m gonna be fine

Take a Rest

Take a walk, any street, any city
Observe pedestrians, eyes down, walkin’ quickly
In a rush just to get home or get to their job
Afraid they’ll be late, afraid they’ll be stopped, afraid they’ll be robbed
Maybe the mob mentality sets in
Or perhaps they’re just too damn busy to question
The fact that we run around chasing suggestions
Till life isn’t life, it’s a series of sections
You ever feel the clock’s running your life
And you can never seem to make it out from under the knife?
If you do, then believe me, I know how you feel
It’s one thing after another baby, no time to chill
Ever need some time off, afraid to tell your boss?
On vacation but afraid to turn your cell phone off?
You wake up on the weekends still afraid of a fax?
It’s like this whole damn country’s just afraid to relax

HOOK:
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
We move so fast, but where do we go?
We need to calm down, slow down, get in control
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
We move so fast, I know it got you stressed out
We need to chill, sit back, take a rest now

Yo, you can walk the streets for an hour or two
And the only human contact is people shouting at you
You can see tons of people and be going for miles
But everybody’s got their heads down and nobody smiles
We need to go study, we need to get As
We need to go to work ’cause we need to get paid
We need to get this done, calls need to get made
I got a revelation people, we are just slaves
Slaves to our calendar and slaves to our watch
Slaves to our PDAs and to our email box
We’re slaves to our boss and we’re slaves to our screens
We’re barely people at all, we’re machines
Now I recognize, some things you gotta do
But you take it overboard, at least a lot of you
Could use a little rest and a lot less stress
I suggest: chill out and take a goddamned breath!

HOOK

You can call me a hypocrite, guilty as charged
Yo, there’s times I wanna wake up and kill the alarm
Times when it seems impossible to chill and be calm
Times when I don’t have time to kill with a song
But yo, I seen people with no time to sleep
And I got friends I gotta remind to eat ’cause
They get too much stress and no rest
Which makes them upset which leads to more stress
A vicious cycle, it’s like we only run ’round
This whole society needs to slow the fuck down
Think of your friends, yo, think of your wife
Think of your kids if you got ‘em, man, think of your life
And turn that cell phone off for a minute
Stop stressing out and stop thinking about business
Kick your feet up and lean your chair back
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax

HOOK

The Horizon

CHORUS:
Put eyes to the skies, it should be no surprise
That you see an answer
And I ain’t talking of God, I’m just saying people find hope
And they command her
And I ain’t never met a man in my life who ain’t got
Hope of love inside him
So everybody as you wait for the light
Keep your eyes up on the horizon

So tell me what you thinking about, if you shedding a tear
I know it seems like armageddon is near, but get this shit clear
It’s not all dead presidents here, we got one earth man
We all residents here
So we all share a couple things
Whatever trouble brings
And I don’t know the answers but we’re all wondering
The same questions, how we made, in essence,
And if this life is one big waste or a lesson
And you could look in books
And you could look in church
But I think heart is where the people should be looking first
And I ain’t saying love will fix it, yo, it could get worse
You must be careful with your love or people could get hurt
But at the same time, hope could arise
No matter how bad it is you gotta open your eyes
Or you won’t see it get better, open your eyes
Whether you need sun or rain yo, they both in the skies

CHORUS

Some people get tired of life, I been there man
All I can say is hold on the best you can
It does get better and it does get worse
No matter what, things change, ends come with firsts
But I know you’ve all heard all the shit that I say
And you’re probably sick of it, so yo, I’ll give it a break
PAUSE
Well, I hope that was great, back to the issue
Life is just life and it ain’t out to get you
I know it seems other ways sometimes
But I promise you this ain’t just a waste of rhymes
I write songs like this with the hope it will help
Some other people out, but mostly myself
We all have downtime, no use disguising
Just keep your eyes open and watch the horizon

CHORUS