01:: Time Check [intro]
02:: What It Is
03:: Très Fly [featuring Nelly Furtado]
04:: The F.R.E.S.H.N.E.S.S. [featuring Potion]
05:: Aftertaste
06:: Eye of the Tempest
07:: Deeds
08:: Paintings [Part 1 Armageddon]
09:: Ketchup
10:: Hypnotics
11:: Get Ya Own ['Frojack & Willie D live]
12:: Miraculous [featuring PHATT al]
13:: Mentalstate
14:: God Bless
15:: Paintings [Part 2 Infinity]
16:: Brimstone
17:: 69 Inches
18:: Indivisible [featuring Roz Bell]
19:: Pushin’ Up Daisy’s
20:: 80 Million Isms
21:: Resolution [for Miles]
23:: Time Check [outtro]

02:: What It Is verse 1: This is dedicated to my peeps & plus them rich kids / To them earths them ghetto queens them honey dips / To the real mc’z them rappers & them nitch bigs / To those creating making moves & those that ditch dig / To the laymen plus the pious plus the mystics / To y’all who think living in ignorance is bliss it’s / Dedicated to those who slept last year and missed this / Which is a little something new from the brother who hitched his / Sights on the art’s form never shifted / Let me rip this… new heights new plights watch me flip this / So ill with my skills yo! Call me sickness / Let me kick this with a quickness pass my clip it’s / Time to shoot this gift & make you think that it was Christmas / This is what you will find on every B-Boy’s wish list / Fat rhymes that I finessed with a slickness with a swiftness / I can’t resist this Urge to rock a microphone I know my style’s exquisite / Plus prolific You don’t want to skip this flav delicious / Everywhere I go they be like Yo! This is the Ish kid!! / Intricate rhymes twisted tangled like 2 tongues when you be kissing / Blowing minds this ish is dope I need a hit give me a hit kid! / This is what I do to chase the wolf away he’s vicious / What I do to put food on my plates and dishes / What I do to make some loot then buy my fishes / Is what I do when this existence feels malicious / Is what I do to pass the time the clock is ticking / Is what I do cause hip-hop’s life and I’m a live this! / Is what I am cause hip-hop’s life & that’s what this is…
verse 2:This is dedicated to my peoples out enjoying / These lyrical type contortions verbal potions it’s important / See without you supporting we’d be aborting dreams & be ghost / Like Patrick have to resort to measures that would not be flows / That’s magically acrobatic or sometimes even spastic / But tactics that’s drastic imagine the havoc / That would render this life so dramatically tragic / I ain’t trying to see that of have it so / UNIT-e knows we need those Latinos Gringos & Chinos / Negroes & Ginos to be bros. / Amigos & peoples then we goes / To the Next levels… Like we s’posed…! 

03:: Très Fly
Featuring Nelly Furtado chorus: It’s the “T” dot “L-U-V” dash “S-K-I” / Came to rock the spot my flow’s ill plus Très Fly / So may I? O.K. I will / Convey my skills then chill You know I keep it real!
verse 1: Well I’m the Tallisman that’s who I am / Short brother with the curls & the year round tan / Make the sucka rappers scram when I rocks the jam / Drive the ladies crazy nuts like a box of pecans / I’ma make you hop cause I’m more hip‚ than popotamus / Lyrics flow from a lyrical well that is bottomless / Unlike ya moms & that spot ya papa hits / I’m watching yas play ya-selves like Nintendo then go anonymous / I’m on top of this rocking kids having fun / A jam without T-Luv be bug like burgers with no buns / Or weekends with no funds or beats with no drums / Mic check 2’s with no check 1’s or ladders with on rungs / Or alleys with no bums greasy spoons with no scums / Blue skies with no suns better yet Sanfords with no sons. / Or guitars with no strums or jokes with no puns / Or kids with no moms or math with no sums / Or bubbles with no gums Attillas with no Huns / Guerillas with no guns better yet cops with no guns / Or kisses with no tongues man it just would be no fun man / It just would be no fun man and that jam would be done in / Bum ditty bum ditty bum bum bum / T. Luv-Ski… won’t you kick a rhyme one time for me?
chorus:It’s the “T” dot “L-U-V” dash “S-K-I” / Came to rock the spot my flow’s ill plus Très Fly / So may I? O.K. I will / Convey my skills then chill You know I keep it real!
verse 2: You see love / It’s T. Luv that you speak of that you dream of That you seek ‘cause / I freak stuff my beat’s rough my steeze plush Mc’z rush / You need love? I be love manifested physically / Plus exquisitely silky lyrical wizardry make you feel shivery / Mc’z left in misery defeated bitterly quite quickly / Trickily I rock my rhymes I rock my rhymes they right on time trickily / But forget that enough of that / I bless tracks Caress tracks & improve tracks / if ya crew’s wack then step back Move back leave tracks do that! / Believe that my crew’s phat / We be rap True dat… I mean hip-hop / but you knew that already it’s not deadly but very nearly / very dearly I hold this micra / Very clearly rhymes travel through ya cypha / rhymes give life ta verbal arrangements with agility / Ain’t no containment facilities /Able to restrain me or my linguistical abilities / Habitually I grab a mic & pick a style now which will it be? / The fat one or the PHAT one? Once I had a wack one / But that one bounced through ya entire crew then it surpassed ‘em / & attacked ‘em then it blast ‘em left you with back spasms / & nobody knew what happened except for me & UNIT-e /& we was simply laughing & laughing & laughing & laughing…
chorus:It’s the “T” dot “L-U-V” dash “S-K-I” / Came to rock the spot my flow’s ill plus Très Fly / So may I? O.K. I will / Convey my skills then chill You know I keep it real!!
…Gotta keep it real keep it real. 

04:: The Freshness
Featuring Potion verse 1: I can’t under stand ya weak cyphas like they was Greek ta me / Weak Mc’z they can’t speak ta me too frequently / They be freaking flows @ shows but lacking skills / Thinking that smoking blunts & packing steal makes them rappers real!? / Nonsense I ain‚t got time for weak Concepts / Armageddon is upon us we need to break free of the bondage / Deliverance from the ignorance that surrounds / Watch no glock no weed but I gets don when the beats pound / Yes you see now but was you senile had you forgotten / That it’s the freestyle that separated the fresh from the rotten / Mc’z the ones that can’t please those listening / See whether it’s pre-written or straight from the attic / Poetics that I kick they come packaged with the phattness / The simple reason being Yo! I’ all out of wack kid! / Madness I be the mystical linguistical Tallisman / & when I rock the jam Yo! It’s impressive. / The skills that I possess inject a dose of the Freshness…
chorus:I come with the F-R-E-S to the H-N-E double S / So put these rhymes to the test / & you will see what it takes to come correct in the game / I’m in this for the art not the fame…
verse 2 Potion: Broadcasting live & direct from UNIT-e / Nation wide we slide through your community / Prepare to enter a whole different dimension / Where we’re representing mc’z till the ending / Questions I’m asking what happened to the past when / It was all beatbox freestyle & breakdancing / Lost elements now it’s cash development / Imitators on the microphone just to pay the rent / Cents & dollars glamour and fame is what they holler / But I’m not hearing it frankly I’m on some other type extreme / Supreme seems it’s all magazines / Limousines get C.R.E.A.M. not with this UNIT-e Team / We’ve seen many rise up just to fall back / Pimps playas & macks jokers in my card pack / Can’t match when we concentrate the games are done with / We’ve only just begun with that sh!t that we come with…
chorus:I come with the F-R-E-S to the H-N-E double S / So put these rhymes to the test / & you will see what it takes to come correct in the game / I’m in this for the art not the fame… 
verse 3: I can’t understand ya weak cyphas like they was Spanish / That rapper needs be banished please make him vanish / Take’em to some other place in time or space some other planets / But weak flow plus content equals crap so I can’t stand it / Man it’s been a long time (too long) you shouldn’t have stepped to / The mic apparatus with that madness @ least you dress cool! / This addressed to y’all Mafiosos not hear to stress you or hate you / Just re-instate the fact that macks they must behave too! / Say you want my mic ‘cause a player son please / I be the pill squeezed between the knees this means you getting none / Incidentally it’s of no consequence to me / Which coast or continent ya pleased to represent that topic’s spent ‘G’ / Paragraphic demographics is now officially rendered irrelevant / Like a moose is when you kids is hunting gooses or elephants / Any statement you be making about borough been thoroughly said / & probably @ least 10 times you so them rhymes is dead
But heads is gonna do what they prone to ‘Cause it’s true that like attracts like / So I’ma let the dead bury they own crews & come with freshness / Every time I bless this mic /chorus:I come with the F-R-E-S to the H-N-E double S / So put these rhymes to the test
& you will see what it takes to come correct in the game / I’m in this for the art not the fame… 

05:: Aftertaste verse 1: Eyes open ears open here’s hoping / I’m not really looking but still I’m scoping / So I’m poking out my feelers my antennas then I enter / Right to the center of the spot / Any spot wondering what if anything I might spot / Now I spy with my little eye / Something @ the door good lord looking fly / Should I say hi? Hmmm yeah I think I should / 7 days latter conversation still good / Knock on wood the first step we took with the right foot / So now were laughing as were planning our excursions / Exchanging deep secrets of life @ least our versions / Squirming while we learning how to deal / With the uncomfortable silences we feel / The trance when the glance is fixed upon the eyes / & takes us on a trip inside where our souls hide… chorus:
verse2: 3 weeks have passed but as for intrigue / Conversation has grown amazingly deep / Feelings kept hidden keep seeping & slipping / 6 weeks have passed & now @ last we admit them / The atmosphere thickens vibes they are intense / Poetry of love songs begins to make sense / Remove the fence store it with the walls now it’s scarier / Just us you & me no need to fuss with the barriers / Usually erected for protection of the mental / How gentle we be caressing emotions / With soft spoken words nice thoughts is / Bitter sweet like the taste of dark chocolate / 8 ball corner pocket nice shot kid! / I can’t believe you got it I can’t believe I lost this / A few weeks ago with a cue you were mine / But now when we go out Yo! You be winning all the time… chorus:
verse 3: Approaching month 5 & friendship still thriving / Sailing smooth upon the seas of adoration / Celebrating the foundations we’ve formed / Red skies @ morn sailors take warn / Torn apart as fate casts a stone into the pond / I guess now is the time to test the strength of these bonds / Beyond the great sea is where I’ll be but believe / I will be thinking about you with everything that I do / 5 weeks of travel wreak havoc on the heart / Fences resurrected in the time spent apart / Something weird begins to break communication down / Now my smiles are replaced by my frowns that abound / The pounding of my heart is obstructed by the wrench / As the poetry of sad songs begins to make sense / See we was best friends but more than just friends / So why do we act as less when the more than just ends? chorus: 

  06:: Eye Of The Tempest verse 1: Egos forever swelling… forever dwellin’ / In ignorance & arrogance forever tellin’ / Fake stories about snakes & felons / Placing slugs in melons / Of unlucky fellas drug sellers thugs & over zealous women / Stories of kingpins & how you hung ‘em & how you stung ‘em / Now you filling young ones heads with visions of impossible cream / You got ‘em feigning for lies / Living way beyond their means forming teams & ties / Designing schemes to fulfill their dreams / Of obtaining the finer things in life but real fast like / Evil pastimes have too many of us reminiscing of our baby brother’s real fast life / Which was mad trife until the blast light / Children of the half light don’t know how to act right / Last night another was lost to the crack pipe / & a 2nd over shoes in a fast heist / Yes it’s a sad plight how easy & fast life is lost / Plus the cost of the new Nikes mad expensive / Damage extensive savage kids lacking temperance / Acting like the Devil’s apprentice rent us all senseless & sent us / Straight into the Eye of the Tempest… 
chorus: There’s a storm that’s brewin’/ Pursuin’ mankind… to ruin mankind / & Still we act blind?
verse 2: I heard that deeds speak o.k. so please keep that ass away / I have no need nor desire to be harassed today / I has to say that’s the way my peeps be feeling when you pass this way / Squealing tires screaming sirens peeling caps for play / You have a vast array of this community / Feeling mad dismay seeing sad displays of punishment with impunity / As you blast away another brother but this one younger than the last / Might have seen 16 summers until he crossed the path / Of ridiculous cops who should’ve been plumbers instead see / A non-deadly fix for your cravings of lead gee / I wonder I wonder who’s dumber them plumbers / Or the ones who gave them plumbers them guns / Man that badge be a license for wreaking havoc tragedy / & taking lives man we badly need to re-arrange the way these / Deranged things be arranged in these strange days see / The signs read the signs heed the signs these are the warning signs / So heed the science kid be true to the alliances that you make / But make no mistakes & make no alliances with fakes or snakes / Because the stakes are high Yo! Like IQ must be if we’re bent on survival / Which is reserved for the fittest nobody wanna die so exercise your defenses / Intellectual spiritual emotional strength is / Our only shelter @ the Eye of theTempest… chorus 

  07:: Deeds verse 1: It seems the season for treason so mc’z be unpleasing / That’s the reason many people be saying “All mc’z are cheesy” / But that ain’t true that’s a lie believe me / But if it was true and we was cheesy then I’d be better / See I’d be cheddar with mad flavour! / I whoop-up the parties when I loop up my samples / & all forms of wackness in my cypha it gets trampled / Dismantled with a quickness I’m sick of this you go lyrical fitness / But your content it is nonsense should be past tense (why?) / Cause you a bomb shell sucka / The kinds I used to hear my moms tell about / The kind that look good but there’s nothing inside cause it’s all on the out / No doubt you got clout & so you think your position is firm / But it’s about scripts that I’m flipping so you best listen & learn / You gonna get burned if you let words not deeds be your adorning / Lord I think we need heed the warning…
chorus: Let deeds not words be your adorning / We better heed the warning / I think we need to heed the warning… / deeds not words not words…
verse 2: Let deeds not words be your adorning listen I’m warning / Y’all Mafiosos thugs & gangsters we @ war son / We need soldiers not players it’s not a game & it’s gotten colder plus so ill / For real I’m counting mole hills sprouting boulders becoming mountains what’s the deal / It’s amazing the way that black mc’z wanna represent Italy with the crap they saying / Claiming they keep it real & represent to the fullest displaying / There’s more lead between their ears than in the bullets they ain’t spraying / What I’m saying: we need to focus on deeds & elevation / I’m saying: we need to focus on reality stop escaping / I’m slaying wack mc’z betraying the trust given to us / When we pick up the M-I-C & begin to bust / See the lyrics that we conveyin’s more than words it’s lifestyles / Portrayed in rhyme styles imitated by shorties so most be trife styles / Perpetuated strife styles taking lives while / We take no responsibility… chorus:
verse 3:Some mc’z act like they don’t know & they don’t know / But they still flow thinking it won’t show but it do show / It’s crucial that ya find out ask my crew yo! / When the rhymes out then the time’s out for you bros / Lights out it’s time now for a new show / We gon’ shine now with new flows / That truly reflect & represent how we do yo! / Words manifested physically… deeds actions deeds physically / Transmuted into linguistics exquisitely placed in time / Rhymes rhythmically encased in beats & bass & / We find ‘em blaring from jeeps & basements & / Motivating peeps & blowing minds / Shifting paradigms from the basser to the better / You will see bros with every letter my people flow phatter / & paralyze the wack the terrorise tracks with bull fecal matter / This does not flatter the nobility of our station / As human beings true indeed & it’s trying my patience… chorus: 

  08:: Paintings pt.1 (Armageddon) Mystical linguistical styles enable me to produce verbally / That which most other mc’z they need to induce herbally / That is just absurd to me wack mc’z y’all better murder me / Or watch all their career dreams fade away into obscurity / Tallisman the mystics y’all incase y’all never heard of me / My crew’s renown for moving herds who be known as party goers / & for removing clowns these nerds you see assuring you & assuring me / That they’s the man & they crew’s the crew the truth is blurry / For those who seek the truth & I do mean the truth unblemished then it’s / Plain to see in me you’ll find security / Surely you will see if you open your eyes / Positive is the way we choose to live our lives you see we refuse the many see through / Lies devised by those who despise the many things that we do / Which in actuality adds up to be our culture / See media boys & girls sit poised like birds of prey or should I say vultures / Ready to swoop down & scoop up half truths which they then mould and sculpture / Into tall tales that they call stories decorate ‘em with headlines / That we find every morning for sale @ local news stands / Unfortunately tall tales prevail & soon transpose them selves one octave / Into our so-called educational systems in which then / They are systematically fed to & absorbed by young yet never insignificant minds / Yes they do have nerve calling murder a crime while they’re tainting / A young generations perception of entire ethnic groups with hype / These graphic truth lacking type images they painting… 

  09:: Ketchup verse 1: A little ketchup a little sauce baby / Pour it on ya pasta dig the flava gravy / You could dip ya French fries maybe / Even spread it on ya body make ya go crazy / (Lately) Baby I’ve been feeling insane / Pressures from this life game stressing on my brain / It’s a Black thing it’s a White thing it’s a shame / Plus this rap game’s mundane do to this crack thing / It’s a gat thing it’s a cap thing it’s a wack thing / Make me wanna holler ask, “What happened?” / Shorties crabbing thinking they the mack & pimp slapping / Imitating rappers that be acting gimme gas man / It’s a sad thing makes me mad man / I gotta elevate eradicate this wack plan / Take it back then to the past when / It was all about the flows doing shows shorties rapping / Shorties clapping breakdancing yo! It ain’t lost bros / I’m a bring it back with some ketchup & a little sauce though..
chorus: A little ketchup a little sauce for y’all / A little ketchup a little sauce for y’all
A little ketchup a little sauce baby / You gon’ dig the flava you gon dig the gravy…
verse 2: A little ketchup a little sauce it’s a little hot / I like my beats hard not even a little soft / Rhymes gotta be tight what’s this business of a little taut / UNIT-e be alpha omega plus the middle lot Diddle squat… / Whats left of wackness when I grab the mic & get a shot / Mc’z is scared to battle you could tell they piddle lots this kid’ll rock… any monster jam / Plus the basement parties & ya little spots / & get the props / for styles invented heads’ll lick a shot / Kids’ll flock with haste especially those the dig the taste of the hip-hop / Beats like these make hotties wanna wiggle lots / Jiggle lots they dig my walk dig the talk / Like the guys they dig the styles but when I smiles yo! they giggle lots / I gots the crazy ill persona any kid’ll watch / Bring your dictionary to decipher flows I riddle thoughts / (nicely) spicy with some ketchup & a little sauce… chorus:
verse 3: I make wack mc’z with crappy steeze & ashy knees & waxy feet / Just act like trees they turn green & leave / Or drop off in the deep arctic freeze / Of my lyrical steeze / My poetics please / With the depths of seas / That’s how the best be (what?!) / Skills like these kill mc’z with ease when mixed with M-I-C’z & done rightly quite tightly I be the right / B-Boy daily or nightly / I’ll excite the cyph ‘B’‚ ignite these rhymes be solid like a brick house / Oooow! mighty mighty! / You will get doused with a lick out / This verbal ocean frightening to those men that can’t swim / Drowning in the commotion frowning @ their ebb & flow & / Ups & downs / I’m rolling over mc’z coasting killing their sounds / They get no pounds talking about needing a spliff to get open / You must be joking or choking on ya ignorance hoping / I’d be oblivious to your senseless bloating keep hoping / But don’t be holding your breath had you not spoken / Then you not have been broken squashed / Consumed with a little ketchup a little sauce… chorus: 

  10:: Hypnotics verse 1: The answer is me… the question: Who’s the greatest mc in the world? / Ask ya mama & ya girl & see if you can follow these here flows as they unfurl / most other mc’z they be hollow… like clams with no pearls / Coherent thoughts they whirl through my mind / Combine with words swirl into rhymes this is genesis / Spontaneous combustion of prose / That erupt into flows / The destruction of all foes is unstoppable / Be they physical or metaphysical bet I rock they all / With this exquisite balance of metaphysics & talents / Which leads me to the waters of truth I drink gallons / I sink my talons deep in that worth keeping / I be the gnat turned eagle through the knowledge that I’m seeking / Knocturnal peoples is freaking off the way I’m speaking / I gots too much juice to keep in so I’m leaking / Step into my deep & see if you can hang / With the secrets that you peeping… yeah I’m glad you came / See it’s all about seeking the truth beneath the sheeth & / The knowledge seeping realize we reaping what we sowing / The left & right is peeking as the beats bumping in the jeeps rolling / Through the streets I got my peeps jumping @ the shows overflowing / With mc’z & mc wanna be’z bet they all wanna see / Little old me elevate for real / I get ill with the murderous type hypnotic lyrrical skill…
verse 2: Now if you take a second like a watch / & watch this kid wrecking shop like I’m crazed / You cannot but be amazed like grace / Call me Sony ‘cause you’ll be seing colourful displays / That’s arrayed in ways very similar to the sun / Styles conveyed like a belt they even felt by the numb / Like a tickle now I could make a cripple who’s dumb
Jump up & shout praise the lord have’em singing like the Commodores / Rhymes I hoard like Donkey Kong country hoards bananas / Beats be bumping like a back road full of potholes / Like a backhoe it’s digable like planets I’m coming / New & improved like the year was 95 & I was Janet’s stomach / Man I done it like Rick the ruler should have / Smooth & slick I never got caught / Top knotch wherever I rocks that’s the hot spots I gots really big beats / Like Billy Squire or like Sasquatch gots really big feets / You know that I keeps it compact like a lap-top with the power of a main frame / My main aim is to continue also maintain / Creating innovations conducive to ovations… stimulation… contemplation… elevation for real / I gets ill with the murderous type hypnotic lyrical skills… 

  11:: Miraculous
Featuring PHATT al chorus:The rebirth of hip-hop has just begun / Man I hope you watching us cause we gon’ have some fun / T. Luv & PHATT Rokadopalous / Ripping mics because we gots ta bust / Plus we love ta bust uphold the trust represent T-dot metropolous / Nobody’s stopping us no one on top of us / Bet ya baddest jam we top & crush / Everybody knows the flows & shows is straight miraculous… Miraculous…
verse 1: I’ma make that first move dance my dance & have the last laugh / Leave y’all suckas feeling like booty without the asscrack (useless) / Screaming about getting paid & laid truth is ya rarely has that / But I guess ya need to let off some steam & maybe even pass gas / I’m investing in my future like penny stocks & Nasdaq / I has that style to suit ya many watch because the rap’s phat / Many lost within their wack tracks ‘bout the crack rocks & the gats packed / I’ma say it slow so ya understand that’s wack black! / Most these rhyming kids is still sleeping like cat naps / I know what time it is your format’s tired you need to scratch that / Like whiplash to reality quickly you need to snapback / Switch that mentality for sanity presently you lack that / Living for combat fantasies within life’s fast track / Y’all are seriously tripping like acid or some flashbacks / I’ma trash that for real whenever I get the chance black / Return ya cassette to HMV & get my cash back / Then proceed to release the new style few will ever match that / Y’all could step into my deepness few will ever grasp that / The essence of this is hip-hop & you could never mask that / Or end that this art is eternal regardless of who you blast @ / Mc’z wanna test the length of skills but I doubt if y’all could last that / Y’all could put these joints on pause & still you’ll never catch that / Put this joint on pause man still you’ll never catch that / I suggest you chill homeboy go home you need some practice chorus
Bridge: We we’ve got you over the hump (hump) / Call your peoples up ‘cause we doing the bump (bump) / No need to look it’s not hard to find / Frojack & Willy Dynamite’s new state of mind… 
verse2 PHATT al: Yo! I terminate on beats like brother’s knowledge of the past / & bust explosive rhymes akin to matches lit to gas / Shatter that ass like a jaw made of glass you wanna pass me? / Ask me nicely don’t front like you nasty / Though I agree lyrically you probably never heard of me / That’s how you played yaself thinking you could murder me / Verbally I made you high like y’all was kicking herbals ‘G’ / “I never new PHATT ROCK could kick some ish like this!” / Got you running like WW2 Jews out of Germany / How the !y’all 2 cool ! thought that you’d be burnning me / With my New Empire psychology scholarly rocking this industry / So !a tech 9 my mind delves into a tech 12 / So deep it reaches R.E.M. sleep dreaming of hell / Where the mega city’s artist working his hardest still can’t get the farthest / Life ain’t fair but this too can change / Once you understand and break every rule of the game… chorus 

  12:: Mentalstate Streams of consciousness flow from the mind / In the form of a rhyme as I open up my mental / Every single time it seems I’m taken on a journey / The 3rd perceives verities that be sturdy yet gentle / I be the true rebel cause I understand the math plus the wrath / The Prophets ain’t forgot us no we’ve lost the path / But tracks be running through UNIT-e in every way / & everyday we drop tracks so that hip-hop lasts / As time passes today makes way for tomorrow / The sorrows of my yesterdays wasted they follow /
The deepness of the ocean of thought has gotten shallow & with a heart that’s / green it seems like this art is hollow / It’s hard to swallow I regurgitate that fate / For the glory of the old school the potential of the new school’s great / You see the old school led the way cleared the path & leveled it / Now the new school must pave it so the masses can travel it / But kids is baffled as they wander through the labyrinth / Confused by multitudes that be babbling / I be the mystic linguistics rhyme scheming twisted / Messages simplistic yet the meanings they missed it… / So now I be the misfit as the crew gets dissed quick / Had me thinking I ain’t hip-hop cause I ain’t explicit ain’t spit / I know better cause I know the time… I know I rhyme / Beats designed to leave critics & foes behind / & open minds to the evolutionary process of hip-hop & plus it’s revolutionary / So you best believe with finesse I caress the art / It stress my heart to see most kids just dress the part / It’s why I start bugging out every time / I hear something smooth like a new style of rhyme / To a beat that’s fresh yo! Kids they try to test though / They can’t flex cause they can’t comprehend the mental… 

  14:: God Bless chorus: God bless 2pac rest his soul / God bless hip-hop protect this flow / God rest them wack mc’z that stress my soul / & make it so I can’t hear my baby…
verse 1: Everything is crazy in these sick old days & times / Lazy kids be doing crimes to earn their nickels & their dimes / Mc’z they cannot rap if they don’t stick those in their rhymes / Speak to buddah till they blind & wonder why they’re missing Signs… / Now isn’t it ironic like Alanis the way that we damn this / With the wackness did we plan this? / Hip-hop has no fans left / ‘Cause everybody on the planet & their mama wanna rap now / So I’ma bring the trauma to the legions of the wack now listen / What is hip-hop if it ain’t revolution? / What is hip-hop if there ain’t evolution? / What is hip-hop that ain’t part of the solution? It’s part of the problem plus it’s air pollution… chorus:
verse 2: If a picture’s worth a thousand words then I’ll be painting murals / All this east coast is the most no the west is the best mess / Is stressing me out plus its getting on my neurals / Question what would hip-hop be without 2nd person plurals? / A lot less populated a lot less complicated / Mc’z act like their whole thought process is constipated / So the content and concept of their rhyme’s regurgitated / I heard it hate it! I’m sick of tales of thugs peeling slugs that murdered players / I’m sick of all them tales of them teams that prevailed & their schemes / To obtain all their dreams & live way beyond their means / It’s a disgrace the way that they rape hip-hop & disrespect my queen / Know what I mean? chorus /verse 3:Brother brother there’s far too many of you dying what’s going on? / The question remains unanswered plagued by a cancer / Hip-Hop becomes malignant / Indignant rappers that should’ve been dancer display their ignorance / Gun clappers wanna rap… while rappers front like they’re gun clappers / It’s madness it has us real mc’z asking what happened / To make these coastal beefs sicker than mad cow disease / Mc’z from the east visit the west & get deceased & vice versa / Stop the murder increase the peace / Love to all of my peeps in the west & in the east / & in the east & in the west / just keep it fresh God Bless… chorus 

  15:: Paintings pt.2 (infinity) As I foretold it all dots have been connected & the picture unfolded / Detected hard rocks have been ejected & scolded / The teachable have been selected inspected then moulded / The un-breachable folded perfected flow is accepted & set in motion / Hip-hop now protected from this commotion / Is unreachable to the hopeless mc behold it / Elevated exactly as we planned it the wack we have abandoned clueless / Lacking understanding demanding “Who this?” / Tallis the man who is reprimanding the foolish punk asks: / “Does the ‘G’ in funk stand for ghoulish? / Slack attitudes is ruinous from the jump / & still multitudes is moving mad loot fast for this junk / It’s ill how they’re believing it to be the freshest / But industry snakes are skilled in the art of deceiving & their ability’s impressive / No worries hip-hop is safe now protected because I posses it / I rescued it nurtured it back to health then I blessed it / With freestyle sessions I’m stressing hip-hop is once again about rhyme styles / Not the styles in which wanna be mc’z wanna be dressing / From Armageddon until infinity I’m pledging / So long as hip-hop remains in my possession mc’z infected / With wack disease will never be selected for blessing or caressing microphones in this section or vicinity / From Armageddon ‘till infinity… 

  16:: Brimstone chorus: Can you feel it? The heat of the flames & brimstone / The angel that been thrown making his chaotic whims known / Sins shown destroy the mind, body, soul & then home / Take shelter with the Ruler of Names Keeper of the Kingdom…
verse 1: There ain’t no plus without the minus so we told but that’s a lie / They say that all is fair in love & war but that too is a lie / Now knowledge was a single point until they multiplied / You see each is just a scheme to downsize your slice of pie / (Why?) Luci is the guy we the apple of his eye / Creation is the prize with the Sevens does he vigh / His influence increase & thrive when spirits go awry / Until such is vanquished that’s when man truly die / Filling Luci with pride you & me we cry or do we? / The lines that divide are drawn clearly choose the / Side carefully cause some will bury their own / While the others carry the Throne / But I’ma be of the latter living life eternally / In the shelter of the stronghold out of the burning heat / Now I’ma be of the latter living life eternally / In the shelter of the stronghold out of the burning heat… can you feel it? chorus:
verse 2: There ain’t no sunshine when He gone just eternal night & angry throngs / That’s when we long for second chances to right the many wrongs / Change the tune & dance the many songs we sat out / Never is a problem solved by pulling the gat out / Oops! Luci 6 is mad now because I let the cat out / If ignorance be your lord I’ll be the crucifix flat out / Speak about the truth each lick ain’t about to babble / Cause time is of the essence & we about to reach the battle / We gots to raise the shepherds to protect the cattle / Disseminate the weapons & plus there’s Lessons to teach / To reinforce the spirits of my fellow soldiers for this feat / Because the dead will bury their own / While the other carry the throne / But we gon’ be of the latter living life eternally / In the shelter of the stronghold out of the burning heat / Now I’m a be of the latter living life eternally / In the shelter of the stronghold out of the burning heat… can you feel it? chorus 

  18:: Indivisible
Featuring Roz Bell [aka Shimoda Pye. Troubadour, Kevy Kev, etc...]
verse 1: Hey baby girl do you need some tissue? / Looking @ that face I can tell you got issues / Is it ya man did that knuckle head diss you? / Hanging with his boys when you needed him with you? / Did he tell you that he loves you just to kiss you / Taste the peach do the do hit you then split boo? / Or was you down when somebody kick you? / Is this about them ends Did somebody stiff you? / I could be ya friend tell me what is it boo? / Perhaps I am the one to make you feel less miserable / Now you could lean on me when you need uplift too & plus to see you laugh that would be exquisite boo / See if you got them issues I could help to bear the load / & if ya path is rocky I could help repair the road / & if ya smile is awkward girl you could bear ya soul / Cause yeah I found a rainbow but I’d like to share the gold…
chorus:If you looking for someone to hang around ‘till the end / I’ll be your friend I’ll be your friend / & if you need a hand… I got 1 to lend… / I’ll be your friend I’ll be your friend / Tired of them fools that only act & pretend / I’ll be your friend I’ll be your friend / & when you need to talk you can call me then / I’ll be your friend I’ll be your friend…
verse 2 Shimoda Pye: Stopped her bicycle on the road yesterday / She said I ain’t ya friend don’t do it again / Got a broken down 1970 pretend / No garage but in blue coveralls I stand / Can’t do much about that engine but a broken heart I can / Be the man that needs some talking to I’ll walk you through the plan / You & I long time got my goods in your lane / The pain soon be gone away just like a cloud with no rain / Tear stained tissues are gonna miss you but / If that cat come back & don’t know what he want / I’ll be your Joey doll be a friend of mine / We can swing it in them trees until the end of time / You & I stuck together doll it ain’t no crime / With mind body & soul searching we’ll do fine / Mind body & soul searching we’re fine… chorus:
verse 3: Hey baby girl tell me what you laughing @ / It’s good to see them dimples who would’ve thought imagine that / Frowns upside down now cause we ain’t having that / There’s far too much joy & that’s what we’re stabbing @ / Grabbing that… like it’s going outta style / It’s good to know that we gon’ stay for a while / We gon’ play for a while / & maybe sing some songs / & have each other’s back when things they go wrong / We gon’ swing all day long when we get that dancing feeling / We gon’ light up the evening leave this town reeling / Coffee & tea & amazing conversation / A perfect oasis from this crazy hectic pace & / We gon’ chill ‘till we feel like acting wild / Now I could write a volume or 2 about your smile / I could write another about the things that we gon’ do / Hope to write a million about the things that we go through… chorus 

  19:: Pushing Up Daisy’s verse 1: I knew a flower named Daisy pollination crazy / Even had a baby but she never had 6 /
Her mom was always saying “Be careful how you playing if you keep hitting the hay then 1 day you gon’ get sick!” / Now Daisy’s mom was wise but Daisy rolled her eyes / Ignored her mom’s advice & rolled down to the spot / To hang with her friends flirting with the mens / She loved those with a Benz but even loved those that walked / Now she was good looking so all the guys were looking / If he was good looking then they would leave the club / 1 day In July Daisy met this guy / Who she thought was truly fly so Daisy fell in love / Now here’s where it gets ill striving for a thrill / “Slick I’m on the pill if you wanna have some fun!” / Next an erection guess their direction / Sex was the intention but protection there was none / But Daisy was not wise ignoring mom’s advice / Had she realised then maybe today she’d be alive…
chorus:You better to chill yo! don’t get too easily familiar / If you pushing up Daisy’s sure enough it’s gonna kill ya / So chill cause if you go & act crazy / The easily familiar leaves ya pushing up Daisy’s / Daisy’s… you’ll be pushing up Daisy’s / Daisy’s… you’ll be pushing up Daisy’s / Daisy’s… you’ll be pushing up Daisy’s / I know it’s crazy you’ll be pushing up Daisy’s… chorus:
verse 2: I remember the days when Money he was saying / That anytime he sees a honey he could skeeze her / He was always bragging about how would please her / Talking about play her you know love her just to leave her / I was no believer until the 2nd week of / School that’s when meet a new chick named Anita / Man you should have seen her she was flyer than a diva / Chocolate like a treat but she was much sweeter / Now every guy would sweat her every time they’d see her / Hoping they could get her flock her locker just to meet her / Money was like “Woah! check her bros do you see her? She’s the heat & / I’m the seeker watch 2 days tops I’ma freak her!” / I was like whatever entranced & feeling weaker / But what we needed to know it did not show ‘cause deed beneath the / Surface of this creature this Similack creature / There lurked another creature similar to the Reaper / Giving up many reasons it would be best not to peep her / If you think you sweating now just wait 2 weeks after you freaked her / I remember the days when Money he came saying / That new honey Anita yup! / She’s a skeezer / But now she’s a goner & Money ain’t good either / Cause Anita had the heat & my man Money played the seeker… chorus:
verse 3: Ain’t nothing worse than an mc sounding preachy yes I know this believe me / But I gots to use verse & disperse this evil lurking / Magic’s plight is tragic plus what happened to Easy / But it begins to hit home when it’s ya homies that be hurtin’ / It’s certain that unprotected sex equals death sooner or later / Sometimes I’m surprised I still got friends left due to behaviour / Whatever you gots to use the heads God gave ya / Protections better but abstinence is the only saviour / See intelligence is the key to longevity / Now there ain’t no point in macking if you contracting HIV / So please y’all recall that story of old king Cole / You know the poor soul with the lady queen since 18 / She left him with a quickness @ the first signs of his sickness / But this was back when there was signs that you could witness / Today it’s stealthy until you felt it take your health kid / Ain’t no was to help it except never to be dealt it / So chill… chorus 

  20:: 80 Million Isms chorus: These city streets in which we live in feeling like a prison / Stealing childhood from my children abusing my women / Too many people killing not enough people loving / 80 Million Isms got me bugging…
verse 1: Broken glass everywhere / A million broken dreams it means a million lives in despair / A million moms’ tears ‘cause they can do nothing / To save a million sons that’s gonna die hustling / For a million dollars & that superstar lifestyle / A million bitty players drive the millionaires wives wild / A million rhyme styles a million more to be discovered / Paint a million graphic pictures in a million ghetto colours / A million brothers chase the booty but not the duty they can’t be bothered / So a million baby mothers raise their sons with no fathers / While a million daughters stuck in the cycle follow moms / Slapped a million times by pimps who thinks they’re skimping on the funds / Now a million tons of crack flood these inner city streets & / keeps the blood seeping & a million crackheads feigning / A million thugs in black creeping with a million caps they’re peeling / Hoping to make a million fast of the dealers they catch sleeping… chorus:
verse 2: 100 million kings & queens they died in captivity / Sailing across the seas to ‘the land of the brave & free / Where millions of Braves had their land taken away for free / Millions did survive the journey but then were sold into slavery / Generating millions in profit a million tons of cotton / Beat a million times & served a million meals that were rotten / But just like the million of victims of the Holocaust & Hiroshima / It seems that millions have forgotten / Now we all pay the cost when millions of lessons not learned / Translate into a million new transgressions
Each with a million casualties that got burned / A million clocks turn a million times alarms sound a million chimes / But fail to awaken from strange sleep million of minds / So this voice of mine is one of a million mimes / Before an audience of millions but each of them is blind / 80 million isms / 80 million crimes… chorus 

  21:: Resolution (for Miles) I’ve been talking loud for about an hour now but still ain’t saying nothing / Deeds they speak louder but not if you’re displaying nothing / If I continue wasting time yours & mines saying nothing / I got a feeling in the back of my mind that I’m betraying something / Gone astray from something… probably dismaying someone… / Should be conveying something… / I gots to pray & come again… Ya Bahá’u-l Abhá! / Sometimes less is more but the trick is to gauge / Sometimes you’re saying more when there’s less ink on the page / Sometimes you get more when you’ve got less to gain / The less you gave the more was taken so it’s more or less the same… / I guess what I’m saying is that / Sometimes less is more this is reality / But am I left with less if I lose this victims mentality? / Surely to answer yes to this would be a fallacy / Each of us would gain from that loss that’s how it be! / Now let me see on this record I’ve lamented many things / Like the current state of hip-hop & the content that we bring / & the state of the art form when we only out for material gain / But many mc’z before me have said the same / Blabbed about skills on the mic / & kids lacking temperance that would kill for some Nikes / & coastal music beefs that could steal someone’s life / But a ton of mc’z before me have said the likes / 80 million isms & I’ve told stories / Crazy cops busting caps & acting like they ain’t sorry / & the aftermath what happens when my peoples acting horny / But a million mc’z said all that before me / Just in case you haven’t seen / I’ll make this evident / I ain’t in this game just for the green / But the last thing I wanna do man is just sing the blues man / So I’m looking for solutions we need some resolution / The last thing I wanna do man is just sing the blues man / I’m looking for solutions we need some resolutions…
From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbour, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility. 

  22:: As Bidden (Message Conveyed) verse 1: Let loose my tongue so that I may extol the / Mould me animate my flow please hold me / In the Stronghold of Thy Know please show me / The wisdom of these Teaching man I’m longing to behold these / Pearls & Gems & let‚em penetrate my soul we need / To replenish the global supply of love that is diminished / & so badly needed so sadly depleted by the armies of darkness / But they about to be It’s imperative that we dig for truth review the 3rd edict / Precious scriptures that even predict / The exact time & place the Holy Spirit will again be seated / Upon It’s earthly throne revealing / Some will try to conceal this & keep it with the previous secrets / It’s grievous but useless because the truth has been unsealed with / Conspicuous truths kid believe it / Clean the crust from the 3rd word to the 7’s now see it!
chorus: I do as bidden & I bring the message / For council or offence if it eases or stresses / I do as bidden I’m bringing what’s needed / A message of council if it stresses or eases…
verse 2: It please me to realise Jesus has returned @ last! / But alas! The masses blinded have missed it / This truth has also passed unwitnessed before many a mystic / & concealed by some who knew this truth but found it too explicit / Tragic yes plus ridiculous / We failed to recognise signs as we expected unrealistic / Fulfilment of metaphoric biblical scriptures / Metaphysical scriptures meant to be interpreted symbolically / Shepherd treads a path of parables / How few are following man is truly terrible / While they’re wallowing in sadness & lamenting dark horizons / The Son is steady rising only slightly to the east / Focus your mind feast your eyes all 3 / Behold the Glory as He’s standing in the light / Shedding verities for those demanding insight / We need to shed the shackles of unbridled religious convictions / Expired traditions & reach for the sky / Attire souls in the garments of wisdom / To see & hear these visions you got / to use the mind’s eye / You got to use the mind’s eye… chorus:
verse 3: It’s the message in the lyric that makes my people hear it / It’s the context of the text that makes me fly like a Lear jet / Suckers stress they could try but they could never come near this / So put this in your brain & smear it / All aboard my linguistical train / I’ma steer this in the right direction / I deaded those that never strove for mic perfection / Redirected those that was close but needed slight corrections / Resurrected the comatose with the life injections / Tallisman UNIT-e we be the right connection / But to catch glimpse yo! You might need insight adjustments / Wisdom is abundant if you checking in the right sections / But if you‚re looking for the answers man you best to ask the right questions / I’m stressing when things trife they find acceptance / In hopes depression the ability to cope with strife lessens / Undoubtedly without this ability life’s threatened / See it’s Lucifer who thought that ignorance was the right present / Told us it was bliss we all know that bliss is heaven / We best to find the Most High & study the right lessons / Before we lose the battle & gain eternal night sessions / Before we lose the battle & gain eternal night sessions / Message conveyed… chorus: 

  Album Dedication This record is dedicated to my boys, my new purpose, Ixaka Badí & Jomei Quddús, [and Oluyemi Hujját and Zamán Anis - new arrivals since the original release] and to beautiful Prudence, my life-love, my wife.
This record is dedicated to the Plains of Fascination–the memories, the growth, the good times & bad (seems like another world, an alternate dimension).
This record is dedicated to UNIT-e, what could have been, what should have been, what would have been, had we been UNIFIED.
This record is dedicated to humanity, my family and race I love you, I pray for you.
This record is dedicated to the elevation & preservation of Hip-Hop. 

Above all else I thank God for immeasurable blessings. Yá-Bahá’u'l-Abhá! Prudence for choosing me, for support & for unconditional love. Ixaka & Jomei – your purity & your laughter has helped me to discover that all my dreams have been realised! Reggie and Cindy Newkirk for life, lessons, love & support. Amoz Olinga for your honest, ultra-constructive criticism. Sitarih & Ruhi for love, faith & support. Shirley for love & acceptance (& many magnificent meals!) Vin & Ling, your artistic endeavours are inspirational. The Twardzik family for love and acceptance. Jack Lenz for undying, never-ending faith in my music, & me & for all your help and support through the years. All my beautiful brothers @ the Black Men’s Gathering. Plains of Fascination, UNIT-e, & all my other musical excursions, & everyone who supported them. Varqá for 15 years of friendship, & for co-authoring the original dream! Kevin “Troubadour / Shimoda Pye / Ros / Kevy-Kev” Bellemare, for friendship, & for your loyalty to the true spirit of UNIT-e, & for lending your voice and inspiration to this project. Nelly Furtado, for calling me “The original sample slayer,” and for gracing this record with your stunning voice. (I knew you would make it! I wish some of our songs would have, I know that you know how good they are!) Potion for rock solid emcee tactics & helping UNIT-e explode Planet Mars. Massimba, Dj S.O.S. for cuts and scratches, and many roofs brought down. PHATT al for your vocals on this record, for the dreams we shared, the work we did, the sleep we left @ Kinko’s preparing your VideoFact submissions -hast thou forsaken me? Louwop, where you at? A Man Called Warwick for being a good friend. Remember those late night conversations with Kevin on Spadina Ave? Mike, Andy, Joe & Mike: good friends, good neighbours. Anna “sweet-blood” Keenan, for a ton of photos, a ton of time, & for being a great friend. Gordo for the pix in the rubble of the Old World Order. The whole Tee-dot Oh. Justice LeEg. Planet Mars and all undaground spots keeping Hip-Hop alive. To everyone sacrificing in His service. Many thanks to everyone who has supported this project. May we all escape unscathed, & re-sensitised!

]]> http://tallismaniac.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/80-million-isms-all-lyrics/feed/ 0 tallismaniac http://tallismaniac.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/ipocket/ http://tallismaniac.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/ipocket/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 21:46:49 +0000 Tallisman[iac] http://tallismaniac.wordpress.com/?p=453 ]]> It had to happen… sooner or later

For such things - tech-y gizmos, gadgets and accessories, I’d usually put my loot on the sooner option. Lets address one of the years best nearly-there devices… the iPad.

It Could have been so cool

…if only it had an eye-sight camera, a usb port (or 2), a card reader, and the ability to tap into your iPhone service so that you could leave one of the devices behind, occasionally. Oh, and if it supported flash. Oh and if you could fit it into your pocket – it’s just a little too big to be as handy as its multi-touch siblings.

but don’t let its the size be the deterrent – that’s what makes it cool!

and now you can buy slinky duds and t-shirts with iPad-sized pockets –iPockets — to accommodate your technology.

<– I wonder how it looks when the iPad’s weight is not being supported by the garment wearer.

The T-Shirt is $44.95 and the dress is double that, $89.95

…And there it is, the latest iNstallment appeasing the iCraze: iClothing.

but if you really want to raise the bar, and you have an extra 20K burning a whole in your iPocket…

Get yourself the dimond iPad case and be done with it!

really?

There’s

gotta

be

a

song

in

that!

The little yellow eating machine ate aproximately 4.8 million hours worth of productivity when Google released the playable pac-man header in honour of the video game’s 30 anniversary last Friday !

Geeks and their nifty tools have discovered that the average google visit on Friday was 36 seconds longer than usual. Once the math is done, that equates to something in the neighborhood of a whole lotta time!

Note to employers: Insert MORE Coin$.

Now, check this out:

Rescue Time used Wolfram Alpha data for Google traffic on Sunday, which reached 504 million unique views. Assuming that the userbase is representative, Rescue Time concluded that Google’s Pac-Mac consumed 4.8 million hours of users’ time beyond the 33.6 million daily man hours of attention that Google Search gets every day.

Assuming each Google user had a cost of $25 per hour, that means a loss of $120 million.

“For that same cost, you could hire all 19,835 Google employees, from Larry and Sergey down to their janitors, and get six weeks of their time. Imagine what you could build with that army of man power,” Wright wrote.

-- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364143,00.asp

The good thing is it still works!  Click here –> Pac-Man Time sucker

To get your Pac-Man on!!!

There’s

gotta

be

a

song

in

that!

Time to get your Geek-Envy on!

Question: What could be a mo’better birthday present than your top scientists discovering and achieving success in nuclear fusion?

Answer: Nothing!

Rejoice oh ye peoples of the world as this is an absolutely fantastic discovery!

That the whole thing rests securely upon an old wooden block?

mind-boggling & brilliant!

There’s

gotta

be

a

song

in

that!

music by Tallisman[iac]

Sometimes I marvel at how stubborn I am. Slowly, with age it seems, I am beginning to divest myself of some of those donkey antics… I shall elaborate:

I so clearly remember a line from Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) is playing greasy jazz in a smokey, dimly lit room. He sings, “What the world needs now,” and embellishes the thought with a cool lick, then in smug voice, continues, “is not another love song!” I laughed long at that, and it seems that the notion stuck in my brain. For years. For 20 years, or so!

Well it seems that after nearly 11 years of marriage to the best girl in the universe I have let go of my secret desire to be as cool as Bleek Gilliam. I had written songs in the past that allude to love, and being in love—but they all had subtle or not so subtle anterior motives and meanings (rather than love for love’s sake, it scored the relationship between the seeker and the Beloved aka God). Rather than relishing the fruits of this earth (read: beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, wonderful woman) I tried to pack them with something else (usually spiritual) to give it some deeper meaning…

Well not today. No! Today, it is all about my wife. She is beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, all the things that have inspired so many songs, across all genres, since men started banging on things that make sound. The second most amazing thing in the world is that she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. The ‘first’ most amazing thing in the world is that it took me so long—years of being the luckiest man on the planet, married to her—to put it in a song of my own!

So this one’s for Prudence. I Love you babe.

I am not by any means a guitar player. In fact 9 days ago, I didn’t know a single chord. We have a little acoustic guitar, and, nine days ago I realized that it served a greater purpose than to sit and collect dust. I picked it up and forced my fingers to form a chord I learned online. D Major. I strummed and I liked the way it sounded. I strummed some more. I wondered what would happen if I moved all but one of my fingers… so I moved them and strummed again. Lo! And Behold, I loved the way that sounded. I thought again, “what would happen if I slid this shape down the neck…

After several hours of wonderment, I decided I had better record this sound or I would forget it for sure. I set up 3 microphones, fired up REAPER, banged out some drums and began to play and record this old guitar and my 3 new chords!

I often joke about being a washed-up-rapper. Partly because I hate the direction the genre seems to be headed in, and partly because I have been experiencing writer’s block—lyrics, these past few years, have come slooooooooowly. Not so with this song. Any moment I felt a block, I fired up Picassa and looked at some photos of my baby-doll. Just looking at her was enough to make my pen fly. It may be a little sappy, or corny, or what ever, but WHATEVER! When you are in love none of that matters.

So, here it is, StopDrop& Roll [the prudent manoeuvre]

**Edit / Update!!
Fresh off the press… the acoustic-mix
This version loses the synth bass and exchanges the heavier drums for a jazzier, brushed drums sound… I’d love to know what you think of this version!

Stop Drop & Roll [the prudent manoeuvre]
Lyrics:

She got me feelin’ like anything is possible
Like I could weather storms and a plethora of hostile foes!
She down with the real – ain’t no need to stop and pose
When she around it feels like time just stop and froze!
Won’t see a frown. She cool as Popsicles, hot from top to toes
Melt through my facades and my armor like, “Off with those!”
Stack’em in the corner with the head game them gots ta go
& any other obstacles. Love, don’t block the flow!
The moment she crossed my sights I was like, “lock and load!”
She walk and float at the same time – I thought that was impossible.
But is it plausible that fate would mate hard rocks and gold
Or that I could pen her beauty in my rhymes – not probable.
But I’ma keep tryin’ ’cause she fly like unstoppable
High, full throttle, where she at I gots ta go!
Lovesick feelin’ like I might need a hospital
I said she was hot but she’s fire – stop drop and roll!

Now it wouldn’t be prudent for me
to not write a song to laud your beauty
and so I write girl…
…I’m up all night girl

She’s got me feelin’ like God He really cares for me!
It’s probably heresy but from the top of the hair to feet
…she so fine, I know god gotta be there for me
So I’m up late writin’ rhymes my pen is just blazin’ through
page after page for you my girl is crazy cute!
amazing too. You are the best
You my inspiration, muse, plus you daisy fresh
Maybe you magical – you make me feel complete & when
I’m feelin’ down you place me back upon my feet again
like “woot!” this world is mine & I’m ready to compete & it
Don’t matter if the competition is Olympian
I’m takin’ it! Probably facin’ it with a stoopid grin
You make me feel godly and oddly more human when
We laughin’ or cryin’ I’m flyin’ with my truest friend
You & me we can do anything yes. YES!
& I would marry you again anyday yes. Yes!

Now it wouldn’t be prudent for me
to not write a song to laud your beauty
and so I write girl…
…I’m up all night girl

You got me feelin’ like there’s hope for the universe &
if there’s a mate for every soul I know that you the person!
Sometimes Prayers are answered subtly in subtle ways
and other times as if God is yellin’ atcha like, “What I Say?!”
I reminisce about the time we met “Oh WHat a day”
like there was spring in my step & I had pep suddenly!
It’s like an angel reached down and cleared the mud away
Wiped all the crud away and placed you right in front my face
you didn’t run away though i droolin’ gawkin
you looked so beautiful just movin’ and walkin’
& then started talkin’ & blew my mind
You cram intelligence & relavance in a package that fine?!?
You were well grounded despite ya good looks!
you smelled nice well versed like good books
sugar and spice and God is a good cook!
If you let me for life I’ll be on the hook

I ain’t no singer!
…But she makes me feel like singing
out loud baby yeah!
I ain’t no Klingon…
but she makes me feel like clinging
I’m hangin’ on for dear life baby
I ain’t no Zinger, no…
But she makes me feel like zingin’
whatever zingin’ feels like babe I feel it.

current mix version posted: Full length album version!
Mastered By: Zee Wavesurfer - www.DeegeeTall.com

Rendered may 11 2010 2:45am

In honour of Earth Day 2010 I thought that I would share this tune with my friends. It is not a new tune, but it is one that has not really seen the light of day.

Several years ago I managed to cultivate a loverly relationship with the good folks at CBC in Regina. They were often looking for ways and means to appeal to a younger, perhaps hip-er demographic. I was, secretly looking for ways to advance the music, increase the ears and reach the older, less hip, but music buying crowd. It was a beautiful friendship.

Earth Day was one of the artistic offerings that resulted from that symbiotic entanglement. Large as it is, the planet is a consumable resource. Small as we are, we play a huge roll. I know you’ve heard all the tree-huggin’ hippie-like rhetoric before… I’ve heard it a million times too. I even wrote a song about it. Funny enough, however, it wasn’t until stumbling upon this old song in the wake of learning some life-changing news* that I realized what is actually on the line.

My wife and I are now raising our children in the shadow of the largest environmental blemish afflicting the planet. The impact is monumental, despite the “official reports”. They say the water is fine and dandy, but it just don’t taste right/feel right (and why are so many of the long time residents here losing so much hair? I am not referring to the dudes.) My boys are healthy and full of life and vitality. My wife is beautiful and full of the same joie de vivre and brewing our last contribution to the earth’s population. It is my hope that we foolish bipeds can get our act together and with great concerted effort transform our collective footprint. We are not the cancer. Or, rather, we needn’t be… Build. Dance. Sing. Harmonize. Reduce. Re-Use. Recycle.

Soundcloud player

Lyrics:

I know this beautiful blue-green orb once home to paradise
Now the abode of foolish bipeds who unknowingly terrorize
Every remnant of this Eden from the surface to the core
To the ozone atmosphere to every blue-green ocean’s shore &
It’s abhorrent the reasons that this Eden’s being spoiled
See the motivation’s greed and power catalyst is oil

Ya best not drink the water from the tap unless it’s boiled!

Now a few among these bipeds recognise this plight and toil
Every night and earth day to preserve the precious soils
And the crystal pristine waters… And the creatures forced to share them
With these bipeds who ain’t caring when they bent on exploitation
Corporations whose god is bottom line clear cutting forestation vegetation

“We’ve gotta find that profit margin whatever the costs wherever it hides!”

Disguised as exploration’s the rain forrests’s demise
Am I the cancer to the lungs of the planet screaming blue murder?
A tumorous consumer?

Just get me a cheese burger!
They’re 5 for 2 dollars and super size my fries
& I won’t remove my shades or UV skies fry my eyes!

The planet moans turns slightly off its axis
The earth quakes a little to scratch its land filled with plastics
& its askin’ Mother Nature to help prepare the storms &
warn these bipeds ‘bout the effects of global warmin’
ya see the planet is kind & wise, & Mother Nature too
they wanna share their gifts with me & every one of you
& open up our blind eyes to clean burning fuels
see they realise that we are more ignorant than cruel &
and the cure for ignorance is a little bit of schooling.

Shawty this Earth day
We gonna party like this is earth day we gonna talk
Kyoto like this is earth day
It’s a planetary promo this is earthdaayyyyyyy.

earth day can be heard and had at these links:
http://tallisman.bandcamp.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/tallisman
http://soundcloud.com/tallisman/earthday-tallisman

Mastered By: Zee Wavesurfer - www.DeegeeTall.com

Please feel free to download this song for free because it is free. Share it. Burn it. Copy it. Store it in a jar on your bedside table. Work to it. Work out to it. Work it over. Love it. Love to it. Remix it. Post it. If you feel so inclined, you may buy it here by donation (all proceeds will go towards 3 records in the works). Thanks for listening!

./tallis

everybody needs some soul food. yeah! Scroll down for a taste or click this image^.

The challenge went thus (and I paraphrase because I can and I like to!):
“Fellas! I often find creative juices stirred in the strangest of ways during this time of yer. This Fast is no different. The strangeness yielded this funky little drum beat based on the infamous Funky Drummer Sample . What I am charging you with, should you accept and rise under pressure, is the task of filling out this melodically challenged offering. Build a funky song around these drums, submit it… we’ll collect votes and the best will go for glory!”

Here is my entry… and further down I’ll tell you how it came to be.

Soul Food

if you need somethin’ funky to embellish ya fast
indeed Tallisman be the right fella to ask
that humanity might see the light—i relish the task
bandage the rash. Fight smite & manage the wrath
administer the balm & it’s a hell of a salve
that I might bask in the warmth ‘thout the armour & mask
sippin’ wine of astonishment I won’t sell ya the flask
but I’ll show you the Source of course I’ll hand you the cask
‘cause it’s yours for the takin’ if you treadin’ the path
with ya head in the game then you ahead of the pack!
there are the days of abstinence enjoined
of praise remembrance, test—gird up ya loins
for the sake of His beauty and for love of his cause
we take up this duty to root out our flaws
to raise the foundation make them pillars stand true
rest at sunset partake of some soul food

we need some Soul food to break the fast
take that stick-to-ya-ribs food… the kind that’s gonna last
fill up my plate yo! don’t make me wait bros!
we in the midst of the re-vamp and we can’t be late yo!

Everybody needs some soul food… (yeah)
Everybody needs some soul food… (yeah)

replenished by the Greatest Name souls nourished
cleansed with the purest flame. All my soldiers stand sure as
the plan unfolds an’ the old dismantles
an’ the Most withstands foes that oppose get mangled
yo! we disband those your souls the ambrose
& immune to scandals and scams of those vandals
& as the plan grows the troops we expand those
snakes they get trampled beneath the boots of angles
& proof’s the mantle that upholds Truths channeled
& flows from the Most to the meek as seen through history’s annals
we in the last throws the last gasp & know that
as the Truth unfolds it’s vibrant as Van Goghs!
feed ya soul

we need some Soul food to break the fast
take that stick-to-ya-ribs food… the kind that’s gonna last
fill up my plate yo! don’t make me wait bros!
we in the midst of the re-vamp and we can’t be late yo!

Everybody needs some soul food… (yeah)
Everybody needs some soul food… (yeah)

Soul Food can be heard and had at these links:
http://tallisman.bandcamp.com/track/soul-food
http://www.reverbnation.com/tallisman
http://soundcloud.com/tallisman/soul-food

bonus feature… the making of:

Amused by the list of comrades invited/enlisted, I proceeded to download the cornerstone. I must admit, I felt a little apprehensive as the Funky Drumer – as funky a classic as it is – was played out during my youth thanks to a plethora of rappers and beat makers that sampled the rhythm and used it in hundreds (probably hundreds of thousands) of rap songs, and techno songs, and drum&bass songs, and pop songs, and country songs (and I’d be surprised if Raffi and Fred didn’t mull it over for a tune or two!).

The chopped, mangled, re-arranged and processed version that was to form the foundation of our production sounded exactly like this: Funky Drummer [the remake].

CMX by Schwa →

I began to play with it. Opened my host of choice, the one and only REAPER**, set the tempo to 96BPM and went to work. The first thing I did was slap on a niftly plugin called sonitex (alas! PC only) I was able to age and grease it up a little with this filter-like-distorting-colour-adding beauty. Once I had ripped the snot out of Alexei’s original masterpiece, I then added someCMX - a very cool plugin by a very cool dev named Schwa. This gave the sample a little life back and added some depth to the stereo field. Being a washed-up rapper, I needed some drums with a little mo’phat and weight behind ‘em. So I took license to relegate the original drums to the background – like where the hats would sit.

Transient Monster By Stillwell Audio →

Next I found some groovy kick and snare samples. I layered them to taste, banged out a pattern and aligned it with the original-now-filtered drum madness. For a little extra bite I added a pinch of  Transient Monster (love the way this makes transients pop).

My sampler of choice is Kontakt 4. But since I can’t afford it, and since I have given up using software packaged by teams that say “arrrrrrr!” I opened Kontakt 3.5 and began to browse my sample library. Found a cool little vocal thang with a truncated horn lick at the end. Chopped it up a tad, processed it heavily and played it… yeah nice! Made a variation for what would eventually become the chorus.

Bass! How low can you go? The answer to that is elusive. But for Soul Food I wanted it low and simple – just to accent that vocal horn sample. I was thinking about leaving space that might be filled with other keys… perhaps a rhodes emulation (Lounge Lizzard) or a groovy organ (VB3), or both!

It was nearly 11:00pm when I started. At 3:15, dreading the early start to the fast quickly approaching, I forced myself to go to bed. The next day, in that moment between support calls that define the working existence of an IT pro, I was struck by a breeze of creativity. It started as a joke in the back of my mind, but the more I played with it, the more I liked it… “if you need something funky to embellish the fast…” The lyrical process had begun, and this time there  was no suppressing it. Well at least not until one verse was done. Then it seemed to suppress itself! (this is why have so many songs that are 1/2 done) It used to be my mantra: “Never record a vocal until it’s memorized.” I have had to give that up as it takes much longer now that I am older. Nevertheless I had not planned on recording any vocals that evening. In fact, I was brushing my teeth and double checking that all my gear was turned off in the basement studio, when I stubbed my toe on the case that contains my mic. It had fallen off the (low) shelf it usually sits on. Of course I had to open the box and inspect it. It looked good. I had to be sure. I placed it in the shockmount and powered everything up… 3 minutes later I was satisfied that it still worked and sounded as though no toes had been stubbed on its protective shell. At this point, seeing as how everything was on and set up I thought, “what the heck let’s have a go at it.”

The Rocket by Stillwell Audio →

I recorded every attempt, I always do–even the warm-ups as they may contain cool mistakes worthy of the final performance. I was very surprised to be so pleased with the third attempt in its entirety, that is the take that made the final mix! I was done in 15 minutes. My fun was over for now as the second verse was still not cooperating. So I began to play with the Keys and added a little more. One of the licks sounded like it was singing to me, “Everbody needs some soul food…” Yeah I thought that might work.

I began to play with the chorus – it began as a freestyle, and since 3 was the lucky number that night, I stuck with the 3 version that came out. I layered it many times using my many voices. I applied my default vocal FX chain which stars  my favorite compressor Stillwell Audio’s The Rocket. Son of a gun..! Time flies when you are rockin’ out. I forced myself to quit at 3:25 am — just in time to get 2 1/2 hours sleep before getting up again for the morning Fast meal.

Sometimes lyrics come easily. This was the story several year back when I was in full possession of my youthful vigor. And, sometimes bangin’ out a verse is like pulling out teeth. After writing the second verse I’d need dentures. Perhaps I’d like to think that it was so hard to get out due to weakness induced by a lack of nutrient. It was hard as I wanted to play on the triplet-like feel and maintain the rhyme scheme as long as possible. It was hard, ’cause I got lost mid way through it and lost track of the length — I over wrote and then had to axe bits (which is painful but necessary). I recorded it later the 3rd night and comped this performance from 3 takes…

Well, that is the long story. The short story is this: I am diggin’ this track which has breathe new life into a project I have had on the go for sometime now, masquerading under the working title Kullu Shay’. Hopefully I’ll be posting progress reports and teasers with increased regularity.

Please feel free to download and share this track. It is easy to do, just scroll up and click one or both of the links labeled download and share.

As soon as the other entries in the aforementioned competition have found a home online, I’ll post the links here for kicks and giggles.

Be well

.t

**you should check REAPER out if you are not 100% pleased with your current host, or if you are running a shady version of your current host! I will blah→ǧ about its many attributes later.

Soul Food can be heard and had at these links:
http://tallisman.bandcamp.com/track/soul-food
http://www.reverbnation.com/tallisman
http://soundcloud.com/tallisman/soul-food

We programed the drums using an iPod touch app which was in part an experiment. Dropped a simple synth bass line courtesy of Bebot synth (also an app). Layered some dissonant pianos and pitzy strings for their menacing appeal.

The first things we recorded was Jomei gargling, which we then reversed and pitched way down for an ominous dark sound. After that we moved on to the vocals. This is the 3 time Jomei has rocked the mic in the studio, and I think he really delivered. There is great emotion and cadence in his lyrics, despite the comping that we did.

We were so pleased with the way it turned out, that we fired up the video camera, call in the friends for a pizza party video shoot and made a spooky little video for the whole shebang. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm1InjJLI6g

Anyway, I hope you folks like it, I’d appreciate any feedback you’re willing to offer.

greetings
.t

My man, mein gut freund Steindork (aka Napdork, Yawndork, etc.) says, “most of the tension comes from the fact that you have a ternary/swing/shuffle groove which is pretty unusual in 3/4, even though vienna waltz has a slight swing in it too.” You see now that, to me, is über-cool. But alas! I know a little less than nothing about classical theory. Nevertheless I like the idea of mashing a little swung-out-vienna-waltz-funk into my take on this think called hip-hop. This blah-g will document that experiment.

Yup, I’m gonna document the progress of this one… though, that may be a slow process as I am not sure where I am going with it. If you have eyes that are following these lines, then I am assuming those eyes are some how connected to fingers that are connected to a keyboard. Perhaps you could convince them fingers to tap keys and leave behind a little feedback?!! (if you go to www.soundcloud.com, you’ll be able to add comments directly to the waveform player. Sweetness.)

What it is thus far? Watch:
Monitor Mix 1:
Vox :
- verse 1 is one take. I like the energy and emotive cadence in this. Probably gonna be the keeper
- verse 2 comped from 3 takes. I had to comp this one as it was 90% freestyle – improvisation, and I got tongue tied twice and choked on something the other time.
Vocal treatment… sparce. A little compression ala IK Fairchild emulation (I’ll check that and edit this accordingly). And a little of the secret weapon that is CMX from my pal schwa, maker of some fine fricken audio plugins.
Beat: Built in Reason 4, Rewired into Reaper (nevermind the version it will update faster than this track!) Some Drum samples tweaked a little but needing some more love. Some funky melodic samples sliced and diced a tad.

monitor mix 1: