Respiration (Flying High Remix)

Lyrics

[Intro: Mos Def & Talib Kweli] I'm flyin' high, in the friendly sky Without ever leavin' the ground, yeah, yeah Rest of the folks are tired and weary And have laid their bodies down [Pete Rock] Black Star in the house Black Thought Mos Def Kweli No doubt '99, nigga [Verse 1: Talib Kweli] We lyrically rich, livin', spiritually fit, eatin' healthy Comin' clean, never filthy, in God's eyes I'm wealthy Felt the power as I entered the palace of seven lights Time travel, participatin' on battles my brethrens fight For birth rights that they already got, and shouldn't have to get Break down the steady plot that's accurate Bustin' shots that's immaculate Take it to your nugget 'cause my beloved covet they freedom, believe it! Put nothin' above it, love it or leave it! We blessed with free will, so we choose to be ill Like sharks, keepin' it movin', we could never be still Swimmin' the channels of life, the orators of rhyme handlin' mics Tiptoein' through the corridors of your mind with candle lights Everlastin', in your hood like liquor stores and check cashin' Niggas flashin', passin' blunts in classes, sippin' Thug Passion, blastin' Makaveli 4, I bet on brothers with nothin' to live for To give more to the struggle (Why?), they already at war [Chorus: Mos Def] So much on my mind, I just can't recline Blastin' holes 'til the night bled sunshine Breathe in, breathe out Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh! Heard the bass ride out like an ancient... I can't take it! I can feel the city breathin' Breathe in, breathe ou-out [Verse 2: Mos Def] Yo! I pushed my pen and wrote this scribe Like the morning wouldn't find me alive I'm surrounded on all sides By the kind and the cruel, wise man and the fool Young guns attendin' school Ghetto classes include: Get yours, get it right Get down, get paid, get ass, get around Get on, get fly, get jig and get high Live to get, and you'll only end up gettin' by When the nighttime covers the city like a cloak I approach and assemble my hopes into notes Hard to sleep in the city that don't, 'cause it won't let you rest Noises on your doorstep, 'nuff distress Police department raid the park bench on nonsense 'Cause they fear to see the brothers conference Regardless, we bond tight and we rumble all day to break night Daylight, wifey riffin' to death, "You ain't right" The same fight about my late night habits is mad static But the city's so alive that I just got to have it! The planet of Brook-NAM is what I look on Ghetto chef — rock ya vest when you gettin' yo' cook on Dedicatin' this song to Scott LaRock, Big and 'Pac Kwame Ture, Betty Carter and John Henrik Clark Ron Brown, and freedom fighters goin' down You set the pace, now we finish the race, it's on now! [Chorus: Mos Def] So much on my mind, I just can't recline Blastin' holes 'til the night bled sunshine Breathe in... breathe ou-out Oh, oh-oh-oh! Heard the bass ride out like an ancient... Can't take it! I can feel the city breathin' [Verse 3: Black Thought] Yo, yo, I'm from the year-'round shootouts, the summertime's cookout The wintertime grind with the shorties on the lookout A chosen few know the rule, the rest threw the book out The law stay on crews, thirsty with they hook out That old-school bang out, money that pulled the thang out They bit him and hit him with a few, he just came out With the sharks that travel all parts within the same route Narrow walls closin' in, cutthroats to exit at the openin' Wrong place — you wasn't where you were supposed to been You back around the end, heavy waste-line again With them same suspect cats that waste time again Y'all need to wake the fuck up and peep the monument In your face, 'cause ain't no time to waste, not a minute I seen my cousin Mez, said, "Peace! Yo, where you been at?" He said, "The final frontier, 'Riq, I'm up in it!" And it's the time to watch the place your foe and where your friend at 'Cause where I rotate ain't nothin' to grin at I been at the fork in the crossroads, the outer limit See, you can stand tall, or crawl and act timid The Black Thought with the Black Star — infinite [Chorus: Mos Def] So much on my mind, I just can't recline Blastin' holes 'til the night bled sunshine Breathe in... breathe out! Oh, oh-oh-oh! Heard the bass ride out like an ancient... I can't take it! I can feel the city breathin' [Adlibs & Outro: Talib Kweli] I got so much trouble on my mind