Then Till Now

Lyrics

[Intro: Eso] Yeah, hell yeah [Verse 1: Eso] See, it was hip hop that damn near changed my life From meeting Ozone in L.A. in '85 From my attempts to try and step on stage and rhyme To my beyond 2005 state of mind From a copy of a culture, to teaching a tradition From electric boogaloo, to the beat that keeps my rhythm From wanderin' the tracks, to the mud that's in my hand From wantin' to be black, to lovin' who I am From not knowing where you're from To the image of Sydney From no one knowin' hip hop to kids thinkin' they're 50 From the dramas on film To the dramas in life, from posh clothes To now knowin' they're worth half of the price And from thinking to be king, you gotta have wealth To the inner revolution I call knowledge of self So from back then till now, I still rap for the pleasure Be it rich or poor, man, I'm still happy as ever [Chorus: Bliss & Eso, (Laura Bordonaro)] (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I gotta understand you) I gotta understand you So we can stand together, recognise, and vision This one love, one mic sets aside our differences (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I got to understand you) 'Cause that's what gets me by, in my life [Verse 2: Bliss] From a park in the Bronx to the heart of the 'burbs From a dyslexic kid to an artist of words From a wild child to my parents tryna steady me From taking my Pac and Cube to givin' me Heavy D From mimicking thugs, thinking the lyrics were dope To gettin' no satisfaction 'cause it was mirrors of smoke From a home of hip hop to a land owned by rock From rhyming to my mirror to thousands blowin' the spot But through all the cheers and the boo, and the beers Was just a kid on the bus, headphones glued to his ears Who just grew through the years, to pursue with the tears The blood, sweat, and make somethin' with his crew and his peers See, it was hip hop that put three lost souls on a map From showin' us the country, to puttin' clothes on our back And from finding myself in my mic's reflection To this musical marriage that gave my life direction [Chorus: Bliss & Eso, (Laura Bordonaro)] (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I gotta understand you) I gotta understand you So we can stand together, recognise, and vision This one love, one mic sets aside our differences (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I got to understand you) 'Cause that's what gets me by, in my life [Verse 3: Eso] From a major label deal to buskin' on the street Know this soul's not for sale when I'm fuckin' with these beats The landlord of these lyrics, with a touch of what can be And if it doesn't break ground, you could trust it wasn't me The deepest of minds can't frame what I've imagined Three eyes on the train, writing rhymes on a napkin See, these kids don't have Bentley's; they sit and take the bus But if you're playin' this tape, your situation's sussed [Verse 4: Bliss] From backstage butterflies to a passionate debut From not having a path to bush-bashing a way through From this rhyming release, to stress I've got off my chest From chasin' a dream to holdin' it hot off the press And from shoe store days to writing sessions at night To a culture that ultimately taught me lessons in life So from back then till now, I still rap for the pleasure Be it rich or poor, man, I'm still happy as ever [Bridge: Laura Bordonaro] And we won't stop until we get that feeling That's why we get on up That's why we get on up Oh, we won't stop until we get that feeling That's why we get on up [Chorus: Bliss & Eso, (Laura Bordonaro)] (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I gotta understand you) I gotta understand you So we can stand together, recognise, and vision This one love, one mic sets aside our differences (You gotta understand me) You gotta understand me (I got to understand you) 'Cause that's what gets me by, in my life