Act I: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge)

Lyrics

I. Intro {*Leo the 'MGM' lion roars*} [Pledge #1: Just Blaze] Umm... I met... I met Jay through, uh–I met Jay initially through Rashad, uh, Rashad Smith, uh, Tumblin' Dice. And he kept hitting me about this kid that he knew who could rhyme crazy, but he just had, you know, he just needed a break. But he felt like he was destined to be one of the great ones. So finally, uh, you know, he sent me some stuff, e-mailed me some music and I was instantly just like, "wow" One day I was on IM and he just IM'd me out of nowhere and we just started kickin' it. And at first, I'm like... you know. We would talk and I was just straight like, "Yo, what is with this dude?" Like... he was just so... tryin' to think of the right way to put it... He would basically just ask you the craziest questions like, "What would be the best way to attack this or to attack that?" 'Cause he's so much of a planner and a tactician, and I learned that later on. At the time I didn't realize what he–why he was asking me the kind of questions he was asking me. He thought he–he just wanted to know his whole plan of attack and my–my whole thing thing was always just, "Yo, just make music." I think once he got in that mindset and just started recording, you know, it was like every other day, he was sending me back something crazy. So we took time to really develop a real type of relationship, almost like a, like a, like a... brotherhood, really.  So it was kinda like I consider him like... like-like-like, like my... even though this is a cliché saying, like a brother from another mother. Just on the, not so much on the physical, but on the spiritual level and on an artistic level, definitely. We just kinda bonded like brothers real quick, you know. And I think that's just because, we have, uh, a common love for the music and we're both just really good-natured people at heart, we just really wanna continue the culture and, um... expand it, the culture, instead of doing the same thing over and over again, and I think... The reason I had kinda gotten, not necessarily discouraged, but just bored with Hip-Hop in general, is because, uhh... people don't like to take risks. They don't like to try anything different. You know And in order to really make any kind of impact these days, not just sales-wise, but just on the artistry, you know, you gotta be able to go to the left and try different things. Sometimes you'll get killed for it and sometimes you'll succeed.  You know, but he was one of the few artists that was just willing to go all the way to the left with it. Um... and just, you know... like this Eternal Sunshine thing. I... I can't think of any other rapper that would even think to do something like this.  [Pledge #2: Erykah Badu] I met Jay Electronica in Brooklyn. One obscure day, a friend of mine named SupaNova came over to the house and told me, "This is the MC I've been telling you about." He had let me hear him maybe a week prior to him coming into the apartment. I remember him coming into the apartment. I remember him taking off his shoes, as everyone does. I remember him having on black socks. They were short socks, like Jordan socks or something like that. I remember him sitting on the futon, and I was breast-feeding, and I was very busy because I was also home-schooling... and I was looking around, for a place to sit my baby down, my... 3, 4 month-old. I handed her to Jay and she rested comfortably there, and that's how we initially met And, uh, he and Seven, my son, became fast friends. And, um – they actually became friends before he and I became friends. And, um... those–those meetings, I remember, after hearing his music, I wanted to start a record label – just on the strength of, uh, hearing him.  Jay Electronica, the person... hm... I–I wouldn't even call him a person. 'Cause he's a weird looking cat. His ears are kinda pointy, he has a square head. He looks kinda like he's a... an alien from somewhere, really. But in a very beautiful way, not like a–like a... like some kind of mythical creature, who would have a bow and arrow on his back, and wings under that bow and arrow, you know. He also has, to me, a spirit to–to his look. He's very unorthodox... um, in... in the way he treats people. He's peculiarly intelligent. And makes you very curious, and draws you in, and as he stated before, his masculine energy really draws in...in–in the female, or the feminine, energy. Which makes me happy and mad. And, um...  He's just very easy to fall in love with, because he's such a protector. He's such a positive, um... in every kind of way, if you will. He's a "plus" in this world. Um... I think everyone he knows, becomes dependent on him, because he helps us to see who... who we really are.  II. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Verse: Jay Electronica] She say she never fell in love with a Superman Christian, Muslim, Protestant, Lutheran I told her that being immortal is the portal to the true nature of growth The Christ-like Buddha man That's why I never spit the traditional garbage of a knife fight  "Bright lights," "white ice" to the fans The radio is just a stereo, like "A House Ain't A Home" And a chair is just a chair, ask Luther Van' Go to work, go to church, let your dreams die Bow tie, Final Call, and the bean pie Yarmulke for Hanukkah, wish-list for Christmas This is the gist of the life that we lead – why? So you could fit in, with the closed-minded and the sit-ins And get clothes-lined in the idd-end I could care less about a plaque and Bidd-enz And gettin' Punk'd on TV by my fridd-ends Don't get a nigga wrong I get tempted by the rewards that all come along with making nigga songs But what does it mean if I'm a Muslim, and you a Jew,  And because of that alone, we don't get along? And when you talk like this, and try to walk like this The radio stations'll never put a nigga on Just MIMS, just 50, just Wayne, just Jeezy Dem Franchize Boyz, and Jimmy Jones Fuck that, fuck Rap, this God-Hop Kingdom music for the hard rocks I'ma spit it 'til TRL get it and HOT 97 hit a nigga with a bomb drop Ask Flex, ask Slay, ask Whoo Kid Just Blaze said, "Jay is the new kid" I took Eternal Sunshine and I looped it No drums, no hook, just new shit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... III. …Because He Broke the Rules [Sample: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory] Grandpa Joe: Wh-When does he get it? Willy Wonka: He doesn't Grandpa Joe: Why not? Willy Wonka: Because he broke the rules Grandpa Joe: What rules? We didn't see any rules, did we, Charlie? Willy Wonka: Wrong, sir! Wrong! Under section 37B of the contract signed by him, it states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if –and you can read it for yourself in this photostatic copy: "I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained," et cetera, et cetera... "Fax mentis, incendium gloria cultum," et cetera, et cetera... Memo bis punitor delicatum! It's all there! Black and white, clear as crystal! You stole Fizzy-Lifting Drinks! You bumped into the ceiling, which now has to be washed and sterilized, so you GET... NOTHING! YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY, SIR! [Verse: Jay Electronica] The handling of a heart's a very delicate art, 'cause it's paper-thin One irrelevant thought that started out as a spark Could be a poisonous dart that leaves a permanent mark That's ice cold in the day and burns in the dark And makes you never wanna see her face again Tee-hee, what a place I'm in Lead me to the station A one-way ticket, don't look back One cold tear that froze and cracked A whole lot of pain I'm holdin' back Chav said, "'F' that, roll the sack" I said, "If my skull was cracked And blood ran out to the cul-de-sac That could not match me where I'm at" My memories flash me there and back Yup, there goes me, right there in black Holdin' hands, not starin' back She starts cryin', I start denying It's my fault and I'm aware of that Man, in hindsight, signs be glarin' back Where's the map to show you where you're at? I can hear the crowd yelling, I can smell the tire smoke I can hear the starter pistol – where's the track? Ring, no answer, came home late Jane told Dick she had a date But they was just chillin' and at that moment The right brain says to the left, "Just kill 'em" "Make the headlines, make the front page Wild out in the courthouse – man, thrill 'em" They'll say, "The boy dead wrong, but I feel him" IV. Voodoo Man [Intro: Turtles Can Fly (translated from Kurdish)] He hasn't walked on a mine, who said that? Stay where you are, don't move! How long has he been there? (Since morning, Satellite) Don't move! Don't move! Are you talking to me? Yes! If you move, you'll die Please don't move! I'll come over to you (What?) There are mines all around you What? I shouldn't move? Are there mines here? Has anybody gone to get his brother? (Yes!) Don't move! I'll come over to you, everyone, quiet! [Verse 1: Jay Electronica] Voodoo Man, chicken bone, chicken bone I can make a thunderstorm from a light rain My ears start ringing, my nose get bloody I feel a little bit of pressure on my right brain Intermission, transmission put me in submission Glistening, trapped in the light prism, whistling The Christ told me, "Come closer to the light, man" I went blind, woke up in front of a mic stand [Verse 2: Jay Electronica] Voodoo Man, tap-dancing in the French Quarter Walking on water with a scroll in my hand The blueprints for a disc shaped-like vessel That was chiseled out of metal off the coast of Japan Fasting on the top of a mountain out in Tepoztlán Saw a shiny object floating out of the ocean I'm sort of like a postman You can get the message, if you want to understand From the rap Son of Man [Interlude: UFO Hunters] "On November 7th, saw this disc-shaped object Floating above the sea concourse of the United Airlines at O'Hare Very low in the sky, it was still daylight, very distinct Didn't look like an airplane, a helicopter, or anything else..." [Verse 3: Jay Electronica] Voodoo Man, civilize the savage Criticize the parish, spreading false doctrine Terrorize the cleric for carrying on nonsense Specialized lies to paralyze the conscience Voodoo Man, chit-chatter abracadabra Spitting out matter, while I'm shitting out data Mmm, chew 'em up, shitting out rappers Sipping Pellegrino while I'm giving out matches Set yourself on fire Let the wisdom of Elijah purify ya, take a nigga higher Sold your soul to the highest buyer Now you're on the wire talking about two-foot tires Saying you sell crack, clapping at cats with MACs But you a liar, pants on fire Same old rugged cross, different crucified messiah V. FYI [Intro: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad] "Don't get me wrong now– Don't make a mistake in thinking that I'm telling you this was The beginning of the man on the Earth 50 thousand years ago is like telling you '30 days ago' Or 'ten days ago' or 'five days ago' – to the age of the Universe We have no exact record of it, but it runs way into the trillions" [Verse: Jay Electronica] While you was blowin' X amount of dollars on a bracelet The sovereign nation of France was openin' they Files on the UFO phenomenon, i.e. spaceships It's just the facts, Jack – may as well face it Every rhyme I write, the seal get cracked in the chapter of Revelations A atom get cracked in the blackness of meditation Mysterious shit Call me Jay Dogon, I'm on some serious shit Scholars wonder "Why don't he bust?" Allah blessed me with a Midas-y touch Everything I lay to hands turn to Ethiopian gold – shiny and buffed I got a firm understandin' on the minus and plus So I ain't got time to argue with a rapper 'bout how he ain't got rhymes That's fuckin' with mine's I'm trying to kill Lucifer, so if I have to brake 'Cause a rapper in my face tellin' me that he "the great" You can bet a shiny nickel, I'll blast his motherfuckin' ass way past Jupiter You couldn't be stupider Fuckin' with the nuclear Mayan, Aztec lion Asiatic Blackman from Zion Quetzalcoatl supreme, lettin' off steam Dimethyltriptamine make a man dream But ya'll would much rather hear me rappin' 'bout trash – The size of Erykah's ass, blunts, and cash We need savin' Minds are consumed with swine, we need bathin' [Interlude: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory] Willy Wonka: There it goes. Hold on tight. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen. Faster, faster... if we don't pick up enough speed, we'll never get through Charlie: Get through what? Willy Wonka: Ah-ha! Grandpa Joe: You mean we're going...? Willy Wonka: Up and out! Grandpa Joe: But this roof is made of glass. It'll shatter into a thousand pieces. We'll be cut to ribbons! Willy Wonka: Probably. Hold on, everybody... here it comes! [Outro: The Prestige] Are you watching closely?