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Unreleased (2011​-​2014)

by Zack de la Rouda

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1.
“I don't know” are three of the globe's most potent words ever written. It seems like when you're speaking 'em with your vocals and can see there's room to grow, you increase the possibility of hopefulness. We ain't gotta be convinced of nothingness to just go with the flow of the river that we're floating in. We could temper any weather once we could come together - the question is if we're snowflakes in the blowing wind or sown seeds, set in lines, kept in rows. Ironic we can't see we got a role in life. Ra is calling us to glow bright like a coal. I know y'all got fire stored up deep inside of your soul. Like a totem pole or a beanstalk, let's stand up straight. It's kinda hard to shape your destiny that you been handed, ain't it? But that's not a reason to be half awake. We're sleepwalking through our sweetest moments. CHORUS: Cause if we don't wanna change then we're always the same. Y'all want to talk about missed opportunities? That'd be the greatest mistake. Just don't hesitate. There's not a moment to waste. By the grace of God, you gon' have to change a lot, or else you'll make the greatest mistake. We may have a dream, but to make it happen in reality's another thing. Gotta work hard like the team coach. I've fallen off my wagon, set fire to it, still trying, follow Zion from the mountain to the sea coast. Let's heed the omens that unfold; the spirits gonna tell us where to go, if you have ears, let 'em ring. We need goals just get up out this hole, if you have hands, dig 'em in, let us sing. Mile O, gotta move forward. Time don't stop tick-tocking, gotta grind till the sun up. Climb to the top and you gon' find no wonder; they got rhyme and reason locked up in the sky. Bah, humbug. If everything is gon' come, what you gon' do? Get up out the doldrums. Roll through the tollbooth. Face facts; always say and ask for the whole truth. Chuck what they sold you. Fuck what they told you. CHORUS If we're guilty till innocence is proven then I'm into self-improvement but I never met a plan that was foolproof, cause for a sure shift it can't be a short shrift. What do you do when the court is the culprit? Said, are we more fit for the dirt or for the pulpit? Pick from the fork in the road quick. I took a hard look at the world figures and said, “Oh, shit, the ship is gonna sink and it's hopeless,” and what this means is, we gon' have to be what we need as far as lifeboats, dig? On that middle-of-the-night-flare-light-type tip, people screaming and I'm thinking, “Christ, I might slip.” Tight grip on the rope as we lower to the ocean; head already swimming and my stomach getting so sick, but I'm stuck still like a guard at my post. I could never let go cause I made a change long ago. CHORUS
2.
Can Not Be (2013) (free) 02:38
(spoken) now i'm saying there's things that you could be, and there's things that you can be, and there's some things that you can not be. CHORUS: If you've gotten lost in the forest, off the course you were walking, don't mourn, cause its all good. Just say, “C'est la vie.” Sure, maybe it's a war that had fought in, or a storm you are caught in - If the sun's gone you may not see. Still, gotta be grateful - never not thankful: life is a gift God gave for free, and you never could give up, because a quitter is a thing that you cannot be. You cannot be that, I mean it. You really need to begin taking care of all your needs that haven't been met. Finally I how: everything is the Tao. Get it set in stone in your mind like it's cement. You cannot be seventy, regretting everything you did when you were seventeen. Let the past pass. Your path's so heavenly. You're not Hamlet, dammit, you should be getting sleep. So just meditate: in my head no ugly scenes. Plus, medicate. You know I be puffing trees, reading books, studying, chilling with my buddies, my M.O. be making love over money. You've gotta think it's funny: we struggle through our suffering just to get that joyful feeling of accomplishment. Get it in memory if it's going terribly: life is a Ferris wheel. Bottom goes back to the top. CHORUS I cannot be lazy. Let my time waste, nah, what, you think I'm crazy? Facing off a crisis the likes of which we ain't never seen, I persist. We gon' fight for the opposite of slavery. Always be creating: making great music. Even if the muse is late, patience on my plate like I'm prudent. A student of poetry, flow like rivers to oceans, I am a seed, digging deep and I'm growing. But am I done? Not yet. I never stop, bet, I'm a work in progress and I'm feeling Jah blessed. Taking shots at possible opportunities, hope that they prove to be awesome, honoring continuity. Never be doin' just nothing. been stuck up in this dumb rut of the same thing; change like in a bum's cup's what's gon' save me. I'm unafraid though the pain stings, cause not brave is a thing that you can't be. CHORUS
3.
(spoken) it’s like… it’s… just don’t feel like I fit. just don’t fit. just don’t fit. square… just don’t fit, man. it’s like that square… it’s like that square cog, it’s like that square cog in the machine, man. just don’t fit. square cog: when was i not stuck? i started writing songs cause i got problems. if all of them are nonsense, i'm all wet and washed up but since i never set sail, I feel like i'm a failure, bud i step on stage, i still tear it up i’m spitting lyrics written by the spirits y’all just hearing what god give me kicking non fiction raw shit you wanna listen i'm fit to drop a bomb like obama on civilians i'm pissed but i want peace get it straight anarchist activist red and black like the tickertape i get enraged by the lies that we're taught to teach i know that pride never pays and that talk is cheap these people praying for messiahs every day of their lives will probably die unsaved the paper sway the priest besides the wildness is pious it's heretical to trust the beast you love leviathan i love the trees that's why i'm tryna spray rhymes like a fire hydrant cause i'd rather die fighting that live on my knees it's a lot of obstacles that we gotta hop that's why it's called the struggle but let me tell what you want… i want an audience that's mad as fuck fist lifted to the sky cause they’re pissed about the damage that's done then i’m gon rap like a catapult lick shots at the oligarchs tell 'em that their hour is up let me be blunt with it we are being dumb shit heads if the planet is an organism there is only one victim we are conscripted by our culture for involvement in the global holocaust that is not visible it’s pitiful come to think about it even if we did point the criminals out? i’m unconvinced that we would convict 'em although we’re all victims they might be sick in the head but they are not villains we’re all really on the same level remain head above water rat race getting paid cheddar we live our lives tryna hunt success it sucks yes but we know that we are gonna be dead sooner or later so we why can’t trade our comfort for conflict solved if it don't feed the ego we don’t wanna be involved i want an audience that's mad as fuck fist lifted to the sky if you're pissed about the damage that's done i want a rap like a catapult lick shots at the oligarchs tell 'em that their hour is up time to make a switch like a whip get it cracking looking for a fix like a sink or an addict I could get you high like the ceiling of the attic make you think with your mind like you finally gon grasp what i’m talking about i walk around with my volume loud everyone i meet is an agent or a comrade found if you know what i’m really saying sing along loud as you can with me right now sing I am part of an audience that's mad as fuck fist lifted to the sky cause we’re pissed about the damage that's done i’ma rap like a catapult lick shots at the oligarchs tell 'em that their hour is up
4.
stare into the sun - compare it to the stars, and it's obvious: we're all drops in this ocean, gathered by hand. every moment look small as a clock tick - and gone fast as a shot licked, scattered like sand… so i never could stop with my stop-sits i'm copping thoughts from the gods when i meditate well and you never could tell that i'm not big the way i talk like it's on lock so yall better beware from my house in that hole in the ground in the woods back to babylon, i left the score settled wrong, up in the mountains i been coming out, no brokeback, my back broke, my spirit Heath Ledger post-batman role wondering how we get along with pent-up rage at the ways that we get ignored and no doubt i am down with the tao on the downlow though there are days that i pray for more speak facts, break norms, can’t hold back, practiced rap, got good form, gimme that much - but i'm so stuck, torn between darkness and light, try to stay in both worlds like abraxas - i saw my old girl, asked, is she still waiting, (slaving) paying check to check off all them stacked bills? she said, "boy, you already know it, and ain't you gone crazy living out in the sticks still?" had to say yes though it doesn't make sense i coulda sworn i was destined for greatness must have misplaced my map at some point now i'm falling in the forest and i don't know if i'm making noise existential questions from a mental adolescent with the wisdom of the ages it's a shame i can't accept it i'm getting wild edibles taking time to chill sniffing irises and marigolds i found myself finally confident enough to let my competence abound, watch out what i'm bout to build i'll be the talk of any town get 'em arguing about whether or not i'm a clown or a prophet better beware
5.
6.
[intro] yeah.. ain't no shame to be out of shape... ain't no way to explain the weight... but we can change what's on the plate! [verse 1] hey... hey...! please, listen to me. am i wrong if i say we got a problem with the way we eat? our waists large, brain small; junk food in the jaws of the babies, yeesh! this is crazy, see... we spend cash on this awful nutrition, then we eat it fast in our cars, not our kitchens, and large companies'll profit from this sickness, man.. we all caught in a prison. but i got it figured: it's all about a balance, so now healthy living is an honorable challenge. gifts from the earth like the mist from a fountain. i'll hum a love ballad for my lunch salad! [chorus] and y'all could hum along cause the song is true if you wanna get strong, gotta watch what you chew I choose vegetables and fruits choose vegetables and fruits y'all could sing along cause the song is true if you wanna get strong, gotta watch what you chew i only choose vegetables and fruits [verse 2] i choose mad lettuce, kale, mesclun, arugula, red and white cabbages, celery, cucumbers broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, ginger onions, garlic, peppers, spinach avocados and olives, and apples, and some cashews raisins, and tomatoes, and radishes, and pistachios oil and vinegar as dressing for a finisher wait - before you dig in just maybe you wanna mix it up - great. it look delicious, it's proper for lunch and dinner it's the salad that you needed all along but wasn't missing we could battle the sickness of all this bad food with two main weapons: fruits and vegetables. [chorus]
7.
we are members of a species of organism that's 2 million years old, so why's it seem like we're stuck between amoebas and fungus with the other bottom-feeders at the top of the pyramid? i remember when we used to pretend, now we try to force it but we're too numb to give love or feel hope we been scared into the system by our fear of failure just like everyone else who ain't dead, in jail or still whole look: what we'd been given by the gods was complete. our life on planet earth wasn't bad, by comparison to now, when some rich folks have some comfort luxuries, but famine plagues the masses, and a crash is inevitable. the main problem is our peer group is unconscious. we've been brought up by the pedagogues to not confront these conflicts. they want us to concentrate on chasing paper, which we are, and they just want our complacency to stay, and so we follow each other like lemmings off the cliff, it don't matter. in the end we'll all be dead and so we honor bliss and laughter. we shut our eyes and our ears to the problems we've contracted, say, "we'll all die in a few years, so why worry about this plastic in the water?" i'm crying tears for the abominable disaster that we've brought upon ourselves. i've swallowed the red pill. yeah, i'd rather die fighting for life than wallowing in hell. and i'd rather play in mud that stay stuck polishing my cell. humans evolved to live in nomadic gatherer-hunter tribes and this is how undomesticated ones still live their lives. for 99.99% of all time we were wild; only 12,000 years ago did some of us get "civilized." what this means is we built cities. a city is a settlement whose population is so large that resources are imported. jobs must be created so that currency's distributed. the first walls ever built on earth were not around the limits of the city, but rather they were built around the granaries, to act as a deterrent to would-be thieves who'd ruin everything, cause if food was free we wouldn't need money. we wouldn't need factories. if food was free, we'd be happy. we'd be back in the garden of eden. Marshall Sahlins wrote "The Original Affluent Society," an essay detailing differences between the wild and the civilized which you should read. it's more relevant now than it used to be. our ship is sinking, and before we drown, i'm contemplating mutiny. the captains steer in nudity, the chaplains staring lewdly. it's clear i have to prove to each of you that y'all are crucial, but i can't. that's the challenge for yourself to overcome you must recognize how much we have to help or else we're done we must acknowledge that this earth is all that we have got and that the crash could come at any second; for some, the ax has dropped. just look at all these giant storms, huh? and then define "apocalypse." then talk to me when you lost your whole world like those in Joplin did. no, i am not just talking shit. go google "John Zerzan" or sit back and wait and then watch when the tsunami hits. what we need is consciousness. we can overcome this mess. we "Make Smart Cool" and propagate self-confidence and self-sustainability. growing food, got it cheap. robin hood, lotta good. let's all get us really free. let's all please stop pillaging our homes and start "Rewilding." google "Permaculture," then turn your lawn into thriving sea of edible ecology. hunger for this knowledge. we're young and if we work hard now we're on the path to harmony with everything. we'll be beyond the way this used to be, with no scarred forests, no starving seas no mountaintop removal projects funded by abuse, maybe instead a hundred thousand gardens stewarded by our descendants' views. which could bear the fruits of honesty and justice over knowledge, and truth would be our promised creed. we'd bury our greed beneath our hatchets and become model leaders, cause tribal life can bottle evil, and then it's not about disease - it's character that no one tries to heal. and crime would disappear if we all got the things we need like a true feeling of safety and security in community, like healthy food that tastes good without the salt or sugar, and clean water to drink that isn't lead-laden or real polluted, air to breathe that's not toxic, a clear conscience, soulful music - all of this comes natural to humans who involve the planet in their planning. our family surrounds us. we really could be primal and it really could be powerful. i'm glad to play the reverend to remind all of my friends about the magic we've abandoned but i am not your council... you are. you can plan the outcome. you can look inside your self, ask the forests and your gods and meditate, and work hard to find out what you were brought down for. then you can try to help attract the forces from the well of fate, hesitate not, fear not, and know you are the alchemist. you can overthrow the throne, and make the fountains flow with gold the original skills we used to hold will make our heads unimprisonable just as soon as we get to know to the flow of energy that's been here forever, we've forgotten but we will remember that everything that is can think and sing yes, even the rocks and rivers yes, even the tops of trees will whisper truth when the wind makes their branches quiver listen, you could hear it too. when the reeds sway in the breeze they say, the peace in everything will be released when we cut the chains. we'll reconvene when we drop the reigns. because there is darkness the light and the difference is the same and the way that can be named is not the eternal way but civilization as form of human social organization can never be sustained. now we're lost amid the swirl of our concocted history, dumped into a garbage heap and told that's how it's supposed to be, dumb cause of the fact our education system's flawed and we all do wanna run off far, huh? forest gump.
8.
i ain't just a man on this godforsaken planet i'm a blade of grass i'm a grain of sand i'm a drop of water at the bottom of the ocean i know i'm nothing if i'm not part the land i am the canopy underneath the afternoon sun and the jungle floor covered with rubbish i'm the lightning and thundercloud clapping when the monsoon come i'm the quiet of the morning when the monsoon gone i know that part of me is coming from the stars i see up above my head and i ain't nothing if not part of them i know that all of us are family, connected like infinity and so i try to be the god within i'm tryna tell y'all sacred is what we are we don't have to slaves babylon the failure when i'm kicking it i really hope you're listening i am only rapping tryna get you people thinking just a little bit yeah this is hell television is the jailer but heaven-sent is the wilderness for real y'all i'm tryna open up your eyes and open your mind i hope you see the light cause if not you're going blind we're not societies underneath these deities watching as we kneel to them man, we're all a bunch of self-domesticated animals we used to have freedom but now we're killing it we're not people we are the things we eat we are blood and oil we're rivers and trees we're the wild rabbits and the fattened-up beef and chicken that we buy in the markets and then eat for dinner the world is a factory the world is a perfect gift from your majesty everything is how it has to be all i'm tryna give is thanks and praise and ask for peace

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released March 13, 2014

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Zack de la Rouda Portland, Maine

i write songs and rap about weird stuff like love self-actualization civilization depression anarchism and taoism i like to eat from the garbage even though it's kinda hard to find organic stuff there i spend a lot of time alone somehow i am still releasing music ... more

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