how you livin’? / how you livin’? / what you’re given? / is it all that you thought it’d be?
Pete:
used to be I saw graffiti outlines in dried leaves / used to have a battle rhyme ready for every m.c. in the whole wide world back when I told my girl, “don’t make me choose between hip hop and you ‘cause you’ll lose” / had a crew of young fools into forties and guns, shorties and fun by all means necessary / scary how we used to act back, back in the day / the soundtrack to my life with a hi hat tap tappin’ away / in fact I prayed for the day that I got paid for the rhymes I made / stayed with it through thick and thin / didn’t listen when mom sighed and eyed me with them disappointed looks like, “you should’ve hit the books”
for all I do, for all I see / for all I know, for all I be / for all I need, for all I bleed / for all b-boys, graf writers, djs and m.c.s
for all I do, for all I see / for all I know, for all I be / for all I need, for all I bleed / is it all that you thought it’d be?
Pete:
lookin’ back, yeah those were the days / you were in K-Swiss I was rockin’ a fade / had my mom hopin’ it was only a faze / busy with the rhymes never mindin’ my grades / we were two of a kind trying to find who we were / messed around those days disappeared in a blur / you were poppin’ at Jenn and had a baby by her / told me you were in love but you didn’t sound sure / but that’s all ancient history now / I tell your kid to be proud, “your old man was a dope m.c.” / she just rolls her eyes and waits for me to stop / eleven years old and she don’t even like hip hop / but yo, we know the deal and how it made us feel and how we still get sparked by something that’s real / I’d beg borrow and steal to give you back them days / my mom still trippin’ out ‘cause it’s a life long faze for me / will I blow up? hmm, wait and see / got a whole bunch of beautiful people to take with me / and I owe hip hop more than I could ever repay so I spread love every day
for all I do…
Maya:
we had all the time in the world before money was an issue / before fame was an issue / sittin’ on the stoop spittin’ rhymes / dance from the heart / now I’m coming up / and I’ll meet you where you’re at / you don’t seem to be so happy / how you livin’? / are you about what you said? / or is that dead? / childhood dreams, baby screams / the fight to be free / to express what we / what we just want to be
how you livin’? / how you livin’? / what you’re given? / is it all that you thought it’d be?
for all I do…
credits
from Camouflage Is Relative,
released January 1, 2004
Written by Pete Miser and Maya Azucena (P.Ho, Big Brother Lin Drum Music, BMI / M. Azucena, Azucena Songs Publishing, ASCAP )
Produced, recorded and mixed by Pete Miser
Vocals: Pete Miser and Maya Azucena / Keyboard Bass: Goldxilla / Fender Rhodes: Robert “RPM” Muller
UK rapper and composer Oscar reconnects with his youth on a sleek, diaristic LP influenced by ’90s hip-hop and '00s R&B. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 21, 2024