Prince Paul
open research
[prod. by mr. master]
[verse 1: mr. master]
We treat it so precious, our media presence
No shortage o' gurus givin' freemium lessons
On how to do the dance exactly like your friends did
For the momentary chance to backseat your depression
You would scrounge for a duet, bleed for a mention
Fake a panic attack if it'd get people's attention
If your life were not public, it would mean for you death
But it's a VPN so your secrets're kept. And why is that?
Probably 'cause all you're gonna do today is
Scroll past children squanderin' their youth away. Stupid paid
A whole lotta oopsy daisies on their route to fame
Only thing shallower than their brain's their music taste
Whenever a TikTokker's debut single pollutes the waves
I guessing game how much the producers made, like a grown man
I'm sayin' "Don't stan" to dudes my age
Too focused on the star to see the crew backstage
And the tech team thanked when actors do that wave
And all the other things theatre kids're used to in plays
They know, the roles behind the literal scenes
You don't, so you only have the singular dream of
Your name up in lights, your face plastered on billboards
Regardless o' whether that name and face after are still yours
You have no clue the champ you'd be in a different sport
Your halftime show'll be chuckin' bricks from midcourt
Unless you widen your horizons
Don't let an algorithm decide what life you get
Social media shows the sexy and hides the rest
You actually have to get up, go outside, and find what's best
If you wanna start, try hard science
And for god's sake, do not drop it
'cause you don't immediately like it
Used to laugh at guys who never left their hometown
But doin' that with your mind's the MO now
[interlude: mr. master & (invader jim)]
(What's one thing you say to new musicians?)
Quit. (Quit, alright) Look elsewhere
That's my, like, thing. Swear to god, like
So many people wanna be musicians
The world is so much bigger
When was the last time you ever thought about
Becoming a theme park designer? Exactly
You would never ever consider something like that
Because, uh, you're just over here tryna make music
Like I'm willing to make fun of people for that
The world is enormous
Do you know how fascinating STEM is?
Do you know how little people are trying to do STEM?
I'm a failure, because I'm over here makin' music
And I'm like get off, no no no no
Look at all this other stuff you could do
That aren't makin' music. Like I'm good at it
First off, if you don't quit and do something else
You got me to compete with. Good god damn luck
[verse 2: mr. master]
The reason why I rap with words this big
Is so you have a little less to dirt to dig
Out of all my internet travels
Ultra is my personal picks for ideas worth your click
There's this website called Genius
You may not have heard of it
It's normally used for lyric explaining purposes
The pages for ultra are more of a... museum of nerdiness
That aims to reward you handsomely for being curious...
Or something, I'm not even sure what it is
But that's where you come in
I was on my own, gathering data
Highbrow, lowbrow, brow indeterminate
Now I'm lookin’ for people I can interpret it with
Granted, the first half isn't as rigorous
But by the time you hit 'the syllabus'
The educational potential should be difficult to miss
But what are we eventually going to do with all this?
Again, you tell me, but here's my theory:
The average kid would never think being smart is cool...
Until they hear me, albeit in songs
That don't communicate it clearly
But that’s part of the mystique
Plus, the pairing of STEM with porn, let's say
Might help it reach a new audience
The kind who don't bat an eye when you
Try to sell it to them with sock puppets
Is that a bad idea? Probably
But not if the goal is novelty
In this mountain of data, there's so much to pair
And so little incentive to publicly share
To feel so close to doing something so big is rare
But if no one cares, fair. At the very least
I myself can be more aware of
The humiliating incalculability of
Just how much there is out there
So if you're prepared, pull up a chair
And learn like your every breath is fresh air
But beware