Hudson Mohawke
Why Stop Now
Chorus:
Why stop now?
I've come too far
To wear these battle scars
To throw in the towel
Through the tears and depression
Persevered the oppression
And I'm still not broken down
So why stop now?
Cause I don't see the reason
To make it out breathing
Without learning the meaning
Why I can't back down
And survive somehow
I got to figure it out
So why stop now?
Verse 1:
Act 1: Ask one what I've been through
For the sake of the pad and the pencil
Kicking and screaming, I fought for my chances
Spitting these schemes when they thought I don't have it
But I grabbed it, and never put it down
And put it down for Topeka to try and make that middle ground
They feel it now, cause even though I got them getting down
I'm making music that won't leave they're IQ's whittled down
First off, I tried writing the worst thoughts
Trying to claim third degrees in the third grade
In that summer, I came to my senses
Why fake it and be a young kid with censors
What's my message? Well, I'm the best kid
To make you chant and dance 'til the crowd's breathless
And I guessed it was all that I needed
The first record succeeded; but proceeding
To middle school, I got dirty looks
And the haters saying I got nerdy hooks
Well, yea I'm intelligent. If you can tell then it's
OK, but truthfully, inside I felt like ish
Weighted down with the pressure to change
Cause they wanted me to rap about the jewels and the Range
But I don't have any one of those things
So for me, to stretch the truth sounded strange
Freshman me was in musical puberty
Cause people challenging my talent was new to me
My old school, feel good raps were corny
And I couldn't pen tracks that warrant warnings
To parents, so it's apparent
Acceptance ain't something I can inherit
I became earnest in earning my spot in hip hop
Pumping songs from my heart, so I'd die if I stop
So-
Chorus
Verse 2:
I see no reason in quitting
Since I'm so seasoned with spitting
Though I ain't even been mentioned
With all the Yeezy's and Kendrick's
Cause a freshman list can't reflect my gift
Even MTV can't expect my hits
Cause ATV is the best description
Of every writ song
Off-roading; download it
And you'll see my road ain't paved
I may cross paths someone else has came from
But I run this trail I've blazed
So are you following the Fiya?
Cause the pencil's the torch I'm carrying
While competitors try to bury
Cause my flow can't be contained like aquariums
There's no such thing as rap without me in it
Music's what they do, but I breathe in it
Notes in my lungs; quote off the tongue
My heart beats to the rhythm of the kick drum
Fingers twitch to the click of the snare
Envisioning the synthesized chords in the air
Melodies compelling me like a dose of adrenaline
You're going to miss when I'm gone like a song Anna Kendrick sings
I'm "Pitch Perfect"; a rebel with will, son
So why stop now when they're filling the building
To sing along with their hands up to the ceiling
Saying-
Chorus
Violin Solo
Chorus