Talib Kweli
Carmen
[Produced by Thanks Joey]

[Verse 1: NIKO IS]
I was conceived by an angel with a halo made of gold
Got the beats by Thanks Joey then I tailor-made the flow
Now I say the greatest phrases that could razorblade the throat
Visit the strangest places in a space ship that's space shipped
See the greatest is my alias, maybe it's just my fro
Fame is a vain bitch ass getting naked for the dough
Hating on the glow of the craziest
Packing stadiums in the back like daisies
Mama made me spontaneous
Stimulating the labias of the ladies in my radius
It's hard to digest my food for thought, bad pancreas
Mama made me ??? was playing Julio Iglesias
Acting like she don't see nothing
Jamie Foxx, Van Backer, and that goes like phantasmal
Mothers of Invention and that's word to Frank Zappa
Jam backer, stuck in my way like Anne Hatha-
This game is chess, I'm moving like a grandmasta
Bobby Fischer at 13, look, checkmate
I spit a sixteen like a chess game
Yes mane, pawns try to move me, I got prawns on my sushi
I'm the Fonz, I'm so coolie, James Bond in the movie

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
'Ey mi corazoncito, feel my heart beat
I got a heart of darkness, they hunting for that dark meat
Running like an athlete, black feet
Bare against the concrete
Cool like palm trees in the calm breeze
You see the future in my rhymes like they palm leaves
The mic is in my heart not a side piece
Like palm feet, so pardon me
We go back like we some car seats
Green party like I'm speaking on Garvey, the far see
Now rock to the beat like a kid with ADD when you rocking the seat
I never talk in riddles, I'm like Ridelin when I'm rocking to sleep
They shot in the street just like photography
Whether my pockets are deep or not just know my flow is rich
The dough is just the mark of the beast
I'm known for dropping the heat in a market of meat
Yeah, like fuck what you think the project needing
And they musically starving and I got them eating
Thank God I'm breathing, thank God I'm beasting
You see the odds are stacked against us now I got them even
I give them something to believe in when I spit it
Life is a bitch that ain't gender specific, let's get analytic
Said love is a political technology
But we ain't work out the bugs yet so it ain't working properly
[Verse 3: NIKO IS]
My father was a pimp, Iceberg Slim
Ever since I was a boy, I wanted to be just like him
Addicted to chasing sin, living and making friends
Trippin' on my conditions, while sippin' in Layton gin
Blow like Chicago wind, every time that I go in
If you want to swim with sharks
You have to hang on to my fin
Had to ride a raft, well that I got velvet skin
I'm tired of waiting, mama, my patience is getting thin
Climb the family tree, tryna keep it G for my kin
Giggling to the Bay, now I got a permanent grin
Write a song about bitches, now bitches are Halloween
Had some hard times but now my rhymes are bringing the dollars in
Since you gave me ask two pence
But through that you gave me strength
Talk some sense into me, now I make sense on the beat
And it make sense for my pockets
So don't be sensitive mama
Mama, you see no dents in my armor