(Chorus)
The good days are gone
I fucked up, I coulda been someone...
(Rivercity was us!)
I got nuthin but love for my crew
It's still my city, no matter where I move, and
Though the well done run dry
I fill my cup;
Cuz I'm still someone...
(Rivercity was us!)
I got nuthin but love for my crew
It's still my city, no matter what
Ohhh
(Verse 1)
I was nobody prior to rap
Pliable - liable to act prideful
When I was, in fact, trying to hide from
My past rivals
I lied to myself, 13: punk rock was my end-all
No genre compared; Barbie without a Ken doll
Dead Kennedys/Minor Threat/Ramones/Rancid
I loved the Misifts - but only with Glenn Danzig
Black Flag; and who could forget the Sex Pistols?
Subscribed to Hit Parader
Read every fresh issue
I never guessed what I'd least expect to get into
Would nest in me
Dressed to impress, and press into
My flesh and sinew...
Turns out, not all hip-hop's less than simple:
It can be complex and sinful
Let's continue...
June of '01, I met Colmes
And we became best bros, he showed me the light
Showed me the mic...
Showed me how to hone what I write
And transform my foreign form from my former device
Into more than a bored chorus
Four-score from the mic
From a spore that absorbs orbs for supportin' new life
And before this, I felt sure rap was a horrible type
Of abnormal recital, like a sort of porno you write
Like a form of informal advice
A portal to forewarn Mormons and all men alike
Of the force in the night...
Colmes schooled me on a few thangs
First lesson was "Wu-Tang"
Second lesson: "Learn the new slang"
"Ebonics" by Big L was a big help...
Third lesson was all culture;
The four elements
How to tell homies from vultures
He told me that real rappers are freestylers
So meanwhile, just practice for adversaries
Unwraveling capilleries
Adamant-actin', adapting to habitats is scary
And very combative, so stack up a mad vocabulary
He introduced me to Jarrod Thomas from Barker's Point
Back then, he was 'Klassick'
He asked if I wanna spark a joint
Years later, names changed and Monark had joined
Our crew; called ourselves "E-Sential"
The hardest boyz
Reppin' the North Side...
Sabotage on my tail
But Jarrod was barely involved in the songs that we spilled
Cuz he was also a member of "Ill Logic" as well;
At first, I came across as a novice with obvious help
I don't think he really thought a lot of me til
I recorded my song "Criminology", and, well...
I could tell he noticed a spark in me: Cracka can rhyme
That was at 16, big dreams, back of the line
Remember when we met Swollen Members and Project Wyze?
Tannery full of buses...fans fussin' in line
Moka tried to get us inside the Upper Deck
But we was underage, so we stayed on their bus, eatin chips
Prevail was real, but Mad Child was a dick
Moka Only was our homie, gave us Heineken sips
Jelleestone and the Rascalz...
Gettin' high with the gods
K-os was the bomb, and Kardinal Offishall...
Freestylin' with everything, tryna make an impression
So these celebrity legends always remembered Fredericton
I still got the photos...me dressed like I'm dead
I wanted Ecko that xmas: I got Exco instead
Writing words on the paper 'til nothing's left in my head...
New semester, attending FHS with no friends
It was here I met Kaleb; he took all the attention
Asking people "Where can I find a good, quality kitten?"
I just thought he was kiddin'
Later on, I witnessed him at the mall
Flittin' along, and his collar was twitchin':
It was a small little furball, squallin' relentless
He said "Nobody'd be bitchin if we ALL had a kitten..."
Yeah, I saw he was different: fairly gregarious
Spare me the alias of this Australian alien
Scared the episcopalian's failing the processors
Lepers with hot peppers
A leopard to spot-checkers
Hip-hop is chess, not checkers; poison every emcee
I bodied Casper live on '95.7 The Beat'
I was never this free; sparrin' mano-e-mano
Juliano the Godfather, Corrado Soprano
Fredericton was the scene
"Freddy Beach" was too shitty; we needed a
Name with a dream; someone said "Rivercity"
We was young, we was kingz...
So we started a crew
By '05, we was comprised of like 1-dozen dudes:
Nemesis, Juliano, Monark, Tubby D
Symphintry, KC...Great Dane RIP
TalkSick and Envy: Gorilla Militants
Skillfully spillin' millions of syllables full of sillyness
Heinous speech entertainers
J-names rolling deep, rolling dangerous;
Jeremy, Jody, Jarrod and Jason
Jeff, Justin, Josh, Joey, Jed and then Jacob
Just a justification for jumbled alliteration
It seemed that figures of speech were a way to our dreams...
Save the day and then fade away with a bag full'a weed
'Rivercity Kingz': what a great name for the team
Stake claims to break waves with our ways and our means
Fake life-wreckers; remember Late Nite Records?
Twenty4seveN brakelights make life hectic
In '05, I could repay the biscuits
Rap battles at the DJ Olympics
We played to win, then Phakt repayed the interest
I'ma decay these bitches; first victim, I iced
This rich kid with a mic, some lil' bitch named "White"
Seventeen and supreme
Makin' dreams out of reams
Churnin' cream in our teens
We freezed knees in capris
Medellin? Never been...
IED: smithereens -
Like Fedeyeen for Marines, Freddy's breezy for sheez
Now, my talent's surpassin':
Student schoolin his master
All on my own, anglophone /slash/ microphone grasper
That was back when we ate mushrooms in Jarrod's attic
And "I Gotcha Back" by Monark & Symph
Hadn't been scrapped yet
And they ain't scrapped yet;
Still best homies from knee-high
Til Joey and Jarrod's woman Toni boned, it was peacetime
There just never had been a time when
They never was friends
Now its 2017, and STILL: never again
Light a candle for Mikey...
Light a candle for Branscombe...
Leeferd jammin on his left-handed banjo at random
Tubby D and D-ZEL, out scramblin' fences
Ramblin, breakin' n enterin, scammin' n fencin'
Goddammit, when I said it, I meant it;
We was family, Rivercity calamity: damage relentless
"You Know Me" was '03
"Life Is War" was '04
"North Side" was '05...
...then a whole lotta more
Every Fredericton venue, I performed at em all
The Tannery, The Playhouse, Sweetwaters for sure
Wednesdays at The Cap; Nicky Zees, 20/20...
Leo Hayes at the Caf - stole every show like it's money
Student Union, from students at UNB and STU
To the truly stupid duffuses who used
To be me, now they're you
Terry Thomas/Apaustrophe is now called "NFP";
"Socially Exceptable" - that's him partnered with Ceeb
Rockin' apocalypse-causing, jaw-dropping releases
So fiber-optic only the top optometrists see them
The Elks Club: Bonshah be demolishing beats
Droppin bombs on the strong
Righting wrongs for the weak
Loc helped us record songs for our LP
But we abandoned it way before
We could master the bastard..
But we did a few shows...
(mostly I improvised; Red as drunk as a skunk
Me as high as the sky)
Free lines from the guys: E, coke, or whatever;
Sniff it, smoke it, I ain't jokin
I was hopeless as ever
Music dropped into second
Drugs hopped into 1st place
In the past decade, I might recall one or two birthdays
What the fuck can I say...
Best Days of my Life
But now they're gone, cuz I'm dead:
Bring me into the light
(Chorus)
The good days are gone
I fucked up, I coulda been someone...
(Rivercity was us!)
I got nuthin but love for my crew
It's still my city, no matter where I move, and
Though the well done run dry
I fill my cup;
Cuz I'm still someone...
(Rivercity was us!)
I got nuthin but love for my crew
It's still my city, no matter what
Ohhh
