The Roots
undun

Too long, really. Okay, I admit it, I did it: I let my heart get drunk and lose reason. I did it, yes indeed. And now it's my whole body that pays for the consequences. I thought about suicide, only that seeing it purely from a Christian perspective, such an act is labeled as pure sin: HOLY SHIT, WHAT NEED DID MY FATHER HAVE TO BAPTIZE ME?

I change religion and turn to Buddhism, only to discover this thing called reincarnation: NO SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MEAN I COME BACK HERE AGAIN? NIRVANA? AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

I discover that Muslims have the key because suicide directly projects you to a dimension where 72 virgins are waiting for you. Except my dad is racist and doesn’t like Arabs. Such ignorance...

She is in front of me, staring at me, with those big blue eyes that serve as a gateway to a universe filled with paranoia, neuroses, broken hearts never truly healed, and an uncontainable desire to love. She stares at me, the golden boy, just like her hair, often labeled as the devil. A good boy in a crazy city. And the madness infects me.

Seriously, how long has it been since she truly smiled at me?

True, I have often been subjected to absurd behavior: I have humiliated, denigrated, and offended many people without guilt. But who cares about them: I care about those who love me and whom I have ended up routinely hurting. Those are the wounds that never heal, the guilt you carry with you forever. Ego here, ego there and then I die slowly, because in the end, who the hell am I, if not a big idiot?

I thought about suicide from a non-believer’s perspective: the total void. If it goes well for you, an eternal sleep, otherwise you become a ghost. Christ, being a ghost seems nice; do you know how many things you can do? Pass through walls, fly, WATCH WOMEN WHILE THEY SHOWER, no longer feel hunger or cold, no longer suffer, WATCH WOMEN WHILE THEY SHOWER, levitate, scare the hell out of people and WATCH WOMEN WHILE THEY SHOWER.

Then I think of those who clung to life and lost it: what do you say Redford?

Ah, never mind, my friend. I’m dying, damn it, I feel it. Some idiot did his job: but what am I complaining about? I have committed the worst crimes, I have seen friends turn into beasts, names fade, and blood flow like rivers. I have lost my humanity, my only weak point. I’m a failure who only wanted a chance to make a turn, to change life. Enough with the dealing, bullets, women not worthy to be called as such and death: God only knows how much harm I have spread through these streets. I don’t know whom to sincerely ask forgiveness from. But what's done is done! I just wished I were lucky and had a chance. Evidently, I wasn’t worthy and now that I am dying, I will disappear soon enough. The name that terrified a thousand people will disappear swallowed by the sands of time and my face will be erased from everyone's memory. No one will ever know I existed...

Don’t worry, my good friend: now you are dying, but your story will live long enough to imprint your name on this damn earth, I promise you. With my group, we will do a brief excursus through your life, concentrating on the fundamental parts. I will write the texts, filling them with well-crafted rhymes and words that can best express the poetry of certain considerations your brain made: meanwhile, these guys will equip themselves to create a homogeneous, compact sound, but at the same time multifaceted: a splash of rock where it can be useful, a bit of funk that never hurts, and lots and lots of soul. To crown it all, we will also venture into orchestral music: 4 mini instrumental tracks placed at the end, a very brief summary suite that will sing your name. And before all this, 10 tracks in which I can express myself. And to diversify the product, I will tell your life in reverse, starting with your death and ending with your entrance into the world of the streets. My friend, this record will talk about you and I promise you that everyone will remember your name: I am Black Thought and I am part of The Roots. This album tells of Redford Stevens, a character that embodies an entire generation of African Americans, and not only.

Hey, ?uestlove, hit that damn drum. Come on brother, let’s start......