Text: Mars Ill. Backbreakanomics. Breathe Slow.
(Verse #1)
It?s the beginning of the 9th inning and I?m winning/
You?ll find me mind-bending inside of each five-minute time limit/
And it?s documented, we?re breaking bones of contention/
Fine tuning what?s spinning and expanding my dominion/
These upper-handed dimensions all contributed to the folklore/
Got rappers raising their standards, fans demanding what they?d hoped for/
Cramming letters in a bottle. We?ll just call it a test tube/
My style is Aristotle mixed with Krush Groove (So Just Move!)/
And watch my verses cut through when you hear the words I Love You/
Break off a piece of my heard tucked into every record groove/
And you?ll walk different in these corrective shoes/
But you?ll recognize the revolution and act out what most don?t get to do/
You?ll take what?s meant for you, no longer survive on what they pass down/
Win or lose, you?ll live your life knowing you never backed down/
?Cause man shall not live by the bottle alone/
I keep a fist raised to the sky so you can follow me home, it goes?/
(Hook)
If you know like we know, BREATHE SLOW/
BREATHE SLOW? (Repeat)
(Verse #2)
Until my body cracks the pavement and shakes the face of the basement/
Lacing the foundation with scars that sacrifice is bound to leave/
Break inner-city boundaries so suburbanites are down to see/
This cultural way of life and how music is more than sound to me/
But freedom?s lungs are heavy from pushing these smoke signals out/
And we?ve become so disillusioned that we?re scared to notice/
The eviction notice speaking its clout with screams and shouts, but trust me/
Clarity?s waiting there on the other side of your focus/
So snatch the breath from blasphemy emphatically/
Transform naturally, control the art before it masters me/
Breathe slow and hold the hand of whoever you can reach for/
Touch the ones you?ve never seen before ?til the common good is restored/
?Til the homeless are all execs and capitalism yields to ethics/
?Til janitors live in mansions and schoolteachers can push a Lexus/
?Til beef is deaded and debt is erased or collected/
?Til the projects and country clubs are now and forever connected/
I?ll speak my messages ?til they get it/
Until you?re touched by something sacred and love is all that you?re left with/
Blessed is the head that shares the crown that he possesses/
Consider yourselves my brethren and this song is my confession/
?Cause man shall not live by the bottle alone/
I keep a fist raised to the sky so you can follow me home/
And all your problems can?t be solved by one call on the phone/
I keep a fist raised to the sky so you can follow me home, it goes?/
(Hook)
(Verse #3)
Right before you rock a show, BREATHE SLOW/
When a promoter owes you dough, BREATHE SLOW/
When your career doesn?t blow [up], BREATHE SLOW/
You bounced five checks in a row, BREATHE SLOW/
If you?re tired of being po, BREATHE SLOW/
You can?t see the status quo, BREATHE SLOW/
You got more cons than pros, BREATHE SLOW/
You got fisticuffs to throw, BREATHE SLOW/
Ayo, your boss told you no, BREATHE SLOW/
Say Mars ILL told you so, BREATHE SLOW/
You gotta suffer to grow, BREATHE SLOW/
Shine your light until you glow, BREATHE SLOW?
(Hook)
Backbreakanomics