Rest In Peace
7L & Esoteric Lyrics

Yo Friday night, feelin' right, fuckin' with this bad chick
I was out at a club on Friday night feeling good and flirting with this attractive girl

Gats click, now I'm hit, shit, watch the blood spit
Suddenly, a gun was shot and I was hit, blood spilling out of my body

I fall face down, background is H-Town
I fell to the ground face-first and the background was the city of Houston (H-Town)

Needle drag, music stops, people call the cops
The needle on the record player was dragged and the music stopped, causing people to call the police

For a rap cat, shot dead in the back
I, a rapper, was shot and killed from behind

Over a dame, for some reason of which I cannot explain
For some reason that I don't understand, I was killed because of a woman

My name was little known at this time
I wasn't very famous before I was killed

'Less we use the Boston, Mass as the measuring line
Unless we compare me to other rappers from Boston, Massachusetts, there wasn't much recognition of me

My crime bein waxed, redirects, people's TV's set
My music being played and promoted caused people to redirect their attention to me and turn their TVs on

Maybe you're seein the checks, or see 'em as threats
People may have seen my success as a positive thing or a threat to their own success

My fam cries at the wake, some guys do steaks
My family is crying at my funeral and some friends of mine are honoring me by eating steaks in my memory

With their eyes on my tape, realizin my surprisin fate
People are looking at and listening to my music and realizing the surprise of my sudden death

Ten-to-five covered, then from five-to-eight
The time period from 10am to 5pm is covered, and then from 5pm to 8pm

Now the average rap fan starts to gravitate
Now more and more fans of rap music are starting to take an interest in me

To the Ese-Esoteric, to see if they were sleepin'
Fans are now paying attention to me, Esoteric, to see if they didn't give me enough attention before

Check now as I look down, it's kinda tough swallowin'
Looking down on the earth from the afterlife is tough for me to accept

The fact that I'm a dead rapper with a cult followin'
It's a fact that I'm a rapper who has died but still has a dedicated fan base

Legions of fans got their hands on my old jams
Many of my fans have acquired my older music

And new fans, they were sayin' "Oh damn!"
Even new fans that are discovering me are impressed with my music

At every punchline, and now the rumors break and hit
People are talking and spreading rumors about me and my music

'Cause everybody knew that I was workin' on some new shit
Everyone was aware that I had been working on new music before I died

Cats askin, "Who's on it? Who produced it?"
People are asking who worked on and produced my new music

Straight up, just ask deceased, let the man {"rest in peace"}
In order to find out information about my new music, you can ask me as I rest in peace

All my old friends are now sayin' that's a spiritual
My old friends are now saying that my death has a spiritual or supernatural aspect to it

My mother wants my material
My mother wants to possess and take control of my musical material after my death

Girlfriends sayin' that I'm lyrical, fightin over rights
My past romantic partners are fighting over the rights to my music and recognizing me as a talented lyricist

Sellin' RIP t-shirts at open mics
Some local shows and open mic events are selling t-shirts in my memory

Fans thought the East/West was comin' to South
Some of my fans were excited about a potential collaboration between rappers from the East Coast and West Coast coming to the South where I was from

Got the Source van in front of my house
The hip hop magazine The Source has a van parked in front of my house because of my newfound posthumous fame

XXL and Elemental runnin' their mouth
Other hip hop publications are discussing and potentially writing stories about me and my music

Got my dad depressed, he's bout to flip, put a gun in his mouth
My father is deeply affected by my death and is contemplating suicide by putting a gun in his mouth

Now majors havin bidding wars, and deals on the table
Major record labels are now competing and bidding for the opportunity to release my music

Labels unstable 'cause my face is on cable
The record labels are feeling unstable because of my increased publicity and exposure on television

Even underground critics say that I'm the best that did it
Even critics of underground hip hop music are recognizing me as one of the best rappers of all time

Even though they shitted on my last hit-it
Even though they didn't like my last music release, they are now recognizing my true talent after my death

I don't get it, Sony pimped me up in a week
I don't understand how Sony Music was able to quickly promote me and my music after my death

And now my acapella's flowin' over wack commercial beats
My acapella vocals are now being used over subpar commercial music

They shot my video, with an Esoteric stunt double
For my music video, they used a stunt double to portray me, Esoteric

In a Lex bubble, sayin' it was footage from the night before the trouble
The music video shows me in a luxury car, claiming it was shot the night before my death

No red tape, just sample clearances and mad guest appearances
The record label is making things happen quickly without any problems, arranging for various guest appearances on my music

(Like who?) A lot of guys whom I never authorized
Many guest artists are appearing on my music without my permission or approval

As my mother looks into the skies to apologize
My mother is looking towards the sky to apologize to me for any wrongdoings

Although I'm dead mom, my soul remains undaunted
Even though I am dead, my spirit remains strong and unbroken

Now you can actually afford the things you wish you flaunted
You are now able to possess and show off the items and possessions you have always wanted, now that I have posthumous fame

And even though every studio will be haunted
Even though the recording studios where I worked will now be associated with my ghost

I finally got the major label budget that I wanted
After years of wanting a bigger budget from a major record label, I now have it after my death

It's tough stayin' underground when you're six feet deep
It is difficult to remain unknown and underground when you are dead and buried

And major labels profit off of that, but then there's freak
The major record labels are able to profit off my new fame, but they also recognize that my situation is unique and different than other posthumous releases

(It's Esoteric rest in peace)
I, Esoteric, have passed away and now rest in peace

And now everybody's checkin' for my posthumous release
People are now eagerly anticipating the release of my new music after my death

(Death is a final step)
My death is a permanent finality

"You know dead rappers get better promotion"
There is a common belief that deceased rappers will receive better promotion and recognition

"Death is a final step!"
Death is the finality of life and cannot be undone