Emcees
* P.O.S. has released four albums under the Rhymesayers record label in conjunction with the Doomtree label. His first album, Ipecac Neat, made its Rhymesayers debut in 2004. His next album Audition released in 2006. His third release, Never Better was released in February 2009. We Don't Even Live Here, his fourth album, came out October 2012.
P.O.S is the de facto leader of the group. He also performs with the punk rock group Building Better Bombs.
* Sims released his first full length album in July 2005, Lights Out Paris. He also released False Hopes 14 in 2009. In 2011, he released Bad Time Zoo to critical acclaim.
* Dessa released one of Doomtree's several False Hopes albums and often performs live with violinist Jessy Greene (who is featured on P.O.S's Audition). She is an accomplished spoken word poet. In January 2010, she released her first solo LP, A Badly Broken Code. 2011 brought Castor, The Twin, which was a re-imagining of many of the tracks from A Badly Broken Code, utilizing a live band.
* Mictlan has released Doomtree False Hopes albums Deity for hire and Deity for Re-hire. In 2008, Mike Mictlan and Lazerbeak released their album Hand Over Fist
* Cecil Otter released Hung Over-seas, a Doomtree False Hopes album in 2003. He was also a finalist in a national spoken word competition inspired by the 2004 presidential election. He released another album, simply titled Cecil Otter's False Hopes, in 2005. In 2006 Cecil Otter released his new full length album Rebel Yellow. He is also signed to Strange Famous Records.
Producers/DJs
* Paper Tiger has produced for Doomtree emcees and often spins records for Doomtree performances. He also provides graphic design for various flyers and other Doomtree visuals. He has released a solo album Made Like Us.
* MK Larada has produced many tracks for Doomtree emcees and is also Doomtree's resident artist. He has released an album Break In Two (Music For B People).
* Lazerbeak has produced many tracks for Doomtree emcees as well as several other Minneapolis hip-hop artists, including Toki Wright. He is also the guitarist of Minnesota indie band The Plastic Constellations. He has released his solo album Legend Recognize Legend
* Turbo Nemesis is the most common Doomtree DJ to spin at performances
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Team The Best Team
Doomtree Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Think love / and think drugs / and they're the same thing inside / And we struggle / or get enough / but it's the same thing / Burn holes in the Moleskine, bout it / Been friends with a pen, gave trust to the page / Turn in when the time's up earn that age / know-how learned in spades / They exist in the outros / in the fade outs / and in the background noise / I wouldn't wish it on my rivals / I got no enemies / We all fall for the decoy / Sometimes it slides right by while we're trying to decide / Don't lie to yourself / almost ain't good enough / and there ain't no extra lives / Leave em alone / How we livin? / Very own road and it's so, so driven / In the freezing cold, y'all keep chillin / We'll leave tracks you can follow in / Bold, less fucks given / Team The Best Team / Doomtree citizen / We care like it's cool still / but we've risen from close to sting to post-everything / How y'all livin? / Very own road and it's so, so driven / In the freezing cold / y'all keep chillin
SIMS
So I do it for her and I do it for me / and I do it for the word / Kill it for the hunt of the beat / Kill it for the hunger that will not sleep / And you can stay miserable all your life but what kind of difference that make? / What, you ain't had enough of that pay, ain't had enough of your way? / Live from the Haunted North / in the woods where the fire roars / You fell for the Trojan horse / Who want it more? It's already yours / Live from the Haunted North / in the woods where the fire roars / You fell for the Trojan horse / Who want it more; it's already yours
CECIL
Draw blood, paint life, sculpt that clay, build that bridge (suffer and pleasure) / Got love, gotta write that way and filled that book from the gutter to forever / But we're still gonna suffer / we got burnt / we met our match and struck first / Suckers should have known better than to let us head our own search and destroy / You would've been better centered at home / Remember that road we'd take? / I swear the devil's backbone would break / We made it our home and it's great and it's good / it's the same as it ever was / We came, we saw, we came back / We played em songs we made quick / We went back home just to fill those pages to the edges, and it's aces / It's all coming up roses / Closes may come and we know this / No risk, no fun, no way, nobody's gonna break my stride, no sir / Those days look like these days / except for maybe these grays / But that's just my salt and pepper, my heart and soul won't live forever / Whatever…
DESSA
So shake, shakes, shoot / it's like win, draw, lose / cause dice kept cooped up / just bring bad luck / man is made to choose / Yeah, mixed media: flesh, electricity, bone / we rent, we visit, but we're never quite home / cause the river can't know when the levy might go / so, draw your arm and throw
MIKE
Bottled all in, battle with a broadsword / rule with the iron cutter straight to the vital cord / Lean on a land alive / freed men in enterprise / Does it mean you seen the sign? / See what you wanna read / eyes in the seams, not what it seems / A better part of me will not let it be / instead it seethes / Does mean I believe a lie? / Let it dead, let it crawl / let it all count when you bet it all / Say it like you mean it, just say it / never better if you never even said it at all / Head em off at the neck, set it off / Ready for whatever with machete on the leather comrades with a letter on the wall / steady head, heavy guts and a set of balls / What I really gotta know, huh? / How to rock a rhyme that's right in line? / With the beat and ride / wide to the feet, wise to the weak / Why? / Why we pray on the meek and pry in the speak of the "why's" and the "we's"? / We don't know why / why we speak with a slide of the cheek / Hide / Chopped in the seams / Stride / That's live and unique designed / flight for seats, fly in the cleats / Grind / Lines in the sheet / Slice / that's all we live for / Polish poison plot loss / free and got a lost cause / Holler if you hear me shooting / Hollow Bodies High / Cower salted, high exalted, colicky and alcoholic / Call it when I see it all divide / Hollowed head to follow tired feet disqualified / Able of the cognoscente disabled from a solid mind / Hollow Bodies High
The lyrics of Doomtree's song Team The Best Team have multiple layers of meaning and emotion. STEF starts his verse by comparing love and drugs as the same thing and how they both make people struggle to get enough of them. He then talks about how writing on a page is almost like trusting a person, who will never judge, will not betray you, and will not break your heart. He hopes that all his rivals will someday learn the right way to think and be better. If they ever fall for a decoy or slide right past a situation, they must realize that almost ain't good enough. The idea of being driven towards your own road is metaphorical and encompasses the idea of going your own way, no matter how hard it may be. The last lines by all the members speak of overcoming struggles, suffering, losing, and being hollowed out to reach someplace where they can be louder and prouder of their achievements.
The lyrics of Team The Best Team speak of collaboration and perseverance. It is not just the struggle and the fight that matter but also the journey that makes one who they are. The song deals with themes such as love, friendship, drugs, and ambition, and how these things influence us in our day to day lives. Life is a constant trial, and we all have to face our fears and walk on our very own road. Every verse in the song highlights different emotions and sentiments experienced by people.
Line by Line Meaning
Think love / and think drugs / and they're the same thing inside /
The feeling of love and the effects of drugs on the body are very similar.
And we struggle / or get enough / but it's the same thing /
Whether we are struggling or succeeding, it all feels the same.
Burn holes in the Moleskine, bout it / Been friends with a pen, gave trust to the page / Turn in when the time's up earn that age / know-how learned in spades /
Writing is a way to cope with life, and through it, we gain knowledge and experience.
They exist in the outros / in the fade outs / and in the background noise /
Our struggles and successes are a constant presence in our lives, even when they are not the main focus.
I wouldn't wish it on my rivals / I got no enemies / We all fall for the decoy /
We all face struggles, and but we wouldn't wish them on anyone, even our enemies.
Sometimes it slides right by while we're trying to decide / Don't lie to yourself / almost ain't good enough / and there ain't no extra lives /
Opportunities will pass by if we don't act decisively, and we shouldn't deceive ourselves into thinking that almost succeeding is good enough.
Leave em alone / How we livin? /
We should focus on ourselves and our own lives.
Very own road and it's so, so driven / In the freezing cold, y'all keep chillin /
We are driven on our own path, even in difficult times while others remain complacent.
Bold, less fucks given / Team The Best Team / Doomtree citizen /
We are confident and fearless in our pursuits, and we are a part of the Doomtree community.
We care like it's cool still / but we've risen from close to sting to post-everything /
We still care deeply about our passions, but we've grown and developed beyond our previous limitations.
So I do it for her and I do it for me / and I do it for the word / Kill it for the hunt of the beat / Kill it for the hunger that will not sleep /
We pursue our passions not only for ourselves but also for those we love and for the love of the art itself.
And you can stay miserable all your life but what kind of difference that make? / What, you ain't had enough of that pay, ain't had enough of your way? /
Choosing to be miserable does not make any difference in life, and pursuing only wealth and power eventually becomes unsatisfying.
Live from the Haunted North / in the woods where the fire roars / You fell for the Trojan horse / Who want it more? It's already yours /
We come from a place of hardship and struggle, but we have the determination and strength to overcome any obstacle.
Draw blood, paint life, sculpt that clay, build that bridge (suffer and pleasure) / Got love, gotta write that way and filled that book from the gutter to forever /
We use our artistic skills and passions to create and bring joy to others, even through our own struggles and pain.
But we're still gonna suffer / we got burnt / we met our match and struck first / Suckers should have known better than to let us head our own search and destroy /
We will still face hardships, but we are resilient and strong enough to overcome them.
Remember that road we'd take? / I swear the devil's backbone would break / We made it our home and it's great and it's good / it's the same as it ever was / We came, we saw, we came back / We played em songs we made quick / We went back home just to fill those pages to the edges, and it's aces / It's all coming up roses /
We have overcome obstacles and made our home on this path, and things are looking up.
Does it mean you seen the sign? / See what you wanna read / eyes in the seams, not what it seems / A better part of me will not let it be / instead it seethes / Does mean I believe a lie?
It's easy to see what we want to see and interpret things how we want them to be, but we should question if it's the truth.
Let it dead, let it crawl / let it all count when you bet it all / Say it like you mean it, just say it / never better if you never even said it at all /
We should embrace risks and speak our truth, even if it's scary.
Head em off at the neck, set it off / Ready for whatever with machete on the leather comrades with a letter on the wall / steady head, heavy guts and a set of balls / What I really gotta know, huh? / How to rock a rhyme that's right in line? /
We are strong and ready for anything, but we still question our own abilities and knowledge.
With the beat and ride / wide to the feet, wise to the weak / Why? / Why we pray on the meek and pry in the speak of the 'why's' and the 'we's'? / We don't know why / why we speak with a slide of the cheek / Hide / Chopped in the seams / Stride / That's live and unique designed / flight for seats, fly in the cleats / Grind / Lines in the sheet / Slice / that's all we live for
We use our creativity and passion for music to express ourselves and explore the unknown.
Polish poison plot loss / free and got a lost cause / Holler if you hear me shooting / Hollow Bodies High / Cower salted, high exalted, colicky and alcoholic / Call it when I see it all divide / Hollowed head to follow tired feet disqualified / Able of the cognoscente disabled from a solid mind / Hollow Bodies High
Our minds and bodies may be weakened by our struggles and vices, but we still strive forward and pursue our passions in our own unique way.
Contributed by Eva M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.