After winning a nationwide talent contest at the age of four and starring in the motion picture Valley of the Sun Marches On, he continued his acting career on TV in the Amos 'n Andy Shows, the Jack Benny Show, and others, making his first solo recording as Pee Wee Barnum in 1950.[1][2]
He then joined doo-wop groups The Dootones and, in 1956, The Robins (later The Coasters), for whom he played piano. In 1960, under the pseudonym "Dudley" he recorded the radio hit "El Pizza," a parody of Marty Robbins' "El Paso." In 1961 he had the only hit under his own name, the instrumental "Lost Love", and in the same year recorded the first version of "Nut Rocker", credited to Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks. He also recorded three albums as a singer-pianist during the 1960s.[1][2]
Since that time he has become most widely known as an arranger, for a very wide range of performers including Count Basie, O.C. Smith, Frank Sinatra, The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Gladys Knight, Al Wilson, and the Pump Girls.[1][2] Barnum also produced, along with Johnnie Walls of JWP Productions which distributed the record, the 1985 hip-hop comedy song "Rappin' Duke." He produced "The Fish Song" by The New Creation.
H.B. Barnum had an album recorded by the Novells, a Los Angeles area band, titled, That Did It! in 1968. The album which never was properly promoted surprisingly re-emerged as an import some 40-years later when it was released in the United Kingdom in July of 2005 and again in December of 2007 by Radioactive Records.[citation needed]
H. B. Barnum is the older brother of backup singer Billie Barnum.
References
^ a b c Biography by Jason Ankent at Allmusic.org
^ a b c Biographical note at SoulWalking.com
Searchin' For My Soul
H.B. Barnum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The rest of your life
Is about
Giving a fuck about shit
That maybe you don't care about
Guess what
I like to think
That I don't give a fuck about what people think
That I was carrying myself that way
And I was wrong
Yo I don't give a fuck about what people think
That's dope Joe
What's your credit score
Uh
That's dope Joe
What day you see the judge
Uh
I could just give you
Like a million different instances
As your just growing up
And living life
That you have to care
Bout what someone else says
This is a Gang Rocker
I built a way
They tried to out me
That's what the sinister do
Top down
In the winter
Wishful thinking is true
Should stick to the script
But I'm all out of glue
Gotta drive and improvise
All of a sudden
They wanna be winning with you
Naw
Y'all ain't see the vision
From the baby steps
Hunger got me ready for them M’s
Had to meal prep
Nigga here's a real test
Yeah without a care in this cold world
Spitting all this fire
Got me paid
Need a heat check
Could double up the reps
They couldn't flex
Like we flex
On the up
They want the fall
Praying for missteps
But what's next
As I
Hurdle every obstacle
The ones I love most
Said you the only thing
That's stopping you
Look at what you've done to me
Life teaches
All these leaches
Sucked the love from me
Getting paid for dope lines
Like it's drug money
Heart and soul
Every flow
What else you want from me
This ain't the way for me
Made it out thankfully
Never be the same
Cause the damage took hold
Nowhere is safe for me
Can feel all this hate for me
See nothing but enemies
Wherever I go
Don't nobody ever wanna die young
Can almost guarantee it
Here where I'm from
So somebody pray for me
Somebody pray for me
Somebody pray for me
Can I ask somebody please
To pray for my soul
My soul
Somebody pray for my soul
Soul
Somebody pray for my soul
I done kept it real
But it seem to be a cost
Always been one hundred
Why you asking true or false
The sauce in my genes
It won't come out in the wash
Refuse to take a loss
To these nightmares in the dark
I can't stop this hustle
Yeah this money what I need
Ball out on a broad
With this cash I oversees
The doja got me floating
Liquor bring me up to speed
On point behind these glasses
Watching for my enemies
Faded in the section
Scope the spot
I'm paranoid
Never dressing loud
But I'm making all the noise
Up the price
Don't talk to me
Just take it up Roy
She happily a bounce that ass
I tell her jump for joy
Niggas talking crazy
We see em
When we see em
Calling in daily
Like a nigga work per diem
They told me
Ima get it
Had to realize that it's facts
The Rockers
Do it proper
Time to turn up to the max
This ain't the way for me
Made it out thankfully
Never be the same
Cause the damage took hold
Nowhere is safe for me
Can feel all this hate for me
See nothing but enemies
Wherever I go
Don't nobody ever wanna die young
Can almost guarantee it
Here where I'm from
So somebody pray for me
Somebody pray for me
Somebody pray for me
Can I ask somebody please
To pray for my soul
My soul
Somebody pray for my soul
Soul
Somebody pray for my soul
The lyrics of this song convey a strong message about the challenges of growing up and living life in a complex world. The rapper talks about how as we age, we are forced to care about things that we may not necessarily be interested in, and how we have to constantly deal with the opinions and judgments of others. He speaks about how despite this, he tries not to care about what people think of him, but realizes that this is not always the best approach. Furthermore, he discusses his struggles with making it in the music industry and how he has had to navigate obstacles and enemies who have tried to bring him down. He ends the song by acknowledging that he needs help and asking someone to pray for his soul.
The song addresses several key themes, including self-confidence, peer pressure, the realities of the music industry, and the importance of believing in oneself. Through its poignant lyrics and introspective tone, the song provides a powerful message about the challenges of navigating the complexities of life.
Line by Line Meaning
As you age
As you get older
The rest of your life
The remaining time you have to live
Is about
Involves
Giving a fuck about shit
Caring about things
That maybe you don't care about
That you might not actually be interested in
Guess what
You know what
I like to think
I believe
That I don't give a fuck about what people think
That I don't care what others think of me
Let me tell you all the times
Allow me to share some instances
That I was carrying myself that way
That I was acting that way
And I was wrong
And it was a mistake
Yo I don't give a fuck about what people think
I really don't care what people think
That's dope Joe
That's great
What's your credit score
What's your financial standing
Uh
Indicates a pause or hesitation
What day you see the judge
When is your court date
I could just give you
I could provide you with
Like a million different instances
Numerous examples
As you're just growing up
While you're maturing
And living life
And experiencing things
That you have to care
That require you to be concerned
Bout what someone else says
About what others say
This is a Gang Rocker
This is a song by the artist Gang Rocker
I built a way
I created a path
They tried to out me
They attempted to expose me
That's what the sinister do
That's what evil people do
Top down
Convertible roof open
In the winter
During the colder season
Wishful thinking is true
Positive thoughts can come true
Should stick to the script
Should follow the plan
But I'm all out of glue
But I don't have the tools to do that
Gotta drive and improvise
Need to move forward and be resourceful
All of a sudden
Suddenly
They wanna be winning with you
They want to be successful with me
Naw
No
Y'all ain't see the vision
Others didn't share my perspective
From the baby steps
From the beginning
Hunger got me ready for them M's
Ambition made me prepared for success
Had to meal prep
Had to prepare my food in advance
Nigga here's a real test
Here's a true challenge
Yeah without a care in this cold world
With no concern in this harsh world
Spitting all this fire
Rapping fiercely
Got me paid
Made me money
Need a heat check
Need to assess my progress
Could double up the reps
Could increase my efforts
They couldn't flex
They couldn't challenge me
Like we flex
The way we present ourselves
On the up
On the rise
They want the fall
They want me to fail
Praying for missteps
Hoping for my mistakes
But what's next
But what will happen next
As I hurdle every obstacle
As I overcome every challenge
The ones I love most
The people I care about the most
Said you're the only thing
Told me that I am the only obstacle
That's stopping you
Preventing me from succeeding
Look at what you've done to me
See the impact you've had on me
Life teaches
Life educates
All these leeches
All these people who drain me
Sucked the love from me
Took away the love I had
Getting paid for dope lines
Making money for great rhymes
Like it's drug money
As if it's illegal profit
Heart and soul
Passion and effort
Every flow
Every rap
What else you want from me
What more can I give
This ain't the way for me
This isn't the path I should follow
Made it out thankfully
Glad to have escaped
Never be the same
Will never be unchanged
Cause the damage took hold
Because the harm was done
Nowhere is safe for me
I don't feel safe anywhere
Can feel all this hate for me
Can sense all the resentment directed at me
See nothing but enemies
Only see adversaries
Wherever I go
Wherever I travel
Don't nobody ever wanna die young
No one wants to die young
Can almost guarantee it
Can almost assure it
Here where I'm from
In the area where I reside
So somebody pray for me
Ask someone to pray for me
Somebody pray for me
Ask someone to pray for me
Can I ask somebody please
May I request someone to
To pray for my soul
To ask for divine intervention
My soul
My life essence
I done kept it real
I have been honest
But it seem to be a cost
But it appears to have a negative consequence
Always been one hundred
Always been truthful
Why you asking true or false
Why are you questioning my honesty
The sauce in my genes
The innate talent I possess
It won't come out in the wash
It can't be washed away
Refuse to take a loss
Refuse to fail
To these nightmares in the dark
To these fears that haunt me
I can't stop this hustle
I can't stop working hard
Yeah this money what I need
I need money to survive
Ball out on a broad
Spend extravagantly on a woman
With this cash I oversees
Travel abroad with this money
The doja got me floating
The marijuana has me high
Liquor bring me up to speed
Alcohol gets me going
On point behind these glasses
Alert and focused with these glasses
Watching for my enemies
Looking out for people who want to harm me
Faded in the section
Intoxicated in the area
Scope the spot
Survey the area
I'm paranoid
I'm suspicious
Never dressing loud
Not dressing ostentatiously
But I'm making all the noise
But I'm still getting attention
Up the price
Increase the cost
Don't talk to me
Don't bother me
Just take it up Roy
Just handle it with Roy (a reference to Roy Jones Jr.)
She happily a bounce that ass
She is happily twerking
I tell her jump for joy
I tell her to be happy
Niggas talking crazy
People saying irrational things
We see em
We know who they are
When we see em
When we encounter them
Calling in daily
Contacting me constantly
Like a nigga work per diem
Like I'm an hourly worker
They told me
They said to me
Ima get it
I'm going to achieve my goals
Had to realize that it's facts
Had to understand that it's true
The Rockers
The people who are successful
Do it proper
Do it well
Time to turn up to the max
Time to give it my all
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: David Thompson Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind