Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, Nourishment, in March 2007. His debut album, entitled Nourishment (Second Helpings), was released in August 2007. In early 2008, Homeboy Sandman's work began to be featured on underground radio programs the Squeeze Radio Show on WKCR 89.9 FM and the Halftime Radio Program on WNYU 89.1 FM in New York. In June 2008, he was featured in Source Magazine's "Unsigned Hype" column.
His second album, Actual Factual Pterodactyl was acclaimed upon its release in August 2008. The album received an entry in XXL's Chairman's Choice column, which praised Homeboy Sandman's "sharp lyrics and irresistibly melodic flow, which, together, form an elastic instrument few MCs can match." Actual Factual Pterodactyl received critical acclaim in a multitude of other print and online publications, including Blender Magazine, Beyond Race Magazine, Okayplayer.com and MSN.com. At the end of 2008, Homeboy Sandman was named "Best Hip Hop Act in NYC 2008" by New York Press. Recently his music has received rotation on NYC's Power 105.1 FM and Hot 97.1 FM, the city's #1 Hip Hop and R&B radio station, as well as airplay on Spitkicker Radio (Channel 65 on XM Satellite Radio), DJ Premier's "Live From HeadQCourterz" (Sirius Satellite Radio's #1 ranked Hip Hop show) and BBC 1Xtra's Hip Hop M1X (Hosted by DJ Sarah Love).
In addition to his studio releases, Homeboy Sandman has garnered attention for his live performances. From January 2008 to August 2009, Homeboy Sandman served as the host of “ALL THAT! Hip Hop, Poetry and Jazz” at the Nuyorican Poets Café, New York City's longest running open mic session (originally hosted by Hip Hop icon Bobbito García). He has performed at the biggest hip hop shows around the country, including the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival in Brooklyn, New York, the Rock the Bells hip hop festival in Long Island, New York, the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, Georgia and New York City's CMJ Music Marathon. Homeboy Sandman has recorded video interviews with other performers at his live shows, which are captured in his YouTube video series "Homeboy Sandman presents Live From...".
In addition to his own releases, Homeboy Sandman has appeared on records by other artists, frequently with members of the AOK Collective, with whom he is affiliated. He recently appeared on Fresh Daily's 2009 album The Gorgeous Killer: In Crimes of Passion and the 2008 album For Your Consideration released by P.SO (formerly P. Casso). Homeboy Sandman collaborated with both Fresh Daily and P.SO for the song "Get On Down," which is featured on Sonic Smash, the album released in 2009 by music producer DJ Spinna.[8] Homeboy Sandman has also laid down tracks for a series of features with RIDES Magazine. The track that Homeboy Sandman created for the Loud.com challenge, "Gun Control," was cited as one of the Top 25 Songs of 2009 by Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg.
On June 1, 2010, Homeboy Sandman released his third album, The Good Sun, which features production from 2 Hungry Bros, Ski Beats, Thievin' Stephen, DJ Spinna, Psycho Les (The Beatnuts) and Core Rhythm, among others. The first single from The Good Sun was "Angels with Dirty Faces," produced by J57. In September 2010, Homeboy Sandman released his first official video for The Good Sun for the track, "The Essence".
In late 2010, Homeboy Sandman was featured as the coach in an episode of MTV's Made, which premiered in October 2010.
In August 2011, Homeboy Sandman signed with Stones Throw Records and released his debut project, Subject: Matter EP, with the California-based record label on January 24, 2012. Homeboy Sandman released his second EP with Stones Throw Records, titled Chimera in April 2012 and on September 18, 2012, released his debut full-length LP with Stones Throw entitled First of a Living Breed. The album featured production from Oddisee, J57, 6th Sense, RTNC and long-time production partners 2 Hungry Bros., along with label mates Jonwayne and Oh No, amongst others.
In 2014, Homeboy Sandman released the EP, White Sands, which was produced by Paul White. Nate Patrin of Pitchfork commented that the producer and rapper had "a mutually beneficial set of styles" in a positive review. In that year, Homeboy Sandman released the album, Hallways.
In the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal, Homeboy Sandman wrote for Gawker an op-ed called "Black People are Cowards," which attracted more than 1.3 million views in the first seven days of its publication.
In 2015, Homeboy Sandman released a collaborative EP with Aesop Rock, titled Lice. In 2016, he released the album, Kindness for Weakness, which included Edan-produced "Talking (Bleep)". In that year, he released a collaborative EP with Aesop Rock, titled Lice Two: Still Buggin'.
In 2019, Homeboy Sandman announced he had signed a new deal with Mello Music Group and released the new single "West Coast" produced by Aesop Rock to celebrate the new label signing.
Homeboy Sandman's first album on Mello Music Group, “Dusty,” was released on October 18, 2019. Production was handled entirely by Mono En Stereo. Dusty garnered positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic writer Paul Simpson praised Mono En Stereo's soundscape of "laid-back, ambling jazz and funk grooves" for complimenting Sandman's "conversational, matter-of-fact rhymes" throughout the album, concluding that "Dusty is another winning set of pointed observations from Sandman, who effortlessly unloads his thoughts without seeming like a burden on the listener."
Homeboy Sandman followed up “Dusty” with his 2020 album “Don’t Feed The Monster” produced by Quelle Chris. “Don’t Feed The Monster” was listed in NPR's top 50 albums of 2020. Homeboy Sandman would later receive a pair of awards for music videos that accompanied the album. He received a UK Music Video award for “Monument” (directed by Pavel Buryak) in 2021 and later won Best Foreign Documentary at Rome Film Awards 2022 for Don’t Look Down Video (directed by Robert Mayer aka Photo Rob).
At the beginning of 2021, Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman released their single “Ask Anyone,” which was featured on FIFA 21 soundtrack. Following the release Homeboy Sandman announced his EP Anjelitu which was produced entirely by Aesop Rock. Released in August 2021, Anjelitu marked Homeboy Sandman's third studio project on Mello Music Group. Okayplayer highlighted Anjelitu as one of the best Hip-Hop projects of 2021. Pete Rock would later give praise to “Go Hard” from Anjelitu. At the end of 2021, Homeboy Sandman garnered unexpected attention after Doja Cat saluted the emcee as “One of my favorite rappers” on Instagram live.
Homeboy Sandman's tenth studio album, There in Spirit, was released on February 25, 2022. That same year, he released the mixtape I Can't Sell These for free on Bandcamp, due in part to an inability to clear the various samples used in the music. Music critic Robert Christgau soon hailed it as "the finest album of one of hip-hop's most prolific careers", giving it an "A" grade.
Homeboy Sandman revitalized his acclaimed Anjelitu EP, by releasing the Anjelitu Deluxe which included two new tracks as well as Aesop Rock's instrumentals from the project. In 2022, Rhymesayers released all three of Homeboy Sandman and Aesop Rock's Lice albums on digital streaming platforms. Homeboy Sandman's Deca-produced eleventh studio album “Still Champion” was released on November 11, 2022, following the pair's 19-stop co-headlining tour. “Still Champion” reached #24 on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts and Riff Magazine included the project in their top 20 Hip-Hop albums of 2022.
Homeboy Sandman collaborated with Oakland-based nonprofit organization Oakstop Alliance on the album “Royalty Summit,” released on December 23, 2022. Royalty Summit is the debut release from Oakstop Alliance’s Oakland Resident music initiative. Homeboy Sandman was planning the west coast run for his There In Spirit Tour when longtime friend and Oakstop Alliance Executive Director Damon Johnson pitched him with the concept. The 12-track album was recorded over 3 days in Oakland as a residency collaboration between Homeboy Sandman, and over 20 Oakland musical artists and professionals. On Christmas Day in 2022, Homeboy Sandman announced the debut full-length release for his label Dirty Looks, titled “12 Days of Christmas & Dia De Los Reyes.” Homeboy Sandman rolled out one song from the project each day until the full album’s release on January 6, 2023.
In August 2023, Homeboy Sandman connected with New York beatmaker Mono En Stereo–whom the emcee collaborated with on past albums Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent and Dusty–for his studio album “Rich” released via Dirty Looks. The album garnered critical attention from Pitchfork, Vibe Magazine, HipHopDX, and more. Homeboy Sandman later released "I Can't Sell These Either" in November 2023, continuing the "I Can't Sell These" mixtape series started in 2022.
Listen
Homeboy Sandman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heavy-hearted, light-headed
I had cold feet, I was hot under the collar
Was eager for my slice of Americana
Picket fence, 2.5 kids, back yard, pitch a tent
I would pitch a tent
, every time I pictured your magnificence
Took a whiff just to sniff your scent
But you haven't asked for my help, when I asked for myself
And your answer was withheld
That was bad for my health
You just had to be held, I just had to rebel, we were just bound to repel
Sick and tired, intertwined for the time, it would tell
Enough toying with my head, I don't know, head to tails
But I know very well, things were going very well, ain't feeling what we felt
I ain't like every man...
Does she love me or she love me not?
I asked the petals from her flower in the flowerpot
But now that flower's shot
I had to cop another flower from the flower spot
Does anybody have a hunch when not to allow too much when you allow a lot?
I want the key, I'm not empowered by the power lock
While seeking insight in a tightened knot
Dont be surprised to find your insides tied in knots
I give you all I got, but is off the crutch? is it all a crook{?}?
Why am I watching clocks?
Why am I hatching plots?
Why would I be so worried about pulling out if I was pulling out all the stops?
Before I met you I was barely wearing matching socks
But now I actually sort them...
We're like day and night
I'm not saying to be in love you have to alike
But how can we be in love not even being like?
You take anything as a slight{?} to think I'm out of line
We're both stars and we're both bright but we are not aligned
I used to think you was out of sight, want to make you mine
Nowadays I want you out of sight and out of mind
So I profess a lot of time in trying to turn the tide
I think that was worth the try
I mean, I thought you were the perfect person on the birth trail
So there's my diatribes
Through these triumph times
I'm down to swallow pride
But I got to follow signs
The lyrics of Homeboy Sandman's song "Listen" speak about the complexities of a romantic relationship. The singer is torn between his desire for a traditional American lifestyle and the pursuit of his romantic interest. He speaks about his eagerness for a picture-perfect life but this desire is not reciprocated by the person he is interested in. He expresses his confusion about his feelings towards her and the situation they are in.
The singer is heavily invested in the relationship but things seem to be falling apart. He appears to have lost his sense of self and is now conflicted between taking control and surrendering himself to the whims of his partner. The song speaks to the confusion and the disappointment that comes with relationships and the complexities of love.
Overall, the song is a personal and introspective account of the poet's experience of navigating a romantic relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Heavy-hearted, light-headed
Feeling both sad and confused
I had cold feet, I was hot under the collar
I was both hesitant and angry
Was eager for my slice of Americana
I wanted the traditional American dream
Picket fence, 2.5 kids, back yard, pitch a tent
I wanted a happy domestic life
I would pitch a tent, every time I pictured your magnificence
I was enamored with you and your beauty
Took a whiff just to sniff your scent
I wanted to smell your fragrance
You was heaven sent but I was hell-bent on helping
I believed you were a gift from God but was determined to assist you no matter what
But you haven't asked for my help, when I asked for myself
I offered to help, but you didn't want it when I needed it
And your answer was withheld
You didn't respond to my question
That was bad for my health
Your lack of response negatively affected me
You just had to be held, I just had to rebel, we were just bound to repel
You wanted someone to comfort you, but I wanted to defy your expectations, which made it impossible for us to connect
Sick and tired, intertwined for the time, it would tell
We were stuck in this unhealthy cycle for too long
Enough toying with my head, I don't know, head to tails
I'm tired of being confused, I can't even make a simple decision
But I know very well, things were going very well, ain't feeling what we felt
Even though things were good, the feeling wasn't mutual
I ain't like every man...
I'm not like most men
Does she love me or she love me not?
I'm unsure if you love me or not
I asked the petals from her flower in the flowerpot
I used a childhood game to try and figure out if you loved me
But now that flower's shot
That game isn't working anymore
I had to cop another flower from the flower spot
I had to try something different
Does anybody have a hunch when not to allow too much when you allow a lot?
Does anyone know when to stop giving too much when they give a lot?
I want the key, I'm not empowered by the power lock
I want the answer to our relationship, not the power to control it
While seeking insight in a tightened knot
I'm searching for answers while feeling stuck
Dont be surprised to find your insides tied in knots
You may feel just as confused and stuck as I do
I give you all I got, but is off the crutch? is it all a crook{?}?
I'm giving you my all, but I'm not sure if it's enough or even genuine
Why am I watching clocks?
I'm obsessed with time, possibly because I feel like I'm running out of it
Why am I hatching plots?
Why am I coming up with schemes and plans?
Why would I be so worried about pulling out if I was pulling out all the stops?
Why would I be so scared to quit if I was putting in all my effort?
Before I met you I was barely wearing matching socks
Before I met you, I was a mess
But now I actually sort them...
You've helped me improve myself, even if our relationship isn't working out
We're like day and night
We're completely different
I'm not saying to be in love you have to alike
You don't have to have everything in common to be in love
But how can we be in love not even being like?
How can we be in love when we have so little in common?
You take anything as a slight{?} to think I'm out of line
You're easily offended and think I'm doing something wrong
We're both stars and we're both bright but we are not aligned
We both have potential, but we're not on the same path
I used to think you was out of sight, want to make you mine
I used to think you were amazing and wanted to be with you
Nowadays I want you out of sight and out of mind
Nowadays, I just want to forget about you
So I profess a lot of time in trying to turn the tide
I spend a lot of time trying to change the situation
I think that was worth the try
Even though it may not have worked, it was worth a shot
I mean, I thought you were the perfect person on the birth trail
I thought you were going to be the one
So there's my diatribes
So there's my long rant
Through these triumph times
Through these difficult times
I'm down to swallow pride
I'm willing to let go of my pride
But I got to follow signs
I have to pay attention to what's happening and adjust accordingly
Contributed by Aubrey O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
misuniversal
this is so weird but relaxing...love it .
Jesse Palmer
Homeboy Sand is the Man, his flow is immaculate , no one else can touch his flow! He's finally getting recognized, just wish people knew good music and I'm not talking bout big sean! Keep throwing them stones yo!
OMz G
This is my favorite song right now
Mobbie
Someone needs to put out an instrumental
realhiphopnation25
this album is underrated
FuNkAdR0
I really like this song, thanks for uploading!
Shontelle Reyna
love this...so dope
FKA rice
Dammmn, way too late on The Good Sun! His most consistent record to date
Aaron Gretzinger
This cat brings it in every way. Bought a flower from the flower spot,...
Lizz Sanchez
Dope song:)