Colors of the Rainbow
When Lonnie Liston Smith made the transition from sideman to leader in 1973… Read Full Bio ↴When Lonnie Liston Smith made the transition from sideman to leader in 1973, it was the beginning of a fusion/crossover/post-bop band he dubbed Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes. The acoustic pianist/electric keyboardist, who was born in Richmond, VA, on December 28, 1940, should not be confused with soul-jazz/hard bop organist Lonnie Smith. This Smith would have had an impressive resumé even if he had never formed a band of his own. In the '60s or early '70s, he had been a sidemen for, among others, Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gato Barbieri, singer Betty Carter, and trumpeter Miles Davis. In fact, Smith was still in Davis' employ when he signed with producer Bob Thiele's RCA-distributed Flying Dutchman label and recorded his first album as a leader, Astral Traveling (which Thiele produced). Nonetheless, the Cosmic Echoes were a major step forward for Smith -- the improviser had a lot more time to devote to his own compositions and he was free to concentrate on a very spiritual type of fusion that had a variety of influences. The post-bop of model explorers like Coltrane, Sanders, Kirk, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner, and Charles Lloyd was a heavy influence on Smith's composing since all of those artists shared the Cosmic Echoes' spiritual concerns. But the Cosmic Echoes were hardly jazz purists. Their instrumental fusion combined those post-bop influences with funk, pop, and rock, and some of their best-known vocal numbers (which include 1979's "Space Princess" and 1983's "Never Too Late") were outright R&B. It was on April 24, 1973, that Smith recorded Astral Traveling and led his first Cosmic Echoes lineup, which included George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), Cecil McBee (bass), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Astral Traveling was entirely instrumental, but it wasn't long before Smith added a vocalist to the Cosmic Echoes: his brother Donald Smith. Although Donald Smith had helped his brother put together the Cosmic Echoes' first lineup, he isn't actually employed on Astral Traveling -- 1974's Thiele-produced Cosmic Funk was the first Cosmic Echoes album that featured him on vocals. From 1974 on, the Cosmic Echoes' albums were typically about 80 percent instrumental, but included a few vocal offerings. Subsequent Cosmic Echoes projects included 1975's Expansions, 1975's Visions of a New World, 1976's Reflections of a Golden Dream, and 1977's Renaissance, all of which were on either Flying Dutchman or RCA proper. Along the way, the Cosmic Echoes had more than their share of personnel changes. When the group recorded a live album for RCA in 1977, the lineup included Smith on piano and keyboards, his brother Donald on vocals, Dave Hubbard on tenor and soprano sax, Al Anderson on electric bass, Ronald Miller on electric guitar, and Hollywood Barker on drums -- a lineup that, except for Lonnie Liston Smith himself, is totally different from the Cosmic Echoes lineup heard on 1973's Astral Traveling. It was in 1978 that Smith and his Cosmic Echoes left RCA and moved to Columbia to record Loveland, which was a respectable seller (at least by jazz standards) and fared well among fusion, crossover, and quiet storm fans. Smith's next Columbia album, Exotic Mysteries, gave us the single, "Space Princess," which featured Donald on lead vocals and became a minor hit. Although Exotic Mysteries was primarily an instrumental fusion album, "Space Princess" wasn't jazz at all -- the tune is funk-disco but still has that mystic Cosmic Echoes vibe. Some people felt that when Smith and his Cosmic Echoes were recording for Columbia in the late '70s and early '80s, they became too slick and commercial -- nonetheless, the group still had integrity and was still enjoyable and interesting during its Columbia period. Donald Smith temporarily left the Cosmic Echoes after Exotic Mysteries and on 1979's Song for the Children, he was replaced by singer James "Crabbe" Robinson (who is also employed on 1980s Love Is the Answer). And Robinson wasn't the only person who passed through the Cosmic Echoes in the late '70s or early '80s. Others who came on board during Smith's Columbia period included guitarist Abdul Wali, bassist Pee Wee Ford, drummer Lino Reyes, and percussionist Lawrence Killian -- like Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes could be a revolving door. Donald Smith ended up returning to the fold in the early '80s, which is also when the Cosmic Echoes were reunited with Thiele (who signed Smith to his new Doctor Jazz label). One of songs that Smith's Cosmic Echoes recorded for Doctor Jazz was the urban/quiet storm vocal number "Never Too Late," which was released as a single and became a minor hit. In the mid-'80s, the Cosmic Echoes unofficially called it quits and Smith moved on to other things. But the pianist/keyboardist (who turned 60 in 2000) returned to a Cosmic Echoes-minded approach in 1998, when he was reunited with his brother Donald and featured him on the album Transformation (which came out on Smith's own label Loveland Records). In 2002, Sony's reissue-oriented Legacy Recordings looked back on the Cosmic Echoes' late '70s and early '80s output with a two-CD retrospective titled Explorations: The Columbia Years.

Colors of the Rainbow
Lonnie Liston Smith Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I just want the money
I never met a bitch that I need
All I see is colors, blowing green

One thing I never seen was a bitch I need
All I need is money what the fuck you think
Tryna sip away my problems with promethazine
I'm tryna make a way it's harder than it seems
I'm tryna stay low-key fuck tryna make a scene
No time for a bitch she either stay or leave
It one thing I never seen is a bitch I need
Cause all I see is colors nigga blowing green

Fuck a bitch, get some money
I want them 20s and 100s
Run up a check and keep thumbing
I love to hate don't accumulate nothing
Turn nothing into something
Staying consistent, the money keep coming
I done been broke, and I ain't going back
So I'm chasing money from Monday to Sunday
Lil bitch say I need her
Hoe I'm here to please you
Fuck you thought lil bitch
I'm chasing after monifa
My bitch got you tripping
Told that bitch I'm bout to leave her
Pour up some muddy, blow my mind on exotic rifa
I'm tryna get it my nigga
I'm in them trenches lil nigga, that's like everyday
I move that micha lil nigga
Take your hoe on adventure, if she give me faith
You niggas pretending lil nigga
I'm seeing blue hunnids and that's why I flash in they face
I fit attention lil nigga
If you want problems, then I pull up right where you lay

One thing I never seen was a bitch I need
All I need is money what the fuck you think
Tryna sip away my problems with promethazine
I'm tryna make a way it's harder than it seems
I'm tryna stay low-key fuck tryna make a scene
No time for a bitch she either stay or leave
It one thing I never seen is a bitch I need
Cause all I see is colors nigga blowing green

Watching for a bitch, she either stay or leave
Either way it go I know I will achieve
It's no way around it you can't miss could see
Get the money, keep it coming gotta stay low-key
I had to grind just to get it
Yeah I really did it
I motivate myself
Bitch I'm self driven
Too much money in this world ain't no competition
This shit I'm doing now make everybody pay attention
No colors did it

One thing I never seen was a bitch I need
All I need is money what the fuck you think
Tryna sip away my problems with promethazine
I'm tryna make a way it's harder than it seems
I'm tryna stay low-key fuck tryna make a scene
No time for a bitch she either stay or leave




It one thing I never seen is a bitch I need
Cause all I see is colors nigga blowing green

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Lonnie Liston Smith's song “Colors of the Rainbow” sung by rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again describes his insatiable desire for wealth and the lack of interest in relationships. He says that he hasn't met any girl whom he needs and he only cares about earning money. The term "colors" could be attributed to the various colors of money. The next few sentences describe his disdain for the opposite sex and how he hasn't come across a woman he feels necessary to be with. He drinks promethazine to forget his problems while he tries to make a way to success. His dedication to making it big is evident from the way he wants to stay low-key and not make a scene to distract him from his goals. He has no time for relationships, and the only thing that keeps him motivated is the lure of money.


The song depicts the struggles of a young man who wants to succeed as he views money as the answer to all his problems. He doesn't care about societal norms and disregards women. He is solely focused on gaining money and reaching new heights, thus making a reference to the struggle to make it big in life. The song highlights the fact that YoungBoy Never Broke again has no qualms about being vocal about his materialistic tendencies and his dedication towards earning money. At the same time, the lyrics make him vulnerable as he expresses his struggles and tries to connect with his listeners, who may share similar dreams and desires.


Line by Line Meaning

I just want the money
Money is the only thing I desire


I never met a bitch that I need
I do not need or depend on any partner


All I see is colors, blowing green
All I care about is money, represented by the color green


One thing I never seen was a bitch I need
I have never come across a woman who I feel I cannot live without


All I need is money what the fuck you think
I can achieve everything I want with money, don't you think so too?


Tryna sip away my problems with promethazine
I'm trying to escape my troubles by drinking cough syrup with codeine


I'm tryna make a way it's harder than it seems
I'm trying to make a living and it's tougher than it appears


I'm tryna stay low-key fuck tryna make a scene
I'm trying to avoid attention and not attract unnecessary drama


No time for a bitch she either stay or leave
I don't have time for a woman who can't make up her mind


It one thing I never seen is a bitch I need
I have never come across a woman who I feel I cannot live without


Cause all I see is colors nigga blowing green
All I care about is money, represented by the color green




Writer(s): Lonnie Liston Smith

Contributed by Ellie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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