One Be Lo, The Future: We need your help!
-
I can comment on it
-
I know the meaning
-
I can review it
-
I can translate it
OneBeLo has performed around the world as a solo artist and a member of the legendary rap duo Binary Star, but his travels throughout different mindsets and communities have made even more of an impact. Throughout his life, Lo has also assumed the roles of star athlete, convicted felon, Christian, Muslim, and Egyptian resident—and all of these things are reflected in his music.
“When I talk about religion, sports, winning, losing, struggle, pain Read Full BioOneBeLo has performed around the world as a solo artist and a member of the legendary rap duo Binary Star, but his travels throughout different mindsets and communities have made even more of an impact. Throughout his life, Lo has also assumed the roles of star athlete, convicted felon, Christian, Muslim, and Egyptian resident—and all of these things are reflected in his music.
“When I talk about religion, sports, winning, losing, struggle, pain, prison, poverty, crime, women—these are the ingredients of OneBeLo, because those are my personalexperiences,” he explains. “I've been a straight-A student, I've been a knucklehead, I've been a heathen, I've been a Christian, I've been a Muslim, I've been a criminal, I've been in the belly of the beast, I've been to the Mecca, I've been to Europe. I've been to the top, I've been to the bottom. I'm talking about everything.”
Lo was adopted in Pontiac, Michigan, where his mother worked as a beautician and his stepfather worked at a plant. As a result, he developed appreciation for women, fashion, working with a variety of different people, discipline, and forgiveness. He busied himself with over a dozen different activities and attended church several times a week with his family. Life changed once his parents divorced when he was 14 years old. With lower supervision and more exposure to new things, he ran the streets with older kids until he went to prison days after his 18th birthday.
While in prison, OneBeLo read extensively and converted to Islam, after seeing it wasn't what he was told it was as a Christian child. He also formed the rap group Binary Star with his partner-in-crime Senim Silla. Despite domestic violence, murder and other drama out of his control happening back home, Lo handled his sentence without losing himself.
“When I went to prison, Allah gave me two and half years to get away from all that weed, all that pussy, and all those distractions,” Lo remembers. “I wasn't going to be like the cats in prison that come back when they're 35 years old. … I was behind bars, but I realized that the people in the streets were the ones locked up. My mind was free.”
Upon Lo’s release, Binary Star hit the ground running. On their self-released debut Waterworld, they teamed up with future staples like Elzhi, J.U.I.C.E., and Athletic Mic League to exercise creative concepts and deliver substantial messages. Lo formed a production team with Decompoze, who he had recorded with in high school. Binary Star quickly sold out of their initial 1,000 copies as the album was praised as an “instant classic.” Though Lo had intended to rhyme anonymously as a solo act to revert attention to the music, he was often addressed as OneManArmy because of a line he used in a song. He and Senim Silla would later go their separate ways, and Lo compiled his Subterraneous Records crew—which consisted of Malaki The Most High, Decompoze, Kodac, Magestik Legend, DJ Phrikshun and iLLite—in January 2000.
Lo added extra Senim Silla verses and new songs to a Waterworld re-release entitled Masters of the Universe, and continued to focus on touring with Subterraneous and recording several albums’ worth of new music. After showcasing his crew with Waterworld Too, he released Project F.E.T.U.S. as a planned prequel to his debut. The disc sold thousands of copies, and he would later complete his next project, S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.. He approached Fat Beats Records to press a single to help promote the album, and they gave him a different offer.
“They asked me to send them the song I was thinking about using for the single, and I was like, 'If they're doing the 12-inch, I'll let them pick the song.' So I just sent them the whole album,” Lo remembers. “They hit me back like, 'We don't want to do a 12-inch. We want to do the whole album.”
Lo signed with Fat Beats for distribution in 2003, and the label asked him to change his name from OneManArmy to avoid legal troubles with a similarly-named punk band. He changed his name to OneBeLo, since he had used that with F.E.T.U.S. He would later go to Saudi Arabia on Mecca, an Islamic tradition to find one's self. Meanwhile, Fat Beats pushed back S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. until 2005. The album was critically-acclaimed and sold about 12,000 copies within Lo's first few weeks on tour. Shortly afterward he would prepare S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N., a 27-track compilation of Lo's released and unreleased guest appearances over original new beats. With two projects in tow, Lo landed tours and major festivals, rocking 160 shows per year between 2005 and 2007.
Continuing his journey to chase the greater good, Lo moved his family to Egypt to expose them to a non-American perspective. Once he saw personnel changes at Fat Beats when he arrived back years later, he worked his way out of his deal and self-released The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.. Eager to collaborate with producers and use a different sound, Lo collaborated with beatmakers like Lab Techs, Jake One, Memo of the Molemen, and others. The album performed well, but Lo again wanted to change his approach. Rather than use his previous method of recording as many songs as possible and compiling what he thought were the best songs, he decided to sit down and focus on one piece of work.
That piece was entitled B.A.B.Y. (Being A Black Youth). Much of the album, which features the likes of Freeway, Phonte Coleman, Devin the Dude and others, was lost when thieves broke in and stole studio equipment. Additionally, the label he had signed with, MYX Music Label, dissolved before the record could drop. Lo stashed his latest sessions and began to work on his upcoming album, L.A.B.O.R. from scratch. The new project takes metaphorical inspiration from animals and occupations, jumpstarts a new Waterworld movement with the LABORhood, and lays the foundation to a crop of other conceptual records.
“With this project, I’m staying busy and developing my ideas. I’m going through the pains of L.A.B.O.R. before delivering this B.A.B.Y.,” Lo says. “Don’t let anyone stop you from creating your art.”
Despite L.A.B.O.R. being his fifth solo release, Lo is just getting started. With a continuous repertoire of new travels, new experiences and world events, OneBeLo will always have the music to reflect it.
“When I talk about religion, sports, winning, losing, struggle, pain Read Full BioOneBeLo has performed around the world as a solo artist and a member of the legendary rap duo Binary Star, but his travels throughout different mindsets and communities have made even more of an impact. Throughout his life, Lo has also assumed the roles of star athlete, convicted felon, Christian, Muslim, and Egyptian resident—and all of these things are reflected in his music.
“When I talk about religion, sports, winning, losing, struggle, pain, prison, poverty, crime, women—these are the ingredients of OneBeLo, because those are my personalexperiences,” he explains. “I've been a straight-A student, I've been a knucklehead, I've been a heathen, I've been a Christian, I've been a Muslim, I've been a criminal, I've been in the belly of the beast, I've been to the Mecca, I've been to Europe. I've been to the top, I've been to the bottom. I'm talking about everything.”
Lo was adopted in Pontiac, Michigan, where his mother worked as a beautician and his stepfather worked at a plant. As a result, he developed appreciation for women, fashion, working with a variety of different people, discipline, and forgiveness. He busied himself with over a dozen different activities and attended church several times a week with his family. Life changed once his parents divorced when he was 14 years old. With lower supervision and more exposure to new things, he ran the streets with older kids until he went to prison days after his 18th birthday.
While in prison, OneBeLo read extensively and converted to Islam, after seeing it wasn't what he was told it was as a Christian child. He also formed the rap group Binary Star with his partner-in-crime Senim Silla. Despite domestic violence, murder and other drama out of his control happening back home, Lo handled his sentence without losing himself.
“When I went to prison, Allah gave me two and half years to get away from all that weed, all that pussy, and all those distractions,” Lo remembers. “I wasn't going to be like the cats in prison that come back when they're 35 years old. … I was behind bars, but I realized that the people in the streets were the ones locked up. My mind was free.”
Upon Lo’s release, Binary Star hit the ground running. On their self-released debut Waterworld, they teamed up with future staples like Elzhi, J.U.I.C.E., and Athletic Mic League to exercise creative concepts and deliver substantial messages. Lo formed a production team with Decompoze, who he had recorded with in high school. Binary Star quickly sold out of their initial 1,000 copies as the album was praised as an “instant classic.” Though Lo had intended to rhyme anonymously as a solo act to revert attention to the music, he was often addressed as OneManArmy because of a line he used in a song. He and Senim Silla would later go their separate ways, and Lo compiled his Subterraneous Records crew—which consisted of Malaki The Most High, Decompoze, Kodac, Magestik Legend, DJ Phrikshun and iLLite—in January 2000.
Lo added extra Senim Silla verses and new songs to a Waterworld re-release entitled Masters of the Universe, and continued to focus on touring with Subterraneous and recording several albums’ worth of new music. After showcasing his crew with Waterworld Too, he released Project F.E.T.U.S. as a planned prequel to his debut. The disc sold thousands of copies, and he would later complete his next project, S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.. He approached Fat Beats Records to press a single to help promote the album, and they gave him a different offer.
“They asked me to send them the song I was thinking about using for the single, and I was like, 'If they're doing the 12-inch, I'll let them pick the song.' So I just sent them the whole album,” Lo remembers. “They hit me back like, 'We don't want to do a 12-inch. We want to do the whole album.”
Lo signed with Fat Beats for distribution in 2003, and the label asked him to change his name from OneManArmy to avoid legal troubles with a similarly-named punk band. He changed his name to OneBeLo, since he had used that with F.E.T.U.S. He would later go to Saudi Arabia on Mecca, an Islamic tradition to find one's self. Meanwhile, Fat Beats pushed back S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. until 2005. The album was critically-acclaimed and sold about 12,000 copies within Lo's first few weeks on tour. Shortly afterward he would prepare S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N., a 27-track compilation of Lo's released and unreleased guest appearances over original new beats. With two projects in tow, Lo landed tours and major festivals, rocking 160 shows per year between 2005 and 2007.
Continuing his journey to chase the greater good, Lo moved his family to Egypt to expose them to a non-American perspective. Once he saw personnel changes at Fat Beats when he arrived back years later, he worked his way out of his deal and self-released The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.. Eager to collaborate with producers and use a different sound, Lo collaborated with beatmakers like Lab Techs, Jake One, Memo of the Molemen, and others. The album performed well, but Lo again wanted to change his approach. Rather than use his previous method of recording as many songs as possible and compiling what he thought were the best songs, he decided to sit down and focus on one piece of work.
That piece was entitled B.A.B.Y. (Being A Black Youth). Much of the album, which features the likes of Freeway, Phonte Coleman, Devin the Dude and others, was lost when thieves broke in and stole studio equipment. Additionally, the label he had signed with, MYX Music Label, dissolved before the record could drop. Lo stashed his latest sessions and began to work on his upcoming album, L.A.B.O.R. from scratch. The new project takes metaphorical inspiration from animals and occupations, jumpstarts a new Waterworld movement with the LABORhood, and lays the foundation to a crop of other conceptual records.
“With this project, I’m staying busy and developing my ideas. I’m going through the pains of L.A.B.O.R. before delivering this B.A.B.Y.,” Lo says. “Don’t let anyone stop you from creating your art.”
Despite L.A.B.O.R. being his fifth solo release, Lo is just getting started. With a continuous repertoire of new travels, new experiences and world events, OneBeLo will always have the music to reflect it.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
The Future
by One Be Lo
[Female] What are you thinkin about right now?
[Verse 1 - OneBeLo]
Right now? {*echoes*}
The past, specifically the days I remember
In mind, body, soul I was far from a winner
Poor sinner, my fork in a pork dinner
Drugs, sex, alcohol; Lo is not a quitter nor a forfeiter
A vagabond, talkin back to moms, sold dope out her home
Stole everything I owned -- told lies
Ignored the old wise, glitter caught my cold eyes
Didn't really know why, truth is where the gold lies
What was present then, past now
Had me thinkin that's how life was 'sposed to be for every black child
Strange words, same feathers flock together
When the cops together, lock together, better off a caged bird
Sight closed minded; Lo find it hard to believe
I could lead by example I was so blinded
See every action has a consequence but then
I didn't beware or prepare or really care
[Chorus]
If I thought about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
Let's think about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised
[female] Everyday is just an extension of yesterday
[Verse 2 - OneBeLo]
Now in the present day, I'm blessed to say let the record play
Usin my music as a movement to correct mistakes
Knowin my death awaits, I hesitate to question fate
Boys and girls, this world is nothin but a test of faith
So now I'm plannin every step I take, must be a better way
Deeply meditate on these ahead I pray
Seek to elevate bein lead astray, flee the devil's face
Evil separates, reach the heaven gates (gates)
Easier said is the known rebuttal
The mind is willin but the flesh is weak, peace/piece form a puzzle
Jihad means the struggle, so I sacrifice
Satisfy today's seed could be a garden in the afterlife (afterlife)
[Chorus]
Think about it (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
Let's think about it (the future), let's talk about it (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
Only God knows (the future), only God knows (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
[Interlude - OneBeLo]
Not the gypsies, not the crystal balls
Not the fortune tellers, not the horoscopes
Not the Chinese cookies, you know them joints that you be crackin open?
Not Nostradamus, he don't know the future neither, y'knahmsayin?
Not the palm readers, not the psychics, not those tarot cards
Not astrology, y'knahmsayin? Stick to the program (yo)
Check this out.
[Verse 3 - OneBeLo]
I heard the future was impressin when you doin some investin
Allah multiply 10 times one of your blessings
Qu'ran full of wisdom, it answer thousands of questions
Muhammad soon to show us the way, follow directions
Life humble essence, wife operation stomach section
Now I witness somethin precious, baby boy young and restless
So many fathers exit, don't bother, this one is present
Even under pressure, family's a treasure - follow my lead
Now as I look into your innocent eyes, full of potential
So much I wanna say that I can't put it in pencil
Or verse, just remember what I caught at your birth
A voice sure could show the world good works (good works)
[Chorus]
Let''s think about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
(The future, the future, the future, the future)
(The future, the future, the futurrrrrrrre)
[female] And he's only thinking about the children
Contributed by Lucy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
by One Be Lo
[Female] What are you thinkin about right now?
[Verse 1 - OneBeLo]
Right now? {*echoes*}
The past, specifically the days I remember
In mind, body, soul I was far from a winner
Poor sinner, my fork in a pork dinner
Drugs, sex, alcohol; Lo is not a quitter nor a forfeiter
A vagabond, talkin back to moms, sold dope out her home
Stole everything I owned -- told lies
Ignored the old wise, glitter caught my cold eyes
Didn't really know why, truth is where the gold lies
What was present then, past now
Had me thinkin that's how life was 'sposed to be for every black child
Strange words, same feathers flock together
When the cops together, lock together, better off a caged bird
Sight closed minded; Lo find it hard to believe
I could lead by example I was so blinded
See every action has a consequence but then
I didn't beware or prepare or really care
[Chorus]
If I thought about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
Let's think about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised
[female] Everyday is just an extension of yesterday
[Verse 2 - OneBeLo]
Now in the present day, I'm blessed to say let the record play
Usin my music as a movement to correct mistakes
Knowin my death awaits, I hesitate to question fate
Boys and girls, this world is nothin but a test of faith
So now I'm plannin every step I take, must be a better way
Deeply meditate on these ahead I pray
Seek to elevate bein lead astray, flee the devil's face
Evil separates, reach the heaven gates (gates)
Easier said is the known rebuttal
The mind is willin but the flesh is weak, peace/piece form a puzzle
Jihad means the struggle, so I sacrifice
Satisfy today's seed could be a garden in the afterlife (afterlife)
[Chorus]
Think about it (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
Let's think about it (the future), let's talk about it (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
Only God knows (the future), only God knows (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
[Interlude - OneBeLo]
Not the gypsies, not the crystal balls
Not the fortune tellers, not the horoscopes
Not the Chinese cookies, you know them joints that you be crackin open?
Not Nostradamus, he don't know the future neither, y'knahmsayin?
Not the palm readers, not the psychics, not those tarot cards
Not astrology, y'knahmsayin? Stick to the program (yo)
Check this out.
[Verse 3 - OneBeLo]
I heard the future was impressin when you doin some investin
Allah multiply 10 times one of your blessings
Qu'ran full of wisdom, it answer thousands of questions
Muhammad soon to show us the way, follow directions
Life humble essence, wife operation stomach section
Now I witness somethin precious, baby boy young and restless
So many fathers exit, don't bother, this one is present
Even under pressure, family's a treasure - follow my lead
Now as I look into your innocent eyes, full of potential
So much I wanna say that I can't put it in pencil
Or verse, just remember what I caught at your birth
A voice sure could show the world good works (good works)
[Chorus]
Let''s think about (the future), let's talk about (the future)
The children are (the future), who's ready for (the future)
What happens in (the future), we not promised (the future)
Only God knows (the future), the future (the future)
(The future, the future, the future, the future)
(The future, the future, the futurrrrrrrre)
[female] And he's only thinking about the children
Contributed by Lucy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
SIGN UP
-or-