Phoenix
Talib Kweli Lyrics

That's right bitches..
Introduction to the mixtape by Dave Chapelle as Rick James, asserting that this is one of the best mixtapes of all time.

It's the beautiful mixtape
Dave Chapelle continues to compliment the mixtape by calling it beautiful.

Look this shit is beautiful, it's one of the best mixtapes
Dave Chapelle again affirms that this mixtape is great and a listener needs to hear it.

You'll ever hear in your life
Dave Chapelle claims this is a once in lifetime opportunity to listen to such an amazing mixtape.

One of the baddes muthafuckin'
Dave Chapelle describes the mixtape as one of the most badass ever.

Funkiest muthafuckin' mixtapes, ever..
Finally, Dave Chapelle proclaims that the mixtape is one of the funkiest of all time.

Yeah
Talib Kweli begins his verse with a simple 'Yeah.'

When I was a young man I had stars in my eyes
Talib Kweli reminisces about his youth when he had high dreams and aspirations for his future.

Time is wrinkled like the hands of the elders that love us
Kweli is making a metaphorical comparison between time and the elderly people who love and care for him.

I find a window to watch the path like ghetto grandmothers
Kweli describes himself as an outsider looking at society and its path forward like many grandmothers in the ghetto.

They says eyes is the windows to ya soul
Kweli refers to the popular phrase that someone's eyes reflect the true nature of their soul.

So I open the blind to feel the breeze blowin' in from the winter chain
He opens the blinds of his soul so that he can let in the cold and bitter reminiscences of hard times, just like how a winter breeze makes one feel.

Surround myself with images of bravery
Kweli surrounds himself with images of valor and bravery to overcome the darkness within.

Cuz the soul of my people bared witness to slavery
Kweli refers to the generations of the slave era who have seen their people's soul directly experiencing slavery.

I seen the inside of my heart it get dark
As he reflects and opens up the blinds of his heart, he sees its darker sides and hidden desires.

Like the flesh of my bone
Kweli links the darkness of the heart to the marrow of one's bones, portraying that it is an integral part of one's being.

And heavy like the breath of this poem
Kweli's burden to bear is depicted to be similar to the dense and almost inhuman weight of each word in every breath of his lyrics.

Plus, I seen lands so dry the trees cry
Kweli's experience of the harshness of the natural world is referred to, with the metaphor of trees that cry on arid lands.

Tears fallin' like it's autumn the leaves die
He describes the fall of the leaves as though tears were falling down because of it.

Pre-packaged futures freeze dried, cross me by
Kweli sees the capitalist system as freezing and packaging the future and then selling it, because it fails to cater to its desires and concerns.

The body count in the streets is knee high
With the phrase 'body count,' he alludes to how many fellow residents of the street are dying, and the sadness that comes with it.

Plus, I seen pubbles so deep the puddles speak
Kweli's deep gaze has noticed parts of the pavement that are so uneven that even the smallest pool of water makes them noticeable.

Ripe with stories that leap from the cluttered street
There is a great deal of history and backstory buried in the commotion of the street, according to Kweli.

Blood'll be beet-red runnin' through the gutters cuz heat
The violence that occurs in the summer heat makes blood seem the same shade as a beet.

The currency that we exchange with folks who tryin' to eat
Financial struggles are a common theme among those trying to make ends meet.

I cried in my sleep, seen trains speedin' down the tracks of my tears
Kweli had such emotional experiences that he literally cried in his sleep, as if he were seeing trains moving down the paths that tears leave behind.

Runnin' down the face of the Earth, c'mon
The tracks are so large that they run from one end of the earth to the other.

I see it in the space that was the place of my birth
Kweli is very self-reflective, and because of it he is aware of how the world is changing around him.

I play eye tag with death - she's such a flirt
Kweli feels like he is in a game with Death, and that she persuades and flirts with him persistently.

That's some scary shit, I put it all in my music
Kweli finds this experience quite frightening, but he chooses to place it all into his music.

Real loud makin' a scene if I seen it I use it, yeah
If he sees something worth noting, Kweli includes it in his track and amplifies it for maximum impact.

Beautiful strugglin' 'n' so I'm used to the bubblin'
Kweli is used to the tension in his life because it is also the most beautiful thing about it.

What I be utterin' so hot it got the homeless people huddlin'
Kweli's lyrics are so profound that even homeless people find comfort in them and huddle around him.

Haters mutterin' under breath, who ain't the best?
Kweli tells his enemies that they complain under their breath because they can't do what he can.

See the scavengers 'n' vultures pickin' at what's left
Other rappers and music industry professionals, as vultures, pick apart the remains of those who failed in their wake.

I rise from the ashes like a phoenix - believe it
Kweli, like a phoenix, will rise from the ashes and reform himself.

Flow brand new like a fetus - believe it
His flow is brand new, like an unborn baby who is fresh and pure.

Mean what I say if I say it, I mean it
Kweli's lyrics have truthful intent, as he implies in this line.

I lived it, I breathed it, believe me, I seen it
Kweli is so confident in his experiences that he wants his fans to believe him completely.

Man I pray ya'll passionate
Jean Grae begins the verse with an appeal to the audience that they are passionate people.

I swing out like a little leaguer on a Sunday ignorin' the Catholics
Grae compares herself to a little leaguer on a Sunday, indicating that she is both carefree and driven at the same time.

Rebel rap with a spine plated metal back
Grae challenges her ideas of rap with a spine of metal in her back.

I never fold medal gold with a vaultin' pole
She never backs down and is concentrated in her endeavor, similar to a pole-vaulter going for Olympic gold.

Niggaare I'm better known as light let me shine on you
She is going to shine her light upon the people and be recognized for who she is.

Mind confident rhyme dominant lines constant
She is confident in her mind that she will create dominant and constant lines in her music.

Caramello color hella mellow
She equates the beautiful Caramel color with a relaxed and smooth aura.

The fellows run up 'n' 'Hello'
When males approach she says there's nothing wrong with giving them a casual 'Hello'.

Hella sorrow when I tell 'em taken 'Holla'
She is taken, which causes sadness for the guys who hit on her.

I got that horrow vision, they say I'm masochistic
She has a clear and foretelling vision, but others may see it as though she takes pleasure from the pain she gets from it.

I don't think it's crazy they call me shady I'm flattered, get it?
Being shady is what makes her comfortable, and she doesn't find it crazy at all.

My image is sick I'm in need of amedic
She recognizes that her image is ill and that she needs help to uncover what is beneath it.

I should get a permanent residence in hospital bed it's
She is comfortable in a hospital bed, and she feels comfortable being there.

The way I freak shit, you meek like that old rapper chick
She identifies as being a different kind of rapper, one who is more comfortable with her creativity.

I smack an actor in a wall 'til his back's in the brick
She views herself as having the confidence to battle and defeat others.

I rig 'em all with the mind basement 'n' trapdoors
She's got a plan to beat other rappers.

It's me I'll clap the survivors until I see some rigormortis
She can confront and beat other rappers until she sees them make no effort to come up back.

I seen the forest through the trees
Grae can see through the chaos to get to the heart of the matter.

But only because I cut off all the leaves
Like pruning branches, she is able to eliminate all the difficulties that prevent her from seeing clearly.

And left 'em blowin' off into the breeze
She left her problems behind and didn't let them weigh her down.

That I create whenever I speak
She believes that she has a personal source of power through her music/art that energizes her.

I'm cheap fuck it, I need to win something
She is impoverished and in need of something.

Before I kick this rap bucket in
She wants to do all she can before retiring from rap.

Fuck it again, fuck you if this hasn't struck you
She gives another chance to people before hating on them.

As a genius stickin' out like a bucktooth
She is inferring that she is special because she is a genius, and like a bucktooth sticking out, she is unique.

I'm couth, yes I know it mostly regarded as pottymouth
She acknowledges that she can be vulgar.

Dirty like the city ground you on when the shotties come out
She adds to her vulgarity by describing how dirty a city gets when a gun is fired.

I'm witty plust I'm incredibly diligent
She prides herself on being quick-witted and hard-working.

Dream of the president mac-millied I'm militant
She dreams of becoming a leading rapper who respects the president, but who is also dedicated to her craft.

I go along like a Philly bed I pity you
She walks along like a bridge in Philadelphia, amusing people and making them laugh.

Silly fool I know ain't nobody really feelin' you
She dismisses other rappers as unworthy attention-seekers.

(*Gunshots*)
The song concludes with sound effects of gunshots.