Way Back
Tanya Stephens Lyrics

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to invite you on a journey
I want to take you on a trip through time

I sincerely hope you are in a mood to travel right now
I hope you're ready to go on this journey with me

'Cause we’re going back in time
We're traveling to the past

Are you ready?
Are you prepared?

I wanna take you way back
I want to take you far into the past

To when a girl on a mike’s worth wasn’t determined by the length of her skirt
In the past, a female rapper's worth was based on their talent, not their appearance

I mean way back to creativity before MTV, before BET
I'm referring to a time before music television channels influenced music culture

I mean way back before recycling shit
I'm talking about a time before artists reused and reproduced old music material

When the props that you got was for your writing and shit
Back then, an artist's success was based on their songwriting ability

Let's rewind before the hype when you used to be low key
I'm talking about a time before the music industry became so commercialized and competitive

To be a singer you had to actually know key
In the past, being able to sing in key was a requirement for a singer

I mean way back to before people made a job
I'm referring to a time when being a musician was not seen as a lucrative profession

Of seeing who's best at impersonating Bob
Back then, artists were not judged by their ability to sound like other popular singers (such as Bob Marley)

I mean way back to when you sweat blood on every line
I'm talking about a time when artists put a lot of effort and emotion into their music

To get one good song didn’t cost sixteen ninety nine
Back then, buying one good song didn't cost a lot of money

To be considered deep you had to actually say stuff
In the past, being considered a deep artist required having meaningful lyrics

And if it wasn’t good, disc jockeys didn’t play stuff
If an artist's music wasn't good, it wasn't played on the radio

I mean way way, Marvin Gaye way back and I pray that you will
I'm referring to a time when artists like Marvin Gaye were popular and influential

Come with me, let us journey past this melody
Let's go on this journey to discover the past beyond the current music industry

Give us room to exercise our minds
Let's allow ourselves to think deeply and explore new ideas

Take me to another place, another time, better hooks, better rhymes
I want to go back to a time when music had more creative hooks and better rhymes

Stronger lyrics every line, you could even press rewind
Back then, songs had stronger lyrics and you could listen to them multiple times without getting bored

Well, it’s ironic that the chronic that I smoke
It's funny that the marijuana I smoke inspires me to make music

Got me singing shit that's bionic every note
It's making me create amazing music with every note I sing

That it’s affecting my judgment is what some people would hope
Some people might hope that smoking weed is negatively affecting my creativity

But I'm not tripping, I'm on a journey, come along now let's float
But I'm not worried, I'm enjoying this journey and I want you to join me

I used to be excited going to the record store
In the past, going to the record store was exciting for me

But these days I stay pacing the floor
Nowadays, I'm not as excited about going to the record store, I just pace the floor

Somebody please take me back to when the artistes were poor
I wish I could go back to a time when artists made music simply for the love of it, without being motivated by money

’Cause when they made less they gave us so much more
Back then, although artists made less money, they put a lot more effort and creativity into their music

let's take it back to a ballroom, cloudy microphone
Let's go back to a time of live music performances

Smokey Robinson, Nina Simone
Let's remember artists like Smokey Robinson and Nina Simone

James Brown was still occupying the throne
James Brown was still the king of soul music

When the songs weren’t sold off videos alone
In the past, songs were not sold based solely on their music videos

Way back to when a star attitude wasn’t defined
I want to go back to a time when an artist's success was not based on their arrogant attitude

By somebody being rude
An artist's success should not be determined by their rudeness

To when it was a pleasure definitely not a task
In the past, it was a pleasure, not a burden, to be an artist

To greet a fan with a smile and sign a damn autograph
Artists in the past were grateful to meet their fans, and would sign autographs with a smile

I mean way back to before you used to drive the Maybach
In the past, artists weren't as concerned with luxury and extravagant lifestyles

You dreamt about a mil but never made that
Artists in the past dreamed of making a million dollars, but few actually achieved that level of success

When you made some shit that we could play back
Back then, artists made music that listeners could enjoy and listen to repeatedly

I mean way back to a whole ‘nother time
I'm talking about a completely different era of music

Further back than your granddad’s hairline
Even further back than your granddad's youth

And it came to pass in the glorious days of charts
Referring to the era of 'chart-toppers'

That the music hailed and we danced to it
People enjoyed and danced to the popular music of the time

And threw a party but in our hearts we knew the musicians failed
People might have enjoyed the popular music, but they also knew that some musicians lacked talent

And then came along brothers, Napster and Aimster
The creation of music sharing platforms like Napster and Aimster changed the music industry

And though they were definitely wrong I think it’s worse
Although music sharing platforms were illegal, the current state of the industry might be worse

To be forced to buy a whole bullshit album
Nowadays, listeners are often forced to buy entire albums even if they only like one song

Just to get that one good song, can I get an Amen
Can I get some agreement that it’s unfair to force listeners to buy entire albums?