‘Even though I’d write long into the night,
Recite each track until became tight,
I was scared of a mic, ill prepared for a mic,
Felt flawed, fraud hiding in plain sight,
Kept rhymes to myself, sat on the shelf,
Never really had enough belief in myself,
To put into practice for what I pined,
An outlet to pen, express what’s on my mind,
Transcend my mundane daily grind,
In a bind, never thought my kind are signed,
I’d be ridiculed, my objection overruled,
After all schooled at an all boys grammar school,
Never sold crack in the high rise flats,
Packed a gat, hung with cats in rough and tough habitats,
Never seen a gun, lost a loved one,
Had anyone try to snatch up my Samsung,
Asif that makes me cool and sounds like fun,
Regardless rap stars seemed to me Martians,
Life must be perilous, brought up penniless,
Makes one’s rise, more astonishing, glamourous,
Notion needing abolishing, scandalous,
Nonsense, who wants a death on your conscience?
Pen pals only means of correspondence,
Most of these supposed career criminals,
Were clean cut upstanding individuals?
Never smoked hash, switched cash for principles,
Bland lives spiced up by their grand lies,
Fictional figures oversized to be idolized,
Though I must stress, some are legit,
Spit from the heart, that life they’ve lived it,
But read some books, you’ll see most weren’t crooks,
Dramatically changed outlooks for chequebooks,
I just wanna share my plight through insight,
And do so, while you know it’s not all tripe,
Don’t get me wrong, from no monastery,
Don’t like my views, fuck you, admonish me,
Don’t like fake news, Donald, honestly,
Only speak truth I can back up with proof,
Aggrieved and disbelieve hire a sleuth,
For me rap’s a vessel to test your metal,
Pen down thoughts upon which you wrestle,
Break them down with a mortar and pestle,
Relieve the pressure of blood in my vessels,
Feel reprieve, fresher, in finer fettle,
So far ahead I’ve no score to settle,
Not even yet pressed pedal to metal,
If you wanna bitch you can live in my kennel,
Found tranquillity through my ability,
Therapeutic hearing rhymes set to music,
Hence as a consequence will not abuse it,
It’s got me through dark nights till dawn,
Wracked with unrest, depressed, down, forlorn,
Set me free, truly my remedy,
Let me feel content, repel jealousy,
Futile pursuit and won’t be my legacy,
Unconcerned about you think of me,
More discerned now I don’t have a drink in me,
More into clemency, than any felony,
Life longevity not the death penalty,
Real bad men have no need for weaponry,
No longer listening to what you’re telling me,
No longer buying that shit that you’re selling me,
Ignoring folk outgrown that keep bellin me,
Out on my own transfixed by the melody,
Fused to this mic, which once was my enemy,
Realised to my surprise it’s a friend to me,
Tellingly, letting me find my identity,
Propelling me and improving progressively,
I could keep smashing this beat until seventy,
But beats nearly done so must save my energy,
Chill in the sun till night like Beverly.’
Raconteur is an independent Hip Hop artist from London who’s now being played regularly across many US radio stations, most
recently featuring twice on ChuckD’s radio show ‘AndYouDontStop’. He’s also been featured in various music magazines and blogs being touted as ‘An extraordinary artist ready to explode onto the scene.’...more
Soulful and funky, the Nottingham rapper's latest features guest appearances from CRIMEAPPLE, Vandal Savage and Yumah. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2024
