Pyramids

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Oct. 28, 20161 viewer16K views

Pyramids Lyrics

[Verse 1: Common]
A nigga told me only rhyme for 19-year-olds
Nigga, you should rhyme wherever the spirit goes
Here it goes, lyrical miracles
These are pyramids from the imperial
In theory though, low end scenario
And sound boy burial drove me to classic material
Aerial nights blew my mind out of stereotypes
For ethereal heights, I write like Richard
Invisible man, pictured below
With the hieroglyphicable prolifical flow
On the walls where the mystics of Kemet would go
Supreme wisdom in my system is the kick in the door
I don't rhyme for the sake of riddlin' though
This is a ritual for those depicted as low
Now I passed life like I've been here before
The reincarnation of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold
Us Back, coldest raps, for me, the globe is like a culdesac
Around the world in a day, find forever and I stay
I'm from the weather where they spray, there's gotta be a better way
People dying every day, wonder what would heaven say
Devils need to get away
From Chevrolet to Escalade, from evergreen to the everglades
I kneel where the rebels prayed
Seen 50 grey, but they need better shades
Niggas rhymin' like their whole style in retrograde, the escapade I'm on
Is like when the sun, moon and stars was born
It's hard to explain how these pyramids formed

[Hook: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll burn, I'll burn, and I will burn, burn, burn

[Verse 2: Common]
I arrived on the planet, never took the Southside for granted
Smoke a little, keep a high standard
The Roots are my niggas so got a fly band with
Son of the sit-ins, you know who I stand with
Dude said I was a hero, I ain't nothing but a sandwich
A gluten-free one at that, close my eyes see my raps
My bio is feedback from what we need rap
On some Marshawn Lynch, let me run it back
[*sound of tape rewinding*]
And come with that new black spiritual
Every rap's a miracle, condition now critical
Can't lack lyrical, we need black generals
Holy war, tap into you like Savion
But I'm a orator, the corduroy boy
Came the door-to-door name down the corridor of fame
I walk like an Egyptian on a mission to listen to conditions
Envision a vision of what we wishing
I've been commissioned to deprison the prism of your mind
Spit the wisdom of the one divine
Close encounter of the wonder kind, front a line
Shift the paradigm with a pair of rhymes
Styled by Michaela in the suite with Caroline
Getting dressed up under pressure, Alabama Shakes on
Incense rising from the dresser
Child of a fresher God
Influenced by the life of the former, Joanne Chesimard
Assata Shakur, I gotta do more
The light-skinned spook who got in the door
I got in here for the same thing Cassius Clay uses pottery for
I'm on a world tour with Muhammad the prophet, my man
And where we land the pyramids stand

[Hook: Ol' Dirty Bastard (sample)]
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll burn, I'll burn, and I will burn, burn, burn

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What is on the song art and what does it mean?

This is a found photo collage by Lorna Simpson; titled Older Queen, 2016. This piece is part of the same monochrome collage series as the art of “Letter to the Free”.

Over a photo of the bust of Queen Tiye, Simpson lays a wig ad(? the small text reads “Union Carbide’s Modacrylic Fiber”; a material wigs are made of). Tiye was an adviser to her son, Akhenaton; and the grandmother of King Tut. The choice of this bust was intentional on Simpson’s part, as suggested by its title. This may also connect to the song title “Pyramids”.

Unlike other royal ancient Egyptian portraits, hers is made of dark yew wood; suggesting that she had Subsaharan African blood. Her realistic light wrinkles and curvy facial features are also unusual to other Egyptian portraits.

The wig ad suggests the theme in Simpson’s art of cultural identity through hairstyles—like the burning hair of the “Letter to the Free” art, wigs are a result of the wish to conform to one caucasian standard of beauty.

Thus, both of these women are depicted as powerful with a “different” kind of beauty.