The Trilogy

Pt 1

It begins on a hazy June night/ while playin' hustle under street lights/ 
break for Gatorade; radio gets played/ our subject's hit by the track and 
hyped/ the beat don't move his feet/ but his mind spins with vocabulary/ Tre 
eyes up this cat as an advisary/ although this kid jus' playin' and rhymin' 
barely/ Tre starts to let loose a quick freestyle/ the night an emcee was 
born/ now his conciousness is swarmed/ with dreams to perform/ he starts 
takin' his sh*t serious/ writin' till he can't move his wrist/ seeks 
feedback of daps or diss/ and then reworks where his sh*t missed/ weeks go 
on he's doin' clubs/ city-wide he builds a buzz/ passes out homemade demos 
to his peeps/ and their boys demandin' dubs/ soon a tape hits a producers 
ear/ calls Tre up with intentions clear/ he's workin' on a local 
compilation/ and hopin' for his participation/ he jumps at the proposition/ 
and earns himself a position/ onto the phat tape with the great/ rhyme he 
kicked at the audition/ after intermission on track 6/ is where he fit into 
the mix/ and when the album gets released/ his local love starts to 
increase/ and now he's gettin' radio station play/ and he starts with this 
producer right away/ to make a professional demo Tre/ can shop to big labels 
that will pay/ after months of shippin' out his tape/ responses start to 
accumulate/ label wants him for their newest act/ so he signs the contract

Pt 2

so now he's dotted line obligated/ to have an LP created/ within a 
half-year's time/ so he sets his focus on his rhymes/ the labels' production 
crew/ gives him beats to rummage through/ labelmate's wanna collabo 
too/(promotion the label makes 'em do)/ soon a month passes by / Tre finally 
got his debut scripted/ hits the studio and rips it/ and then the label 
silences the equipment/ says "we were hoping for a different direction/ let 
us tell you our perception/ on a new artist's first try/ we need a broad 
market based near-perfection/ to get the big sales going/ so our profits 
stay growin'/ and this effort that you are showing/ tells me that you aren't 
truly knowing/ our intentions on how to handle you/ you're gonna be our cash 
cow for year 2/ so do mostly what your told to/ and next album we'll let you 
be true"/ so they tell him to rhyme with the trends/ more spittin' on 
bitches, streets and ends/ regretfully picks up the pen/ and starts to write 
again/ after some negotiation/ he's able to keep most his creation/ but they 
still have the final say/ on what goes and what stays/ finally his recording 
is completed/ as the label edits, Tre is leaded/ to an image consultant/ 
who's every word is supposed to be heeded/ "act this way at this event/ in 
interviews here are your statements/ then appearances on these TV stations/ 
with your wardrobe in a week; be patient"/ Tre contract says he must comply/ 
so he flashes an image that's a lie/ a projection of what the suit & ties/ 
think will help their sales rise/ the promotion is wide reachin'/ every TV, 
Radio, and Magazine is preachin'/ for headz to buy this album/ Tre feels 
weak from corporate leechin'/ he starts hearing his promos played/ and is 
fuckin' amazed/ that commercial-soundin' beats were subbed in/ and 
mainstream artists he never met got dubbed in/ then after delays to gain 
more hype/ the album finally drops/ barely hit charts; low sales in sight/ 
label labels it a flop/ even though it eventually goes gold/ and critics say 
some songs are bold/ he's just another who fell into fold/ and conformed to 
put out recycled **** that sold/ Tre's contract wasn't renewed/ and his love 
of hip-hop got all skewed/ and he returns home a "sell-out"/ with no love 
for all the work he shelled out/

Part 3

a couple months later/ Tre had rode life's elevator/ lobby to roof and now 
his decent/ has him residing in the basement/ depression set in from the 
lesson/ of how even fulfilled dreams can shatter/ and after the pieces 
further scattered/ stings to speak on the subject matter/ slowly settles 
back in his own life/ but still it's like a thrown knife/ whenever headz 
mention his failed debut/ and argue if he stay true/ but time heals those 
wounds as well/ and a few months later you could tell/ Tre's mood was much 
improved/ but his love for rhymes was still removed/ catz beg for battle 
sessions/ Tre sez that he ain't even messin'/ he was taught a tragic lesson/ 
that ripped from him hip-hop's essance/ impressions of him change now/ no 
longer a corporate cash-cow/ but a victim of those who picked him/ ...know 
the cycle spins like tao/ and one night of b-ball on the block/ a beat 
starts boomin' out the box/ Tre' straightens his socks/ and suddenly the 
beat stops/ and the crowd looks in amazement/ at the sight they see before 
them/ when they stopped the track, Tre just ignored them/ took streams of 
consiousness and poured them/ out unconsiously/ until his flow floods the 
street/ and he hears his own echo reverberatin'/ and discovers he's the one 
creatin'/ the lines everyone around's in awe of/ his boys all show him love/ 
no longer content in that basement/ he slowly starts to rise above/ and 
rekindles an old passion/ for poetic tounge-lashin'/ soon rhymin' on the 
block again/ drawin' crowds till 3AM and then/ the headz finally give him 
respect back/ replay his albums "non-corporate tracks"/ he relates to them 
the facts/ on how they got him up the ass/ but he'll play bitch for no man 
again/ never be a posterboy or manniquin/ for public display and that day/ 
he hooked up with his friend/ the producer who started him out/ tells him 
"this time I got no doubts/ I'm gonna show what hip-hop's about/ and I'm 
gonna go the route/ of an independant label/ one that holds their artist 
stable/ in higher regard than earnings/ see, that's the environment I'm 
yearning"/ so they collabo on a promo/ a dis track called "Fuck The 
Corporation"/ where Tre seperates the hip-hop nation/ from the industry's 
creation/ elation from the underground/ as a new anthem is crowned/ headz 
who used to hate him now give pounds/ as the response from all around/ gets 
that indie attention/ finds a fav and signs with the intention/ to make a 
record of redemption/ and 100% his invention/ it turns out it sells well in 
local markets/ draws huge crowds up in the park and/ every single track he 
sparks; it/ hit nuttin' but the dead center of the target/ content now he 
sees how/ he was swept into a distorted vision/ of his music where others 
decisions/ had him trapped into a prision/ of profit; hip-hop unlocked it/ 
and his essance has now been clensed/ now that this hard road has been 
traveled/ a new journey now begins.......................