Hollow Shell (Cash Clutch)

By Illogic

On Celestial Clockwork

Released on April 13, 2004

Thumbnail

[Verse 1: Illogic]

I'm stuck in an emotional valley with melancholy

Wandering this wilderness with Gilgamesh

Baring a basket of berries rotted to the pits

Hobbling through stretches of sand dunes

Stand consumed by a walking stick

Surrounded by a desert of waste

Searching for some clear liquid to mirage the dirt taste

I'm too overwhelmed to control the helm

As the sun smiles battled in old time

I'm using my shadow as a sun dial

I don't hold the energy to run around

It was lost in those seven digits

Where I scattered my baby pictures

In order to leave a small trace of face

And for predecessors to know that Illogic

Once held rank in this place

I await to be devoured by the beast of the industry

Where the goddess of lust speaks sweet nothings tempting me

Where identity crisis is the norm

And where we only know ourselves on stage

But we forget after we perform

Where blood and smoke screens cloak the inner discontent

Where compensation for your due payments are overspent

Where image is everything and your thirst no longer matters

Where we can't stand our true selves so mirror images shatter

Where life is no longer a blessing but a curse and

Where Hip-Hop music is no longer fun but work

Where life becomes a dream and reality doesn't exist

And surrealism is the poison that you clutch in each fist


[Hook: Illogic]

The stench of burning sentences reeks of lost life

Locked in this cage of clones by request

Clutching cash overshadows the love of clutching the mic

My mind and spirit elopes as I continue to stroke my flesh

I become a hollow shell from which the ocean can be heard

But that sound is only an illusion of my depth

Is it by choice that I walk through this life as a waste of words

Or is a rebirth in store for the piece of my soul that's left


[Verse 2: Illogic]

The glass that sits on this table is half empty

With a laugh I notice the pessimism within me

Lost looking for the love that once embraced my muse

Amused by the spectacle that my reflection's become

No longer enthused by the culture I held in my grasp

At one time I held the mic my grip replaced it with cash

I recall my first encounter with the realm of skill

Where the concern was keeping it ill before keeping it real

Where MC's would roll six hours just to bust

Where the crowd responds it payment, getting cash was a plus

Where we concentrate on rhymes to make the fans contemplate

Where battles are dinner settings for your heroes to be ate

Where life long friends are made and your crews are born

Where pens act as umbrellas to shield you from the storm

Where words are counsellors and writing is therapy

Where chopped loops and drum breaks are the arms that carry me

Where we spit till our throat hurts and saliva droughts

Where you yearn to hear your verse sprout from one of your fan's mouths

Where I want to return but damn I never left

I was lost in the page just immersed in my song concept


[Hook: Illogic]

The stench of burning sentences reeks of lost life

Locked in this cage of clones by request

Clutching cash overshadows the love of clutching the mic

Your mind and spirit elopes as you continue to stroke your flesh

You become a hollow shell from which the ocean can be heard

But that sound is only an illusion of your depth

Is it by choice that you walk through this life as a waste of words

Or is a rebirth in store for the piece of your soul that's left