[Verse 1]
They say
Legends aren’t legends 'til they pass away
Do you wonder why we have to wait
'Til we bury they caskets or spreading they ashes
Sleep on genius ahead of ya time
Style they could never define, whether given credit to shine
His competitive rhymes, battle shit, protagonist role
Movie scripts had the actors flipped
His canvasses splattered with soul
F.C. legacy hasn’t been told
And they called in the morning, chasing the scoop
No time to mourn him, late, no excuse
Brought us together, blessed us with beats
Rhymes live forever, flesh obsolete
A mourner’s poem to the cornerstones
Two pillars: Proof, Dilla – so support ya own
[Verse 2]
When a momma gonna get to mourn her son?
The reporters gone and recordings done
In this industry that extorts they young
Ask 'em for a fraction, they short on funds
I’m givin' 'em everyone’s favorite hand gesture
Shady dealings made the millions
Try to buy the catalog for less than what ya label’s willing
Lowest bidder for the path you paved with brilliance
Skills and passion, city gonna stay rebuilding
Love your killer too–hating won’t bring you back
Stained ya name and covered up his dingy tracks
Lied you had an outburst and shot first
If we don’t stop this jealousy, it’s 'bout to be a lot worse
[Verse 3]
No more moments of silence, we’ve been quiet for too long
That’s the same as betrayal
More than bear witness to struggle
Speak out, or be complicit to these fake portrayals
In The 'D', hold you a jazz funeral
March down Woodward in mass numerals
But it's like the levees breaking, they could've prevented it
Not ya death, but the premature event of it
Instead of prepare for the storm
We stare and ignore 'em
Cry in despair and just mourn
I’d rather repair and transform
Recharge your battery pack
But now it's after the fact
So what we want? A pat on the back
For the courage and compassion we lacked?
If it stays the same
Your whole life was in vain
She’s asking what the designated waiting period is between death and recognition, and why death is the necessary first step toward that recognition.
Rather than pursue traditional mourning rituals, she’s going to attempt to change (or at least increase the awareness of) the detestable practices of the record executives, reporters, and hospital bill collectors.
Reference to the reporters who will chase a story without compassion for those affected by a death.
Proof’s killer, Mario Etheridge, was found by the courts to have acted legally in “defense of another” (his cousin, who was also at the scene)
album sales and veneration always increase drastically after an artist’s (in any medium) death
J. Dilla’s untimely illness and death left his mother with a ton of medical expenses. Press reports described “countless hospital bills”
Proof was a – perhaps the – central figure in the 1990’s Detroit rap scene. In Eminem’s fictionalized movie about that era, 8 Mile, the Proof character, played by Mekhi Phifer, had a supporting role, while Eminem’s B. Rabbit was the lead. To Invincible, the roles' relative importance should be reversed
She’s giving the middle finger to the record executives who pursue profit even after the death of an artist regardless of the emotional strain of the death.
The record executives and hospitals are seeking funds from the family of the passed artist.
Thousands of people showed up to Proof’s April 2006 funeral. Eminem on that day, below
Shows the validity of beat-making as an art form on par with painting.