Smooth Operator_Ref 06.06.19

By Logic

On Inglorious Basterd

Released on September 18, 2023

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[Intro]

Yeah-yeah, it's a 301 ting


[Verse 1]

Goddamn, goddamn, conversations with people

Crazy how one day, the legends forget that they equal

On this Under Pressure sequel

We not taking it back, we keepin' it pushing

People scared of change

But you'll find me deep in the cushion

Even when I win, it feel like I'm losing

Listening to beats, in the Bimmer cruisin'

I think I got another hit, I could feel my body bruisin'

What's the conclusion? Or rather, my hypothesis

I'm darker than Gotham is

Like reading Nostradamus at 90 degrees

You better believe

I know how to turn a profit with ease

Diacritical lifestyle, I'm always overseas

Hurricane Bobby in the studio blowing trees

Switch the topic, I drop it

Fuck around then leave them all concussed

When I bust, no thrust, this world we livin' in is fucked

Industry rule number four thousand and eighty one

Your new shit ain't good as your old shit

'Til your new shit is your old shit, son

And then some, gotta get some

I wear this 24 karat solid gold Rollie for my son

As an heirloom, not for looking dope as I rhyme

As a representation to give your family your time

If you're searching for love in the industry you'll be let down

They don't love you 'til you dead and then they call you profound

No matter how mainstream you was in the end, you still underground

That's the truth, feeling close to the cliff, like Rick Dalton in the booth

Money ain't the key to happiness and this the proof

Modern day rap is like a golden era spoof

But a few of us were searching within the second renaissance

And I know that my debutantes

Been keeping the legacy going

By flowing so involuntarily seamless

Me and my team is finally reaping

What we been sowing like a seamstress

I said I'm on one, I know I'm unsung

Was livin' my life backward like Tariq on Undun

And now they wonder how I got over son (Do you want more?)

Hell yeah, now check the method

I been livin' outside of pages for ages

Now I'm back, Chocolate City, home of percussion, Maryland on my back

From Takoma Park, all the way to Southeast DC

It feel like forever ago, it feel like BC

Everlasting life, kickin' rhymes in the parking lot at night

Inhale, exhale, people hate

Oh well, 2012

Dreamin' I'm a freshman on XXL

2013, on the cover XXL

Livin' life behind these bars with no intention of postin' bail

'Cause I prevail

But that's a story for another time

Story for another rhyme

And on my darkest days, I know that the sun will shine, eventually

Greatest lyricist to ever do it, yeah essentially

And if we're being modest then potentially

And if we're being honest then...


[Verse 2]

Yeah, yeah, uh, yeah

I'm just an entity, my DNA not my identity

Findin' serenity, become a better man, I better be

For the child in my baby momma's tummy, never crummy

We get big bread, tryna be the greatest, that shit been dead

I'm tryna be the happiest that I can be instead

I'm tryna get ahead like a fetus, money don't complete us

Or defeat us, it can lead us to depression

Bein' rich is not a blessin', fame is not a blessin'

Wasn't 'til I was rich and famous I learned that lesson

What's the meanin' of life? To live it, what I'm guessin'


[Verse 3]

Time is undefeated, in the end, it beats us all

My daddy, my momma, myself, we all destined to fall

Currently, the most important thing within my life is balance

I ain't talkin' commas and zeros or monetary challenge

Talkin' self-worth, put yourself first, don't worry 'bout the worst

But when you in this position, it's hard to make selfish decisions

Got enough bread, I'ma eat, but what about the rest, my team?

They good and all, but I mean, if I disappeared from the scene

Then what's gon' happen? What's gon' happen?

In a hotel writin' rhymes before I headline at a festival

But all that’s runnin' through my mind is bottom lines and decimals

So focused on the brand sometimes forget about the man

Reflectin' in the mirror with this pen in his hand

99 percent of these people will never understand, supply and demand

'Cause I'm in the public eye, they think they know who I am


[Verse 4]

"Oh, shit, it's Logic! Can I have a picture?" They don't give a damn

Soon as they see me, they clench the device that's in they hand

Don't even say hello, more like, "Can I get one for the 'Gram?"

That's when I be like, "Fuck no, but you can shake my hand

Let's have a conversation, talk about life man-to-man

You disappointed, I can read your body language like a paragraph"

"Logic, yeah, that's cool and all, but I'd much prefer a photograph

I mean, can I have a photograph?"

Goddamn, rap fans in 2020 so unusual

They'd rather snap a pic with you to get more likes than usual

Than have a conversation, back in the basement with no placement

Couldn't never fathom talkin' to my favorite rapper that way