Johnny Is Dead

By Q-Tip

On The Renaissance

Released on November 4, 2008

12K Views

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[Verse 1: Q-Tip]

Sometimes, I phase out when I look at the screen

And I think about my chance for me to intervene

And it's up to me to bring back the hope

Put feeling in the music that you could quote

Not saying that I hate it, 'cause, yeah, I kinda dig it

But what good is a ear if a Q-Tip isn't in it?

So just stick it in, and inform your friend

Your boy from the hood is on that shit again

He's upped the degrees and dropped the mercuries

To splash on the mass from low- to upper-class

And when the records spins, it sometimes blows a wind

A fickleness of friends, they sometimes hate again

They always bring up Tribe, I mean, can I survive? I mean

This is my mans, I mean, this is my fams

And here's somethin' new, it's front-row for you

So don't misconstrue, it's Tribal and true

My dudes who hustle hard, don't stop your repertoire

As long as you could see, it's you who's stayin' free

'Cause life is filled with pills and little pearls and shit

I'm fuckin' up—I mean, I'm trippin' up

But still, there is a void, and people get annoyed

Let's focus on the feel, before we get a deal—come on


[Hook: Q-Tip]

Figurin' life can be a thing

The wilderness is wild to me

But you're not alone, I see we're just the same

Figuring out where we should be

Figurin' life can be a thing

The wilderness is wild to me

But you're not alone, I see we're just the same (Ugh)


[Verse 2: Q-Tip]

With the vibe, we came to put back on the street

Let's take care of ours and ensure we eat

And Oprah and 'em, they criticize the boys

Without empathy, they lose all their toys

They can't keep us down, we're dominant and brown

And those of other shades, they join our parade

But wait! There's rain ahead, like Brit and Kevin Fed

And magazine debris and shit, you gotta see it

I'm no different to you, I goes through it, too

I thumbs through the page, I don't come of age

I'm not a deity, I'm far from perfect, see

I roll, the tumbleweed, it's just a humble seed

That I present to you is just a mystic brew

With words and harmony and soon, a melody

That speaks to where we are; the door, I hope's ajar

And soon, we're walkin' in a blip, it's just to say, "Come on"


[Hook: Q-Tip]

Figurin' life can be a thing

The wilderness is wild to me

But you're not alone, I see we're just the same

Figuring out where we should be

Figurin' life can be a thing

The wilderness is wild to me

But you're not alone, I see we're just the same

Figuring out where we should be

Figurin' life can be a thing

The wilderness is wild to me

But you're not alone, I see we're just the same