This is a new song from The Grouch and Eligh off of a new Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Mixtape Soundtrack. Apparently, this soundtrack also features artists such as Talib Kweli, Raekwon, Hieroglyphics, E40, DJ Qbert, Planet Asia, MC Supernatural, Havoc, Oh No, DJ Toure and Random.
Here’s the third video by The Grouch and Eligh from their latest album “Say G&E!” featuring Slug of Atmosphere with production by Amplive of Zion I.
This album is one of the top Living Legends albums to date in my opinion. Luckyiam.PSC flows incredibly and The Grouch is…well superb as always with his delivery and poetic imagery. They call these guys the Living Legends for a reason I guess. Other stand out features from this album include Brother Ali, Slug, MURS, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.
The CMA (The Grouch & Luckyiam.PSC)
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…and she walks nothing’s moving
It is timeless in the corners
And the sound of shutting doors
You chase the sunlight so you kick down the door
And the window holds no sight
[The Grouch]
I remember the rainy days
Mom would drop me off at school in a bucket
It was around the 3rd grade
Meltin’ crayons on the furnace, playing heads up seven up
Boy I was learning and I felt great
I had an Incredible Hulk lunch box
A Michael Jackson jacket, three-striped socks
Right before the first pair of Jordans came out
Every year I had a Valentine, she would shoot my game out
To work that pain out I’d eat a gang of candy
Cherry clan, zots, lots you understand me?
My teeth were rotten always at the dentist
My dad played the Police, I was his music apprentice
He drove a Cutlass, a 7-deuce dropped
Didn’t know what he had though, I’m tellin you pop
If I could take it back to 80-something
I’d let some sun in, but you made us toughen
[Hook]
You chase the sunlight so you kick down the door
And the window holds no sight (x2)
Mom said tough love, dad drank the bottle up
Sixth grade and candy’s not enough
Mom bought me a snare drum
I beat it but I didn’t get it yet
When they split, I was prepared
In school I failed mathematics
Grids made sense still
Couldn’t get the girls but I had some status
Commodore computer literate a little bit
Moved to the east to the ‘O’
Now I can feel a little grid under my toes
None of my woes were too large
But through any bit of hardship, character grows
Hip Hop’s staring me in the nose
This block’s preparing me for what was chose
A rose out of concrete’s real
I’ve seen it happen before: traded my speech for a meal
Traded in raindrops for sunrays
Turned in ‘no ways’ into ’some ways’
[Hook]
You chase the sunlight so you kick down the door
And the window holds no sight (x2)
[Luckyiam.PSC]
Little Tommy lived on Victor
??? little sister
I used to be an only child, now you see me jealous
I was one of the nappy-headed, sports-playing fellas
Couldn’t tell us nothin unless you was a coach
I had a roach a few but my parents wasn’t broke
But broken in the union so I guess I got some hopes
So I guess I had support from that double income
Mama went to school to be a nurse and bring funds
Into the household like pops did
While she was taking classes at El Camino College
While I was extra baggage
The extra mouth to manage and the Christmas gifts to package
For a latchkey kid who never thought he’d make it happen
The 80’s started crackin, my neighborhoods was blastin
So my folks moved us out of that zone to face the challenge of change
Without a damn, I doubt it’d be the same
But I’d probably stand the rain til the sun shined again
[Hook]
You chase the sunlight so you kick down the door
And the window holds no sight (x2)
So it’s bye bye Inglewood, hello mid-city hood
The colors done changed now
I really wanna spree how
Corduroy’s, Fila’s, & snakeskin belts, got bellbottom girls in the Sergio Takini’s
I went to John Purvis first, girly was a meanie
Cheated on me with a dude that used to go to UNI
My confidence was puny so I let this cutie do me
Ruined me, trust in females and such
I never really bounced back from that
So it’s rough on any relationshop I’ve had since that day
Or any hesitation of why not to play
Or reasons it’s cold-hearted deperate frays
[Hook]
You chase the sunlight so you kick down the door
And the window holds no sight (x2)
If you’ve been following my posts, you’d probably have guessed by now that I kinda have a thing for hiphop. Ever since I’ve started this blog, I’ve been getting messages every now and then from people thanking me for exposing them to good music. I thought that was kinda cool so I’ve decided to post some goodness every week starting today.
I’m starting this with the Living Legends who I’ve been a fan of since they came out with Almost Famous in 2001. The Living Legends crew, in my opinion, are the most talented collection of emcees I’ve seen and heard in several years. The group consists of eight full time members (Sunspot Jonz (aka BFAP), Luckyiam.PSC (aka PSC), Eligh, Murs, Scarub, Bicasso (aka Bizarro), Aesop (aka Asop), The Grouch) and one Japanese Living Legend named Arata who rarely appears.
The Living Legends also consist of various subgroups within the main group who have several, several releases under each of their belts. I won’t get into naming them all here because it will take forever. Look them up on their site if you want to get to really know them and their music.
Take a listen to one of my favorite songs from the super crew featuring Slug from Atmosphere and follow along with the lyrics.
Living Legends – Nothing Less (feat. Slug)
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“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams, come along”
[Chorus]
Nothing Less, nothing less
[Grouch]
Well I bet you that I get the last laugh
Bet you that my funerals packed
And the tune you all blast is my crew’s shit
New shit or old it don’t matter
Bold I get swole in the zone where you gather
I’m alone but together with the folks
Not really knowing where I’m going
But my goal’s to provoke thoughts
Devote lots, show some fools the ropes to hop
Scope the top from above it
Love it, then leave it alone
I believe that I’m grown showing the way
Owing the bay for going astray, now I’m blowing away
Like that bag in American Beauty
Truly blessed and nothing less
[MURS]
I’m nothing less than a criminal
With minimal convictions
Serving up my customers a hustler of the diction
Crushing my afflictions, I’m sick in the mind
Depends on who you ask
And I can do anything depending on the task
I tend to be on blast more often than not
Between a rock and a hard place
I soften my spot, talking a lot
That’s if my CD’s get played
But if that’s not the case then I had nothing to say
My crew been tight since we was up in the bay
Been down for a while, now watch us
As we take it, up and away
Something to play when you’re laying on back
Felt the love when I wrote this
So I know y’all feel what I’m saying on tracks
[Chorus] – repeat 3X
[Slug]
The first step was birth
Now forever cursed to analyze his self-worth
The second step was belief
He had to make that move before he even grew teeth
The third step, respect awareness
He could trip over the next step if he’s careless
That next step, number four, was love
Can’t touch it without stepping the other three above
As he froze for a moment
Ignoring the remaining ones
He was approaching, focus stolen
Looking down at his hands to see what he was holding
Nothing, empty
No choice but to keep going
The fifth step felt like a misstep
It was a re-evaluation of the first four
The anxiety, fear of what it hurts for
Caught in somewhere between the earths core
And the first floor
When he finally made it to step six
He could no longer see it for what it is
All of his views and family and life were askew
Number six had been twisted by the previous two
The last step, the seventh
Was the only thing left that kept him outside of heaven
One last breath and everything could be pleasant
Life through death, man’s final lesson
[Chorus]
[Sunspot Jonz]
Nothing less, god bless the days I rest
In this mess called life
Trying to be the best for the best dressed
Female, but she just brings hell
In the wishing well, I drown pieces of my soul
Born to rebel
I’m the black James Dean of the underground
Yelling at shows
Like rallys in Cali, I blow rhyme under the trees
Wanabees talk shit all day
But don’t got a tape to play
Nothing genuine to say
So they bite the next man
Like they gonna make him the best man
In this crusade the future looks black
Like Taye Diggs’ forehead
We can’t go ahead and let the whack break our spirit
[Chorus]
[Scarub]
I know my expectations are high
But I refuse to lay low
No compromises only improvising
From what I manifest in the mind
Even though they say no
I follow through if it’s true
You know those type of serious questions
That are asked in a playful manner
So if assumptions are wrong
They can act like it’s a joke?
“What do you do for a living?”
That’s the words they spoke
When they first heard that I wrote to stay alive
While they work a 9 to 5
I work just as hard as you
But got a different focus
And while you focus on me I’m gonna be all that I am
All of SIAM, while others run at the mouth
With nothing to show
I’ma use what I know, manipulating my flow
From here to there
I origami the situation from what is considered
Unsuitable to something beautiful
The outcome is legendary, and nothing less
Well, The Grouch and Eligh (from the legendary Living Legends crew) are releasing their 4th collaboration album tomorrow entitled Say G&E! with feature spots from some of the sickest wordsmiths in the industry including Blu, Slug, Gift of Gab, and Sage Francis. Judging by G&E’s past collaboration albums (volumes 1-3), I think it’s fair to say that what’s to be expected is audible bliss. As a matter of fact, I can confirm that already having heard all fifteen tracks from their Myspace. The album is hiphop poetry from beginning to end. If you’re new to G&E, I highly suggest you to check out their past albums as well.
Here’s one of my favorite tracks off the album.
The Grouch & Eligh – Push On (Push up)
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Here’s another track which I was inspired by during the creation of Gno.
“Everafter” by The Grouch & Eligh
The Grouch & Eligh – Everafter
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Check out the latest feature on Gno at ImFlashy.com!
Also, check out this dope interview I did with Marcus over at Fenix Marcess!
