Yo

This is to the entire Critical Mass

My nigga Tashawn, Jah Born, Big Tu

This how we do

Check it out

Yeah



[Mos Def]

Daylight disappears from sight

Sun bleeds on the bricks and brings forth the night

The red serenade give shade to backstreets

Heads adjust the EQ for bass in they jeeps

Sound like the drums of a neighboring tribe

Absorb the vibe, feels good, close my eyes

And step out [?] by the crisp night air

I gotta stay aware, god, it's demons out here

Adjust the headset 'fore I begin this trek

Insert the cassette, press play on the deck

The horns echo, and I slip back in the zone

It's time for the high plains man to roam

Yo, I be dealin with magic, some say mellow dramatic

Lingually acrobatic, stayin fluent in static

I work my way to your town as the day goes down

I got observatory view of the sight and sound

I feel completely out of place in this wack rat race

I'm the type of blackman that need color and space

But heads be dealin with waste, they be movin at haste

Herbs got somethin to prove, wanna stare in your face

Brothers wanna compete when there ain't shit to win

They playin high-post now, I'm prepared for the end

They wanna profile they style like they got it so sweet

It ain't about what you earn, it's about what you keep

Man passes by in a aimless stroll

Barefoot in the street as the night grows cold

In reply to his sorrow he begins to dance

He claps his hands, we share an awkward glance



[CHORUS]

Sun is falling

Moon is rising

(Yes yes y'all

Ah freak freak y'all

Freak freak y'all

And you don't stop)



[Mos Def]

I keep mainly to myself, I ain't got too many friends

While they be lookin for rocks I be searchin for gems

I got nothin to lose, I might as well be a winner

Try to radiate the light as the world gets dimmer

Poppa, haven't you heard, there is power in words

I contemplate to elevate the average man on the curb

Who be slingin his rock, catchin hell from the cops

Got the world on his back, bein male, bein black

And it's crazy mad stress, the city don't rest

Can't maintain your poise for the goddamn noise

So I'm watchin my clock because the day drifts off

At night I reason with myself and how I can get shit off

Might be readin a book or might be drinkin a stout

I might be thinkin it over, might just need to be out

I might be tryina get money, might be dealin with honeys

Might be geekin off these devils cause they so fuckin funny

Smokin a stoge on the D train chillin

Checkin the skyline of the Watchtower buildin

Images of black in the hills and the valleys

From the tight businessmen to the gods from the rallies

A basehead with the Moe Dee shades

A little girl with pretty eyes and her hair in braids

A mother rest on her seat, rubs her feet

Falls back into sleep, thousand fathoms deep



[Ces]

As the nighttime falls I creep through the dark

I check out the scenes in Fort Greene Park

Lost souls in empty memory lanes

No life to live and no goals to gain

This negatory provision is all around us

It's systematic and frantic, the devil hounds us

Set to prevail I take back the night

Wake up my soul and take back my life

I sit back and wait for the right time

But I'm already here, it's in the nighttime



[CHORUS]



[Mos Def]

Moonlight starts to fade away

Sun creeps up the bricks and brings forth the day

Sun is high and it's AM again

It's time for the killers to slay men again

[?] business day

I want this shit to be over, got no time to play

So if you wanna help, then do me this favor

Cut the nonsense and let me handle this paper

Time is money and money is time

Ain't a damn thing free, so I must get mine

It's ten to closing, yo son got to jettin

Headed back to the Brak to watch the sunset



[CHORUS]