there are many ways to deal with this pain: choose wisely

a tribute to j. cole

“kids on drugs,

king overdosed

kill our demons”

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this week, i saw one of my favorite rappers in concert for the first time.

seeing him in person just made me love him so much more; what a passionate, caring, inspiring person. he truly cares about his audience and he truly cares about the problems we still have in today’s world.

his music makes you think, he puts things into perspective, he raps about things that are happening it today’s world and he’s not afraid to talk about it.

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his latest album, kod, is all about pain. life throws things at you, and everyone has different ways of dealing with pain. each song has different ways people deal with their pain, and other things that cause pain.

here are my favorites, the ones that hit you hard and make you think:

favorite song off the album: brackets

“better that than letting wack congressman i’ve never seen
dictate where my money go, straight into the palms of some
money-hungry company that make guns that circulate the country
and then wind up in my hood, making bloody clothes
stray bullet hit a young boy with a snotty nose
from the concrete, he was prolly rose
now his body froze and nobody knows what to tell his mother
he did good at the white man schools unlike his brother
who was lost in the streets all day, not using rubbers
so right now, he got two on the way
still sleep on covers in his mama house
she can’t take this shit no more, she want him out
on the morning of the funeral, just as she’s walking out
wiping tears away, grabbing her keys and sunglasses
she remember that she gotta file her taxes, damn”

 

the song i think is important in today’s world of pain: once an addict

“i wish that i could say the right words to cheer her up
i wish her son’s love was enough
i tell her, ‘mama, go to sleep’
she tell me ‘boy, hush. you better pray to god you never get your heart crushed’
i shake my head in frustration,
head to my room and i can still hear the tunes with my door shut
f*ck it though, a couple more months i’ll be gone
off to college and dorms, foolin’ myself, thinkin’ problems are gone
but now it’s 1am and my mama dialin’ my phone
i know she intoxicated and soon this high that i’m on comes crashin’ down
she lit, talkin’ drunk sh*t, i’m pissed
but i’m still all ears like basset hounds
thinkin’ to myself, ‘maybe my mama need help
don’t she got work in the morning?
why she do this to herself? …

life can bring much pain.
there are many ways to deal with this pain.
choose wisely“

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please choose wisely,

haley