[Verse 1]What a day, what a day is something that we might say
But you're still up working too much, I think I found a gray
You treat yourself way too harsh and way too hard
When everyone around you has got dropped down jaws
I'm not trying to tell you that you need to slow down
But you're working like a slave when you've already got a gold crown
It hurts to be looking from the outside in
Seeing you walking on pins working in the dim with your stress at the brim
And this is isn't me trying to play any funny games
This is me noticing you putting in overtime and getting underpaid
Even if you fail once, you've already succeeded
I hate seeing you defeated and depleted. You don't really need it
You've parted oceans and seas and took to the skies
I'm proud of you regardless even if you only tried
So fly back home. It's getting real late.
We made you dinner and it's getting cold on your plate

[Chorus]
I don't know now, but calm down
You've already fought all 12 rounds
Put your head up because hands down
You are the best, wow

Keep moving, you'll do it
Bigger than a movement, oh you'll prove it
You're the coolest
And I'll be here thinking that I knew it!

[Verse 2]
Straight As, GPA, grade made protege
But when do you find the time to just play?
Life shouldn't be about the awards on your chest
It should be about doing the things that you love best
This is vastly all about the good times gladly
Living and looking classy if you want to ask me
Because when I meet my end, I don't want five friends
Talking around my grave about how my time spent
Quit beating yourself up. I can see your bruises
And you don't have to be perfect. You don't need those excuses
Being happy with yourself is probably the hardest
And I know that you might not want advice from a starving artist
But it took me 18 odd years to convince to like me
And now I can look at myself in the mirror much kindly
I hope in the end you can flash yourself a smile
It looks much better on you anyways: it really fits your style

[Chorus]
I don't know now, but calm down
You've already fought all 12 rounds
Put your head up because hands down
You are the best, wow

Keep moving, you'll do it
Bigger than a movement, oh you'll prove it
You're the coolest
And I'll be here thinking that I knew it!

[Verse 3]
Let me lift up my cup, I shall raise my chalice
To the girl who has turned a house into a palace
Intelligence abundance, and though it's redundant
You're over 9 thousand! No where near the hundreds
I want to toast you tonight, and tomorrow and after
Let's capture your laughter inside some nice chapters
Pictures with trophies they sure look nice
But you're here with us and you look better tonight
Your mind is stunning and you are never stunting
But still defying gravity girl you are something!
Knock out in a dress, beautiful in some jeans
Whatever you wear, doesn't matter, you will still beam
I'm not blowing smoke: I don't like cigarettes
I don't even want to hear you say that word regret
Because you've gotten this far and I'm well damn impressed
Now let's keep making bonds like we're about to invest

[Chorus]
I don't know now, but calm down
You've already fought all 12 rounds
Put your head up because hands down
You are the best, wow

Keep moving, you'll do it
Bigger than a movement, oh you'll prove it
You're the coolest
And I'll be here thinking that I knew it!

A Song About A Girl

[Chorus]
I, I, I, I, I want to love you
But if it's not right what can I do?
Everything will be alright
So baby get some sleep tonight

[Verse 1]
And I find myself wishing it never happened
If only I could sit down and retype the things I imagined
Too selfish to leave your life, but I'm only there halfway
Don't want to commit but I'll listen on your bad days
Failed to utter the words that you so desperately needed
Used you as an ego boost even though I'm conceited
Now sitting around the keyboards feeling real defeated
Existing only in blog posts without proper nouns
Keep thinking about you, can't even count the times now
Wish washy, flip floppy
You were just to cute for anyone to stop me
We both made mistakes. Mine were a lot bigger
And our status shifts as if I'm the prince talking to gravediggers

[Chorus]
I, I, I, I, I want to love you
But if it's not right what can I do?
Everything will be alright
So baby get some sleep tonight

[Verse 2]
I never wanted it for us to be curtains
I'm stabbing them up like behind them is another person
But enough of this oblivious Hamlet shit
Can't keep living this life so damn blind and so ignorant
Because all I have are words, words, words
But I bet all you heard is disturbed nerd blurbs
What else am I supposed to do? That's what I'm good at
Keep conjuring lies and excuses out of thin facts
The impending increases along with distance
And I bet all your friends now hate me in an instant
Shake me like a polaroid, just a dumb human boy
Repeat to myself that feelings are not meant to be a toy
We're like one giant abyss: we just avoid

[Chorus]
I, I, I, I, I want to love you
But if it's not right what can I do?
Everything will be alright
So baby get some sleep tonight

[Verse 3]
I swear to God I never meant for all of this
But I also swear I was in the biggest bliss
The best thing for us is to just move on
Yet I keep staying up waiting for a new dawn
Just whisper in my ears again, maybe we can just be friends
I never wanted this to end, but I'm feeling too spent
If only I could change, if only I could rearrange
If only if only is only written in my page
The human heart is so damn powerful
Capable of lifting up the most doubtful
And take down the strongest in just a mouthful
So say it to me in your tone that's so vow full:

Everything will be alright
So baby get some sleep tonight

Red Hunting Cap

[Verse 1]
This is the one thing that makes me feel redeemed
Coupon status, mad at us? Ignoring the chatter seems
To be the only strategy when one hand writes poetry
And the other writes only in the dreamiest of realities
Semis 3 times but never an automatic
Gawky kid spastic, wordplay fanatic, almost fantastic
For your information. Break me out of plastic
Enemy to Majora because I'm trying not to mask it
Never following the stereotypes. I'm surrounding the sound
My heart pound is the bass now and it's getting loud
I'm tallying up my hours. Not even close to the limit
So I'm going to live it until my painting becomes vivid
Parents so livid that my life is dedicated to the arts
But it's hard to stop when you start and every single part
That you would cut into me would bleed lyrics and paint
But just like cutting my wrists, this will all make you faint

[Verse 2]
I've always felt mediocre compared to my peers
And the only time I gave an F is when at the final I failed to appear
So this is me starting it up, key in the ignition
Writer's block in remission, Trusting only the intuition
Tired of the lectures. Tired of the yelling
Tired of being a disappointment but there is no telling
How my future will turn out. I'm trying to craft it barehanded
An ambidextrous ambition is the only thing demanded
I will not be reprimanded for choosing happiness over the latter
I will never break nor shatter. This is mind over matter
This is heart and the soul. This is attitude and mentality
This is the gallery of my entire being without puff or flattery
My fingerprints are left in the dust of words long forgotten
Craggy fingertips gripping memories almost rotten
To try and transform my personal poison into antidote
Treated as empirical since this is the prince's anecdotes

[Verse 3]
Supported like girders in between my fragile flesh
The hardware is there. The gridiron and the tenderness mesh
You cannot match the freshness stored inside his chest
I've been studying myself for years, so go ahead and test.
The recipe for this is 2 parts wisdom, 3 parts fool
9 pints of liquid courage and let the bravado just cool
A dash of naivety but added in by shaky hands
Heavy with idealism and optimism. Far from bland
It's alright if he is burned. It leaves merely a char
Regardless, you will be tasting the stars
With feet that stand with the tenacity of The Tank Man
The parking lot of his head will never be vacant
Hands overactive with turning pages and scribbling
And scars left from 2 parents and 3 older siblings
You are about to partake in viewing behind the curtain
Despite the name calling he is a person, for certain.

Unlocked

[Verse 1]
They told me tighten up my game so I'm right against the lames
Who don't even know my name but know I hold this deer like reins
Who is this? Alex Dang? Who is this? Depends on your lane
Pick a side, choose a brain. One virtue and one bane
I tighten this up like tuning keys on my violin
Flow like Poseidon and stay on point: Trident
Rapid show? Try again. Rhymin with leviathans
Pious lion about to get rich or die with the Mayans
Used to have that long hair, switched up for the grown man
I can sell my own jams. No need for Willy Loman
The view from my bridge is so damn beautiful
Never being miserable but my life's still musical
As I rap I got in the back a dope ass ensemble
Kick it with me after the show for a classic convo
Something that you remember, goes past the ages
It'll strike down Alzheimer's and unlike Vegas
You're gonna wanna tell everybody about me and you
Tweet it from the mountains: OMG he so cool
Never thought he'd be a gentlemen with perfect meter too
And he's still in school? Educated man: oh damn is it true?
I got game like a rainy day afternoon


[Verse 2]
Confidence brimming every time I'm grinning
Even from the beginning I've been at least kind of winning
Talented and Gifted, style is so fitted
Popping TAGs so much like it's my professional business
Gray suede on the shoes, Neck and my cut is like my crew
Myriad of labels like a tabloid knowing who is who
Rapping like it's easy, no girl, believe me
Macaroni air conditioner: I'm cheesy and breezy
Whisper lines in your ears but now all of your peers
Might wanna sink this relationship, oh that's weird
Maybe they're all a little bit jealous
They don't have fellas, just zealous of our hella
Swagger back and forth just like a swap meet
Don't pay attention to them. Go ahead and mock me
At the end of the day just suck on my cockiness
Looks can kill and I might just have to body this
Came to box, leave in a bag, so certain, so sad
I'm holding the banner and you wave your white flag
Pimp like a cane and thus we are so able
You aren't my oxygen and time isn't your label
You're never running out on me, for that I thank you

Sleeves

 [Chorus] x2
Keep rolling up my sleeves past my elbow
Roll up my heart in the folds, still felt though
Just my forearms and morons. How can I go on
I'm asking for more nights and more dawns

[Verse 1]
I am Jack's cold sweat running down his arms
Past the bracelets and the charms and the scarred harm
When I feel the shittiest is when I try to be the wittiest
The prettiest girls are the one I'm trying to get intimate
Impress them with the psyche and mic, B
Writing poems and stories just so they might like me
But I figured what's more important is that I like me
So I'm tooting my horn like Beep beep near all the wily
Coyotes howling at the moon sitting locked in my room
Freed soon when hammers hit anvils: boom
Blacksmith make me some armor, grant me honor
Anything in this fucking life just to make me stronger
Excuse the language, but this is real and uncut
I'm asking why and who when they focus on the what
And the how and I'm stuck in the now
Wondering how am I supposed to make life perfect when I can't get my rhymes down?

 [Chorus] x2
Keep rolling up my sleeves past my elbow
Roll up my heart in the folds, still felt though
Just my forearms and morons. How can I go on
I'm asking for more nights and more dawns

[Verse 2]
This is me not giving a fuck: rolling up my sleeves
After all of this I'm going to get me some sleep
All the girls in my life causing me the strife and the light
When I imagined you would be wife and I'd be the night
1.) We are just too good for each other
2.) I'm looking at the stars and still stuck in your gutters
3.) When you sing, I fall in love with you
4.) There's so many metaphors that hold true
5.) I wish we could still talk like the old days
6.) I'm sick but you cured my old ways
7.) You knock me out with your orange scarf
8.) Who knew you would make things this hard?
9.) Goddamn it. All sorts of wonderful
10.) What did the hunter stole?
11.) Give me directions to your heart
12.) Show me yours and I'll show you my scars
13.) I still roll up my sleeves
13.) Do you still believe?
13.) Know that I still bleed
13.) Keep your head up. Love me.

 [Chorus] x2
Keep rolling up my sleeves past my elbow
Roll up my heart in the folds, still felt though
Just my forearms and morons. How can I go on
I'm asking for more nights and more dawns

Sweet Home

[Verse 1]
I'm from that city of green trees and cold breeze
Where the skies leave water droplets that don't freeze
We breathe coffee and try to rock clothes all jaunty
Mixed with the vagabonds of bad luck put on me
So calmly, I walk these different roads and streets
Putting my headphones in like kicks against the beats
Two tires, two feet, against the concrete complex
In context, we never what know we will conjure next
But I trust that where I'm from, the blood never spills
The ink does from the quill and we giveaway our will
From my home town we hone down and joke around
No more smoke rounds or bull nouns, we just cool down
And heat up when called for. We're tempered in our ways
From Sundays to Sunday we find salvation when we play
They tell me home is where the heart is, so when I start this
Just know that my house is inside my own body where my art lives

[Verse 2]
Voices calling me in rapid speed telling me what I need
Versus what I want. It's all the same when I read
The words they give me, please, just let me be
I never thought I'd end up like this in the end, who is he?
He is the kid with fingers like highways
From the city where every day is Friday
Rocking snapbacks like backward snaps
Just out of syntax or the synapse coupled with bad facts
Rain soaked everything, even to his bones
Too many seats in his heart to be left alone
Shattered and broken but still holistic
Speaking sad hymns with confidence prolific
Writing suicide notes that sound terrific
Hailing from the pacific and gets too specific
Look into his eyes, he's looking real tired
But when he smiles the mood gets higher
Label him a liar, label him a monster
Label him anything, as long as its proper
Call him what he is, call him what he isn't
Whatever you call him, it never is that distant
Think of the names, think of the slurs
Repeat everything he's said to himself for sure
You can't hurt him not because he's bulletproof
But because he already knows where he's from, he holds his truth
He holds his breath, he holds your hand
He holds a conversation, please understand
The home is where your heart is
Home is my own body, wherever it lives.

Wake the Giants

I carry myself with the air of a fictional character
Augustinian merits as I ride the American Chariots to
My destination and place. Going at a lazy pace
Hoping I don't lose and fall out of Hazel Grace
This is everything I dreamed of mixed with the nightmares
Most of my people will ask my why I even care
Come on bro, why are you even doing this?
I've got one life I'm not trying to just EXIST
Paying for my education. Avoiding to become replacements
Keep reading and writing to dodge being complacent
Check my placement and keep counting on me
Like I'm a digit, decimal, Dewey D or some calories
This is a life check and I'm marking through all the boxes
Heavyweight champion belt is Takumi the Fox's
Well maybe featherweight, cause I'm a lanky dude
Yeah I'm emotional, I will never blank out my mood!
This is my art, my pain, my heart, my brain
Spilling just to start then refine my game
You got boy problems? Well man, so do I
I'm a boy and a problem and that's one way to die
You got girl problems? Well man, me too
Chasing money, chasing romance is just the way we do
Writing letters to connections all across the states
Texting likes, singing crushes and talking to you face to face
It's a little difficult, quite the daunting task
Looking in the mirror and I forget I'm wearing a mask
Convinced myself on some days, get me an Oscar
My performance is hailed by my toughest critic: so proper!
Chapped lips and dry skin. Always an awkward teen
Mind of a scholar with a wit twice as keen
Never play my age but I'll always be playing
Time to be honest with myself. Forget just praying
Time to start planning, time to start doing
Who rewarded wishful thinking? This is me pursuing
Everything I ever wanted. All of my desires
Each of them a balloon and they're all trying to fly higher
So I'm learning about the sky, I'm learning how can I
Become light enough to float on far enough to spy
Doing homework in between creative bursts of energy
Summoning the deepest memories to be reinvented G
Turn traumas into commas. Editing for better karma
Changing like Obama. Avenging like some shwarma
Maybe I haven't changed that much, I still make my jokes
Mind spinning quicker than my bicycle wheel and spokes
And I'm supposed to be serious? XM Radio
I don't want that. Respond with No with 80 Os
I was made to blow like Kleenex tissues
People don't miss me cause I'm the big show: that's the real issue
Ballet on the page and my haikus on the stage
Role reversal, universal, in my mind it's all the same
Poetry in motion and my cliches are in abundance
Trusted like husbands who love cardio: I run this
Wearing my heart on my extremely fashioned sleeves
Looking like a clean mess might get haters peeved
How is he doing so well? Look at this goober!
I'm chill to the power of super, duper
2012: getting rich or dying Mayan
By the end of this I'll be waking all my giants
Come play, I'll say. Come play, I'll say
This track is my beanstalk. Fixed for the modern day

2012: getting rich or dying Mayan
By the end of this I'll be waking all my giants
Come play, I'll say. Come play, I'll say
This track is my beanstalk. Fixed for the modern day