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Goodbye, Beijing.

by jason chu

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1.
One Child 05:38
lyrics
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VERSE 1 In a land of a billion what's a few hundred million? Empty buildings, cement on the ceilings Cut the lifeline and left a population reeling Breaking off the future without thinking of the children I heard a girl cry, saw a boy laugh Saw the future turn white in a camera flash As the camera snaps, it all blows past No more light now, it's growin all black See the future but can't make it change So I say my prayers for those who aren't of age As behind closed eyes I see the unmarked graves And I, try to smile, but my expression's - changed What will they do with the playgrounds When the ones who used to play there don't come round And there's no one to replace them A generation crying out because we couldn't save them Who will wash them, who will bathe them? Commemorate them in their last days? And in a mother's eyes, and a father's face I glimpse a painting that was left untraced CHORUS 1 What about your deepest feelings? What about your broken heart? What about someone who's there When everything else falls apart? A true brother, a true sister Is there with a helping hand When you cry, you'll find my shoulder When you need me, I'll be there One child, one child One child might be a king One child, one child She could be everything VERSE 2 Top university with big dreams The best school in the country was in Beijing She was smart with a bright future - He had a smile like hers and caring eyes, that looked right through her Cold winter, but he made her warm So when he asked her out she texted right back - sure Her roommates all teased her When his picture showed up on her phone screensaver Same classes, the same major Together all day from 6 AM until he made her Go home to sleep, and in her dreams She didn't count sheep, she saw him as her savior Their first kiss in a corner of the campus His lips were untrained but she taught him manners At three months, they had a special date Rented a hotel room with the money he had saved her At four months, it turns out she's late They both knew that the moment had sealed their fate A pregnant woman can't run the rat race It was done in three hours on a Saturday, ay CHORUS 2 VERSE 3 Married in the fall; pregnant by the spring Their future was as bright as the diamond on her ring By the summer it was clear that the winter would bring Another life into their family, that's what they had dreamed The new year brought a new life into the world A new generation, a little baby girl Finally, they felt so complete Named her faith: their future, made concrete Mom went back to work, dad taught his class Grandma watched the child while grandpa took a nap But in their hearts, they felt a hole Next to little baby faith where another should go But the law said one child is all they need More than that is unpatriotic indeed Another child means paying steep taxes and fees And they were told: it's just one more mouth to feed .So when her belly gets large again The moment should be joyful but it's hard on them In their own family, they don't have a voice Because the law says the country doesn't have a choice
2.
City of the North 04:00
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VERSE 1 I, started this rhyme as I waited for the train On the platform, hearing instrumentals in my brain My kicks dirty gray 'cuz the air so foul One hundred degrees out, so we pray for rain The line pulls up, and it's full as hell Not to mention, these cats got a funky ass smell LL might be somewhere ringin some bells But as for me, I can barely even hear my cell These are the middle class losers, beggars, students Here, if you don't got a car, you ain't included A place that turns flesh to stone, like Medusa The '60s, tried to make a ghost of Confucius The car turns north as my head shuts down Prepared to close doors like old John Brown Done with the rhyme, and we're almost out of town And I almost missed my stop, I was busy with the sounds CHORUS Just another day in the city of the north Some push foreign whips, some are just piss-poor Just another day in a city full of schemes Filled with teams who be dreamin of the cream, so it seems VERSE 2 I live in a city where the dust hits ya bones Where to be heard, your words gotta use megaphones Where everybody smokes and it's killing them slow Where you can sing out loud and nobody hears the tones People tryna go hard, but they scared as hell So they keep coming back like a carousel no roots, so they move like a tumbling weed Like police at the door while they bundling weed They hear the knock outside and they stumble and flee While I roam the city free like Grand Theft 3 There's poison in the air, so he's coughin up lungs But he breathes in, the Spirit's got him speaking in tongues Coughed up some blood, guess he is a little scared But he made it this far, guess he's sposed to be here A life well lived is a life without fear Got more than 4 bars, am I coming through clear? CHORUS VERSE 3 I run the rings like Sonic, blaze like the chronic Gaze at the stars, see my fate like a comet But the haze on the city every day from the morning No colors, just greys, like the city was in mourning They poured over slums to make way for the champions Now they got clubs where before, there were stadiums Got bums, from locals turned aliens An unmarked grave for the brave who remained in 'em I jumped off the train as I headed to the crib and came face-to-face with a horse drawn rig A man with blank eyes and a face like stone Is this city mine, or his to call home? Just another day in a city caught between Tryna stay above water while we, chase our dreams Some live and some die, tryna do their thing Some live and some die, this big city, Beijing
3.
Throw an Egg On It 03:42
lyrics
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0:00-0:10 what's up we were out eatin tonight and I just had to let you know add that one last thing... and it makes perfect 0:10-0:35 Chinese people eatin things Noodles rice and chicken wings Fry it eat it add a drink Just ordered dumplings Throw an egg on that fish! Just ordered jian bing Throw an egg on that dish! Just ordered something 0:35-1:12 Chinese people eatin things noodles rice and chicken wings Go out to the chuanr spot, eatin lamb non stop Add an egg on top, crack it in the hot pot Wipin my fingers, grease drippin on my all stars Stir it up with chop sticks, throw some d's remix Chop it up and stir fry it and add a little beef tips Eatin that street food Chinese love that cheap food Grab an egg and soy sauce, and add it to some beef stew Broccoli and bok Choy even try some beet root Cook it on a flat stone or wok that's how we do Add it to some ramen, just don't eat it raw Add some cheese too if you really wanna ball 1:12-1:34 Chorus 2 1:35-2:12 Pork, beef, fish, chicken, little meatballs A lot of different animals and I eat em all When I had braces, the food got stuck Now it's mushu pork all day and Beijing duck Model Minority my crew's in LA You can catch them in the S G V all day At Chinese buffets in little strip malls Or at Din Tai Fung when we really wanna ball Get it hot and spicy or bland as you like it It might look odd but you know you gotta try it Whether you're an athlete or even on a diet It costs a little more but you know you gotta buy it 2:12-2:22 Chorus 3 2:23-2:35 Got some fried rice? (throw an egg on it!) Got some instant noodles? (throw an egg on it!) Got some hot pot? (throw an egg on it!) Got a hamburger? (throw an egg on it!) 2:36-3:00 Chorus 4
4.
Going Home 03:51
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CHORUS Got a ticket for a bus and a plane Twenty hours later and I'm back home again Stay for a night, I'm already on the road But momma knows that I'm always headed home VERSE 1 They say, you can't go home again I just hit the airport and I phoned a friend, I said Steve come meet me in midtown I just got off the flight I'm ready to get down holla at our people and let's all have a sitdown I been out of the country for more than a bit now, Call Lucas Kwong, let him know that I touched down, hold up, I gotta get up on this bus now - click Wearin gear that's Bustout, that's family My Nai-Nai live in DC, that's granny. All my life movin straight forward, no plan B The hope is the first Asian rap grammy. [Haha] Grand central station Ten dollar metrocard, I got back some change Union Square by way of the 6 train I think I'm home, but gosh it feels strange VERSE 2 I feel right when I hit the streets I got twenty-some texts and I'm here for a week, man Tryna get down with the crew around town I don't move weight, but I get mad pounds I mean daps as I stroll down Elm York Street, Orange, Chapel, Crown What up, Sheemo? Homey, I met Premo In Beijing - the scene is crazy, you should see, yo Keep doin ya thing, I'm right wit'chu Runnin the streets of China, like gym shoes The whole crew still crazy, got issues Whether you sneeze or not: God Bless You The air's crisp, so I'm coughin a bit My girl hits my cell, so we talk for a bit, then It's back to the pad with her voice in my ear The sun on my back, man, it's good to be here VERSE 3 I drove all night with the moon in my rearview Mem'ries so vivid that I see em with a clear view Got to the house around twelve o'clock The Christmas lights up around the block Homecoming, without the football The places I played when I was just a foot tall The photographs, on albums' pages I look at them but it's the life of a stranger Evrytime, I remain for a little less Old friendships move into shallow depths We catch up for a day at a time Then I'm off on an airplane into the sky And I wonder if my mom is surprised Or did she always know that I would one day fly? This is my music, these are my eyes These are my journeys and this is my life
5.
Prince of Beijing 03:12
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Stalkin the streets talking while i'm boxin the beats Let my thoughts lock n load block rockin mystique Reapin the heat, every evenin readin lyrical sheets Speakin decrees that impeach emcees at they peak I been empowered past my boundaries to leap at the heap King of the Hill chillin' still in full effect in concrete I been hungry, feastin weekends on the beasts that creep Leavin deathless enemies deceased / Or in grievous need Of PCP or even THC Prescribed by men with PHDs, I N D E P END to the E N T Bust Out is the G O A T Much respect to Sbazzo, that's the K to the I N G The streets fiend for Yin'tsang, the Beijing OG's Grand Master plastered rhymes over venomous beats Prince of Beijing who gon want it with me? Peace Promised myself that I would chill on that aggressiveness The problem is, you still ain't seen the best of it My message is that anybody hatin is a pessimist They prali thought that Illmatic just needed some more guests in it Expressin thoughts in sentences that leave faces expressionless Amazin on the [page], my messages could go to Make a Wish In other words, I'm sick, you go and find him on a patient list Achin, takin days to heal, you cannot think I'm fakin this Set the bait, they takin it, I'm takin over, makin hits I don't mean toppin charts, I mean my lyrics on that Vegas tip That lil kid poppin Omar in the spot on a bodega trip Sic em, sit em down, set em up, and shut em down, blaow [Now] I ain't sayin I'm the king because I'm not I'm just here to get hype up on the mic and rock the spot But if you got a buddy who be thinkin that his pen is kinda nice I'm here to tell your little friend that it is not. (hahaha) (Grand Master) Prince of Beijing up in the house Chillin on the throne like I'm on the couch (Bust Out) My whole fam still got my back With Sbazzo, Yin'tsang on that track, yea So what do I mean when I say that I'm the prince? I mean that I'm the illest with the syllables, killin a million flows I didn't ever wanna be about a cent So I took an artistic hiatus, 3 months later, hi haters I don't wanna make your crew get all upset I'm just sayin my brain be painting in living colors like Damon Wayons Why do I claim Beijing when I'm from the West? Tupac was from Baltimore but still he claimed like Cali was his set There's never been as, much of a menace in a single sentence Since I, got the pennant for murderin instrumentals I been it, I done it, I said it, I set it off again Been hustlin marks who find a friend and bet it all on them There ain't no better bet than him, I'm breezier than the wind I'm a sure thing like taxes and death comin after them I been mental, since dental hygienists drilled my brain stem How many yall are made men? I look at you and break wind

about

5 songs from my life in Beijing - the highs, the lows, the struggles and the dreams.

City of the North video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZ4dxhiPUs

credits

released April 21, 2012

Shout outs 2 my girl Jess, the #ModelMinority crew (UP!), Sbazzo @ YinEnt, BustOut, Akufuncture, theDanZhao, Peter Gent, The Embassy (to Kyle Stang/Foster/Mexico!!), F@O past present and future (2 many 2 name), Ying-Ying, tstai, and all the haters.

And, most of all, to the lovers.

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jason chu Los Angeles, California

I make rap music + speak on what I believe in.

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