CAGED BIRDS (NPR MUSIC’S TINY DESK CONCERT) Tobe Nwigwe (Ft. LaNell Grant)

[Spoken Word Intro: Tobe Nwigwe]
One more time
Let's teach them how the caged bird sings

[Verse 1: Tobe Nwigwe]
I spit a verse so a horde of heathens can find the light
But keep a pistol that tear tissue like it's time to wipe
Don't fret, my first step ain't to resign ya life
Plus that pistol fye, don't bark until it's time to bite
Hell once you find a wife, you do what you must do
To protect her and keep her up off a stretcher 'til she due
To have a baby, glad a lady came up to me and said
"Congratulations don't come to those rather lazy instead
Of hard working"
We all searching for affirmation
Some sheep'll wander the atlas for validation
And valid statements from those who never will validate 'em
I pray I navigate 'em to a fortress where congregating with angels is the norm
You pray and they perform
Immaculate miracles to help you evade the storm
Of vipers, snipers, and every wicked form
Of evil that's been tryna deceive you since you was born
With yo heaven sent melanin
Don't let 'em convince you that ya etiquettes' a speech impediment
I'm in my element and feel benevolent even when I'm viewed as the elephant
In every residence I'm stepping in but hell I ain't trippin'
Aye mayne, say mayne, flow nuts macadamia
I'm from the city of purple spitting vibrainium
Get it in yo cranium, can't nobody Simba him
And if I ever go down it'll be like swingin' like pendulums, ooh
I said if I ever go down, it'll be swingin' like pendulums, sing