My grandfather, Laotian general
Met a school teacher which gave a drip of poetic soul/
to future children but war around it would let it never grow/
but it flourished inside of me, most artistic they'd ever known/
Let me dig through my components while I write this shit/
'cause it's been a minute since I've gone over analyzed my shit/
Busy being the future of my fam that I am wireless/
I've lost connection with them, not clear on pieces that I've equipped/
My fam sailed overseas on a fucking boat/
tired of being woken up by explosions that clutch your soul/
Shake you up, make you run, if you quick, tuck and roll/
to be greeted by men with machetes with steel that touch your throat/
Out of the pan and into the fire/
To know and truly understand is my single desire/
When I feel close to my fam it only gets me inspired/
and helps me find a way to be a man who's gon' live for tomorrow/
Out of the fire and into the elements/
is where I found myself, and the cold is as hellish and/
I'm wiping off this dirt, and the soot and the sediment/
Strength in both my shoulders that be carrying elephants/
I'm embellished with reminders of my heritage/
and all the wisdom that I hope I won't simply be buried with/
but rather, passed down to, members of my lineage/
who needa draw strength in all the ways in which that he had lived/
The way my grandpa lived/
I spilled my own blood today/
It's the last time, I let it go to waste/
Because I know where it comes from/
My blood, I know where it comes from
I tasted my own blood tonight/
It gave strength, to get me through that fight/
From a soldier to his grandson/
That's from where my blood's from/
And I've been tracing down my bloodline/
hearing all the stories of my grandpa on them front lines/
Tales told, by my mother, planes flown, bombs dropped/
nonstop, mortar smoke, blocking out the sunshine/
That same sun, I look for when the pain comes/
and helps to fortify just what I need to see the day won/
The things my grandpa went through in that path of violence
I need to take it in and breathe I need to close my eyelids/
Sweet silence for my pa-tu/
I got the news this morning that this world has lost you/
That first verse I wrote about 4 years ago/
I'm trynna finish this song for you before more tears'll flow/
And maintain, you didn't fight for nothing/
Swearing by the name I carry through you I'll be something/
strong like you, live my life to honor you/
and go by your example when I choose to be a father too/
And think of what of you, trickles down to me/
to help in what I'm going through and where I'm bout to be/
I swear, you didn't fight for me to be so cold and homeless/
Alone and hopeless, I wrote this just so you could notice/
that I went through some shit, but it's so close to over/
...And I'll be moving forward/
Finally free, not bound or tethered/
and I put it on our name, that, 'imma do better/
I spilled my own blood today/
It's the last time, I let it go to waste/
Because I know where it comes from/
My blood, I know where it comes from
I tasted my own blood tonight/
It gave strength, to get me through that fight/
From a soldier to his grandson/
That's from where my blood's from/
credits
from Chamomile,
released August 8, 2017
Produced by TROX
If you were a fan of the production work Steez did on here, be sure to check out his first release called Bless. He's working hard on some new music that is really going to showcase his range. Ahnom
You can't go wrong with Oddisee. Everything he has made is amazing. If any rapper has influenced me the most recently, it's hands down Oddisee. If I could be half as good as an MC as he is... Ahnom
Tope is a local hero to me from the Portland rap scene. To be real, I don't follow the local scene here too hard, but Tope will always be an artist I think of when someone mentions Portland. Ahnom