NBK

What if chapu were to randomly spit a 16?
Scandalous rhyme, budded out and living a low key fancy dream
A stream of thought, random on the spot one shot
Memory of one that could never get knocked
Hopping on grass, I’m the mirror reflection on tinted glass
Sur Centro suddenly spotted in the east side going full blast
Seventh line living in the future focused on the past
Blood line of a merchant, why front with a hollow mask?
Troubled tribe make the temezcal tremble
W/ what the ancestors want me to resemble
Off track, rugged can’t be understood by those focused on gentle
Reconsider what you view as basic and essential
Bothered by a cause I’m living life as a rebel
Knowledge wanted me to be a deviant on the level
High grade hash hit like deep bass and treble

Word to moms got me feeling like an assassin
If words are my weapon, you can bet I’m blasting
Dumping on the deaf, hitting them w/ knowledge
Till my very last breath, but one love
We all in this together and trying to rise above

Some preach to the choir, me, I’m underground passing the wire,
Out to educate the new; don’t matter if you carry priors
In this struggle we all lovers and fighters
Ill literate nonfiction narrative writers
Madness manifested, on full blast
So everyone can check it, can’t afford to have anyone be neglected
In the bigger scheme we all equally connected
Collective mind mentality
And won’t stop till we all feel well protected
Won’t stop till we reshape our reality
Done out of love not for the sake of a salary
Feeling more at home in the streets than in the gallery
And me I’m more like
Mickey Knox in these streets out for his Mallory
And that’s NBK, Stream of consciousness, here to stay,
can’t afford to run in circles or even run away

Cartas a una desconocida by Nicanor Parra

Cuando pasen los años, cuando pasen
los años y el aire haya cavado un foso
entre tu alma y la mía; cuando pasen los años
y yo sólo sea un hombre que amó,
un ser que se detuvo un instante frente a tus labios,
un pobre hombre cansado de andar por los jardines,
¿dónde estarás tú? ¡Dónde
estarás, oh hija de mis besos!

- Nicanor Parra (Chileno)

The Plot Thickens.

for me not to express would be a disservice
i'm always on point, not to make you nervous
but im w/ a pack of poets w/ purpose
and we stack stanzas more religiously than churches
Amen, sisters and brethe-ren
not to make it cyclical, but here we go again
fuck it, throw me one more time into the lions den
this time it's pivotal to find that hidden gem
spit nasty like blunted phlegm
words that pack a punch, talent by the bunch
we keep your brain over worked
hope you brought an extra lunch
shit gets heavy and the plot thickens
speak universal truth and everybody listens
several options but really slim pickens
we structure visions, escape mental prisons
succeed when it comes to bustin impossible missions
fake friends come and go
but my squad is always out to go for broke
backed by lower class working folk
work real hard to puff on top shelf smoke
analyze our word, our word holds a heavy hand
of that forever rest assured
can't trust those whose visions are blurred
we go all in, we aint ever scurrred
and even if we're tipsy our words will never slur
our message is important, plain and simply
we slide in smooth ever so gently
knowledge for years and damn we have plenty
couldn't lie even if i wanted cuz
the reality is that the harsh truth sent me
respectfully, i tell you now that
I'll tell it how it is; ASAP and stat
lyrical bullets and I'm fully strapped
quick with the thought
if ever i have to bust the gat
go out dumping before i give in to idle chit chat
speak in secret code,
green light to every last low key rat
if i dissected you, you've fallen into my trap
style forced to be honest or plot a dirt nap
forced to kick up dust, end of the road
and if we explode, well, that's just that.

SHARP AS A BLADE (ACAPELLA)

SHARP AS A BLADE (ACAPELLA) by ElGrasshopper

The good always comes w/ the bad
Pointless to act up, why get mad?
Capture this moment like it was a consistent recurring fad
Hard knock university graduate gone post grad
Life lessons never seem to cease
But then again that’s just the nature deep in the belly of the beast
I hold it all in and sporadically release
Aiming to stack knowledge and rack up mad cheese
Life keeps hidden secrets and I am a career thief
Far from depressing
I’m the one that chose to never learn his lesson
My heavens, good grief!
My moment in the sun might only be brief
But I’m going to shine like fuck it let’s all chief
I’m jumping off the cliff, open minded and lit spliff
Bad enough that these gender relations are such a trip
Head held high and purposely wanting to slip
Damn right my argument is well structured and well equipped
Don’t act a fool if you can’t read the script
Type cast cats might as well call it quits
Wouldn’t be able to hang if we were to trade wits
Fuck around and end up in a bathtub with two slit wrists
Hard to the core with talent galore
Some stay book theory while I go out and explore
Come up on multi-syllabic lyrical gifts
Rooted in that style perfected by the working poor
This is lifelong not a temporary chore
I play and on occasion get played
The difference between you and I
Is that I go all in and am never afraid
I love life like green, strictly high grade
Never side track from having to get paid
Nowhere near my peak, I can go for more
Whatever it takes to be the next great orator
Bastard child that organic and academic styles made
Express life lessons that come from having constantly disobeyed
Shine like there’s no shelter or even any shade
This southpaw poet claims to defend the vanguard
Forever down to pull rank and catch a clean fade, never by force
The message I bring is urgent and can’t be delayed
Just remember I’m no sucker that can be easily swayed
My words are on point no remorse and yes of course;
Sharp as a blade.

EL PROFETA DEL NOPAL

EL PROFETA DEL NOPAL

Around the time when I was heavy into hardcore punk a couple of years back a photographer friend of mine introduced me to one RockDrigo Gonzalez, he was very passionate in his argument as to why I should like this “anti-troubadour.” I told him it sounded too folky for me, very Bob Dylan-ish and I for one wasn’t too big of a fan of ol’ Bob. He went on to tell me that RockDrigo was part of a collective of musicians that roamed throughout Mexico in the early 80’s when rock and roll was still banned by the government. A band of roaming deviant, socially conscious, beer guzzling, peyote eating, anti-troubadours, and their fearless leader was this, “RockDrigo Gonzalez”. I won’t give away too much of his history because I’d like to pass down this gem of an artist whose genius took me years to sink in. The brother was taken out by the Great Earthquake that hit Mexico City on the morning of September 19th 1985. “El Profeta Del Nopal”( i.e. peyote), as he was known, was among the 10,000 people that died on that morning, he was one of those souls that understood too much, his lyrics were deep social commentary not well received in the mainstream because of the street slang that he incorporated. He did however have mad love from the people. Fast forward to a few years later I came across one of his albums, “Hurbanistorias” and now more accepting of other genres that weren’t just hardcore punk I gave it a listen, I’m not even sure if I ever told my photographer friend that I am now and have been for a few years now a fan. The album is packed with that anti-troubadour style, the lyrics are phenomenal, the story telling is powerful, the observations are very critical and the language is sick. I decided to look up his lyrics and read them for myself, analyze if you will, the man was a genius, he wrote in multi syllabic rhyme schemes that could have given Rakim Allah a good run for his money. The anniversary of his death is coming up in a few days as is that of the Great earthquake of 85, my sharing his existence with those who don’t know of him as of yet is my tribute to one of my teachers, a temachtiani, a spiritual elder, a colleague EL PROFETA DEL NOPAL!!. The song I put up is a live version of “No Tengo Tiempo (de Cambiar mi Vida)” or “I Don’t Have Time (To Change my Life)” off the HURBANISTORIAS album the first few lines go as follows:

“Cabalgo sobre sueños innecesarios y rotos
prisionero iluso de esta selva cotidiana
y como hoja seca que vaga en el viento
vuelo imaginario sobre historias de concreto
navego en el mar de las cosas exactas
voy clavado en momentos de semánticas gastadas
y cual si fuera una nube esculpida sobre el cielo
dibujo insatisfecho mis huellas en el invierno

ya que yo, no tengo tiempo de cambiar mi vida
la maquina me ha vuelto en una sombra borrosa
y aunque sea la misma puerta que han negado tus ojos
se que tengo tiempo de atracar en un puerto

or

“I ride on horseback over broken and unnecessary dreams
Naïve prisoner of this routine jungle,
And like a dry leaf wandering through the wind
Imaginary flight over stories of concrete
Sailing through the ocean of all things exact
I’m focused on moments of wasted semantics
And what that I were a cloud sculpted over the sky
I’ll draw a dissatisfactory sketch of my prints in winter

Now that I, Don’t have time to change my life
The machine has turned me into a blurry shadow
And even thought I’m the door that your eyes have neglected
I know that I still have time to dock on some port…”

- Daniel Morales Leon
(a.k.a. Chapulin, Grasshoper, Under, Chespi)

No More Mr. Nice Guy

No More Mr. Nice Guy (Acapella) by ElGrasshopper

I’m a stubborn motherfucker who act like he don’t know
What I do, I don’t do for show,
I get at your dome like a fat sack of blow
Come at me wrong and you go out painfully and slow
Mr. nice guy got the boot, wasn’t sharp and that astute
Matter of fact he was preventing me from stacking all my loot
Tattooed feather says my souls reciting till I’m out
I’m inviting you to have your every single doubt
I aint stopping till I acquire mad clout
And even when I do imma still go strong
Top shelf status and I got greens on that bong
I’mma pass you, nice meeting you so long
Head in the heavens orchestrating a new song
This skill is ill, I even give myself the chills
Low grade competition better find a new thrill
Cus to tell the truth I have been known to kill at will
And that’s me being honest, if we gotta keep it real

Over and out.

Ski mask stat like a rebel, on point with my task
I offer you radical collective bargaining on the table
Best be on the level or face spiritual death foretold
Over turn the status quo, give a fuck about political party or label
Urban mental militia in case you didn’t know
This is no romanticized fable
I break down the code pero aun asi
The Haves still wouldn’t be able to see why we aching to be free
Believe me, our reality in this city ain’t nothing pretty
Our argument is legit, to the point that it’s fatal
Gutter ass gritty, everyone sinning and seeking a halo
There ain’t no way we can keep laying low
The masses have their eyes wide open and they know
Truth aint truth just cos the system says so
I was born agitating, rocking the cradle
And trust, we don’t have to rely on bustin a lick
On any punk politican trick that secretly call us spics
We hold down street AND academic level
Todos aqui somos estudiantes y maestros
Taking our freedom, yo a nadie le ruego!
We bringing this battle to the state and the federal
This concept is for working class in general
Coded semantics for those that can execute
That heavy artillery hidden artistic advantage
Round up the troops, we putting in work
Rigorous battle fields, only few manage
Firearm is brains and in this war
It’s mando that you always brandish
One for all, all for one we fight and don’t run
One slip and you’re done you must understand,
We’re not gunning for crumbs, this is a call out
Strictly devoid of soft sucker chumps
In the greater scheme there’s a more important plan
It supersedes anything any one individual may consider grand
And that don’t mean relinquishing personal pride,
It just means here the collective commands
Never no false alarms, no need to hide
Life’s a constant test, forever expecting the final exam
We collide, fight, scream and shout
Open invitation but really a call to arms,
I think you get the message, transmission end.
Over and out.