S.I.N. (Survival In Negativity)

"Refocused all my aim to hit the target from the darkest parts of the Harbor's foggiest water to the stars" The journey of losing what was once a clear sense of direction & guidance and finding a way to refocus. The general sum-up and intro to the idea of this project. I've been in a number of groups and crews over the yrs and once they started falling apart I felt left on an island as the only 1 still willing to pursue it which came with feelings of inadequacy.

"You're nothing without focus" - KXNG Crooked (My favorite track on the project) An extension and expansion of the 1st track's theme of remembering what drew me to my chosen path and using it for inspiration. Stepping back to regain focus has always been a constant for me and I'd imagine most others as well. The most important part for me was remembering why I do it, not just music but even the very reason I wake up. Hook inspired by Xzibit's "Speed of Life"

"When I was young I knew I would be a writer. Picked the pen up when I was still just a reader of the stories people print up" A look at the growing pains that went into my musical journey from what subject matter I thought I should cover, to figuring out my identity as an artist.

"I left you today to travel to places near & far but I'll be back, and we can pick up right where we left off." My desire to travel more as I get older and leave the comfort zone of my city behind, along with the excitement of having music be the catalyst.

Rhymes + Cover Photo - S.I.N. Beat - fatcop soundcloud.com/iamfatcop Mix - Stratic Beats www.youtube.com/@StraticBeats East Baltimore City born, city raised & wouldn't have it any other way...although sometimes it can be a bit much & the older I get the more I consider getting away from it all. Much love to fatcop for providing the soundscape that brought this thought to words & the words to music. Verse 1: East side of Baltimore. Was raised to walk on concrete. To some it's in the bop, they say they can see it on me. The aura of a latch key lackadaisical loner roaming with no regard for the traffic when he cross the street. I was nursed by the biggest of buildings, or so i thought. Downtown was like the vertical version of Noah's Ark. Hadn't yet heard of New York & all it's towering glory. Preoccupied with the surrounding prowess that lied before me. Not for the faint of heart, noisy & annoying to the foreign. Everyday is lost from joylessly toiling away. A coiling array of cliches. I guess I'll spare u all the details. What is there more to say? I just know that i was born here, I'll probably die here. Every now & then still need a break to keep my mind clear. Learned that from moving out to Randalstown my 9th yr of grade school where the place was too quiet for my ears. City Boy, only favor God's country can do me is keep the radio the reception far from me. Which is funny bcuz, i wasn't even that far just far enough to take time adjusting. No horns beeping or neighbors beefing in the street to lullaby me to sleep & as i lay i pray the lord his silence to keep. Fill the void at least with never ending white noise or distortion to keep my mind poised. Can't u see? Hook: I'm a City Boy. Raised under city lights all of my many days, many nights. That's right. I'm a City Boy. Dirty air, dirty water. Healthy dose of both keeps it all in order. I'm a City Boy. City born, city raised, wouldn't rather have it any other way. I'm a City Boy. Nothing more, nothing less. Until the day I rest, I guess. Verse 2: Traffic & static drowning out the unheard so we don't even bother tryna bleep out the cuss words. Absurd, let it rock til the planet stop or the city's paved into 1 big parking lot to the suburbs. We be out there too, getting on everyone's nerves blasting music no one's heard on repetition til u call the cops or u concur. Comprendé? We don't mean u no harm yo. Come on over. Bring a friend. Ayy, now it's a party. All night cuz city folk opposed to sleep. The city don't so mostly we just sit awoke or roam the streets. Inhaling secondhand gunsmoke, exhale smog & nod when strolling past the cutthroats. We do our best to pay the rent & pay attention otherwise we pay with our lives. Too many payments pending from the 1s who didn't take the memo. Or sometimes it'll just happen in a flash whether u retained the info or not. No solution. Our pollution blocks the stars but still makes the sky look pretty right before dark. Thoughts where the air is thick & the patience is thin range from this is where I'm staying to escape with the wind. Me, I plan to 1 day replace terms like "around the way" with new phrases like "I'm going into town today". Somewhere on a mountaintop looking down at the serenity surrounding me but til I've found a way I'm a city boy.

Sat up all night, figured i should be writing...

This is probably my most personal song and given the lyrics, just about sums up the whole project...

"Erotomania: the delusional belief that another person, usually a stranger, high-status or famous person, is in love with them. Even though advances are unexpected and often unwanted, any denial of affection by the object of this delusional love is dismissed by the patient as a ploy to conceal the forbidden love from the rest of the world."

This song is about the home studio my friends and I built which eventually became somewhat of a sanctuary for us to focus our craft, realize our dreams, and just have somewhere to laugh.