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Listen up guys, I've got something for you,
but it's more than a rap.
It's a vision.
See, what you students might not know is how much you guys
challenge your teachers to become better people, bigger people.
One of the things that I have done since I've been here is I've discovered what I can do.
You have challenged me to resort to music.
I wanna give you guys the chance to do this. I intend for this video
to be put on Donorschoose advocating for a studio
to be put right about there.
What would you guys do with the ability to make music here on campus?
That's where this vision goes.
Hit it.
Man,
sometimes I just wanna stay in bed
and let the world pass me by cuz it's so much,
but then I think of the difference I'm making
and I believe.
Till I collapse I'm teaching this class. Long as you show up
tell your friends Mr. G has no enemy you can't blow up.
You've got only Fs? I'll find your parents and phone 'em
and this is not phony breath, my call field ain't holdin'.
So it was a lot--with all the lessons to make,
just tryna stay up on top and barely making the grade--
but now adrenaline shots
of espresso and Noz
feel like just a drop
of the heat I've got smold'rin':
a cascading tirade in the making
like the fire brigade just tied up their hoses forsaken
so you feel the burn;
whether daze or amazement,
there's no way to deny that this guy knows what he's saying.
So you can kick back, dismiss it and laugh
as another white guy who's slash an on-the-side entertainer,
but the rebuttal befuddles cuz when I come back I ask:
what of the fact I told my class it's education?
Till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I can't call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.
Till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I can't call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.
Two things to address:
a couple reasons I teach (let me dwell upon each)
and then those thoughts in your head.
It's cuz I'm driven;
a fuel-injected need for respect, which is mixed with
a harrowing intestinal dread. I've got an engine
heavy-pedaled, I guess over-revved,
but when your mettle's tough as steel,
to sleep sound in bed
you've just gotta do what you feel. You can't settle for less.
(Let me confess) there are times I use you guys for my stress:
It goes the girlfriend
I dropped for this job three weeks in,
then the whirlwind of finding some new haunt to be in.
You kids write and talk about deep loss I've seen in
horror stories like lives scored by some sick tragedian.
Whether it be me or you, you do need to believe in
something bigger than these streets,
a duty or reason to be more
than blinged-out athletes or these swag rappers singing,
cuz there's a battle that must be fought
and can be won
and has meaning.
Till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I can't call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.
Till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I cannot call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.
Now for the head's thoughts:
I know I'm not Eminem. Stop for just a second
so we can compare the two lessons taught.
Now I'd prefer
that people hang on every word,
first the matter of the meter, then to where we diverge.
So his rhythm's returned? I duplicate and reword.
Does the metrical merge mean my call'll never be heard?
Cuz it's a call to arms against the dumb and cretinous verse,
so I'm dumping like a dump truck on these trumped-up concerns.
First load:
to the rappers that act like all that matters
is flashing with their trophies
and swagger for the cameras.
Next load if you work to relax with all your assets--
your cash and glam'rous mansions
are actually still caskets.
Chime a cup,
raise up a glass in pure sarcasm.
Laugh these egomaniacs back into the classroom.
I follow Shady's footpath,
but I have my own agenda,
so my class, you best remember:
no collapse and never surrender
till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I can't call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.
Till the school bell rings, till the sun goes down,
till I've given it all, I can't call it off now--
till I see that you grasp through your eyes and your face
the worth of this class beyond walking the stage.