Notes/Trivia
◦ Intro tracks are a challenge. On one hand you want a piece that’s strong enough to lay the foundation for the rest of the album; on the other hand you don’t want your listeners to be disappointed as they progress through each cut. This joint lies in the balance; it’s not the weightiest track on the album but a lot is being said here (analyze the hook, sun). It was the horns that got me open. When Sabzi first laced me with this one I was just beginning to overcome my resentment toward the local ‘scene;’ KRS had just breezed through the Chop, Hiphop Appreciation Week was just around the corner and, if even for a brief moment, Heads were comin’ together to support a common cause. Where were you the day Hiphop took over the Capitol Hill Branch Library? I reminisce, I reminisce… By the way, the train motif is symbolic - homage to Illmatic, cousin - that’s what’s up. -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ Obviously this piece predates Re-Fresh. The idea for this joint hit me when I heard Johnny Horn play an old Esther Phillips cover of Gil Scott's Home Is Where The Hatred Is. As if the relevance of the soulful cut wasn't inspirational enough, the tag at the end has Esther and her back-up ladies cryin' "diggy dang, diggy dang, g'dang g'dang diggy…" Wow. All this time I thought Tip was emulatin' Busy Bee - turns out Busy was playin' off Little Esther. Hiphop is chock-full of these gems, sun - dig deep. Ironically, Sabzi was a partial impetus in the composition of this piece a full year before he'd agreed to do the Common Market project. He used to tell me I lived too far outside the city for him to fuck with me. That shit made me so angry I had to put it down in verse, but ultimately his position commanded more dedication and persistence on my part; when I proved my ambition Sabz came through in the clutch. Now if only the rest of the Heads would come around… -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ Hmmm. This one's complicated. More than once during the recording session Sabzi looked at me as if to say "I'm not sure what you're sayin' but I'm sure you're sayin' something." True indeed. To explain too much would be to take away from the listener's experience of discovery and realization (yes, I am hopeful that some people will actually process these 64 bars analytically), but I will tell you that my interpretation of Matthew 22:14 is a little different from Billy Graham's. This country is riding a wave of Neo-Conservative enthusiasm rooted deeply in fundamental Christianity - so much so that, phenomenally in ‘04, Americans voted against their own economic interests to put a self-serving, maniacal neophyte back into office for a second term. The farther this country swings to the right the more abhorrent we appear to the rest of the world. I, for one, am not willing to stand idly by as my Muslim brothers and sisters are forced to sacrifice more civil liberties and religious freedom under the pretense of promoting ‘democracy' in the Middle East – even if that's what God told George to do. Enough is enough - it's time we take control back from the zealots; all it takes is for one person to stand up and say "hey" - the interjection interrupts the status quo… -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ Believe it or not, some real crazy shit went down after KRS came through Seattle on March 9th, 2005. I was on fire for weeks afterwards; runnin' around town talkin' about "March 9th is no longer a day in which we acknowledge the death of Biggie Smalls, but rather a day in which we rejoice in the re-birth of Hiphop in our community…" I told you I grew up as a Southern Baptist, and if nothing else I've carried with me the tendency to preach. At KRS's behest, Piece, Seattle's Grand Slam poet laureate, called a meeting to organize various events for Hiphop Appreciation Week (May 15th-22nd). At the meeting I suggested that all of our efforts be focused on the Temple of Hiphop since the Temple, essentially, was responsible for the inauguration of the week-long celebration of Kulture. I even suggested that proceeds from these events be donated, in part, to the Temple out of respect. Apparently I stepped on some toes. Within days, word on the street was "RA Scion's a crank, a zealot, an overenthusiast," and eventually "a racist." WHAT? How does this happen? Then it hit me: these heads are lookin' at me the same way I look at the ‘born-agains;' they think I'm tryin' to assimilate them into a ‘ministry' they have no interest in serving. They see my passion for the Temple as dangerous and divisive, and ultimately their mission is to destroy my credibility. I get it. In a word this song is about "fanaticism;" in the first verse I acknowledge others' perception of my devotion to the Temple of Hiphop, and in the second verse I describe my feelings towards a fanatic of the Faith. In both cases it's essential to recognize how quickly a Cause designed to promote unity can become the reason for dissention and conflict; a poison of sorts. Would you be willing to sacrifice dedication to your cause for the sake of a greater one? Tough question… -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ This piece is too beautiful to be called an ‘interlude.' Kampo is Sabzi at his best: melodic overtones, signature shakers, contrasting big-bass low ends and sparse snares (it's so Fresh Coast) – the kid's got the craft on lock. When Sabzi and I originally started discussing the idea of this project it was gonna be a 7-song EP with instrumental versions included (still a novel concept, if you ask me). As I was listening to the selection of beats I just kept writing and writing and writing to everything; we started recording with the intent to cut the weaker tracks and ended up keeping it all – well, almost (ask Sabzi's brother why Get Together and Spread never made it past guide vocals). I heard this track for the first time at the mastering session, and I'm sure Sabz never played it for me before then because he knew I'd try and write to it! But this one was too powerful for words; I mean, if you can't think of one single person to love or one reason to live life after playing this joint, you have no soul and you don't deserve a copy of this album – give it to someone else in hopes that, through the act of sharing, God may look favorably upon you and make you human once more. I love you, Sabz, and I don't mind tellin' you. -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ This is another one of those verses dictated by the beat. I wish you all had the chance to hear each of these instrumentals before words compromised their integrity; I wonder if you would have felt the same emotion I felt. This joint had to be one specifically for the ‘kids.' Not toddlers, mind you, but the 12-to-17-year-old demographic who are undoubtedly magnetized (positively or negatively) by Hiphop Music. Can we stop tellin' ‘em to leave rap alone and start teaching them how to use rhyme effectively? I tell the young ‘uns all the time: "If you wanna rebel, rebel against the ‘system;' you wanna be a thug, be one who distributes the wealth." If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times – Hiphop is so powerful. It's on us to see that the youth use the weapon wisely. -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ I'll let you in on a little secret: I wrote this verse about 4 years ago when I moved to Seattle from Zambia. I was deliberately taking notice of both the differences and similarities between various cultures I'd been a part of in my travels. Time – I mean real, tangible time, like "12 o'clock" – time, more specifically the desire to know precisely what ‘time' it is seems to be universal. Of course I'm aware of the stark contrast of the "pace" of life between Chicago and the Luapula Province, but in both places I've had cats ask me for the time – more than once. But that's not the secret – the secret is that Sabzi gave me this beat a week before we were scheduled to wrap up recording and I couldn't come up with jack shit. I wanted this cut so bad I started diggin' through an old notebook full of aged rhymes. Feeling the pressure of the ‘time' constraint, this piece seemed apropos; please take a second to enjoy it. -RA Scion

Notes/Trivia
◦ Unique version of the Beatles' Come Together. Only performed at shows.