Levels

i drafted up a dm

then I deleted it

couldn’t stop thinking bout

how id feel to see you reading it

like is it cool enough?

would I respond if the roles reversed?

if I was him & I had never heard of her?

I can’t be vulnerable

can’t wear my heart up on my sleeve

can’t shoot my shot

even if it is about music

cause I got a song that’s hot

I want you on it

I really think we’d make some heat

especially all the time that I spent bodying this beat

I admire your work I think you’re witty & crafty & clever & swaggy & all the subtle things that make this alto get raspy if only you’d add me

back

I guess i’ll add this song the stack

of dreams deferred

maybe i’ll never be heard

by the artists who’s lyrics make me hang on to every word

i’ll quietly retreat into my laboratory

til I got something thats worthy of a congratulatory message from you cause

it’s levels to this

yeah babe it’s levels to this

it’s levels to this

mhm it’s levels to this

it’s levels, levels, levels, levels

ooh it’s levels, levels, levels, levels

open my inbox

it’s flooded with message requests

from strangers swearing up & down they got next

I click the profile it don’t look promising

if they got a lot of followers

there’s clues it may be fraudulent

cause the numbers ain’t right

how you got 100k views wit no comments or no likes?

definition of the phrase “don’t believe the hype”

I wipe the floor with the tears

of my so-called peers

they can’t compare with the years I been conquering fears

but your words don’t fall on deaf ears

I see you working hard maybe if you play your cards right we’ll link up when the stars align

that’s what my heroes told me

it hurt back then but now I understand perfectly

they worked to be where they are

& they don’t owe me a thing

it don’t matter if you play rap or sing

you gotta carve you own path

stand on your own two

gotta pay your own dues

or the game will own you

cause it’s levels to this

yeah babe it’s levels to this

it’s levels to this

mhm it’s levels to this

it’s levels, levels, levels, levels

ooh it’s levels, levels, levels, levels

cause it’s levels to this

yeah babe it’s levels to this

it’s levels to this

mhm it’s levels to this

it’s levels, levels, levels, levels

ooh it’s levels, levels, levels, levels