Giventake

I work my fingers to the bone
My elbow grease seeps
Benefits get reaped
I keep talk to a minimum
Props, I never rented 'em
I own all my masters
Selling tapes for cash, fuck the middlemen bastards
Though, it’d have been faster to take that route
I’m observing those who didn’t
That’s unfortunate how it turned out
I learned early that beatin' fools is a worldly trade
Man, how you gonna profit off the music that I made?
C’mon now, I’ll trade you for something equal
But robbing artists blind isn’t the way to be treating people
And I can see that it’s gonna take some sweat
But perseverance plus a talent forms a weapon, and
We steppin' in fresher this year
Objects in the rear view are closer than they appear
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
Give me a break
What do they have to pay for?
The energies from Earth?
What, do they own that too? (Nah)
A slew of bills fill my mailbox month to month (Fuck that)
The numbers stump me like math
I got to pay to take a bath, what?
Pay to see my ass, and
Pay for them to haul away the trash when it’s full
Pay to heat my food, and
Pay to watch the tube, and
If I don’t have cable there’s no channels for me to flip
And that’s more grip
And if you’re poor, shit
They only give a few extensions (Not to me…)
Dimensions of the plot run thick (Thick)
Pretty soon we’ll pay for air when they figure out how to sell it
Tell it like you know it, and everybody wants to laugh
Probably never hear the truth, 'til they take away the cash
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
So many ways to drain a lifespan
Sometimes I worry late at night and
Try to fight the urge to smoke that bidi
But despite man’s will
Still my lungs are smoke-filled
And I hope to build with better tools
But I be playin' the fool still
Like, let me get a Sausage McMuffin with egg
A little liquor to get on a fade
And I would really have it made
If she would spread her legs
Probably aid me to my death
Before I got the chance to age
Wagin' war all my life
But even if I didn’t
Somebody else could do it, and
Wish me my good riddance
When I’m gone
Send me on my path, my merry way
Time is but the test
We livin' in scary days
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps on the plate
It’s a give and take
What you’re given’s what they take
There’s no leftovers
Only scraps
Only scraps
No leftovers, only scraps
Give and take
(Nothing's ever left for me
Nothing’s ever left for me)