Restoration

There was a time when our talents
were sought after by emperors and kings
who brought us into their palaces
to paint dance and sing
Worshiped like Gods
for the gifts we possessed
seated amongst the elite
treated with the utmost respect
Now fast forward to 2010
where most of those who choose to
paint dance and sing for a living
can barely pay rent
Times have changed
the game is cuthroat
we're seen as the lowest of lows
our lifestyles considered a joke?
if you ask us
the value of an artist is going bankrupt
wounded from the tax cuts
forced to reconsider the bitter back up plan
tougher is the task at hand
we are moving longer passed the days
of living solely off of grants
success rests in the bank
of those who are most wealthy
It's a difficult dream to chase indeed
but see you don't gotta tell we!
I know this life of an artist is hard
but struggling is all part of the job
going up against tremendous odds
in a system mostly ruled by laws
where shooting for the stars
means being far from what's conventional
embarking on this mysterious journey
hell, we'll never know
if the path we chose will work out
before doubt forces us to fold
oh so difficult
its tempting to let go
when life moves so slow
and you've got no dough.
oh believe me I know
this is not your typical profession
it is depressing to think that the pathway to success
is littered with rejection
hence the stress that infects my heart when
the studio where I paint my blood with
feels more like a coffin
wrongly perceived like the Basquiats and Pollocks
when most public eyes only seems to see the final product
A gift and a curse it hurts to go through the process
of answering gods spiritual calling
especially in a time when
we're being charged dollars per minutes
tapping into a higher consciousness
just doesn't seem realistic
it all comes down to business
and what you're willing to risk
Whose ready to put their chips down on the drawing board
and become a prisonor of debt?
some say we're crazy
for willing to play our bets
down on this slow road
knowing that the only thing that is certain
is what we don't know
untill our time is out we trek stubbornly
down the route of creativity
sacrificing the typical picture perfect lifestyle
sprinkled with security and stability
bearing the burden of the unpaid bills
to keep these skills steady in motion
like a pottery wheel
holding onto the hope that our talents
will someday be recognized
to the highest degree
where we wont need that crummy side job just to get by
catch us on the corners busking hustling
playing heartbeats on eardrums for nickels and dimes
tapping on heavenly floors like gregory hines
from private to public galleries
creating masterpiece after masterpiece
living off of love
while slowly dying from the low salaries,
getting complaints
from straightedged heads who complain like
"well that ain't no way to raise a family!"
as we respond
writing over wrongs
saying well that that's just the risk we take
to make dreams become reality
The heavy pressures of pitfalls and pleasures
documented through art and music
that potentially will live forever
now..for the record
lets get another thing straight
once an artist always an artist
There is no escape
Ive tried only to realize
living a lie was a mistake
there are hands much bigger than mine
that decide how to twist fate
see I never chose to use the art,
the art chose to use me
doomed for a lifetimes worth of expression
its safe to say that it is my duty
to create like there is no end
to get slapped
to get kicked
to get knocked down
and to get up again
voice of the voiceless
strenght for the weak
you ought to think about
what your world would look like without we
art matters, if it didn't
you would all be suffering a great loss
imagination would be at a standstill
surrounded by nothing but blank walls
some say the world would be better off
if there were no artists at all
well Im here to tell you if not us
who else would will color outside of your box?
call us the creative Rebels WITH a cause
who by any means, and any cost
is going out to regain the value
that us artists have lost
to anyone who says
the artist hustle ain't a real job
I'll fold my resumes into paper plane
and throw it at your brain
just get my point across
we repeat
if not us, who else will color outside of your box?
call us the creative Rebels WITH a cause
who by any means, and any cost
is out to regain the value
that us artists have lost

5 percent

95 percent of the population is either culturally or religiously brainwashed and incapable of free thought. That leaves 5 percent of the population who actually "get it".