Blu & Exile – Roots Of Blue (ft. Jacinto Rhines) (Audio, Lyrics)

Listen, stream, read the lyrics, buy, mp3 download “Roots Of Blue” by the duo, Blu & Exile featuring Jacinto Rhines. The song was produced by Exile.

Blu & Exile Roots Of Blue

Following the release of their latest single “Miles Davis,” the first off their upcoming album Miles, indie titans Blu & Exile have returned with another glimpse at their forthcoming drop. This time it arrives by way of “Roots Of Blue,” an ambitious track spanning nearly nine-minutes in runtime. Featuring assistance from Jacinto Rhines, the track opens with some tone-setting spoken word, transitioning over the soulful beat into a seamless verse from Blu.

It’s a testament to his confidence as an emcee that Blu opts to ride Exile’s understated yet effective instrumental throughout, his words painting pictures as he dives deeper into themes of race, history, and individuality. Speaking on the track in a press release, Blu named it one of the album’s strongest. “On this song we took it back, all the way back,” he explains. “Back to the very first people who have walked this earth that have influenced, or cultured or matured, my walk on this earth. Everyone except my immediate family. This song is my own personal family tree.”

Blu & Exile – Roots Of Blue (ft. Jacinto Rhines) (prod. Exile)

Lyrics

[?]
Sky blue hue
Zulu land in apartheid’s name
Made by God
[?]
Yo, check it

[Verse 1]
Yo, I’m the first man standing upright, holding a stone in my hand
After beating an ape, claiming the land
Taking the stand and feeding my fam
Back when man ate they children
I’m killing other animals just to nurture them
I journey further from mine, my people, into another culture
Not knowin’ my brothers ’bout to come and take over (Ayo)
We made it all the way to Asia and to Australia
Then made the passage to the America’s after all behavior
Came home and they started makin’ homes outta stone
Showin’ tribes around ’em how much they’ve grown
Yo, I’m [?] at the end of the of start of civilization
I’m shuttin’ it down, I’m settin’ out to build a nation
I’m the son of [?], the son of [?], father of Africa
King [?] and King Khufu, blood of the Zulu
Osiris, Isis, Horus, Anbuis, the Royal family
Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and all the Ramesses
[?] and Moses
I’m the kings of Egypt, kings of Nubia, Mesopotamia
Mediterranean, Babylon, Saudi Arabia
I’m [?] comin’ outta the Middle East after the Romans
Reclaiming their gold, homin’ their throne ’cause they own it
I’m on the first boats to reach America
We all African, we sold you to America, we not coming back

[?]

[Verse 2]
Ayo, I’m Adam, the original man banned from the garden
I’m Noah, pardon the flood, after the revolution started
I’m [?], I’m Abraham, Ozzy and Jacob in the motherland
I’m Moses posin’ against the king, freein’ his people
I’m Babylon, tryna reach God by buildin’ a steeple
I’m the strongest man, Samson
I’m the first king, Samuel
The prestigious king, Saul
Son of King David, I’m Solomon
I’m preachin’ to the choir like Elijah
Isaiah, Jeremiah and, not a king higher than King Hezekiah
I’m on fire like [?]
I’m Jonah and the whale
Daniel in the lion’s den
I’m Job with just a little hop
I’m John The Baptist, the messiah’s comin’
God’s son, Jesus Christ of Nazerath
Thank Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the narrative
And Paul for all the passages
Apostolic [?] before Constantine
Constant persecution, first century
Eventually, revolution
Islam, sixth century and on and on
Slavery, where are you takin’ me too? Huh? America?

[?]

[Verse 3]
Yo, I’m Kunta Kinte ‘fore he was enslaved by America
Picture the freedom before the terror
Who had to carry the black burners to Nat Turner
During a slave revolt, we came before Columbus dumped us
Off the [?] underground railroad, Harriet Tubman
Yeah, we probably would still be slaves if it wasn’t for Fredrick Douglas
I’m up in his government before all them like Booker Washington
With all his boys like [?] and Marcus Garvey
Takin’ us to Africa like Chancellor Williams, Chandler Owens
[?]
Richard Wright, Rosa Parks and Gordon Parks
Joe Lewis, Jackie Robinson and John Henrik Clarke
Alex Haley, James Baldwin
Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr, Clarence 13X
Maya Angelou, Ray Charles, [?]
Emmett Till, Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale
Huey Newton, Muhammad Ali and even Gil Scott-Heron
Al Sharpton, Fred Hampton, Oprah Winfrey
Barack Obama, Assata Shakur, 2Pac Shakur, Biggie
And everyone else creating black history
That lives with me everyday, until I’m gone

[?]
They took dark skin and they made a purse for a pale skin whore

[Verse 4]
Yo
I’m Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy
[?]
Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, B.B King, Sam Cooke
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitz, Nina Simone
Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Diana Ross
Chaka Khan, Tina Turner and Roberta Flack
Al Green, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Michael Jack
Prince, Sly Stone, Curtis May
Roy Ayers, Temptations, 5th Dimension
OJ’s or [?]
Earth, Wind and Fire, funkadelic
Parliament, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles
Otis Redding and all the shit from the nineties
Eighties, seventies and sixties
The fifties, forties, thirties and all the twenties
All the armies, the Black Panther party, the nation
N double A C P organizations
All the black NBA, NFL and MLB players
And we can’t forget Shaka Zulu (Woo)
We see you brother, Mandela

[?]