Common – “Common L.A. Leakers Freestyle” [Lyrics, Video]

Common, in new visuals pits on own version of the L.A. Leakers Freestyle, version 119, produced by DJ Premier & RZA.

Common Common L.a. Leakers Freestyle

Watch Video

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Like the ‘pollo, ah, the holy spirit of Chicago
Married to the game, I should have took the bitch to Cabo
I know, I know like Bill Withers, feel niggas
They say, “Stay safe” but they still hit us
Fill the rivers, it’s like the ghost of Emmett Till with us
We got black cards, now they gotta deal with us
Rihanna got a bil’, they gotta deal with the sisters
In pursuit of happiness, I ask God to Will Smith us
Blessed are the meek, we inherit Earth and then we speak
Into existence, I’m rooted in black thoughts like Tariq
I was a drifter, now I’m a shifter of paradigms
I uplift thе untethered minds
Forеver signed to the artform, no, things didn’t start warm
Wrinkles in time ’til I met my Tony Starks form
And straightened it out, Iron Man
While some was workin’ the pots and frying pans
Some of my guys moved keys like Robert Glasper
They gave me room so I could be a master
My book of life, I write it like a Christ chapter
When Hip Hop was dead I met it in the life after
Vision in the hereafter, listenin’ to Donny Hatha
Tryin’ to find a way to get my people out the trap or the prisons
Talkin’ with my daughter, I learned to listen
She’s studyin’ law, I told her, “make firm decisions,”
This is a prism of Hip Hop realism
From the block we arisen, still we walk like Egyptians
This the not-need edition, Planet Rock reinvention
The lock key ignition to them Ali dimensions
Grew up around stones and they rocked me the wisdom
They yell, “All is well,” and it got me to wishin’
2Pac, the ambition, I’m keepin’ my head up, I am a rider
From the black pool of genius and I’m a diver
Striver of perfection, inside of my inflections
The blessings of the destined restin’ with no questions
These are the strides of a knocker
Took time to myself like Naomi Osaka
Took time off to never rhyme soft, my mind’s off
The grid that I climbed off, I’m live ’til I sign off
My man Murray said, “never take your shine off,”
Sometimes I go offline to get these lines off
My crown chakra’s like a Chi-town opera
Violence, violence, they broke in my crib and seen Oscars
Emmys, Grammys, damn he
Near a EGOT and he still Hip Hop
I’m to rap what Bird is to Bebop, what AI is to Reebok
What Jada is to D-Block, the game need a detox
Go get your turmeric, your Dr. Sebi Sea Moss
Burning sands that we crossed for the tribes that we lost
In a war with stars, I make niggas into ewoks
I’m a rap god but still human like the beatbox
Like (beatbox sounds) a one, two
Rest in peace to Biz Markie, honor those that spark me
I spit verses like girls get purses
Some rappers get by and some get purchased
My shape’s earthless, I came to earth’s surface
To reverse curses and birth purpose, my verse nurtures
A woman’s worth is first, it’s a soul merchant
Like a sneakerhead, I just keep sole searchin’
As far as freestyles, I go wild like no churches
My occupation, greatness is my coworker
Like uh

[Verse 2]
Warriors rejoice at the voice of a black king
Some say I’m slept on, I symbolize the rap dream
The unforgettable, them niggas must be napping
I been as cold as J or Nat King
It was all notorious, the glow of the glorious
The story gets wild, Zendaya’s Euphoria
Morpheus morals, black Orpheus orals
To them we just mortals, to the Lord, we portals
For the prophets, I wear my ancestor’s watches
That’s why I’m timeless and know God got us
Sittin’ back watchin’ shottas like I was a Rasta
I guess what it taught us about the imposters
It’s kinda tricky how quickly one’ll stick me
For so long you ain’t care about the sickly
I keep it a buck fifty, like Giannis
Yesterday’s lies and tomorrow’s not promised
To stay Common I can’t stare at the comments
I’m a slave to progress and A1 honest
Malcolm X-ray vision, I see through devils
The God’s stay down the block, I always knew the levels
These are petals to flow words
Oral arrangements like orchids, I turn the desert to an orchard
It’s a few deserts in my city
They say a change gon’ come but only by committee
The witty unpredictable, every time this play
Give Rae his residuals, nine individuals
Eight in the physical, I just gotta give the Wu
They props, it don’t stop, rap is a ritual
I’m the untouchable style Capone
Yellin’, “peace,” on the phone while it’s wild at home
It’s warzones, niggas hustlin’ still
They say you gotta bear arms like Justin Fields
I quarterback black movements
Like the influence of black music, the confluence
Beyond nuance through aunts and uncles
We were conduits for hot clothes and hustle
I ain’t catch no cases like the NBA bubble
Too much talkin’ and flexin’ stimulate trouble
Brothers gon’ work it out, my mind is the muscle
I exercise thoughts, divine in the subtle
Like a blind man’s rebuttal to see what I’m sayin’
Kaepernick of this rap shit, you see I ain’t playin’
With these goofy ass rappers, I do movies, I know actors
It’s all on your face, you ain’t never been proactive (Proactive)
This is pro-black hood, wrapped in Backwoods
Yeah we stack good and still show black love
Like Barack and Michelle, I’m like an electric car
Out of my shell, I plot and prevail
Pushin’ these bars like I got out of jail
You ain’t fuckin’ with it, well I’m feelin’ myself
Put me on the list where the Gods will dwell
Nas and BIG, I got a story, it ain’t hard to tell
Uh, yeah, yeah
It ain’t hard to tell, California love, yo
I’m giving California love, like the LA Leakers
Yeah I love the sun like LA preachers
I’m doing movies, niggas askin’ me for features
Lifetime achiever like Queen Latifah
Yo, knock ’em out the box, yeah I been a seeker
Ask Lauryn, going up the hill it always gets steeper
My mind, I grind, yo I’m a keeper
And I’ma tell you, y’all I’m with the LA Leakers
I came to speak, y’all