Wake up in the Water

by BLOCKSTOP

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€9.99 EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Give us your address and we will send you our CD!

Includes unlimited streaming of Wake up in the Water via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 20 days

Purchasable with gift card

€15 EUR or more

1.	Children of the Sun 03:16	lyrics	buy track
From the docks to the blocks to behind the pines, on the rocks or behind locks, like in the box, the basket is a case of what takes the cake: stocks. On the list, it is tops and protected by the cops. That’s why the train goes a bit North and just stops, keeping out kids, moms and pops. It’s a strange city, it’s pretty but smells pretty bad, it’s full of paradoxes but outside the boxes, a lot of love and laughter, which some find obnoxious they box us in, but we’ll growl and punch just like boxers, two species, both tenacious unwilling to live in places where the sun don’t shine. I know sometimes the sun won’t shine but I don’t mind cause when it does, it’s all mine. And I Feel Fine. Like a little one, a little sun, nice day, ok, let’s go play, take a dive, strive to see what it’s like to be alive how it feels, how real it is when we really live outside in the streets, a nice way to take away all of the gray, a little bit of blue otherwise it’s no fun, but a sun so yellow, it mellows, it bellows out like a cello, a vibration of fellowship. I know sometimes the sun won’t shine but I don’t mind cause when it does, it’s all mine. And I Feel Fine. Why not sail away on a ship of happiness? Or endless bliss? Never feeling hapless, love kiss the lips and we’re feeling fantastic, finally a little bit more enthusiastic ‘bout where we go from here, those we keep near and we steer ourselves clear of the coast, the cliffs, the coves, the mist can mix us up, so we stay in the sun cause when we’re broke, then who gonna fix us up? I know sometimes the sun won’t shine but I don’t mind cause when it does, it’s all mine. And I Feel Fine.
2.	For the Good of the Land 03:45	lyrics	buy track
I’ma crack the safe and vacate the place. No patience for paychecks, the paper chase, gloves and face mask so I don’t leave no traces I don’t need the loot, but I just want it in cases so I could make a run like a day at the races with leg braces Forest goin’ for it, gon’ make it. Take it to the bank and break rank break down, break out, break off of a piece, say ‘‘Peace’’ and get back to being a thief, beat the cops on the beat, sneaking in the service entrance undetected security cameras exposed when I wrecked ‘em damn near killed him, grab the loot, bounce outta the building not hurtin’ no women, no children, just chillin’ making a killing and billing the man for killing the Cheyenne, pillaging Afghanistan Robin Hood of the hood for the good of the land! 99.9% only got a little bit And bad jobs they can’t quit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit 99.9% only got a little bit And have no choice but to submit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit It’s a new phase of life for me, a transition got an itchy trigger finger, I’m a man on a mission from God like the brothers of blues Does anybody here got any good news ? I’m kind of tired of my present situation all the tests of will and stress I’m still facing I’ve tried to figure it out, and have but still got doubts about where to go from here, what it’s all about. 99.9% only got a little bit And bad jobs they can’t quit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit 99.9% only got a little bit And have no choice but to submit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit The last tidbits of past acid hits flash back like a blitz help me regain my wits the responsibility belongs to he who commits til’ the shoe fits. If it doesn’t it’s useless, who gives two shits? Gotta get used to it, cause I blew it, won’t blow it again, blowing in the wind. Can’t rewind the thing once it begins thinking too much is a thing of the past I’m never gon’ last if I can’t be steadfast forget the regrets, so many questions unasked. My capacity for tenacity... surpassed. It’s all about changing, put things in order, they need rearranging it’s strange indeed but we’re each evolving, maturity only when we nourish the seed, need courage to bleed, when we fight for what’s right and impede the greed of those who mislead there are too many we need to feed to not succeed so we heed the creed! 99.9% only got a little bit And bad jobs they can’t quit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit 99.9% only got a little bit And have no choice but to submit 99.9% of the people ain’t rich, the rest just don’t give a shit
3.	Who we Be 03:39	lyrics	buy track
It’s like life keeps on going even though it just stopped for the faithful, my friends, and black men on the block shot at by the cops, hands up, they never dropped, it never stops we ain’t gonna solve this through hip-hop just bring attention, mention it, hoping in the end the tension gets lighter, that the light gets brighter, that we learn to be fighters for rights as well as what is right but still lovers of one another cause who here’s not my brother? On Earth, but one mother. So why smother each other? Gotta let a brother breathe we can do better than deceiving, bereaving, leaving others grieving Let’s start believing in society’s patches working together … to start weaving something, achieving something, giving to the greater good, receiving something You ever wondered what type of legacy we’d leave ? Or thought about how much greatness we’ve achieved ? Even with faith how can anyone believe in you and in me and in who we be? You ever wondered what type of legacy we’d leave ? Or thought about how much greatness we’ve achieved ? Even with faith how can anyone believe That God still believe in us ? What the hell we doing fighting this war for? Budget deficit but keep paying for more. We’re getting screwed, still sore from the night before told more lies than before Nixon resigned or feeling fine, see no problems, we’re blind until we follow our whole soul instead of our minds You ever wondered what type of legacy we’d leave ? Or thought about how much greatness we’ve achieved ? Even with faith how can anyone believe That God still believe in us ?
4.	Everything we Got 03:08	lyrics	buy track
I’m feeling that I haven’t been productive enough, like I got so much extraneous stuff on my mind that I can’t seem to find the time to do something so simple as to make lines rhyme. I do my best not to hate, not to fight, not to get jealous or spite cause I’ve discovered that life’s greatest crime just might be failing to create, innovate, communicate one’s ideas in a given time and state of mind. So I’m stating mine immediately so I could make my qi flow with such immediacy to be the MC that spits the positivity which in my soul I feel though I’ve never seen a danger clearer than that posed by the man I fear above all others smothering me with his presence I’ma steal the best of his essence, teach the rest of him a lesson. When I catch him staring at me in the mirror, I’ma get a confession. When you’re locked in a bad spot, can’t stop, don’t stop, won’t stop give it everything you got. When we’re locked in a bad spot, Blockstop can’t stop, don’t stop, we give it everything we got. Living not to give in but this shot needs taking to create things but somehow I must be mistaken, willing to learn from every mistake I’m making, but it’s harder in reality than people make it out to be. Undoubtedly, we evolve and problems get solved. Still others emerge, leave us standing on the verge of all things we’ve ever known, and the place we call home. And now I’m locked in a bad spot feeling all alone. I guess I’m not that versatile, it’s not personal, no. I don’t wanna name names but in the end, I’ve got but yours truly to blame but what you gonna do when the answers right in front of you? I know one or two who don’t know what to do. In my head, most of what I had in mind was hazy In bed, couldn’t get up, was too lazy It’s tough to live like that though, you go crazy So after months of doin’ little I said ‘‘maybe it’s time to write a rhyme and quit being a baby, quit chasing ladies, let my muse invade me persuade me that I got stuff to say daily, like the show, but with a flow to amaze thee. When you’re locked in a bad spot, can’t stop, don’t stop, won’t stop give it everything you got. When we’re locked in a bad spot, Blockstop can’t stop, don’t stop, we give it everything we got. Get outta the funk and find the feeling. Search for it, don’t get caught up in caution. Go for it not just through the motions. I used to have it all, now not even a notion.
5.	To the Beat 03:21	lyrics	buy track
Once the band walks in, start feeling the swing; something I can’t explain but it’s stuck in my brain like a little melody tellin’ me to put on my dancin’ shoes and start dancin’ to the beat, to the sound, take a crack at the track, get your feet back on higher ground, dance with the divine, drinking wine, feeling fine good times so chic, get down on the floor ’til your knees get weak. not bleak like memphis, tennessee, going to graceland (who’s comin’ with me?) Just a couple a hippies, and flappers lookin’ dapper tryin’ to bag a rapper. So hit me if you wit’ me and start spinnin around getting down on it, gonna want it ‘til we dead but we alive instead and we ain’t faintin’ just a singer and a swinger who be paintin’ the town red. move your feet to the beat do your thing to the swing show the world to your girl and get down to the sound wake/ up, get/ up, dance I take letters, put ‘em together to make up words articles, nouns, prepositions, verbs my prose wax poetic, that’s how I prefer to say my spirit rise like curds and whey or the volume when you hear it, you press play my words convey 33.3 per minute DJ spin it, my verse I’m in it and I can’t get out, leave no doubt move your feet to the beat do your thing to the swing show the world to your girl and get down to the sound wake/ up, get/ up, dance When you feel that beat start moving your feet when you hear that swing start doing your thing when you love that girl gotta show her the world when you hear that sound then you gotta get down. Gotta get it when the getting’s good when it’s easy pickens, not slim don’t need no spring chickens need people ready to dance with a glance ’til they in a trance of romance. Let me see them hot pants!
6.	Live in a Van 04:30	lyrics	buy track
I need to find an outlet, need to get out and about, get going, get caught up, get lost and find myself, to remind myself of the time when I find my health, the wealth that’s mine when I’m of a sound body and sound mind, a sound state of being, accepting that I’m not seeing all the signs but sensing them, not living fenced in or on the fence, nor in the past tense or tense or too intense but finding a sense of innocence, between intellect and ignorance, the rent’s free in this place, so why not me? Why just be a fraction of what I am? A spiritual being just as much as a man, try as hard as I can, find a brand new plan, F society, gonna live in a van. Unless we’re detached, we latch on to meaning where we see it, be it true or not. A lot simply comes down to perception, but not perfection what’s right depends on where we see the intersection, what we anticipate when we arrive, how far we drive and how we navigate, cause it’s never too late, but it’s too great for some of us, a thin line between love and hate some wanna destroy, some die to create we can no longer dominate, incarcerate we need coordinate and educate eradicate boxes, categories, labels, cause when we speak that is how we’re able to understand it, explain it, question it, demand it, celebrate it, hate it, reward or reprimand it.
7.	Whodunnit 04:07	lyrics	buy track
When we stopped seeing Iraq and Syria’s problems in the news it was a clue to some serious problems. A mere year after one the world’s worst tsunamis, we forget Fukushima, eating fish fingers calmly. Remind me how many wars are still raging? From Congo to the Ukraine, Bangui, Bangkok, Bahrain, Rio, Tegucigalpa, Gaza, Libya, not trivia but the news we see couldn’t be sillier. Consider for a minute what’s in it for networks; when ratings grow higher then so does their net worth. It’s all about ads and fads, it’s so sad; viewer fatigue, a story takes a second to go bad but rarely gets solved, it often evolves and falls in the lap of those caught in the collective memory loss trap. Watching, reading, hearing and consuming more crap; hooked on bad news so bad it’s like crack is back. What happened last week ? Another attack ? Where’d it happen ? I don’t know, I didn’t read the caption. Why, how, whodunnit ? Who cares, who knows ? We just see what we want like the Emperor’s clothes. Like a Fox in news clothing or unstable news networks taking over the sector like soundbites and excerpts and all the commentary of these so-called experts. People watchin’ fiction like reading a text hurts. If you can’t believe your eyes, then what you believe ? Reporters don’t tow the line and are then asked to leave. It’s tough to disbelieve a notion once it’s preconceived. Are they trying to deceive or are they just naive ? Pre-packaged, pre-chewed, pre-digested, no food for thought store bought tricks up sleeves like quick fixes. Xenophobic, racist, misogynistic claims that our enemies are socialists, foreigners and mystics. But our enemies are demogogues and even ourselves, buying their bullshit and whatever’s on the shelves. All opinions are on sale, they’re just sticking to scripts. Misinformants’ll be dormant once we give ‘em the deep six. What happened last week ? Another attack ? Where’d it happen ? I don’t know, I didn’t read the caption. Why, how, whodunnit ? Who cares, who knows ? We just see what we want like the Emperor’s clothes On the net, no editor, just competitors for buzz, no desire to inform or educate because kids searching for quizzes and random shit with kittens It’s all about tits and dicks, clits and clicks. Social media like mass media but seedier intentionally crafted for being much greedier. More channels, more crews, more stories, more news, more quicker, more better, a set of the mo’ better blues. What happened last week ? Another attack ? Where’d it happen ? I don’t know, I didn’t read the caption. Why, how, whodunnit ? Who cares, who knows ? We just see what we want like the Emperor’s clothes
8.	Seconds Away 03:42	lyrics	buy track
From the second State of Consciousness to a breath the depth of the sea that can span the breadth of continents, between being liquid and incontinence. You know both are of no consequence. Hence we follow common sense, when we are not tense but don’t lower our defense cause we lack confidence. It’s a false pretense, we’re seeking a truth so deep-rooted that there are no more disputes; original sin within the holiest fruit the reason for my pursuit and my existence to boot and everyone else inside our minds and souls, the only goal I see is to be in total control or not to be it’s all philosophy, it’s got to be. Sunshine breaking through the clouds so loud it’s cacophony, and my spirit sing in unity, I hear it as a symphony. We are all seconds away from reckoning, wandering through life awakening. We need exercise for the mind to come alive be revived as it enters the light in which it thrives. We set forth looking for true north inevitably blown off course, of course knowing more cost reports could cause a loss of sorts from concentrating on what matters the most. The ether’s energy floats on matter like boats. The slippery slope is what everyone hopes to climb but Sisyphus can’t find no reason or rhyme and keeps biding his time by dulling his mind. Muscles never moved mountains despite years of trying but the mental magic carpet just might start flying the moment we are thrown in head first, not ready to dive, wake up in the water, amazed to be alive. It pays to take a ride sometimes and not hide search for the soul inside and replace pride with prana and peace and search for purpose to guide once we recognize the divine we find within our eyes.
9.	Dirty Hands 03:44	lyrics	buy track
We produce too much and we throw away tons. We work for shadow-dwelling shareholders who make sums we can’t even dream of. We rarely do what we love, spend time to spend money, hit snooze, springing to life to spend hours in traffic, sleepless, coffee addict; and work, what a waste to lose years living buried in fear. We’re stressed, it’s a mess and we can’t get help, financial or psychological, It’s an improbable existence at best. We gotta follow through, work collectively. Forget the debt we’ve accrued, it’s officially skewed and time the government had a judicial review. They say we owe CEOs, how ‘bout IOUs or FUs? Eschew punks like Trump and all their right-wing views. Every one of us is disabused; it’s time to fight the ruse, the rules are misused. I officially accuse the news of trying to confuse so let’s light the fuse! Who is the dirty man who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands. Who is the dirty jerk who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands. It’s a dirty game, is any man worthy of fame? Let alone being worthy of that man’s own name or his title, what’s a head of department without a heart? It’s just a brain. When will we learn? We earn less and less, we pay interest but we get laid off or outsourced whenever their profits are lost. Who knows the real cost of this system? There all paid off, on the take. What will it take? That all the victims and the workers unite, unlikely, gotta be consumers who stop going to the company shops and hit ‘em in the pockets. Who is the dirty man who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands. Who is the dirty jerk who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands. It’s our copper, our coltan, our cotton, our water our tears, their slaughter, our sons, our daughters our love, our sweat, our blood, our debt our ancestors who died it’s our culture, our pride. Who is the dirty man who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands. Who is the dirty jerk who got the dirty plan? We do the dirty work but they got the dirty hands.
10.	Just be Just 03:40	lyrics	buy track
Be yourself, be clean, be kind, be beautiful be practical, creative, logical, open and original, be conscious, be aware, sensitive, be sensible, sensual, sentimental, take care of yourself and know your body, know your mind, know where you’re going mostly all of the time, be responsible, responsive, reach for autonomy and realize your dreams, be healthy, helpful, hopeful, not doubtful, be safe, be courageous, don’t fear death, it’s just a transition, don’t get rattled, complete your mission, serve yourself, take the road less travelled, look inside for answers but ask others if you must and just be just. Open your mind. Feel the presence of light shines at the right time. Sometimes you feel like you’ll never live something that’s real but it’s just in your mind you should know that it all will be fine. When you feel free then you know just who to be. You should choose to believe what you feel in your soul is the goal to behold so be bold Sweet pea my plea to be me completely you must believe to just acheive my love and your love we know that they will be exactly what you need we then use it to see discover that the key is love and we’ll be free. Be a child of the universe, be at peace with God, be godly, be good, be holy, life’s unfolding as it should be a doer, a generator, practice, be persistent, embrace difference, honor your own existence cause it can only serve to enhance your aura, karma, prahna, build your home, keep it clean, warm and welcoming, speak to strangers and welcome them, even just to say hello, know no one’s above you, no one is below you, they don’t know you, you don’t know them, make whoever you can a friend unless they got bad energy, then just let it be meditate, drink V8, lose weight, shoot straight, don’t lie to loved ones, just love them and just be just. Open your mind. Feel the presence of light shining on time. Open your heart, let it guide your life. You’ll see love is ours.
11.	Voiceless 03:49	lyrics	buy track
I wish to speak for the voiceless not given any choices and still seeking out a living in a world so unforgiving, full of misgivings we need more giving, thanksgiving, praise giving and forgiving for loving to be felt within every heart as they start down the path toward healing, hoping, feeling there’s a difference to be made, wild card to be played, someway to make the grade instead of looking to be paid millions start considering the children indebted ahead of their days taken away cause bankers borrowed against their future and now they just gotta get used to being used, being abused being tossed scraps that’ve already been chewed, basically getting screwed; living a life of the blues and bad news with bad shoes. These voices, where did they go? Why and how long ago? I think they’re there, but way too low. How are we supposed to know ? I don’t hear enough voices making noise about all our leaders bad choices over the years. Fear has been fabricated, the room for debate’s been vacated, money in bed with power. But power’s resisting paying people 12 dollars an hour. So how are they subsisting? And why aren’t they resisting? I think many are, others are entrenched too far in debt or drenched in sweat constantly they fret gettin laid off gettin old before gettin all the loans and their home paid off we’re way off track from we would should be think of how positive our society could be. Democracy ain’t perfect, neither are people but we’d treat ‘em differently if they were our equals. It’s not who you speak to, it’s how you listen. We only hear politicians, people are missing from the opinions on radio and television. we all have the same vision, we just gotta raise our voices.