Get all 29 The IZM. releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Soul2Sole (MAXI-SINGLE), The IZM. presents Da Loosies (Pack 1), take a breather., Anthony's House Break, Mr. Saturday Night, SLCKR THN YR AVRG (Maxi-Single), Goodnight Mr. Williams (Interlude for Michael K. Williams) (MAXI-SINGLE), In Da House, and 21 more.
1. |
GREATEST MISTAKE
01:47
|
|
||
|
Your pretty lips look so clean
who knew the hidden vile they’d eventually project
allowing you to infest my being is my greatest life regret
I wish I could take all of my affections back
and lock them deep into my veins
they would be better given to someone who actually had a brain
and I let you talk to me as if I were a child
and I wasn’t your bridged over troubled water
if I could sell the lessons I learned from you
they’d be worth no more than a quarter
hope you’ve finally taken some time to look into that court order
my bad, no shade
but thinking about the fear in my body
after you unleashed your fury
I did my best to hide my bruises
I figured I’d do my civil duty and shield you once again
a mediocre lover and the worst kind of friend
and if I had the chance to tell you to your face
the damage you’ve done, there would be no end
I could go on and on about your lack of respect
what was clearly disrespect, you called it blunt and direct
how you denied your obvious manipulation
as if I would be too drunk and love struck enough to detect it
then after that point, I realized my heart died no need to resurrect it
and I figured if I loved you back to life
the edges would soften
but you gladly lead all of my dreams of us to a coffin
that you set ablaze every day I had to look in your face
and realize my greatest mistake
|
||||
2. |
DIRTY REFLECTIONS
01:15
|
|||
|
You keep letting society tell you’re ugly
as if you’re melanin isn’t good enough
I bet if you had the chance to swap skins, you’d consider it
but is it even worth giving up?
you’re too fat, you’re too skinny, you’re too ugly for me
“I mean, I’d date you but I have too many bad memories”
you reject yourself before anyone has the chance
switch the beat before you even get to dance
naaaah I can’t let you find my rhythm
you better dib and dab to the next
cuz once that light skin thing pass by, you gone surely flex
but if I were lighter with 10 inches and sick body you’d stay
long enough to dig into my insecurities and have your way
get the best of me and leave the rest of me to my sheets
you’re so unaffected by my loneliness, I’m just another of your casualties
this mirror is serving me a plate of dirty reflections
and my stomach is turning with every selection
my hair line is crooked, my nose is kinda big and I really hate my teeth
if everyone got a soundtrack to my thoughts, what would they really think of me?
|
||||
3. |
A NATURAL ACHE
01:10
|
|||
|
There were times were I found it very hard to breathe
the shit that came out of your mouth would knock the wind clean out of me
and in that moment I realized that I lost my self-worth
that I had given into my loneliness and I had accepted a curse
maybe I didn’t love myself like I thought I did
to accept having to learn to love a grown ass kid
who had you thinking you weren’t shit
after everything you sacrificed you get the short end of the stick
left to drown in your own dismay while they make sure to get a pic
and they do it for the ‘book
I did it for the love that was never there to even begin with
and I was never King Kunta on a throne like Kendrick
but Kunta getting whipped until I said Toby
the onslaught of natural blues like Moby
the darkness over me began to feel safe
the breaking of my heart became a natural ache
how much of being broken down are you going to allow yourself to take
before you make a clean break?
|
||||
4. |
IN THIS BED ALONE
02:19
|
|||
|
No alarm clock
no wake up sex
no rushing to shower and iron
no braving a cold world seemingly unafraid and un-phased
just waking up in this bed alone
flip the pillow over to feel the cool side
hoping to hop back into the dream I just rudely interrupted
I now become aware of the emptiness of my reality
and all I want to do is go back to sleep
hoping to hop back into the dream I so rudely interrupted
but I can’t
and I begin to recount all my lovers lost
and feel like every loss returned a minute gain
but enough pain to make any man implode
I wish there were a cheat code for life
maybe a lot of us could’ve saved ourselves ten times over
been someone different
someone happier
someone more intimate
someone more approachable
I get out of bed and walk through my empty apartment
which was once a dungeon of war and broken spirits
hoping one day
when I wake up in this bed alone
I can hop back into that dream I interrupted
|
||||
5. |
MORNING MEMORIES
01:38
|
|||
|
I remember the feel of the cold morning air through the window
I always found myself snatching cover away from you
somehow you end up with all the blanket
and I’m curled up liked a new fetus in a mother’s womb
I just wanted an excuse to get a little closer to you
there was something familiar about your body
something I was afraid to experience before
but this time it was different
this time it felt…dare I say…natural?
like the first sigh on a Monday morning
not getting that parking spot you wanted at work
leaving your lunch at home and spending $10 for an uninspiring ass sandwich
I thought “I can get used to this.”
after a while it was almost like I was sleeping in the bed alone
I remember you sneaking out of bed into the other room
I guess you thought I wasn’t awake
but every time you moved, I was always awake
I knew before the blessed reveal
I just hoped it was all a dream
like a really great porn clip with a horrible cum shot
maybe there was something he gave you that I didn’t possess
maybe it was over before it even began and I was just too blind to notice
maybe I was too lonely to want better for myself
maybe this isn’t real life at all
maybe
|
||||
6. |
A PICTURE, A PROFILE
01:28
|
|||
|
I’m just a picture
a profile
perfect lighting and filters
egotistical captions, middle fingers crying laughing emojis
so no, I won’t feel a way when you ignore my text
but you’re in another man’s lap on social media
flaunting it
reminding me that I’m just a picture
a profile
substance thousands of miles away
hoping to call your heart a home one day
but there are too many other options in my way
how do I stand out from the herd
without throwing a tantrum and growing perturbed
it just might be the centaur in me
I don’t think people understand
how easy it is to communicate what you want and don’t want in a man
but people like to make shit complicated
turn into fanfare
I gotta stop giving my heart away so easily
to anyone who even cares to share
a moment to briefly gaze into my soul and see the beauty
all they seem to see are the broken branches and the foundation uprooting
I’m just a picture
a profile
0.03 miles away
hey, what you doin?
private pictures unlocked
you must be horny cuz you didn’t even bother to stop
and ask me my interests, my goals in life, my real first and last name
I’m a bit too tired to play this game
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
Once upon a time, I had friends and people liked me
I used to get invited to house warmings and private parties.
I was the turn up king not even trying to be.
I was happy, unabashedly, genuinely.
Now I spend weekends masturbating and electioneering
campaigning about a dream I care about but others hardly do.
I wish I could blame someone else for this isolation
but like many things, it begins to feel too good to set free.
so I pour out a lil liquor for the old me, dead and gone.
he was a good guy, great energy, never do you wrong.
wildly misunderstood and maybe taken for granted.
did the very best he could with the cards he was handed.
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
Here piggy piggy piggy
unarmed pretty face nigga here, come shoot me
don’t worry, you’ll get off scott free
at the expense of my melanin and my broken family
the justice system is wrapped around your little dick
just pretend you’re apologetic, the jury loves that shit
pay no mind to these crooked headlines
they seem to get it wrong from time to time
you see…
this nigga here was heading to college
this nigga here was coming from store
that nigga here was getting ready to marry his queen
that nigga here was shot at his door
that nigga here was heading to a new job
that nigga here screamed “it’s a toy gun”
this nigga here was just selling loosies
and that nigga was so scared he started to run
what more do you want from us?
your women are already got our ass and lips
and you’ve just taken upon yourself
to kill off us kings with all our good dick
what are you gonna do when the sleeping sheep awaken
and we rise up to reclaim the ancestors built?
you just got that pretty pistol in hand
with your motto stuck in your fucking mind: do what thou wilt
|
||||
9. |
THE BARBERSHOP
01:44
|
|||
|
I always wanted to be one of the boys.
hanging out at the barbershop talking about girls.
black men mastered the art of the cat call
sometimes so well disguised before she’d know it
he’d swindled her pearls
current events and sports brigade abound
I felt like an outsider wanting inside this magical city
where I was just kicking it with the fellas and not being called a sissy
I dreaded going to the barbershop
cuz I never felt like I belonged
and I was surrounded by people would looked like me
but who looked AT me as if well…I didn’t belong
I would slouch in my chair when the word faggot was thrown about
I wish he’d stop talking and cut my hair so I can get the fuck out
I was always afraid that they’d smell it on me
which would explain why they stopped being so friendly
and I would wonder
if Biggie ever walked in the shop
to say wassup to the barbers and what not
if he’d shake my hand
if I ever met Nas
would he understand
if the Wu-tang Clan was in town
would I be in picture with OGs around
I feel the burn of the alcohol
looks like we’re at the finish line
and I wondering where’s my ride the whole time
“Thank you sir.”
I pay him accordingly
“Alright son. See you in a few weeks.”
|
||||
10. |
BUBBA AND WINE
02:03
|
|||
|
Pacing back and forth in the corridors of my mind
thinking I’m seeing shadows off this bubba and wine
creeks and noises got me paranoid, made by design
am I tripping? Have I tripped in this mire and muck
stuck in a society that doesn’t give a fuck about me
or my trials or tribulations
just being black is beyond me to explain
how to move in a corrupt society and still maintain
how to get off the ground without needing a plane
how to be the best normal when you’re at your worst insane
breathe
ha-choo
God bless you
well if God bless you
maybe He’ll bless me too
you think?
do we fail our roses if they begin to stink?
are we strong enough to bring our psyche back from the brink?
will I have an anchor should I begin to sink?
I question my intention when I go too far
is it pleasure that I’m looking for to cover the scars
I thought I was the sky, I am barely a star
merely a molecule, a proton, electron, nucleus close to imploding
thoughts a mile a minute, brain close to exploding
I’m pacing, pacing and waiting
both hands shaking
should I just end it all, I’m debating
but life is greatest of pleasures and the heaviest of burdens
how beautiful is the smile when the soul is hurting
dangerous liaison, love no Faizon
two souls breed cre-a-shon
like-minded spirit re-lay-shon
am I a pawn just awaiting a take down
hood nigga just awaiting a shake down
do we all get a chance at a moment in glory
bright lights not included, glamorize the story
|
||||
11. |
UNICORN VOMIT
02:12
|
|||
|
Pardon me
let me sweep up these eggshells that I’ll no longer walk on around you
since you decided to play pussy, I might as well pound you
ground you into after thoughts not needed for discussion
once my head hit the floor, I was more than certain that I’d have a concussion
I wish I could see the hell you’re living in right now
but the minimal glimpse I was God-given what just enough know-how
know how not to make the same mistake twice
know how to protect my magic and stop fuckin around with my life
sometimes it’s easy to pretend to be unaffected by
but when that lava starts to boil and erupt no one can be protected by
their own force fields
always digging in the wounds that have yet begin to heal
I just need to make sure I can feel pain
so when it hits me, I’m not caught off guard like that first bump of cocaine
afterwards you’re never the same
how do you handle a wild heart that can nowhere be tame
at times I feel like the warrior of the battlefield
at times I feel like a fuckin loser
looking for the assailant but I’m the abuser
devoured the first round looking for the next meal
they speak of me as if I’m a savage
as if I’m letting the world fall dark when I have the key to light
allowing you to walk around blind when I have the gift of sight
what kind of man would I be?
instead I offer my hand to help you across the shaky bridge
I hand over my last to you when there’s nothing left to give
sacrifice my life as you have so much more to live
all I want is for us to be better than what we know
for yourself, for each other, for ours sisters and brothers
when the wave rise upon them, we are their cover
they say people like me are a thing of mysticism
and you know what?
maybe they’re right
|
||||
The IZM. Newark, New Jersey
In 2005, a dream surfaced. 6 years later, it finally came to fruition. New Jersey. Producer. Songwriter. Best friend. Lover. God lover.
If you like The IZM., you may also like:
The Richmond, Virginia-bred rapper returns with soulful production and raw poetry about love and self-discovery.
go to album
Avenue Of Champions
by ROBALU GIBSUN
The rapper pays homage to his Richmond, Virginia hometown with smooth hip-hop instrumentals and poetic lyrics.
go to album
Resurget Cineribus
by Sterling Toles
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 28, 2020
go to album
How To Be A Rapper In The Rapture
by ONELOVE
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jun 2, 2023
go to album
A buoyant beat tape from Atlanta producer lucidjason with loops built on soul and gospel.
go to album
Atlanta artist jimmy delivers unflinching autobiographical lyrics, pairing them with suitably dystopic production.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Dec 15, 2022
go to album
