Royal Ruckus > Summer of the Cicadas > Track 05
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Intro
We got bad haircuts and made a record. We step out of Jimmy and Sally’s love story for a minute to tell some of our own history.
I start in 1998, with three high-school kids who wanted to have fun and make positive music. A few years later, we were going national. The verse after that admits your record can flop and you can still be poor. An inspiring music-business seminar, if anyone’s booking those.
Mike sings that we’re the music makers. I spend the verses working through what that has meant for Royal Ruckus, including the uncomfortable business of having a limited time to do it.
“Every singer sings and then he stops.” We hadn’t stopped yet.
Videos
Behind the Cicada Ruckus (commentary)
All services · Bandcamp album · Apple Music · Spotify
Lyrics
Flatline, Chorus:
We are the music makers, we make up the scene
We’re not the imitators, we rap Ruckus kings
We don’t heed those haters, instead we run things
We are the innovators and the dreamers of dreams
Chunjay, Verse 1:
1998 was when we started the deal
Three high school kids with a dream that was real
We wanted to have fun and push positive music
We wanted to run things the way that we choose it
Deathless ditty, we build up the city
We wanted to rock mics and date girls who were pretty
A touch of techno and a bit of ska
Eclectic is the best description of all
We made some friends made connects and such
Rocked Vegas and Hawaii and got bad haircuts
Grits, Pigeon John & Spoken Nerd
Sackcloth, the Duke & my main man Dirt
Just four years and a handful of members
We were bout to go national the end of November
It was a good ride but it died before long
And before I hang my hat I’m gonna drop this song
Chunjay, Verse 2:
Ocean blue sea breakers by the ball takers
Never gave a bit about fighting all the fakers
One man with a dream can conquer a crown
And two rappers with a beat can take a kingdom down
Or your record can flop at the store
You can hustle for cash and you can still be poor
You can make lots of jokes and ride tour busses
You can upset the folks with your Royal Ruckus
Look, everything is built on the past of the earth
Each age is dying and each dream’s a birth
A breath of inspiration in each generation
I’m glad we walked this way and avoided stagnation
DMC, Beasties, Soup the Chemist
We all get a second then we have to be finished
We rode this ride and my only regret
Is we took this long to make a record perfect
Chunjay, Verse 3:
I drop these rhymes for my personal use
I never cup the mic that’s hip-hop abuse
Life after death or death after life
A maze we didn’t choose but we might choose which knife
Some choose right but others choose demise
I don’t know a whole lot but I’m banking on a prize
Or at least a Lord have mercy love of God don’t hurt me
The music sings a song that I just need surgery
We do what we can and so we make this record
Like Peter Paul & Mary got years together
Imma let you finish dudes lowered the bar
Let’s turn that around and raise the rap beat charts
No vision amazing no house they are raising
The only way forward is heavy trail blazing
Every singer sings and then he stops
Every rapper writes and then he drops
Narrator:
Cicadas live very full lives while underground. They dig tunnels, build cells, and feed on roots. The long period of time spent doing these things prepares them for their eventual emergence to the eyes and ears of all. Not all that exciting from a human perspective, but it must be fun for them.
Credits
Music: Flatline
Lyrics and Vocals: Chunjay and Flatline
Narrator: Heath McClure
Album-wide credits
Additional Credits
Production: Flatline, Chunjay
Mixing, Engineering, Co-Production, Mastering, Additional Scratches, Everything but the Kitchen Sink: DJ Sean P at TWLVS in Fort Worth, Texas
Vocal Production/Consultation: Krum
Pre-Mixing: Flatline, Chunjay, Krum, Shedlyn/Chris Felix, Annex, Grizzly Beatz, David Mathewes
Background Vocals: Flatline, DJ Sean P, Chunjay, and Friends
Executive Producer: Chunjay
Lyrics and music copyright 2017 Neopolis Media in partnership with Invisible Library Records. All rights reserved. M. Walker & J. Bennett Artist rights (BMI).
Guest/co-writer FYI: Act I shared credit: Music — Flatline; Lyrics and Vocals — Chunjay and Flatline; Narrator — Heath McClure. These source credits are attribution information, not a lyric-scope blocker; they do not specify legal ownership shares.
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