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Words from the artist’s archive
Crazy Till lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
The block don't forget the ones they tried to label and erase Even when the official story got a new coat of paint
Verse 1
Rain slick on the pavement, Liberty City after midnight Corner store on six second, old man wiping down the counter light Black SUV with tinted glass idling where the new towers cut the sky He told the young ones pay attention to who asking questions and why The official story said revitalization, safer streets, new life But the ones who noticed the pattern got the quiet he been off type Side eyes when he mentioned the same three cars three nights straight The city said trust the process, but the process had a different weight Then the public records hit and the dates matched the first eviction wave
Chorus
They called him crazy till the files came out Quiet vindication in the middle of the doubt They called him crazy till the files came out Now the ones who laughed got the same quiet in they eyes now The files don't ask for clearance when the pressure breaks the seal They called him crazy till the files came out
Verse 2
The weight lived in the glove box of the old Buick, pages dated neat Every time he saw the pattern, he wrote the time, the place, the street Took it to the lawyer downtown, they said the evidence was thin Maybe you under stress, take a break, don't let it pull you in The weight turned into distance, family stopped calling as much Porch light off some nights, he started checking the blinds too much The mirror in the hallway started showing a man he barely knew The one who used to speak up now practiced staying out the room But the weight never disappeared, it just learned how to sit in silence too
Chorus
They called him crazy till the files came out Quiet vindication in the middle of the doubt They called him crazy till the files came out Now the ones who laughed got the same quiet in they eyes now The files don't ask for clearance when the pressure breaks the seal They called him crazy till the files came out
Verse 3
He saw the label living in his nephew's eyes one Sunday dinner The same sideways look he used to give the uncles who talked too much Unc you good? You been on the same thing for a minute The words landed different coming from his own blood The cracked mirror in the bathroom held his stare a little longer Asking if maybe the city had a point and he was chasing shadows on the wall The stress started writing stories in the corners of his sleep Woke up checking the blinds like the watchers were watching him deep And that's when he understood why some of them chose to stay asleep
Verse 4
The detective showed up at the house on seven nine with a clipboard smile Said we just doing wellness checks on community concerns for a while The same week the new cameras went live on the poles along the block The same week the old heads started thinning out from the corner shop He fought it the only way he knew, kept the notes, kept showing up Took it to the local paper, they said it was above their pay grade, tough The system has a way of turning the messenger into the headline Crazy man from Liberty City claims the city watching everybody Then one page from his stack matched a declassified file word for word, line for line
Chorus
They called him crazy till the files came out Quiet vindication in the middle of the doubt They called him crazy till the files came out Now the ones who laughed got the same quiet in they eyes now The files don't ask for clearance when the pressure breaks the seal They called him crazy till the files came out
Verse 5
To the young one sitting on the bus stop bench on Biscayne If they ever call you crazy for saying what the block already saw with its own eyes Write it down anyway, date it, keep the receipts in your phone The files come out late, but they do come out when the pressure gets too high The cost is real, the vindication don't always let you walk away dry Some pay with their name, some pay with their peace, some pay with their freedom But the ones who stay silent let the same machine keep running So speak it soft if you have to, but don't let the truth die quiet in your throat
Outro
The rain keeps falling on the same old pavement in Liberty City The files keep surfacing when the timing is politically convenient Some lessons cost more than the ones who carry them can afford to pay But the block remembers who tried to warn it before the smoke cleared the way
Inside the recording
The block don't forget the ones they tried to label and erase Even when the official story got a new coat of paint
They called him crazy till the files came out Quiet vindication in the middle of the doubt
The rain keeps falling on the same old pavement in Liberty City The files keep surfacing when the timing is politically convenient
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.