Some got hits about the racks that they earn Say there's Benjamins and Jacksons and their pockets a-burn But when they shoot the video, producers pass around a bucket Full of rented jewelry for them to rock and return I know a straight edge rapper who acts like a sheep herder A vegan on the mike whose screaming that meats murder But when everybody's sleeping he be creeping Slugging back the whiskey, hating himself and sneaking a cheeseburger There's a pop idol at the top of the charts And when her records being cut shes on the beach in St. Barts While a session singer who didn't have the face to make it Signs a nondisclosure agreement and belts out her parts Its hard cause I got bars that are Big Up and Woody Allen But maybe hes a predator whose digging in his talons There's a balance and often I don't know how to feel In a fake and painted world seek the real
[Chorus] Now I can't change the past but a mans got to man up It's hard to believe sometimes I get the best of me Now, I am doing what I can but I a man not a damn chump I can say it if you need, but I'd rather let the ink bleed
[Verse 2] We dismiss our heroes skeletons no matter how grim My fans saying "I'd be honored to be injured by him" Well fan this branch is thin but i'll go out on a limb To say she didn't love her ulna poking out of her skin Being pumped full of morphine and tied to machines They cut off my jeans, I heard her in the ambulance scream She's in school to do tattoos and might of had nerve damage So I could have cost a girl and chance at her dream Meanwhile, he pops painkillers until the dude is numb Knew I was a stupid ass, just not that I'm a ruthless one Youth is easily influenced So should you be rooting for me if I touch 1000 lives but on the way I ruin some? The rule of thumb is "all publicity is your advantage" But human lives are not collateral damage Bandage the wounded then vanish blank as the newest of canvases When they zoom in the cameras, give them the truth
[Chorus]
[Verse 3] Mega church leaders sleeping with male hookers Mayors hitting crack pipes with their cookers Each week a crooked politician gets caught We're not shocked when they're cheaters These days we're shocked when they're not Are they the person you thought? If they're perfect and hot Often we blame the victim scoff and they deserve what they got Actors sweep it under the rug and resume with the plot But they're amateurs and we can see the boom in the shot If perception is reality then this could be a shocker I've done my share of fucked up things that didn't get on Gawker Lots of tiny indiscretions way beyond the public eye That if you saw would probably out me as a complicated guy Mike says you got to separate the person from the art But if the arts about that person you can't pull them apart So you better watch the choices that you're making now because They are something that matter, they're the only thing that does
[Refrain] Everything they say conflicts with everything I do But I must admit I did it so I guess it might be true (4x)