The Nightlife (for hiphop) spoken word, 1997

I guess I’m not cut out for the night life,
You know?
That bright light/ big city spotlight
The lonely shifty corners where folk
Groove and groove and groove and groove

Where brothas trip on enchanted fantasies
Fishing for that line
That in time
Will take them away from
Their small corner of the world
To London or France
Emcees dropping that last whispering wicked wish
“All we wanna do is make you dance?”
Hold up
Hiphop apocalypse?
Se here brothas go undercover
Did I stutter?
Quick to smoke a joint then make one
Went from banging wax to plastic
While they throw a left then fake one
To the right
Like Tyson!
When he delivers a groove

And girlfriend
You better work!
This ain’t lil Ms. Sally Walker
Cause even after many a nights of broken hearted vodka
She’s learned how to be
A smooth talker
The formula, so predictable:
See sista sweat, see sista shake
See sista sippin’ on crystal and moet
In the back of the club
Looking for…
Well--- not love
That’s where you’ll find everybody else playing dress up
Eastside is down, Westiiide up!
Cowboyz and Indians
Barbie dolls playing that cupie role
Looking like they not interested
See in this Dukes of Hazzard
Stagger Lee mentality
Reality just might like you flat broke

But y’all remember the days when we used to love her
When she was a princess risen
Just remember all you princesses your castles may be
Cold and lonely prisons

The night partitioning our faces
From these pseudo realities
Of these twirling, whirling picturesque
Video fantasies

Folk talkin’ about they keeping it real
When they shed skin like snakes!
“Hello welcome to your castle upper eschalant where we hook your fantasy up
Even if your reality is ghettofabulously fake!”

Partaking in fate
Passing around the collection plate of lust
Not fuss only thrills in the temple of masquerades
We step out surreptitiously
Glass slippers made of tar
Make mundane musical monotony into mutiny
Lyin’ about who we are
And what kind of car we drive
Tongues as slick as southern style canning jars

Still the strobe light is very pretty
Isn’t it? Distorting the common view
Like a defiant chocolate leg crossed over the so called sinner’s pew
And in our ears we hear lullabies in tandem spasms
Eat your apples with enthusiasms
Dream a little dream on me
On the folk that we still be
The shoe shiners
Moon shiners
Go getters
Come hithers
Strange fruit by yonder tree

Don’t playerhate says the emcee, get your groove on at the masquerade
Cauze it hurt to see your people when they all cain’t ball
And they out there looking played

See you better dream that dream or wake up dead
With an (Ouch!) red white and blue Timberland clocked me in my head
Enjoy the lull because the storm is near
And they don’t have to steel you in your sleep anymore

See here in the land of liberty not’s
We drink and laugh
We dance and talk
And we dance and dance and dance and dance
Until the white day burns a hole in the sky
And after that, we weep and cry

Waiting on dream variations on a sunset to save us 'for we die?

I guess I’m not cut out for the nightlife.