Get all 7 Sam Nabi releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Help Yourself, Hometown Tour (Live at KW Little Theatre), Out of Body, Confidence (prod. Know-It), Attract Hazard, Fallout, and Late Convert.
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1. |
Motives
03:33
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I'm about growing up and breaking bad habits
The only Fast Car you'll see me rockin' is Chapman's
I used to look up to Em and Breaking Bad actors
But that's not me, now I'm making my own magic
I'm too earnest, can't hide my reaction
Truth hurts, so if you're in the mood to keep askin'
No, I won't pull any punches or backflips
Does that mean that I'm the bad guy? What happened?
Wait up, what's your motivation?
I see cats with all the aesthetics but no patience
Don't just let your backing track do the talking, say something
Okay hun? You flash in the pan or are you a great one?
You see, they all follow me but I don't follow them
Follow me? I'm no epidemiologist
But if they wanna go viral like some unprotected college kids
Hey, I just want my idols to acknowledge this
Look, are you innocent or just ill-equipped?
Well, we found us a predicament — resurface and swim again
Don't act like you're heaven-sent, you're just like the rest of them
Think you need to rent a van to get out your adrenaline?
Settle in — Don't you give me that sentiment
You can be a better man, you can keep it relevant
Start testing your friends, some need to be jettisoned
Yeah, check your ego at the door and don't you let it in
I got lucky, I can be precious with my art
I've had it simmering for years, when I go in I hit the mark
You know I never met a mic I didn't like and in the bars
I got the whole room rapt like a house of God
Holding on to ego can make you trip
Trying to spit a compliment like acid from your lips
Stop trying so hard to look hard, kid
You'll be out of breath quick if you only attempt sprints
Yeah, any way you cut it I have my cake and I eat it too
The measure of success is I can take the crowd and shape the mood
Pen-to-paper practice makes me greater, I won't wait up
For the rest to catch their breath anytime soon
This art is all hot air over wax, burning both ends
Like feeling around in the dark then strike a match so potent
Some of y'all spit fire like low-quality votives
I focus on burning true and seeing through where the smoke is
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2. |
Weary
03:31
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Drowsy-eyed, I pull my shoulders back from a crooked line
Look at my reflection and order myself to look alive
Slouch again like all of my energy went and took a ride
Liquor shelf is empty, I sip the last of the cooking wine
I'm recognizing I can't always play the mastermind
Some days I want to put my brain away to pass the time
Try to find a revelation, maybe play The Book of Ryan
Lose myself in the flow, sit back and hear the master rhyme
(A change of scenery's nice)
A change of scenery's nice, go for a walk
Circle the block and rediscover sights I forgot
Humans so goopy, scratching out loose-leaf thoughts
Take advantage of that spark when opportunity knocks
But I've been absent-minded, skipped a continuity shot
And I find myself in the back of the community park
I've got a bad buzz, need to find a route through the fog
It's like I'm riding out a twister and the roof's coming off (uh)
(Can you feel it?)
(It's been a while)
(Do you feel it?)
It's been a while since this well filled with the real stuff
Living up on the moon like monochrome was the filter
Feeling too light like a cut flower that wilted
I stopped wasting away when I started to build up
Disoriented, I see new worlds in my backyard
A pinch of sedatives and a random walk under night stars
Motivation is hard and so is patience in art
I hold a space in my heart for pen and paper to start
They're like, "When's the album out?" — Behind on my plans
I don't want to get stuck playing catch-up for the gram
Records don't go as far now as they did then
And if you take a hiatus then you're out of the top ten (see ya)
Goldfish memories want a new spin on the same
Always new shit, feeding the algorithm your name
The new me is gonna take more than a copy/paste
I'm through, rather nurture my embers than chase a flame
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3. |
Interlude
01:39
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I haven't seen you in a long while
We've changed
It's... different now
(Changed how?)
When the urgency took hold
Our worlds became smaller
Shrinking
as the ground
Shifted
beneath our feet
Spending each day calculating
And re-calculating
Chances of survival
When you wake up in a different reality
Of course you change
I abandoned all that wouldn't keep me alive
Then realised I could only live like that for so long
Of course I'm a new person
Since we last spoke
You and I have aged
A generation
We return to landmarks that have become memories
How do we carry on after such a rupture?
To think of this time as a cycle repeating would be wrong
It overlooks the freshly buried
Front-line heroes, martyred for capital
So here we are
Through no fault of our own
Standing on yet more bones
Beneath the rubble
Of the places we loved
Our renaissance can be different
Everything has changed
(Changed how?)
We are here again
Together
You've shed your old skin
But I still know your face
I hope you can recognize mine
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4. |
Out of Body
02:31
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Sly like Rizzo, fly like Lizzo
I'll always follow you, the H to my Izzo
Put me in my place once, ain't no playing reruns
More important than my day ones
That's what craving fame does
Takes you out of body
Probably thinking too many steps ahead
You lost me
If we're on the same building, same floor
It's on me to keep my head up heading out my front door
(You got me)
Revel in the present, treasure every second
Instead of second-guessing how to seem more impressive
When she's with me I don't let the stress in
Savoury like sourdough avocado with blue cheese dressing
No question, she's really my best friend
You know we go together up on the guest list
So if you're thinking of showing feelings, confess it
Silence is golden but honesty's a blessing
Love like sand to Ozymandias
Nestled in your heat, the world forgets me
You cover my ego with abandon
Let the sun beat down, we're free now, I can't sleep
Best days are ahead of us now
Haven't had a worry since you found me
Surround me — I went from standing tall and mute
To being carried far and wide by you
I thought I had to solve all the world's problems
Preoccupied being the responsible one
I'm not making it about me if I'm trying to help, right?
I still wanted all the accolades and the spotlight
You came along and you set my thoughts right
Took my head down from a thundercloud on a dark night
You take no prisoners, make room for the little things
Grow love, erode the stone and stop chiselling
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5. |
Can't Chill
02:47
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(I just can't chill, man)
Is it okay to just like the attention
Tell me it's okay to sit back and not have to unpack all of our friendship
University ruined me, can't chill
Can't stop overanalysing, brooding in scrutiny
Voice in my head says keep your friends close
Take every interaction and run it through the microscope
I don't know — Vetting every moment
Getting ready to call out foul motives
Laser-focused, can't let go
I'm letting my academic brain get in the way
There's no seminar course made to replace
Learning all of someone's ugly and leaving yourself open
Knowing only God can judge and we'll get through it okay
When did problematic become radioactive?
Activism's a practice, not a fashion or tactic
Building a connection takes time and I'll make mine matter
I've got to get out of this bad habit
I gotta get out of this bad habit
I'm learning to pick my battles and let some slide
Can't keep feeling cornered for the rest of my life
At the bottom of a rabbit-hole, thinking I'm the oracle
But really, I just kept digging away from the light
I'm coming armed with facts to a culture war
Thinking I'll leave them all with their jaws on the floor
But no one wants a debate, they just want to chill out
Looking at me like, what're you bringing politics for?
If you want the revolution but won't do the dishes
You'll never be a great leader 'til you throw a good picnic
Listen, if someone said that they'd grant three wishes
I'd want trust, joy, and the will to see what's missing
Once those get going the rest comes easy
You wouldn't even need me, it's peachy
Imagine not treating life as a threat to be tested
Imagine being present instead of projecting
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6. |
(xiM yknuF) sevitoM
02:22
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