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GOD

from TAO by Shad

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about

[Losing our relationship with Sacredness and culture]

This is about what a relationship to the sacred means to me. An integral part of fostering a deeper connection to humanity, to suffering, to our highest ideals. Reframing the spiritual as not ultimately about something invisible or imagined but about something very grounded and profoundly real. My verses are about God, religion, etc. but my parents bookend the song and verses with words about what it means to be human. There's also a thread with their voices and words about a connection to culture and history.

lyrics

-- Lyrics --


I think a human being is meant to be relational
To “mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice” so to speak
To break up fights between children or adults
To assist the most vulnerable
To rescue anyone in danger
To have empathy

(GOD)
Unafraid in the age
Of the underpaid
Of the Hunger games
Funny calling this a game —
I didn’t wanna play
(GOD)
No choice
No voice
Just me and my old boys
Clung to faith
Held one humble
Page of Tolstoy —
Like (GOD)
Read it til
It shredded
meditated on
the ethics
everyday
I’d pray til I get it
Re-dedicated
to the
Message every day
(GOD)
The weak ones seek the power
That the powerful seek to keep
Only those that bon’t believe in power
Have the power that can lead to peace
(GOD)
——

Truthfulness
Patience
Commitment
And these values show the true human being


(GOD)
Ritual in the school of wisdom
And the disciplines of communal living
From the lynchings back to the crucifixion
That aint superstition
that’s the true condition
of the human soul: group division
So we sit together
That’s how we remember
And pursue the mission
See him in my enemy: Don’t lose the vision
This aint new religion
This is old as time
Rules and systems
Like students listening
Learning tune and rhythm, groove and pitch
Not to reproduce
But so they can create all the music in them
That’s how youth bloom
And assume positions
in the institutions using intuition
How we stay rooted and lose inhibition
And the vain ambition
This is a benediction
(GOD)

And just a little lesson from your very own culture
That maybe be foreign
So in kinyrwanda a human being is “umuntu”
And when all those other qualities I’ve mentioned
--Assisting the vulnerable
Bein empathetic
Rescuing anyone in danger—
When all those things are in a human being, in umuntu,
we say “Afite” or they have “umuntu”
in other words without all those qualities
We definitely cease to be human beings

Ok God bless you
Thank you so much
You’ve always been a joy to us
Keep up the good job
Keep loving
And we hope to see you soon
Be blessed
Love you
Love you

credits

from TAO, released October 1, 2021
Shad - Vocals

Produced by Ric Notes

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Shad Toronto, Ontario

Shad is a Juno Award-winning rapper from London, Ontario and the host of Netflix’s Hip-Hop Evolution. His albums have been recognized for their sharp lyrics and soulful arrangements.

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