Released: July 15, 2003

Featuring: Raheem DeVaughn Talib Kweli

Songwriter: Talib Kweli Raheem DeVaughn Asheru

Producer: Usef Dinero Yusef Dinero

[Asheru talking]
(Ya'll don't know right here this is the next single featuring
My man Talib Kweli, called Mood Swing, we gonna do it like this y'all)

[Asheru]
You can run to every new thing under the sun
You be a jack of all trades and a master of none
Mood Swinging

[Singers in Background]
La la la la la... eh oooo oo X4

[Verse 1: Asheru]
Soon come you will understand
The motivation of a man getting the under hand
A local yokel on a mission to get global
Lettin my vocals amass to some total
And keep the point focal, you hear me but you don't listen
You think its easy being put in this position
I freak speech, but still don't wanna preach
Ts peak thought in stimulate movement at at Emcees
Grab your gat hit the streets, that the rally cry the war horn
The Akoben, some cats is spiritually war torn--environment
So I leading a community movement
And I don't need money for me to make a community improvement
Tell me what you stand for
Would you settle for less or do you have the strength to demand more
Only time will tell, what this New World brings
Revolutions at order, check the Mood Swing, swing
Swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
Low like sweet chariot
What I say make my voice deep as Barry's get
Carry it like a torch
Give birth to rhymes to meet beats and then I'll marry em off
Have a divorce if the track is wack
(Please) My rhymes a rolling stone
Home is where the high hatters at, its on this song
(it on this song) maybe one day it'll settle down
It ain't no good it all better now, come on let it now

[Hook]
Mood Swing, changing the way we do things
Its a good thing, listen to the whole hood sing
As they go La, La, La, La, La...
Yeah as they go La, La, La, La, La...
No fear no doubt and no worry everything is on time there's no hurry
Mood swinging, swinging, Mood swing, swinging
Mood swinging, swinging, Mood swing, swinging, oooo oo

[Verse 3: Talib Kweli]
Me and baby in the rental
She talkin gentle hit the hotel to presidential
Sweet... kisses on the temple make her feel special
Light a candle scent got us in this sentimental
Mood, its right wit the light just so I could see
Begin to set the pace for what we gon get into
My fingers is lyrics its back is the instrumental...
Ancient Secrets, Indian, and Oriental
Blackin out doin shit that I can't rap about
Passin out, wakin up, not awake awake enough to take it up and not STOP
Love is a friends never know if we can love again
I said we gotta leave, she asked if she can come again (come again)
I had to meet Asheru at the studio
I'm runnin late, you know I hate to make a nigga wait
But damn baby "You look good in the summer time
Gimme some of yours, I'm a give you some of mine."

[Verse 4: Asheru]
Yo Kweli I remember being in the same dilemma
Hip-hop was number one my girl was number one contender
The great pretender wit a whole different agenda
Until I make it big "Life is one long gig."
Mood Swing like Ella or Coltrane its classic
Like Soul Train its timeless just like this rhyme is
So all of y'all bandwagon the campaign
Grab a hold of that Mood Swing and do the damn thing

[Hook]
Mood Swing, changing the way we do things
Its a good thing, listen to the whole hood sing
As they go La, La, La, La, La...
Yeah as they go La, La, La, La, La...
Uh You can run to every new thing under the sun
You be a jack of all trades and a master of none
Mood swinging, swinging, Mood swing, swinging
Mood swinging, swinging, Mood swing, swinging

[Verse 5: Asheru]
I'm an outlet
A front of which which you ain't figured out yet
A resource, I pivot your efforts on the right course
It seats ya, doin whatever it takes ta reach ya
All of its in me, no really its in me
A good brother, lovin son, a great lover
I'm a truth seeker, on a quest not a believer
I'm an Emcee for all of the world to see
Yea ya got my word on it, I'll put the Herd on it
That we rep shit, its the least to be expected
Fuck that prep shit, jump on stage like we connected
From the same minds saying the same things at the same time
Back stage rappin like gettin ready for game time
We a family, and ain't nothing goin to change that
For better or worse like somebody prearrange that
The way it is the way it always will be so I can still and still be
Soon come we will witness a shift in consciousness
And black music is one of our greatest accomplishments
(one day) our names will live on as monuments
So that our kids can hold up they heads with confidence
That's when our nation will rise and realize that

[Kweli]
Life without knowledge is death in disguise

[Asheru]
The answer to my comprehension is just too complex
One minute from the next, go from happy ta vexed

[Singer]
Mood Swing, yea
See change is good sometimes
Mood Swing, yea
Its time for the essence to rhyme
Its time to Mood Swing
Take it on back
Mood Swing (repeat)
La, La, La, La (repeat)

Asheru

Gabriel “Asheru” Benn, M.Ed. is a veteran Hip Hop artist, educator, and youth activist. He is widely known for performing the opening theme for the popular TV series, The Boondocks, and other musical contributions to the show, for which he received the prestigious Peabody Award – becoming the first hip hop artist to receive the prestigious award. Alongside his career as a Hip Hop artist, Asheru has served as a teacher/administrator in DC Schools for over 15 years, and is well known for his pioneering and innovative efforts to forward the Hip Hop Education movement, namely through his organizations, Guerilla Arts Ink, and the Hip Hop Educational Literacy Program (H.E.L.P.).

H.E.L.P. is a series of supplemental reading workbooks designed to HELP students of all reading levels through the innovative usage of Hip Hop lyrics for critical analysis, multicultural relevance, and effective literacy instruction. H.E.L.P materials are currently being used in schools, afterschool and alternative programs all over the country, and have been endorsed by a wide range of educators and youth advocates, including former Senator, current President Barack Obama (in 2008), Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, and many others. He continues to advocate and mentor youth in schools and juvenile detention centers all over the country, with his unique message of promoting literacy as an intervention against youth violence, crime, unemployment, and incarceration.

Asheru is a proud native Washingtonian, who considers himself blessed to have been able to perform and share his talents and make musical collaborations with artists all over the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and West and South Africa. In fact, he is prepped to release his 4th album, Sleepless in Soweto, dedicated to his recent travels and cultural exchange between DC & South African artists, facilitated in 2010 between Asheru, South African Hip Hop star, Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP), and DC based arts organization, Bloombars. Says Asheru, “Sleepless in Soweto is more than just an album. It is a living, breathing document of solidarity between Africans & African Americans; tied together through the language of Hip Hop. It is a love song to South Africa, my new home away from home… This album is a direct challenge to the status quo, dominant media representation of Blackness both here and abroad. It is an example of where we could go with our artform and voice, and the endless possibilities of what it could be. The time is near; we are almost ready… I can’t wait for you to hear it.”