Released: October 17, 2006

Featuring: Nas J Dilla Marsha Ambrosius Busta Rhymes Common

Songwriter: J Dilla Busta Rhymes Common Nas Hi-Tek Marsha Ambrosius

Producer: Hi-Tek

[Produced Hi-Tek]

**NEXT MESSAGE**

[Message #1: J Dilla]
Yo, I don't know where to start
Uh, check it out, music is - my total existence, dawg, straight up
Everything with my life revolves around music
It's like... you can't get a relationship with..
I'm still with.. my first love which is music
You'know'what'I'm'sayin'? For real
The reason I'm here is.. is J Dilla, just like that, peace

**END OF MESSAGE**
(Music is my life)
**PRE-SAVED, NEXT MESSAGE**

[Verse One: Nas]
Yeah, yeah
It started with rhythms I heard listenin' to the wall
The bouncin' of basketballs on playgrounds and all
The empty bottles that's hollow, wind blowin' inside 'em
The flow and the rhymin' got my alignment to a science
Mixin' with my moms in the kitchen,up them spoons rattlin'
Pots and pans, faucet water pourin', tunes managin'
To come from all the fussin' and ramblin'
What I noticed was -- pure music, untampered with
By things showbiz does; older thugs showed us stuff
Like how to hold a plug, juice from the street light
It almost could have blowed us up
Crates of records, great sessions had the whole hood jammin'
Large speakers, fresh made, smell the wood sandin'
Father did his blues smooth, legendary jazz man
Saw his wife secondary to his true passion
Started with my crew rappin', new jacks in '82
Never looked back, now look what it changed me to: music

[Chorus: Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry]
We gotta believe the future
We gotta believe the past
We gotta believe in more
That know that we have
We gotta believe each other
We gotta open up our minds
'Cause music is for life.. for life

**NEXT MESSAGE**

[Verse Two: Hi-Tek]
Uh, what's the difference between me and you?
It's I'm a real connoisseur of this rap shit, I really do it
My whole life, man, is really music
Through my bassline, I'm livin' through it
Another expression of life I couldn't live without
I like my music straight pure, not watered down
DAMN, it felt good to fulfill the dreams of gettin' out the hood
Kept me busy, gave me a chance to stop sellin' drugs
Spendin' time in the basement kept me from actin' up
Zonin' out, wishin' Dre could check it out
I'm here now, I can't believe it
Proof in the puddin', everything happened for a reason
Through this music I'm able to feed my family
When I'm stressed out, it's my sanity
It's a lifestyle, all on the street and in Hollywood
Music in my DNA, it's my livelihood: music

[Chorus: Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry]
We gotta believe the children
We gotta believe in hope
We gotta believe in more
That know that we know
See, we gotta believe each other
We gotta open up our minds
'Cause music is for life.. for life

**NEXT MESSAGE**

[Verse Three: Common]
Keep the music alive
The good and the strong survive
I closed my eyes and imagined I was 'Jackson Five'
Randy and Michael, goin' through life cycle
Music allowed me to let life go
So vital to a youngster, comin' up amongst street hustlers
The big beat'll touch us in such a special place
Givin' the ghetto a taste of what freedom is like
I reached a point in my life where I was needin' the mic
No second guessin', self-expression in lessons learned
Aggression became sessions where sessions burned
Put my soul into it, now my feet is firm
In the game, where a name is hard to earn
And hot cats' careers gets scarred and burned
Through the years, mine took a Godly turn
This is the story of my life here trapped in a verse
No matter the money or the movies, music is first, yeah...

[Chorus: Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry]
We gotta believe the future
We gotta believe the past
We gotta believe in more
That know that we have
So we gotta believe each other
We gotta open up our minds
'Cause music is for life

See, we gotta believe the children
We gotta believe in hope
We gotta believe in more than all we know
See, we gotta believe each other
We gotta open up our minds
'Cause music is for life...

**NEXT MESSAGE**

[Message #2: Busta Rhymes]
Ayo, Hi-Tek whattup?, you know who this is
It's your boy Busta Bus down, Flipmode Squad, aiight
Now, you know, this is serious thing behind the music that we're doing
It's like, music, for me man, it mean, it means everything, family
You know when we going through, our personal strifes in life
You'know'what'I'm'sayin', we get up in that studio
Close that door, lock ourselves in, that little four-wall space, man
Get in the vocal booth and become whoever you wanna be
Express whatever you wanna feel, you'know'nah'mean?
When you going through your most frustrating time in life
You'know'what'I'm'sayin', you can realize that..
When you can't find nobody else to speak to
You can speak through the music
Help other people feel your pain, your struggle, your passion
You know, what you live and die for, your values in life
You'know'nah'mean?
Music, man, it's the voice of every being in the universe
The platform provided for us to communicate, when all else fails
It's what allows us to be able to connect
With touching our hearts and the soul of the streets

**FIRST SKIPPED MESSAGE**

[Message #3: Bony Bones]
Yo, I'm a Rosemont legend nigga, I'm a felony nigga
Keep rollin' the motha'fuckers in, my nigga
Like the bait, they..they.. hoppin' on it
When the bait go in, nigga, they can't playa hate on it
I'm comin' back niggas, stronger than ever
Watch this, nigga, Bony Bones, clever if ever
Playa hater, can't motha'fucker, fuck with this
My baby mama even talk about my shit, ha
I'm hotter than hot, hotter, what? Tell 'em, boo
(Hang up the damn phone!), Yeah, I'm on, alright
Bony Bones in the house, nigga

**END OF MESSAGE**

Hi-Tek

Tony Cottrell is an American record producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli on his Reflection Eternal album and on Black Star. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band whom Hi-Tek featured on his second release Hi-Teknology 2.