Released: February 9, 2018

Featuring: Joey Bada$$ Chuck Strangers

Songwriter: Chuck Strangers Joey Bada$$

Producer: Chuck Strangers

[Intro]
"I mean the reason they call him 'Crazy Joe' he goes off once in a while. Uhh, but he's the type of guy you can go to and you can talk to, you know?
'Uhh Joey, look these guys are doin' somethin' they have no reason to be doin', I mean, what's goin' off with it?'
Joey, he'd go out there and he'd talk to 'em and if they don't listen, suddenly Joe will go crazy, you know?"

[Verse 1: Joey Bada$$]
Hold up
What's life like now? Shots of the expresso
'Cause gettin' star bucks been the basic manifesto
I'm up early mornin', breakin' fast through the thresholds (uh-huh)
They tell I'ma wear myself out, but that's the dress code
Unlock the swag and nigga let's go
We securin' bags, you niggas insecure and mad
One hundred thirty on the dash, that's if my nigga Lex drove
Keep the heater stashed if we gotta leave some flesh cold
Usually we positive, just tryna stay blessed though
I'd rather to be safe, never know what to expect yo
In the streets, we livin' in, niggas invidious, serious
And 'cause of this, inside of me, kept hidden, it's hideous (uh)
And that's ugly truth, I'm speakin' for my troubled youth
To whom I try to give a mental boost when I'm in the booth
Been through the struggle, made it out and I'm the livin' proof
I took the pain like I pull it from my wisdom tooth (nigga)

[Interlude]
"We're still surviving, you know we took our bruises and we gave out bruises. But we survived, we here, we got this, which I think is out of sight"

[Verse 2: Chuck Strangers]
First me and Robi break up
Now every day I wake up, with more bullshit as I arrive to the pulpit
Pro Era apostle (preach), nigga droppin' gospels
Chucky be a reverend, Psalm 47
God is the king of all on earth
But after him know that the Era is first (know that)
Say it's all about knowin' your worth
Thank Christ for savin' my life today
Know I have the right of way
I'm blessed to see a brighter day (blessed)
Keep me away from the ruthless
You can teach a man a lesson, but don't make him feel stupid
Put me on, don't put me down, my G
We all out here just tryna be
Fine lines between egos and insecurities
You ain't less of a man if you don't squeeze
You not necessarily a man if you do
Chalk it up to human nature, 'cause it's just what men do
Self-destruct with no fucks, or love to give up
I'm Chuck, Strangers

[Outro]
"And like I see a whole new future opening up for me and like I really don't want to do all the things I've done over the years before. I really don't want to do them again. But, like if I do them, like in the past, I don't go around bragging 'I done this, I done that,' to myself so nobody knows about it. And when nobody knows, word don't get out and you don't get busted."

Pro Era

Pro Era is a Brooklyn hip hop collective that includes rappers Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Aaron Rose, Dessy Hinds, Dirty Sanchez, Rokamouth, J.A.B. and Jakk the Rhymer, along with producers Chuck Strangers and Powers Pleasant. The collective was formed in 2011 by Capital STEEZ and Powers Pleasant, with Joey Bada$$ and CJ Fly among its founding members.

Pro Era stands for Progressive Era. We live in the Common Era, so naming the group “Pro Era” is symbolic of the group helping to bring forth a new era, a new age, with their conscious music.

The Collective uses and refers to the number ‘47’ heavily. First championed by Capital STEEZ, the number is meant to represent the tension between the fourth chakra—the heart—and the seventh—the brain.