Released: June 22, 2010

Featuring: Patty Crash Phonte Blu

Songwriter: Damon Bryson Frank Walker Owen Biddle Jamal Gray Captain Kirk Douglas James Poyser Katrin Newman Dice Raw ?uestlove Phonte Black Thought Blu Patty Crash

Producer: Richard Nichols The Roots

[Hook: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision, I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day

[Verse 1: Blu]
Yeah, it's like everyday I wake up, I stare into space and don't say much
Peer in the mirror, feeling dead from the face up
Coffee pots, cigarettes, morning J's, Baileys
Slowing down my day before it picks up the pace
Beats playing since the night before, thinking about writing songs
Feeling exhausted from times we toured constant
And plus the toxins I sip got me tall
Still tipsy, staring at the city from the spot we call Los Angeles
Every day is like a blank canvas
Carving my initials in the planet like I brand it
Hand picked to live this life we take for granted
Like a child with an upright bass, we can't stand it
Smiling through the trouble we face, tryna manage
My way without pumping my brakes and staying stagnant
Cause I can sit on my ass or just imagine
The madness I did on my path and paint the canvas

[Hook: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision, I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Before I rise and shine like a neon sign
I need the girl of my dreams to give me Einstein
And burn the marijuan' like Buju Banton
It's my only bonafide break from these confines
I need a change of scenery like a montage
These kids bringing me the noise like the Bomb Squad
And everybody coming at me from the blindside
I'm tired, it's hard to open up my eyes wide
I listen to some theme music on the iPod
And walk around the crib doing little odd jobs
Checking my breath, take a view from this high rise
Feeling like I'm checking out a game from the sideline
I got to try different things in these trying times
2010 is different than it was in '9-5
It's come alive time, I picked a fine time
For getting open off life like a fine wine

[Hook: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision, I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day

[Verse 3: Phonte]
Uh, yeah, Sunday morning, plan my day out
Whole new blueprint, brand new layout
Deep down still don't know if it'll play out
But for the first time, feel like I done found a way out
Skin getting clearer and it feel like I lost weight
Stop and say a prayer for the times I lost faith
Troubles of the world had me in a cross-face
Chicken-wing, sickening, living so off-base
But now it's like I'm in the last lap of the car chase
And I finally understand my right to choose
My preacher man told me it could always be worse
Even the three-legged dog still got three good legs to lose
So you can stop and refresh the rules
Breathe in, breathe out, let it heal all your exit wounds
Something inside said that's the move
And maybe today I'll restart fresh and new

[Hook: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision, I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Is gonna be the day

The Roots

The world’s premiere hip-hop band, The Roots were formed in Philadelphia in 1987 by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Since those early days, the band has weathered changes in personnel and record labels while performing hundreds of shows a year and releasing a string of well-regarded (if not always top-selling) albums.

While the musicianship of Thompson and the other band members, as well as their seemingly limitless repertoire, gets most of the attention, real hip-hop fans know that the rapping skills of Black Thought (along with former group member Malik B.) are the group’s hidden weapon. Thought, one of the few MCs brave enough to go toe to toe with Big Pun, handles any groove the band throws at him with aplomb, style, and flash.

Today, The Roots are seen by millions every night as the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a move that has given the group the chance to indulge its not-insignificant comic side.