Away went the lonely MC
From his laboratory, surely they’d see
That none could near embody “dope”
As wholly and purely as he
Hours he’d spent, pupils pressed to the desk
A steady nod, prolonged by the beat in his head
No doctor or technician of language
Could mimic the things that he penned
Quatrains arc welded with assonance
And back-sanded to stanzas pristine
For any shrewd phrase that you conjured
This lonely MC fashioned three
He filled his backpack full of word play
The fabric bulked out from punch lines amassed
Away went the lonely MC
For the night had arrived at last
Bar upon bar he bore in his pack
Step over step, he trudged through the street
Head on to the wind, he kept his gaze to the ground
And, on every wearied step, dropped a beat
He lifted his face upon feeling a warmth
Cheeks softly baked by lyrical flames
And upon seeing the circle, silhouettes of strangers
The lonely MC drew near to the place
The round gathering was comprised of mere townsmen
Amateur craftsmen, simpletons and peasants
As far as the lonely MC was concerned
There was nothing here present impressive
But the beat tugged his torso forward and back
Force-torn from the bap to the boom
And the rhymes were just tight enough to tauten his ears
The MC just had to spit too
He knew he could show them, he knew he could rip it
He was confident his skills were better honed
The craft that he’d mastered, so much to boast
He was dope; he had to let them know
He was…
King of the mic, you ain’t seen nothing like
This, you had a down day? I’m here to bring up the night
The best you ever heard, rap’s deputed messenger
Don’t stand too close cause you may get a burn (yeah!)
Get it learned, I got verses fresh out of the furnace
You think your lyrics bubble, but I’m about to burst it
A person with purpose to leave you out of service
Don’t even think about how to birth kids (ungh!)
I do this, I do this all day and all night (yeah?)
I do this, I do this, gotta say it all twice (word!)
You gotta pay a tall price to obtain these hot rhymes
Lucky for you though, the favor’s all mine
Yeah I’m the best see, don’t even test me
Like Tropicana, spill the sweet so freshly (hmm!)
And I rip it so hotly that nobody wants me
That’s why they call me the lonely em—
“YO!” came the call, cold and shattering
His performance appeared to lie strewn across the floor in glass pieces
Cheeks flushed red, perplexity and heavy breathing
The lonely MC had only been dreaming
There was a microphone diaphragm hovering in front of his face
Bewildered, his eyes refocused and met all the others staring back
The beat was still driving, the heads were still nodding
Then came the question, “Hey, you here to rap?”
Shaking off the confusion, he saw the mic was held by an outstretched arm
And that arm was connected to a human being
Who had an inquisitive face, one of thought and generosity
He wanted to hear the lonely MC speak
The MC looked up and around at all the bobbing bodies
He didn’t know whether to press off or press on
His heart was still racing, but outwardly he looked unmoved
With a calm shrug, the lonely MC said “Nah…”
“Nah” was the statement, and “Nah” was the fate
The microphone was swiftly born away
And the cypher resumed as all cyphers must do
As if the MC had never gone or came
The routine was restored, the rhyming went round
Everybody acted just as alive
He listened for a few minutes before uneasily rising
The lonely MC turned and left just as he had arrived
Away went the lonely MC
Away from the circle, away to the cold
Away with his conditioned and carefully designed devices
That may very well have grown stale and old
Who’s to say if they remain lain on hold?
Decayed as phrases or relayed as soul?
Away went the lonely MC
To his lab the same way he had come
And still to this day, no one knows of his name
Much less what he’s capable of
