Hold That Mask (Kendrick/Biggie Tribute)

By day I hold it up By night I feel the weight By morning, if they call again I lift it like I’m paid I sign with the hand that been shaking since Sunday, smile for the board while the blood in my gum stay, front got a price and the price got a surname, sold them a saint with a stain in the bloodline. Press flash, neck rash, red stamp evidence, cold grin, mean tint, contract etiquette, they clap when the mask make the mess look elegant, I laugh with the staff while my pulse get venomous. They don’t love me, they love the version with the teeth in, same grin every dinner, same lie every meeting, I keep feeding that face till it eat my breathing, then wake up tomorrow and lease it the evening. Names get light when the ink go black, I learned what a god costs after the clap, one wrong face and the whole thing cracks, I keep mine paid, pressed, and intact. By day I hold the mask like a debt they applaud, blood on the cuff but the handshake neat, they paid for the face, not the man underneath. Man underneath got his mouth sewn hot, if I let him talk then the whole thing bleed, by morning I lift what the daylight bought. Hold that mask Hold that mask Don’t let it crack In front of them Hold that mask Hold that mask They paid for the front They don’t want the man Name on the pass Blood on the cuff If I take it off Would they know me at all? Hold that mask Hold that mask They know that one They don’t know us Hold that mask Hold that mask If I drop it now Who takes me back? Dinner with the wolves, I been cutting my meat slow, same white cloth where the red little leaks go, everybody blessed when the front do the keynote, real one outside with the case and the cheap coat. Truth got security, lies got a seat now, every confession need a stamp and a fee now, I don’t miss being honest, I miss when it was cheap, before every little yes had a lawyer underneath. I sold them the posture, the pause, and the entrance, sold them the calm when the blood wanted vengeance, sold them the version that could stand at the center, then asked why my own name came back as a rental. One false move and the whole front cracks, one wrong prayer and the crowd steps back, I keep mine paid, pressed, and intact, then count what it cost when the daylight blacks. By night I count what it cost me Not money Not sleep The part of my face That stopped coming back with me Hold that mask Hold that mask Don’t let it crack In front of them Hold that mask Hold that mask They paid for the front They don’t want the man Name on the pass Blood on the cuff If I take it off Would they know me at all? Hold that mask Hold that mask They know that one They don’t know us Hold that mask Hold that mask If I drop it now Who takes me back? By day I hold it up By night I feel the weight By morning, if they call again I lift it like I’m paid