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The War On Mediocrity

by Apollo Quad

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Brand new full length album released March 2014!

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1.
Old Soul 04:10
Old Soul Verse 1 Wisdom’s not determined by age my body’s a slave my soul is a sage trapped in this flesh cage for decades the only freedom is through the page escaping numeric age inside these modern age I’m outdated and proudly dedicated to preserving the past so I continue the path I feel connected with ancient relics so I resurrect them their part of my perception and pieces of my reflection and I don’t fit in with peers these past couple years have felt like millenniums and now they question how I’m spending them but I keep it honest and simply pay my homage to my heroes that have fallen I can hear their voices callin Chorus I’m an old soul trapped in these young bones I’m starting to feel alone inside of this time zone but the music can bring me home! Verse 2 I abscond with every song to a time that’s far beyond obtain a nostalgic aura and a more fitting decorum the golden age of music such a beautiful movement when you look at culture now it seems sort of amusing but I plan on infusing the lessons I’ve learned from shadows ,these former remnants are hidden still in attendance But at times I feel lost in these new fads and new trends and every single day it’s getting harder to blend maturity found me so early in life it aged me so fast but gave me spirit to fight so with this power I will keep your memory alive revive the better days and get back to the olden ways Verse 3 but when I’m an old soul grown into old bones I’ll keep the new ones in line my mind is true to the rhyme I want to be a living classic but time can be tragic and can eat you alive if you aren’t settled inside but I wont fight it my mind has been ignited by those who came before me with every tale and story with open ears you’ll get wisdom beyond your years inspiration comes from history open bottled epiphanies by grabbing a novel listen to an ancient record to these teachings I will forever be indebted so while they cling to youth I aspire to just be timeless when my prime has passed that’s when ill be at my finest and throw my watch out the window so every moment is intimate you only become old when your mind feeds into it our timelines intricate our paths need to intertwine past future can share mutual time
2.
and I'm tired of my surroundings i feel like I've been drowning in a sea of negativity routine is the enemy but my words make the planet more appealing bend the elements to my will and erase the sealing draw a latter to the sky and start feeling alive rain down my writings and the land fuses with the vibe I parachute to earth, it feels like my birth has happened again hope flows from out of my pen and the colors are brilliant I'm no longer militant A creature that is sentient can change the world with sentiment I'm walking through the streets getting people on their feet with a little bit of poetry we'll tackle any feat Come on and give me that Microphone Come on and give me that Microphone come on and gimme d-dat microphone so I can change the world through rhythm and tone alright Now they tamper with the world I've created poetry's not enough and my dream feels faded everybody wants something more a flashier decor I redesigned everything and wonder what i made it for this is not what i envisioned my heart starts to sink i regret my decision should've stayed in my cell accepting life is hell they're killin my creation trying to get it to sell but the cost is just too high to keep my world running my writings are destroying me it's all about the funding there's got to be a better way I wanna fight for more my finger tips are sore as i'm reaching for the door Chorus I'm making my escape on the wings of a verb or a noun to exemplify freedom of sound With an aerial view yo i can carry the tunes escaping mediocre tunes keep the lyrics in bloom alright and i don't know the meaning of life but I never felt alive until i started to write happiness will never happen until you find a passion a vital word to be involved in every single action with no creative spark i'm a knife in the dark stabbing with no direction just an empty reflection Chorus
3.
Cavalry 03:56
I’m searching for these middle men while they’re chasing dividends and I still pretend that they’re on the way sit and wait while I waste a day and they thrive on the aimless with all of these dreams of being famous and they’re just lying straight through their teeth if they told you that music’s going to be painless my dreams were crushed so that I could fall in love again with my pen and my poetry and now my poverty it don’t bother me so until the bitter end ill find a different way to spend my energy by finding methods closer to reality So don’t hold your breath because nobody’s gonna save you they’ve gotta get paid to pay you and money is the only way that they’ll aid you I keep my mind on the music and flow my personality through it just as long as I can construe this then ill find a place of congruence not all these labels are evil yo some of them are just people tryin to make cash off of their passion but still treat you like an equal so if you can feed you family by getting fans to jam with me and keep us all out cubicles then that’s symbiotic and its beautiful so help should be accepted if you feel that they’ve connected with your project and your vision but we gotta stay protected Chorus but I wanna rule the world with my way of words and I will fill this page until the snakes are purged and I’ve got an urge ive gotta find a way to turn predator into prey and I say that we break the mold and become the bold and on the day that my story is told ill die broke but at least they can say that my soul was never sold but now im feelin great it’s just me and you an independent man and I’m pushin through these fabricated lines between your ears and my mind so when you find an artist that you respect spread the word so you’ll protect everything that they’re fighting for you fuel the core when you explore Chorus
4.
Grey 03:37
Grey I’m so tired of the color grey I’m tired of the concrete that is paved I need to see the color blue a brighter pallet shows a different point of view tired of the lines tired of the binds I need a place where the sun shines zero cars and zero streets No buildings and no police the color green as far as I can see breathe deep and let my mind run free when everything is bleak its hard for me to find words that inspire me to speak A grey bird singing out of tune carries notes trying to find a vivid boon I’ve served my dreary bid now ill bask in the color right across the bridge There’s gotta be some beauty I can raise inside of this dull grey maze black ink will bring a little spark there’s gotta be some color in the dark Verse 2 we scurry in the shadows of skyscrapers the only green we see is in the form of paper grey smog into a grey sky sitting silent as I watch the planet die dull rats with dull suits in dull ties with their empty eyes I just wanna see a couple green trees someone wake me from this nightmare please Humans filling every single space but you can’t find one familiar face the rain culminates into a pond looking at myself I see my colors gone as the noise pours from the void my creative flow is ripped and destroyed it’s just a chapter in a bigger story soon I will escape this barren purgatory Chorus Verse 3 I need an orange sunrise paint the golden rays on the land a bouquet in my hand the flowers span all across the color wheel an open palm lets the wind paint the field pedals dance off into sea past the beige sands and the palm trees vibrant fish pilot through the waves I want to spend my days with nothing man made nature’s beauty enshrouded the grey tint smothers earth’s pallet I’ll never let the city darken me a pen and paper give me strength to plant a seed of something gorgeous a mental forest where the colors come together and can flourish Chorus
5.
I'm battled tested my story will be written as a message that if we form a vision we can see beyond the wreckage The sight will not come from a crooked politician The vision will be given from a lyric tactician stuck inside a prison of a monetary enemy the dollar bill rules every part of my identity it never betters me the all ruling entity reminding me that freedom is a well hidden memory With every single second a battle is waged to topple the maze and break minds out of the daze i'm just another pawn i stand alone with a microphone speaking revolution but the message never hittin home Cause I'm a minimum wage slave low grade and under paid x3 and I don't need to be paid come on! cause I don't want a normal life I wanna battle til the microphone falls from my cold dead head as an old man weathered by the battle for a better way of living defined by a cause to which everything is given the only way to find true balance in life is to seek a real challenge and just live for the fight I wanna push my voice to the height of being and never live for money try to find a better meaning be the voice that is leading the people out of poverty and bringing us together working on our comradery so we can come together break the tight tethers make our lives better rise with a vendetta to obtain freedom at last forgetting the past and moving towards the present on our newly paved path Chorus x2 I wanna release my rage my hatred and pain and focus pressure on the chains that are keeping me tamed i'm enslaved by material judged by managerial fear filled and weak willed pawns of the dollar bill They got me so tight ill never be free until the puppeteer's hand comes to terminate me then a grunt like me will wither and die and be swept into the wind in the blink of an eye another nameless face now nothing but a digit with no vision of living I'm stiff cold and rigid Chorus
6.
Restless 04:37
Restless I rise with the yellow star and redistribute the rays in positive ways a mirror that is filling my days by packing the page with energetic letters that slay when I reflect what the world projects a filter is made inside the conduit that I have become and even in the dark I thrive on promise of the sun my poetry is always on the move I can never stand still gotta keep my hands filled creativity spills with little literary thrills a never ending race trying to better my skills I can never turn off my mind is running through the streets trying to find some inspiration while refusing to sleep No rest until it's off of my chest with these lyrics on my mind I'm becoming obsessed In text there's always more to invest I give my life to my passion with no time for regret I embody words I'm tapping into reserves of endless energies defending me from going unheard to get what I deserve, I'm ascending from the pit and depending on my grit I can toughen up my grip on the throat of opportunity to move words fluently and operating how I please the world becomes attuned to me I’m feeling anxious but I try not worry cause it can not be hurried I’m on the right pace trying to get a little taste of a life that’s free from all these concerns that are restraining me I’m getting out of the same hell and freeing my brain cells to reach my potential and unchain my mental and all of it’s strength will allow me to paint with a word brush my surplus of words bottlenecks into a cluttered mess I shatter the glass to let the rhymes past I must embody the wrath Chorus My fiery heart will never let me relax I'm falling into traps while the insomnia stacks on the weight of success is like a plate on my chest protecting me from being just a rat in the nest but my lungs are squeezed like I cannot breathe it's a blessing and a curse like you wouldn't believe but if you're ready to bleed and you think that you can bare it then take on the burden there is power to inherit the pen is a thorned rose allows me to form flows it's beauty I my hand but it leaves behind a brand A beaten scarred man he will truly understand the merit in the battle of a love fueled stand Chorus
7.
Say goodbye to all of my patience and wave hello to my hatred That'll stray me from these vagrants and pour darkness into my cadence My glass is half full nah better yet it's filled up to the brim where does my optimism stem? From the vengeance trapped inside of my pen They say love can bring us power but my love has been devoured by these negative emotions That'll bring me copious devotion And I'm that cog that wont fit Using those intentions that i cant resist They're a catalyst to my raised fist I'm positive but with a dark twist Like a burning fire feelings yearn to be fed And once they've had their fill Then i might find some peace inside of my head And so i fortify with a darker truth And let the dimmer side of my pallet loose To escape my prison I will just attack my vision So i can feed on the darker side of ambition And the taste of success seems like an unobtainable flavor My insatiable hunger tailors necessary behavior Gotta use everything that i got against all of those who don't believe and i show my real power when i pull that jealousy out from under my sleeve destroying those that i envy embrace the feelings that tempt me and i know that they will end me but i use them now to defend me and i want everything that they have and i just crave it so bad and i'll do anything that i have to just as long as i can get past you I'm leering up at the top for being everything that i'm not and having everything that i want in life without enduring this morbid fight Chorus
8.
Payin' Dues 05:03
Payin dues Striving to entertain Will drive you insane They don't feel your pain They forget your name To them we are all the same dealt with blatant lies Charlatans in disguise Stare you in the eyes Come up from behind And slide the knife into your back I'm tired being judged For living a life of love Tying to get a buzz Trying to rise above all these mediocre days I'm tired of paying dues And proving myself to you if you only knew how far we've come And all my sacrifice I have given life to be standing here still there's no respect but the simply blues will put you in my shoes and show y’all what it's like to be paying dues But they don't understand It's all part of the plan When I've paid my debt There'll be nothin left To be standing my way Fuck your feedback I bleed for these tracks We'll do what we please We hold the keys For all the hidden doors I've played the empty rooms Hit the open road Played the barren shows You know how it goes It's all about who you know Chorus Ive lost a lot friends But this is a common trend in this music career And searching for ears To lend a little time I've been shot down Pushed and pulled around Led astray in an evil way By people tryin to get paid But I shall persevere Let me make it clear I didn't make it here To live in fear and be less than what I am Chorus
9.
Traction 03:55
Verse 1 I feel strong for the very first time in my life and I feel the chains churning every time that I write I feel a return from everything that I have poured in to it my baby steps are now generating some movement and it’s soul crushing but im so lucky to have it a plan with no schematic just taking a stab at it it’s freedom in it’s truest form and if you brave the storm you’ll bask in sunshine and be reborn My confidence was earned through pain trial and error will burn when you learn by the flame will it destroy you or define you is it a cage or a portal that you can finally climb through what if no one’s behind you and no body’s supportive when everything was morbid I trapped it in a recording momentum shifts caused by pen tips and words from live lips can thrive from inside as time ticks ever faster but the clock is not my master my fate is under my control on my journey to rapture I feel them listen giving my wheels friction my dream is a reality not a figment of fiction Chorus The promise lands now in my sight the harder path is worth taking if you’re doin it right we’re fueling the fight the battle for a meaningful life now the futures looking bright it was worth the sacrifice Verse 2 I can’t sleep I’m waiting on the sun to rise above the land and put the day in my hands and I mold it how I please any progress frees me from the seeds of doubt while they try question my clout they judge me on numbers and stats not the content of my tracks but I feel relaxed if I can reach or inspire one mind everyday life will not be in vein as I fight through the fray but I’m looking back on how far that I’ve come Though I feeI proud I’ll never turn complacent and numb sometimes it all clicks I was born to speak words through the metal in my iron fist the work is payin off the flow has endowed my life with some confidence through vowels and consonants struggling is a talent of mine I learned that I can parry time with a weapon of rhymes the people give me strength my voice is never hoarse their undying support is the of my core force four gears will turn each other we through the years we grind together in the eyes of our peers Chorus there is no finish line We do not retire any success we find pushes us to reach even higher I’ll die by this microphone but ill live with no quarter but let my corpse be pointed forward indomitable will unequivocal hunger Relentless resolve is why we will not fall Our progress can be measured in toil but one foot leads another until we gain speed to let our wings flutter Lets go!
10.
The Hunger 04:09
The hunger Everyday everyday I'm scheming of ways layin awake while my mind stays on the chase of a fortunate fate and I'm supporting the weight and the burden on my shoulders is the plan to escape and though my body may tire I feed the fire the air in my lungs will turn my heart to a sun and they'll be orbiting me when I force them to see all of the hunger in my chest that is devouring me and no man will match my desire and even in dreams I feel the heat of the fire and everyday that I fail gives my coffin a nail but I will drive them from the wood as my appetite prevails I want to feed like a feral animal I'm tired of smiling I want to be a cannibal and eat musicians that don't share my vision I'm still starving even after this dark nutrition Chorus I'm out for everything I crave Life only favors the brave This voids got me feeling depraved I'm out for everything I crave Feeding my rage words jumping off of the page Get away from my project If you don't believe I'm coming back at everybody for watching me bleed and watching me drown the bricks pulling me down tying the knot in my noose and destroying my sound they tell me that my time is next but right now I wanna rip hearts from chests and with the power of text I will devour the flesh of anybody that they're telling me I'm supposed to impress they tell me competition is fierce but I will make them feel pain the the pen that I pierce into the neck of songs drink blood the black ink will ooze from my lips and will save me from the brink of insanity because famine demands amnesty from my bright side that's trapped in a fantasy I'm ripping apart songs limb from limb though my needs are grim I feel them pulling me in Chorus** Some days I feel swallowed by the void becoming the white noise that I crave to destroy I want it so bad so much I'll never have I'm losing sight of myself with the days that pass but I seek revenge the nourishment I need I gain my feeding on those that doubt my lead if I lose a place for me to vent my intensity I'll lose the driving force that truly invented me the need for money only makes things worse monetary concerns can put you dreams in a hearse I want to bite the hand the feeds until it recedes the nutrients they give only power the seed that grows to doom and it will consume every shred of will power that is yearning to bloom and when you silence your needs then your fire will freeze and the uninspired will tire and never be free.
11.
Phantom 03:29
I'm not a family man I'm a renegade born to inhabit a page until i make the words raise I'm flawed and imperfect i claw to the surface my words are purpose to stray from the hearses living like a dead man nothin to lose i might as well be a skeleton singing the blues no fear in the chest makes me one of the best im defeating the stress and never breathe a cowardly breath full steam coming out of a dream from the mind of a rhyme fiend and everything I've seen paints art of a tenebrous breed to bring the tight jawed phantom to light to feed From the echoes of ancient sounds in these words my strength is found until we rise from the underground No fear and no backing down x2 Why would i have other concerns these words scar tissue i'm feeling the burn They never leave me alone but their crafting my throne made from my bones and a crown of stone chizzled from the heart I start to come a part i become an idea of living with no fear a testament of will power grab the flowers from my grave and if i must die as a slave I come back a phantom not in physical form but a message in the lyrics so the fight will live on if you're living like a pawn and your spirit is gone let the words reign free as a calling to arms Chorus x2 And if it's not rap then its death for me because failure is not a word known to me so then the ghost of me will have to roam the seas and roam the lands try to find words that'll lead the lambs rule the thoughts of a silent man until he lashes out to lay is own path out then ill rest with ease until i hear the pleas of downing souls then i return to my role as the words on the will fill the hole inside your heart words of the wise to ignite the spark as you grip the reins a phantom of pain left to carry the flame! Chorus x2 No fear and no backing down! x3
12.
Humanity 04:38
Humanity I believe in humanity I believe in the people putting faith in your neighbor instead of god isn't evil and we're decaying matter organic family of stardust that’s scattered with no purpose and nothing matters no grand scheme a spec inside the stream of life and if we work together we'd find we are the beam of light guiding earth through he galaxy we're divided my fallacies that pit us against each other turn us all to causality but beyond race color region or religion we share the same components and a like minded vision but yo with all this tension there's dissension in the masses there's no communication and the disconnect is tragic But we will live on The people are strong We bind together through power of song We shape the planet through the power of song We send this message through the power of song humanity shall prevail I gaze into an empty sky and dream that when I die like all the other people I'll return to earth’s easel and I'll seep through the soil return to the canvas as a different shade of life rising to the sunlight and then the cycle is seeded no higher power needed if we rely on each other then we can start to believe It we can carve a new path with no fear of heavens wrath free minds can shackles of our broken past We forget where we are rooted unity feels truant got faith in my fellow humans it's happiness we're pursuing but still in my profession my job is protection of freethinking animals who cherish something tangible Chorus So until we lose our bright flaming centerpiece lets live inside of moments and find a smile sense of peace and push the limits of the willpower that's filling me and try to rise above the heights of all of my abilities and I will not participate in hatred of men based solely on location or the flag of their nation but we gotta make a dollar bill with strong sense of urgency but humans should never trade their passion for some currency I wanna spend my time connecting with crowds making them proud to be themselves no heaven and no hell respect each other's lives with no divine reward just a warmth from the core and ask for nothin more but as the days pass it seems I don't live in reality if that's the case then I'll never leave my minds gallery uh Chorus

about

Apollo Quad's third studio album recorded in Minneapolis MN! This album is a calling to all dreamers and artists to live and fight for your passion. We will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Whyhunger foundation, Spread the word Apollo Quad's War on Mediocrity has begun!

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released March 21, 2014

all songs written by: Apollo Quad
Mixed, Mastered and engineered by :Adam Schmid

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Apollo Quad Chicago, Illinois

We are Apollo Quad - a Hip Hop band ! We have released two full length albums; "Come Alive" and "No Gods, No Masters". We have opened for national acts such as Snoop Dogg, Bone Thugs N Harmony. The road is a familiar place for us we have played Los Angeles (at the legendary Whisky A Go Go), New York, Chicago & Nashville. We mix many different elements from all walks of music. ... more

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