Friday Flow: "1 in a Million" by 2EaZy

posted in: Features • Urban

Every Friday on the OurStage blog, I’ll be featuring a great example of flow and lyricism on a hip hop song pulled from the OurStage ranks. I’ll get the artist’s thoughts on the track, as well as post the lyrics or best verse so fans can follow the flow themselves.

This week’s “Friday Flow” comes from 2EaZy and the Loki Productions Music Group. “1 in a Million” is a song about understanding who you are, and knowing that you’re awesome. 2EaZy raps about being a destroyer of beats, writing for kids who don’t have a care and rapping because it’s what he does.

The writing process for this song was a little different from what I usually do. My bad habits always seem to come into play and procrastination is my biggest enemy. So I tried to nip it in the bud and sit down to write the whole song at once after I got off work. Back then I was working the late shift at the ice skating rink so I was getting off at around 1 am. Don’t hate though! I drove the Zamboni and I know all of you reading this right now wish you could.

Anyway, I don’t usually sit down and focus ’cause I think I have undiagnosed ADD, but the music is my Ritalin. So I popped the freshly burnt CD of new beats my boy Nagotiator sent me, grabbed a seat by my boy Vino, ’cause he had the PS2, and rolled some of the herb Jah bless then got to work. I had heard the beat before so I already had a slight hook formulated in my head, so I kinda just built the verse around the concept of being 1 in a million.

The first line kinda came to me immediately. “I was a Looney Tunes Kid, no silver spoon just golden grahams, chips, watching goonies at the crib.” Then the whole treasure hunt concept flowed well with it. I like transition in my bars so I pretend that my mom (who’s an English teacher) was grading me on grammar. I just wanted the song to reflect why I felt that I was 1 in a million. The struggle to find the gift, and how it ended up becoming my current life all in one. I’m not big on copy & pasting lyrics from old songs onto new ones. I feel like my flow is just another instrument that adds to the beat. I try to make sure that my flow is always on some upper echelon Grey Poupon type of [stuff].

The main inspiration for this song came from my mom and my childhood really. I took different things I used to do and like back in the days and mixed it all in like a casserole of wordplay. My mother’s kind of a “no hip hop unless its Christian rap” type of woman. That’s where I came with “My mom says that it’s all obnoxious, so I Talib my adlibs and vent on my Com sense.” Those are two rappers that she might actually be able to name, or at least point them out if they were on TV (lol).

To pick out my favorite line isn’t too easy. My favorites go from the dropping gems and gold diggers line, to the grandmaster flash reference that follows it. The Talib and Common reference was pretty dope. I wonder if people catch that one sometime. Oh, and definitely the Kids in the Hall and Naledge metaphor was cool. I hope people catch that one, but I’m not sure how many people know who he is. No offense of course, he is definitely dope. The fisticuffs line is probably my favorite of the song though, because Dave Chappelle is definitely the funniest man alive! And anybody who catches that subliminal line knows exactly where I’m coming from!

All in all this song is in my top 3 of all the songs that I’ve ever done. It’s wordplay and metaphors are what make it so special to me ’cause they just expressed everything that I wanted to get out on this song. I hope everyone enjoys this song as much as I did creating it. Thanks for everyone who believes and continues to support the LoKi movement!

Verse 1
I was a Looney Tunes kid
no silver spoon just Golden Grahams, chips, watching Goonies at the crib
thinking what I’d do for some treasure, would I dig
would I Search, would I work, would I hunt, would I quit
more important, when I find it would I give
I dug deeper what I found was a gift
I tried share it but alotta folks would miss
could only unwrap it if you stop and make a wish
on a star, but they’ve tried so they’ve given up
I drop gems hoping somebody picks em up
I hope I got some gold diggers that are listeners
flash still alive but they forgot what the message was
its like a jungle sometimes, it gets the best of us
that’s why I’m writing for them kids who don’t give a f***
they aint talking ’bout they dreams, they live ’em up
yelling turn my headphones Up. Fisticuffs!

Hook
I’m just one in a million, I’m just one in a million
Ain’t a killer but, I’m a make a killin’
Rap game’s mine and I’m, just chillin’
ugh, I’m just one in a million, I’m just one in a million
Ain’t a killer but, I’m a make a killin’
Rap game’s mine and I’m, just chillin’

Verse 2
I must admit that I ain’t too conscious
I rap what I like so it’s weed and bomb chicks
my mom says that its all obnoxious
so I Talib my adlibs and vent on my com sense
know you tired of the lames and nonsense
Clear ’em out like a raging bomb threat
yea I kinda got kicked outta college
still the kid in your hall jus’ tryna kick knowledge
not as Smooth and I ain’t as polished
never heard a beat that I can’t demolish
the new A-Team man let’s be honest
want the Mr. T gold with a ‘fro like Ben Wallace
it’s a joke but know it’s so honest
It’s the flow, I know I’m so on it
know I’m dope, and no they don’t comment
‘Cause even though they judge me they feel so Honored!