Song: Identity
Artist: Rational aka James Crawford
Album: Metaphysiks
Year: 2003

(chorus)
Art imitating life, my art's assimilating life/
Passionate performances, I'm riveting with mics/
And in my off-time I rap asleep or awake/
My life is the stage, my heartbeat is the break/

(verse one)
From the beginning I lived my life through this art/
As something more than a simple stroll through the park/
Meaningful times that touch deep and move ya heart/
Like best friend's looking back that grew up and grew apart/
I came headstrong from the start and truthfully/
Elevated even after my peers started booin me/
All need now is an impartial opportunity/
For me to impress and leave a mark on my community/
I'm thinkin exactly my next move and best course/
Like Bobby Fisher seated behind a chess board/
Like back when I was a rapper in a town made of racists/
Or when I was a trainee on my first day of basic/
See there's a pain in my soul that you can see in my face/
From this cycle of problems I can't seem to escape/
Being broke with respect, or having green but no face/
And either one I feel like I'll still be a disgrace/
All signs point towards layin stiff in the hearse/
And I'm still trying to figure out to me, which'll be worse/
I'm blessed with a curse I feel like shit and I hurt/
But I'll still sweep the scene because I'm sick of this dirt

(chorus)

(bridge)
Sometimes I come so close to givin up/
I lay in bed and wonder why I should give a fuck/
Sometimes I com so close to givin up/
Lay in and wonder why I should give a fuck/
 
(verse two)
I remember the old days, back in the fourth grade/
That's when I began the path of my forte/
I used to rock the cons and coveralls with one strap/
Mad professor glasses, backwards caps/
Yeah I struggled but never felt that I had to hustle/
The was a genuineness that kept me real and humble/
Thoughtful and meaningful poet that speaks from his heart/
I must rap in submarines cause I stay deep in the art/
I challenge myself with goals that seem a bit impossible/
But talents themselves lie in achievin the improbable/
I made my way through the trials of life alone/
Yeah, I wanted it that way, to stand by my own/
Cause when your so-called friends are just too tough to care/
And your woman is more concerned about what to wear/
And the moment the sufferin becomes too much to bear/
Least you know you hit the bottom and got nowhere but up from there/
It's time to get back on your feet, get on track and complete/
And show a little courage, return after defeat/
It doesn't matter to me cause everything that happens to be:/
My life is erratic but I still rap to the beat

(chorus x2)