I ask a question when interviewing a new parolee we’re going to work with. I ask “if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why”. Out of the over 250 youth I’ve worked with over the past 5 years, less than 10 have actually given me something they would change. One young man said “the good, bad, beautiful and ugly all made me who I am today. It was tough, but I needed it.” That’s the heart of this song and doing it with Ahmad and Jurny was a dream come true for me. Everything just flowed naturally. The different chorus’s, the west coast feel, the live instrumentation. Each of our personal stories related to the message of this song perfectly.
So many believers are great at telling the before and the after, but not the during. The world wants to know that there’s hope, but they also want to know that the change you have experienced is attainable for them too. They need to know we are real and as long as we are here on earth, we are being made better. The process of sanctification is intentional. Christ predestined us to be conformed to the image of His son and this song tells the story of that forming process for three imperfect men.
lyrics
Verse 1 (Ahmad):
Ooh I was down – I lost my crown and glory,
Fools used to clown – but now I found victory,
Cause I don’t never give up,
No – I made a promise to deliver,
So – I’m gonna… keep-on-movin’-on-til-I get-to the throne,
Ooh they don’t understand it,- but I got a plan to win,
It’s true – life is in my hands – gone play it like a mandolin,
That’s right I had to leave some fam and friends,
You wanna fly – you gotta stand the winds,
And I ain’t even gotta fake,-
I be leapin’ out in faith,
While they sleepin’ I be payin’ attention.
Chorus:
This is me – I am that!
Makin’ history – I am that!
Please believe – I am that!
I am that! – I am that! Please believe,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - On me just wait you'll see,
I was meant to be – everything I am
Verse 2:
And this is on my mother – I put down the colors,
But I still feel funny when I'm surrounded by them others,
On everything I like – I threw away all the numbers,
But if she look again then we both gone be in trouble,
And yeah it'll cost me double – but this what I know,
Practice made perfection promise you gone reap what you sow,
Get it now – pay it later,- you gone give up what you owe,
You got a monster in your closet and he wanna do a show,
Trust me fam I know,- And I ain't tryin' to hide it,-
So watch me open up my chest man – go on and climb inside it,
If you look – you'll find it,
Buried treasure underneath the dirt, skeletons – hella sin – every single thing you heard,
On my word – I am that plus, so it's a must – that you break the surface so that you could see the real us,
And get to promise – beautiful and great,- worth the wait,
I anticipate – every single day – never late.
Chorus:
And what they said about me - I am that!
The good, bad and ugly - I am that!
What I'm gonna be - I am that!
Just you wait and see – please believe,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - On me just wait you'll see,
I was meant to be - everything I am
Verse 3 (Jurny Big):
Now – when they was rhyming at conventions,
Climbing gospel charts I didn’t try to pay attention,
I figured “let them” – hoping that they might,
Muster up enough courage to get to an open mic,
But they never did – so clever it – ended up being,
Because the kid would've had to show them what emceeing was,
Whether front of 3 or 3000 – cats wasn’t seeing us,
And I'd-a told them that they’d-a got merked by me because,
We was the first to spit them battlin’ type verses,
And that’s when that was not allowed up in them churches,
But now-a-days everybody gone spit some rhymes,
I feel like only couple out there could get with mines,
And you’s a child of God – so how come y’all don’t climb,
But if you lookin’ for raps to stand the test of time,
I’m-a be that guy – that’s why so many hate me,
But I wouldn’t change a thing – cause that’s just how He made me.
Chorus:
I’m humble nuff not to stumble – I am that!
But not so humble that I mumble – I am that!
I stay up in them circles – I am that!
Don’t let that gospel rapper hurt you – please believe,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - On me just wait you'll see,
I was meant to be - everything I am
Outro:
Ay ay ay ay ay – I am that!
Ay ay ay ay ay – I am that!
Ay ay ay ay ay – I am that!
Ay ay ay ay ay – I am that!
Ay ay ay ay ay ay ay!
I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - I was meant to be everything I am,
Oh boy - On me just wait you'll see,
I was meant to be - everything I am
credits
from MAGNIFICENT,
released September 10, 2013
I Am That ft. Ahmad Jones and Jurny Big
L. Brown, A. Lewis, A. Olguin
Steady Pro Music (ASCAP), WECLAP Music Publishing (BMI), Jurnybigmusic (ASCAP)
Prod. Decap (Decap Music 101)
Bass: Brady Watt, Timpani and Percussion: Mark Foster, Guitar: Ty Hughes
Vigilant Studios and Derry Berry Studios
NY rapper Mfasis goes deep on his latest album, culling rhymes from his own internal struggles and his observations of the world. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 18, 2021
The seven tracks on the debut from CRFT are breathtakingly beautiful, blending jazz, ambient music, and soul into a dreamy cohesive whole. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 3, 2022
