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Everything In Between

by Ugly Heroes

/
1.
Red Pill I don't know what I'm here for, I don't know what the point is Spent so many nights alone sipping this poison All of us trying to find it, some of us call it purpose Don't know if it's divine or can we even define it? Am I playing a role in somebody else's theater? Look around at this world and nothings been getting clearer Only been getting weirder, I just sit in Detroit Little blip on the radar, maybe there's not a point Maybe it's all coincidence Trying to make a little sense, out of something that doesn't Maybe there's no significance We're just rational cattle, end of discussion And as lonely as that can sound When you look up at the stars on that black background And you wonder where you came from and why you stay Maybe there's not a reason and that's okay Verbal Kent no matter what road I travel on add a little Somethin to the catalogue I'm livin in stereo n analoge where we go is unknown, tryna to get a handle on the cut throat, nature anticipate it with utmost energy: remember me as give before he took, guy who did the right thing took your hand and then he shook, played it straight but coulda gone sideways like any rook never judged the contents by the cover of any book, pay it forward any possible place and time knowin' every turn that for most shit don't go just the way it's designed- I cheated death some say it's a sign- I think the strength that others gave me is the way I survived, maybe it's open to interpretation, the moral of a story touching us at different points of life at different phases all the places I've been..ive always looked for different help, at taken in the scenery...a different version of myself Hook: No ones ever promised tomorrow, I'm a be who I am ?and you are who you Are.....let's let the past be that, that shit is over why over react, yeah.... no ones ever promised Tomorrow, let's do today right now.. Maybe the secret to Life? Is that you're not the main character, and the fact? that You're even a factor is a miracle..
2.
Daisies 03:25
Verbal Kent My life was Never complicated as I made it out to be in fact the answers were always right in front of my face it seems that every Little thing that bothered me was truly little- I made em' big deals..handled like a true beginner..that's not to say I didn't problem solve, I'm just sayin' I wasted time I wish I had back to spend with those I loved is all.. I mean to focus on only the bads counter productive -I was a writer, business man father and husband a true Chicagoan..I feel proud saying this, I saw Michael Jordan play at Chicago stadium greatest rapper Rogers Park ever saw, got into my share of trouble but I always knew to call Saul made my friends laugh: gave em' my all: you know Dan, as far as Enemies? Shit I can count em' on one hand it's been a good run: no regrets..Everything is everything anticipation builds feel like everything was meant to be Hook 1- When it's too late..and all the what ifs are no more than butterfly effects.. 2- did i choose fate? Let me look back, cause if not? than what did I expect? 3 ....What did I expect? what did I fight for, and what did I accept... 4 -did I choose fate? Let me look back, cause If not? than what did I expect? Red Pill: Here lies Chris, died 2-0-1-6 Born 1-9-8-7, many roles he lived He was a son, he was a lover, was an artist, was a brother Not always the happiest, an honest motherfucker though Some people loved him for that Hip hop had given him hope, it made him want to give back put everything that he knew in every one of his raps and he would give you the truth and he would run from his past Maybe he was too hard on himself He let his drinking and depression hurt his art and health he let relationships get rocky while his problems took control and his girl put up with things that others probably shouldn't know He lived with guilt, he lived with doubt He lived with demons in his heart we'll probably never figure out but at the end of the day He had too big of a heart, he'll be remembered that way
3.
This World 03:14
Red Pill: I leave rappers more afraid than two racists surrounded by 22 Ving Rhames' each with .22's and two big razors Trapped inside of two big cages with a moat around the outside with sharks that shoot lasers I feel a war coming, so pass the war drum and bang on that bitch till you feel your fucking core buzzing whether it's your cousin, your brother or your husband If they're not screaming "Fuck the police", then you're suffering For every fake cop who midnights on his KKK watch Trust that I pray that they drop I'm more of a lover than a fighter But if it's fire that they want then I'm happy to spare a lighter Confederate Flag wavers in Carolina I'd be happy to take you to your intelligent designer I don't care if it's Darren Wilson or Paris Hilton I'm tearing through all of 'em, not even sparing children Verbal Kent: This fucking interview is Over...pshh, You got somethin' to ask me? I'll be watchin' Wrestle Mania with Brendan Daseey at the Avery salvage yard: you wanna rumble? Get your parents.. - and tell em they better be ware of somethin worse than Jared I'll rip the hair off Donald Trumps scalp, for runnin his fat mouth truthfully? I'd rather elect Alf. I go deeper than scuba divers, to bring truth to you guys its....more than just Isis....and uber drivers devices to give us divorces and force us to believe in forces: cry in' over Han Solo corpses. The rebirth: your means of egress is slim, slimmer than your neck: choke you out with an ' I can't breath tshirt for Freddie Gray: Say all lives matter say it just once and all bodies and all minds splatter, I'll push over a push over, your hopeless..nothin' el help, stand up for yourself? N stand Up for your self...
4.
Notions 02:59
Hook (VK): I got a feeling that my truth is my own and I own my truths I got a feeling that I'm here for a reason and the reason is you I got a feeling that the Past and the present and the future are the same I got a feeling that I'm Nothin much more than a student of the game Verbal Kent: 1 uh, Another day another dollar Weeks worth of work in my wallet Life's what's you 2 call it that's why I take shots at these bars, listen close I'm not talkin bout bein a alcoholic 3 Interpretations everything: business's kids and wedding rings think we need shrinks stress the cheddar brings 4 What the fuck money el solve In fact money makes a ass out of most when big money's involved, when I 5 slow down and think about it? Half the moves that I've made? I wish someone said slow down, and think about it 6 nothin in life lasts, I wish that I could stretch this moment to infinity and back and fight math 7 sittin' in a diner with the mother of my child thinkin, how can we make this moment forever now cause at its 8 simplest life's perfect, fuck work and fuck the other earthlings. Fuck what's on the surface. None of this is worth it. Red Pill: Life'll get overwhelming, devil on shoulder dwelling Telling you all the reasons that death could be so compelling Selling you stress and chaos, never taking a day off All you doing is working and never seeing a payoff Wondering where your check at Knowing W2s are just going to pay your debts back Well F-that Getting pulled in every direction and you don't gotta accept that And I don't mean to complain But you gotta believe me it isn't easy to feign Happiness or a smile when all you're feeling is pain Only way to maintain is with chemicals in your brain When everyday that you wake Is just another reminder of smiles that you gotta fake Try to remember the time we're given is borrowed Knowing you gotta do it all over again tomorrow
5.
Red Pill: And every single morning he'd wake up to an alarm Wake his kids to go to school then sip his coffee in his car He had a 45 minute commute To get to work, hop in a truck, delivery route He'd drive around with dreams of winning the lotto While his wife would sit and scheme about sipping a bottle She'd bitch and scream and they would fight most nights after he worked a long day keeping on those lights He loved her, though she loved liquor loyal to a fault, his kids wondered why he stuck with her Thought if he kept the family together Something would change in her, things would have to get better Stood by her till death, when most wouldn't bother And if you still haven't guessed, this man is my father Taught me loyalty, love and hard work so I respect that man The reason I'm the man I am Verbal Kent: I told myself there's No 1 way i could watch it happen, I'd have to leave the room and let the doctors handle it then come back in, I've never been as 2 wrong that, look at that woman, no, look at that powerful soul I've never seen anyone be as strong as that 3 - they say the baby takes the fathers image first I went back and checked the photo from my own birth it was 4 identical: he looks more like his mother now and that's more than acceptable..... beyond the eat your vegetables and 5 brush your teeth talk...I lock the balcony like, what if he sleep walk, might sound ridiculous but 6 that's just the icing on the cake no sugar for two years now all wants is icing on the cake 7 peace of minds a mystery, but after true love everything else priors misery, I promise you, creating life's a 8 Self fulfilling prophecy..Born eleven eleven eleven...I should play the slot machines -I hope you find some piece of mind
6.
Red Pill: This is for all the heroes, people been living Ugly Welcome the second coming, not a human can judge me It's a new age for UH, it's too late for you fakes To pile on the toothpaste and smile with your two-face A wild fucking goose chase But you can catch me out in Leipzig eating schmaltz on a Tuesday The crew got it, it's too toxic, it's bubonic Already gave you a classic, nothing to prove, stop it You lose, time to move to a new topic We see you dudes watching like how could those dudes top it? Truth is - I don't fuck with comparisons I don't need the attention and I don't fuck with your arrogance Only got one imperative That's living my life and sharing it Not trying to do it how the rest did it, motherfuck the next critic People love it cuz they connect with it - Ugly! Hook (VK): They say they keep it movin.. We say they slow us down .. They say they got it locked... We say in whose town? I never seen em' reppin, Fronting when there rappin' Made up artists with makeup artists there's nothin happenin' Verbal Kent: 1 - this isn't choir practice: this is laps around the track: this is rap, better than who you admire practice- 2- I got that new flow with chops from the golden era: I swear I'm bringin' crack back Like chiropractors- 3 -battle rapper tactics: With an emotional IQ brutal n Beautiful..Serena's tennis racket- 4 what bracket you wanna put me in now you basic bitch- -my craft el leave a witch jealous swift penmanship 5 This, member dismember your membership: jam January to December head to Michigan, buildin' with my 6 Fam in this kitchen don't front it's a non contest- -rappers pack knives and go not top chefs- 7 -conquest mode codin' all my concepts I'm kinda pissed... but I stay focused and count chips with 8 confidence: and I stay close to my outfit cause I'm convinced...that no one's spits like the ugliest what
7.
Red Pill: They say the new Detroit is coming People flocking back the opposite way on the James Couzens And I don't know if it's ill intentioned The city needed something, I suppose it's still progression Positive folks who wanna take on that endeavor should But does it need another store that's filled with leather goods? And when I think about Shinola watches I don't think about Detroit, I think of stolen profits They praise the entrepreneurs, the restaurateurs And tell the residents they should be resting assured Gang busting, beefing police back up Patting themselves on the back for putting street lights up New ambulances still don't run on time Cops still harassing people, pulling guns on time Let's just see how long the new dollars last When the people with the blue collars ask Hook (RP): And we are the blood, sweat and tears, The people, we keep the love and the fear Doesn't matter where the hell you go, There'll always be a place called home We know there's a time for a change, but you are where your heart remains Doesn't matter where you take that road, there'll always be a place called home Verbal Kent: Strategically 1 placed, highways, liquor stores cameras at stop lights neighborhoods divided by race, I grew up 2 in a middle ground: one of the only places in the city where people from all backgrounds were found Rogers 3 park: Koreans, and blacks, Jews, Latinos Pakistanis, shit there was even some black Jews 4 no one had a problem with anybody we had what we needed giant game of 21 we needed everybody 5 land of submarines on the corner now it's a currency exchange, google Touhy and California, 6 Chippewa, learner n warren parks, Baskin Robbins on Lunt...used to hit the Belden on Howard for lunch, cooped 7 40's from quick stop in high school, couple blocks from my school...Saint idea and bibles, love to the 8 Hudsons Shwartz Miller....the Gables lived closest Mike Tae Aviv Rami Comorovs and the Robesons
8.
Red Pill: It's the incredible, anti-surgeon general Chain smoking drunk who's eating anything that's edible not a single bartender that could ever keep my beverage full and never met a dollar in my bank that wasn't spendable Calling me healthy would be unethical Cuz I don't even fucking smoke weed if it's labeled medical That brisk-walking hyper-ventilator Who wishes every stair case could be an escalator Self deprecator, doing haters a favor when I had too many makers, and I can't control behavior And I get online with strangers and I try to be good natured But the YouTube commentators turn me back to a teenager Man fuck it - I guess I'm kind of a mess Guess it's a miracle that I even got out of bed I got some issues and lord knows I been down on my luck please pity this poor soul Hook (VK): ITS LIKE no matter how hard I work to be the best person? I can be I'm completely not the best version - excuses for my imperfect execution I lose when I win, only win when I'm losin' Verbal Kent: It's like 1-sometime I wake up in a daze unraveling.. cereal in the fridge: put the milk in the cabinet 2 Wrong side of the bed, want nothing to do with nobody: stumble out my room like a zombie from walkin dead n 3 I ain't really slept well, hit snooze repeatedly.. thought about booze immediately not cause I 4 wanted it, only cause I still tasted it woke up early this mornin, I didn't want to but wastin' it wasn't part of my 5 plan: by the time I hit the shower I was less discouraged and I started looking less like someone who had just been murdered 6 I looked around for clean clothes but my laundry was dirty Stomach rumbling I'm not usually hungry this early 7 ....no food in the fridge, it's cold as shit in the crib, I start thinkin oh shit- rents due it's the 5th 8 late fees on the 6th, he'll kick me out on the 7th, I think I'll smoke on a 8th. I should relax for a second
9.
Roles 03:11
Red Pill: I'm terrified of having children in this world Where destruction is more valuable than building in this world Loving is harder than hating in this world And it seems you gotta be a snake to make it in this world Got starving babies who need feeding in this world With Travel Shows on overeating in this world Murder justified policing in this world It's disgusting how the women getting treated in this world Can't imagine having daughters in this world And they're poisoning the children with the water in this world People with infinite money in this world When for some it'd hurt to even spare a twenty in this world Sometimes it's hard to see a purpose in this world And I know that I'm not perfect in this world I hope the world will have a change of heart In order for things to change we must all play a part Verbal Kent: I had a 1 dream: I was fallin' down a elevator shaft, thought to myself: should've took the escalator Dan 2 regrets even in my deep sleep hauntin' me: one time my friend Bens dead father talked to me. The 3 thing is, his mouth never opened- his presence in the dream at the moment he appeared was the omen, the 4 sun peeked through the clouds over his face, the way he smiled the same way he did back in the day..was 5 symbolic of a time I needed most, a welcome reminder to keep youth, and it's innocence close..my grand 6 mother performs encores in dreams fairly often wearin' the same outfit that she wore in the coffin 7 -when I see her? My confidence boosts, like a angel guardin' over me to watch how I do, heh. 8 -it's sorta strange how we choose who stay dear to the heart -In order for things to change we must all play a part
10.
Heart Attack 03:25
Verbal Kent: It's never too Late to die for somethin' you love never to late to make somethin' out of today, It never was it never will be: I used to walk the neighborhood I didn't really fear much walked around the neighborhood with headphones as earmuffs: Frozen tears cloggen' up my tear ducts: I'm older a nickel bag was cheaper than a beer was only cause I knew the dealer...it was me It was easy everybody smoked: it was weed we can see the pattern here, life was easy going then, I would be fronted and then be owin' them, who could stop me: Steph Curry with Del watchin my confidence level swelled i never even threw a punch but I could excel boxing I tell people I couldn't lose, Parker Lewis with Ferris Buler reviews: I think I kept a little of that swag: a little of that beta that Young dreamer is Annakin.. I never ended up a Darth Vader let's Go Don't you ever lose your heart, man don'tchu ever lose your heart This world el try and rip you apart, don'tchu ever let Em' take your heart When everything is falling apart, take a second and go back to the start, Don't you ever lose your heart, don't you ever lose your heart Red Pill: I know most people wouldn't call me optimistic At best I'm realistic and at worst I'd say a cynic and I get it, but honestly I think it's too simplistic My entire life is based upon a pipe dream and I risked it Cuz as a kid they fill your head with so much pressure But I never bought their method of the way success is measured They promise people treasure in the form of legal tender If you leave behind the hopes and dreams that give you real pleasure But I remember back in Kindergarten, writing what I wanted to be I wrote 3, one was a wrestler two was a singer and the other was swamp thing Now we choose careers because we want things As we get older, society on shoulders Holding our dreams hostage and turning us ever colder I do it for the dreamers, it's not a newsflash fuck the non-believers, you got a heart don't ever lose that Chorus Don't you ever lose your heart man, Don't you ever lose your heart This world'll try to tear you apart, Don't you ever let them take your heart When everything is falling apart, take a second and go back to the start Don't you ever lose your heart, don't you ever lose heart
11.
Force Fed 02:48
Red Pill: Lemme give you food for Thought, like a Roots' rider New saga is here, I'm coming for you truth hiders Coming for all of you motherfuckers that prove liar New higher power, new assassin for hire I'm The Wire meets Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire Man on Fire, the drunk writer, there's none nicer Ain't a pie on the earth I don't want a slice of So I Mike Tyson the game till I'm dulling my incisors Most rappers think they need a deal I saw it differently, most labels need a Pill So if you're claiming that you're ill I will flame you on your own shit, make your label pay the bill They claim my raps are just a lot of bitching Talk to me when your sales got a comma in it Talk to me when you're traveling the globe and your fans aren't just a bunch of friends and family that you know Hook(RP): So get your motherfucking hands up And everybody at that bar better stand up Shoutout to all the people who demand us We doing it till they can't stand us Verbal Kent: Watching the 1 world move at light speeds...Some of us star, and some sight see durin' the fight scenes, I'm a grab the 2 bull by the horns..nah fuck that I'll take it steps further and grab on the bull by its arms 3 pull the Ålarms on the walls: not a drill, not a feel it out moment you focus cause now is real 4 not a pill that can be taken that could make this go away, you the captain? Or a stowaway..get to know my name cause 5 I'm a be around n long after? they'll put my flow away in some hall of some fame on some plaque a tough 6 act to follow: I black out and write scriptures make the devil and his triple 6's back down n grovel on the 7 gravel n hells realm: no ambulance Is called on: pray for the long gone the avalanche falls on my 8 life is like a box of chocolates- forest gump el tell my story at a bus stop to anyone he wants to talk with
12.
Red Pill: This fucking buzz is wearing off I'm preparing for the --- well, you know how that goes Pour a shot of gin and toss it back slow End of the night I'm on my last smoke And she already went to bed With the stress of life steady weighing heavy on my head I've come to appreciate the quiet In this climate of depression I've chosen to remain private It isn't often I can sit alone in silence With no cloud of overwhelming thoughts for me to be reminded I'm not a giant I am the sheep who sits and dreams of living one day as a lion My eyelids closing I am defiant to the tick tock of the clock as it downwardly is spiraling Cuz in this moment I'm content With my life as it stands and the time that I have spent Hook (VK): Life's about moments, most imperfect, which makes them perfect and when put in perspective kind of makes everything worth it everyone is searching for self, soul searching Everyone is searching for self, soul searching for the moment most imperfect, which makes them perfect and when put in perspective kind of makes everything worth it everyone is searching for self, soul searching Everyone is searching for self, soul searching for the moment Verbal Kent: 1 -you ever feel lucky? I've Been given things that no one on this earth could ever take away from me, I've been 2 down and out and left for dead, That's how I learned to fully understand the value of the life that I live, I wasn't 3 always a strong person- in fact put me on a task 10 years back? I'd say you had the wrong person- 4-it took Low's to know highs were in reach, sounds simple, but learning how to learn before we teach is the 5 thing, I used to feel connected, to something bigger than my self but I couldn't accept it, I almost let it slip 6 away so I could stay drifting, days shifting into weeks months years melting, something held me back 7 and now I live for every second- cause every second past's a Second we cannot get back, so whether first or second 8 hand you better take my warning, n take advantage of tonight before your last morning..
13.
Unforgiven 03:44
14.
Fair Weather 04:06
Verbal Kent: What if 1 Walter white had saved Jane? You haters make me feel the same thing, let you live? you'd be runnin the same game so 2 I'm a let you choke on your vomit watch the homicide cops rubbin their chins tryna come up with who done it..far from 3 super man, Verbal is Clark Kent pull off the table cloth watch as it becomes my cape On your mark set 4 go: if I had a nickel for every time that I had a pickle to push up out of I'd be filthier richer, what if 5 everyone who got doubted got down and out n stayed down and out for the count, bunch of bodies rollin down the mountain classic is 6 classic a asskickins a ass kickin you askin for one if you agitate me I'm unflappable incapaci- 7 tating you ascertaining Intel that pertains to you turn a fair weather fan to a permanent patron who 8 pays to get in pays to get in good before the goods gone Cause when I write? My favorite habits proving everyone wrong Red Pill: I'm trying to move units like Chevy moves Cruzes Expose the heartless like Betty Lou Who's Kid My rap fingers got hair triggers I'm steady with my tool kit So it's best if you avoid any unnecessary movements I know there's people betting that he loses But for every fuckboy 20 fuck heavy with the music I hear more gossip than hairdressers And people only go to ball games in fair weather Before I ever fucked with Mello I could barely get a fucking what's up or a hello Now every other day I got people sending their demos Telling me I touch more chords than Tom Morello I'm happy that people coming around Just don't be the type to get up and leave when I'm down and out Capricorns are loyal to a fault So I expect the same back whenever loyalties involved Bridge Step by step get my feet off the ground Till there ain't nothing left and I reach for the crown It wasn't often I would see you around You better be there when it all falls down Hook (VK): You fair weather fans cross fingers behind backs jumping on board, where were y'all at No thanks (no thanks) I'm good (I'm good) Do yours (like I said) I'm good (I'm good)

about

Red Pill, Apollo Brown, & Verbal Kent are Ugly Heroes

Few things are more ugly or heroic than telling the truth. Life is often bleak, brutal, and over all too swiftly. Leaders are corrupt. Job prospects are limited. Cigarettes and shots of gin rarely lead to a peaceful finish. But between the lunacy and squalor, there exists those who make it all worthwhile: family, friends, and ruthlessly honest artists who remind you that you aren’t alone, shedding light on those dark nights of the soul.

As Michigan’s anti-Surgeon General, Red Pill quips: “We may not be the heroes this world needs, we're definitely not the heroes this world wants, but at least we're here.” His partners in Ugly Heroes are Chicago MC Verbal Kent, and Detroit producer Apollo Brown. Their sophomore Mello Music Group release, Everything In Between, offers diamonds of wisdom amidst the existential dumpster fire.

It’s been said that if you go down deep enough, past the personal, you eventually reach the universal. Ugly Heroes embody that axiom, unraveling their own stories, self-doubts, and bouts with depression to arrive at something as profound as it is vulnerable. Apollo Brown warps soul music and bayonet-hard drums, creating a singular form of soul-coughing dirty-sky symphonies. Levitating boom-bap for the 21st Century.

“Have you ever figured what you’d be like in a few years…why don’t you look ahead” A cinematic voice opens up “Today, Right Now,” with these words, doubling as a manifesto for things to come. Just as quickly, a voice retorts, “ah, don’t preach at me…as if you can tell what you’ll be like in a few years.”

The back-and-forth distills the questions at the core of the record: What will my future look like? How can I repair myself? What gives my life meaning? What do we do in a world where the right answers are frequently hidden and the wrong answers are all too obvious?

Red Pill, Verbal Kent, and Apollo Brown refuse to offer simple solutions, but instead created a life-affirming record with a dark undercurrent. Red Pill calls us “rational cattle” one moment, while Verbal half-jokingly insists on the importance of “grabbing the bull by its arms” in the next. They’re artists and brothers and fathers grappling with the impossible: how to extend the good moments indefinitely, how to eradicate the bad ones to protect themselves and the ones they love.

They might harbor the suspicion that the past, present, and future might all be the same, but they understand that acts of heroism are often found in minor gestures. In a frivolous world, Ugly Heroes prove that talent will always reign supreme and honesty can never become obsolete.

credits

released June 24, 2016

produced by Apollo Brown
vocals by Red Pill & Verbal Kent

mixed by Magnetic
recorded by Tate McBroom
mastered by Eric Morgeson

photography by Jeremy Deputat
graphic design by Sarah Dalton

executive produced by Michael Tolle
Mello Music Group, 2016

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Apollo Brown Detroit, Michigan

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