The Roots ft. Phonte, Dice Raw - Now Or Never Lyrics

Everything's changing around me
And I wanna change too
It's one thing I know
It ain't cool being no fool
I feel different today
I don't know what else to say
But I'm-a get my shit together
It's now or never
(Now or never, now or never, now or never, now or never)

I'm sick, sick of waiting in vain
Tired of playing the game
Thinking of making a change
Finally breaking the chains
Every phase, every happening craze
When it's said and done
My head is right back in a haze
I'm ready for the next chapter and page
To start acting my age and part ways
With Black Thought from back in the days
I'm stargazing from the back of the stage
Questioning if who y'all praise is worthy of praise
What's the phrase, bygones is bygones?
Niggas who used to be the underdog is icons
People say the light shines once in a lifetime
Is this mid-life kind of crisis a little bit like mine?
I'm thinking not now, but right now
I need some kinda sign that the future is bright now
I fuck around, do the right thing like Spike now
The quick and the dead, which is my look-a-like now
I'm moving ahead

Everything's changing around me
And I wanna change too
It's one thing I know
It ain't cool being no fool
I feel different today
I don't know what else to say
But I'm-a get my shit together
It's now or never
(Now or never, now or never, now or never, now or never)

Yo, opportunities lost because I blew 'em
On the sunniest days of my life I cried through 'em
Mom's was out the picture and pops I barely knew him
And I would pray to God, but I'm tired of lying to him
Tired of trying to run from the things inside of us
Got a lot of fam' and a lot of admirers
Who tell me that I should aspire to be changed
But when I think of changing, it's like why even try this shit?
My mind hazy and my thoughts they get distorted
I know my good and bad needs both get recorded
You do right so your soul can last
But my role was cast before I even auditioned for it
So I don't really see an end to my vice
It's just false reclamation, no end of my strife
Feel the evil overpowering
You can go ahead throw the towel in
'Cause, nigga, that's the end of the fight
When you can only see the tunnel at the end of the lights
Lights out, party over, it's the end of your life
And I'm out

Everything's changing around me
And I wanna change too
It's one thing I know
It ain't cool being no fool
I feel different today
I don't know what else to say
But I'm-a get my shit together
It's now or never
(Now or never, now or never, now or never, now or never)

When I look into the mirror and see my own image
It feels like there's something else far off in the distance
Something I wanna see, but something that's resistant
And every day the haunting is growing more persistent
I never noticed it before, but now I can't miss it
And the constant pounding's driving me ballistic
I ran from it for years, but it's still next to me
And it's growing stronger take and leaving less of me
I can't fight it now, I know it's just destiny
And I just wonder what's gonna happen when it catches me
Will it leave me face down in Chesapeake
Or will it just start bringing out the best of me?
But is the best of me really just the worst of me?
And if so yesterday could be my anniversary
In sinners' court it's important to have church with me
I'm trying to get rid of these ghosts that's cursing me
I feel that change is an absolute certainty
'Cause what's going on is a state of emergency

Everything's changing around me
And I wanna change too
It's one thing I know
It ain't cool being no fool
I feel different today
I don't know what else to say
But I'm-a get my shit together
It's now or never
It's now or never