East Coast artists Deep Foundation x Hydroponikz got together for a music video for their track “Generation ILL”. In an era of economic instability, flawed educational values and political apathy, “Generation ILL” serves as a head-nod to those most affected by these trends. Despite the recent downturns however, these individuals choose to continue, persevere, and carry-on in the spirit that life was meant to be lived- with an eye towards better days and both feet planted in the present. This is their homage to the working class, the youth coming into their own amidst such uncertainty and those who struggle in the hopes of what tomorrow may bring. Many people can identify with the struggles in this day and age. This song’s for you.

You can get the song on or amazon.

If you’re in the NYC area and you’re a teenager, join Deep Foundation for the Hip-Hop Writer’s Workshop on June 10, 2011. Get details here.

Generation ILL by Deep Foundation x Hydroponikz

Lyrics to Generation ILL by Deep Foundation x Hydroponikz

Hydroponikz:
I lost my job today,
and it’s the best day of my life
I’m not down and out,
I see the light right through the strife
Yo, we try makin it behind bars of skyscrapers
Feel like dividing the hatred when I’m denied paper
Last time I checked, the salary my art brings
I can count it on fingers I use to pluck my guitar strings
Well Jesus, now you see that everything’s in pieces
All I’m trying to do is make a couple hot releases
Well holla then, clean it up so we could return these bottles and
Get some money back and I can start again
Keep your mind right, switch your hustle if you have to
Turn some avenues, rethink what matter’s to you
All my people wandering, wonderin when doors will open
Keep kickin, maybe your foot’ll get caught when they’re closin

Hook:
Before I wake, let me hit the snooze twice, then I hop out of bed and
start this thing called life.
I’m out the door, cross the street, look twice, hit the train, on my
way, so far this day’s alright.
My strap hangers, time to spend another dollar, earning every drop
of sweat that’s staining your blue collars
The city dwellers, sellers, buyers and hustlers, the unreluctant
strugglers, brothers sisters and mothers

CeeJay:
I know applyin to a job is like the lottery, b
Even with a decent resume and college degree
The odds got to be. And I can’t say it hasn’t got to me
And it got me thinkin the opposite of possibly
It got us wonderin what the fuck we went to school for
Applying for a nine to five, man, every two-four
On one hand, cats were celebratin’ they got laid off
Not workin, but chillin, still gettin a weekly payoff
On the other, I know that applicants are really panickin
Unemployment rates already rose above the averages
Too many people I know just really caught a tough break
Hustlin everyday, cuz they’re tryin to get enough cake
Consider givin up. In the end, they refuse to
I salute you, so hold ya head up like you used to
See, I dunno when it’s all gonna get better
Just know I’m tryna make it too, we’re strugglin together

Hook

ILL Poe:
welcome back students now that summer has passed
welcome back to your class everyone of them’s packed
in undervalued schools, underfunded, understaffed
under tutelage of teachers who are fresh off undergrads
most are underpaid w/ more cuts underway
on the budget they ain’t budging coz they love it so they stay
while politicians thinking bout nothing but the business
not our future’s foundation they envisioning these buildings
and building more malls were wages stay at minimum
and kicking out you kids from the places that you livin in
so you ask what the schooling is for,
coz Gucci said you’d make it just by movin’ the raw
and hoop dreams say your famous if you’re ruling the courts
without saying failure leads to hearing rulings in courts
Want our youth to be lost, so I’m using this song,
in my ongoing mission of me proving them wrong

M.U.G. SHOT:
remember wonder years, watchin kevin mackin it to winnie?
now it’s all about bobby, and the crack he gave to whitney
this shit is silly, all these federlines and britneys
rhianna’s and little chris’s, talking bout somebody hit me
the world is tipsy, one shot from gettin shitty
and punch drunk with apathy in every single city
unemployment high like birth rates in the fifties
the people should grind with me, not listen to pretty ricky
pain of poverty, that god can see concealed within me
while jealously paper chasin so i’m getting green with envy
dreaming of better living, still wishing to be forgiven
for not forgiving myself, and for sinning against the system
we’ve played the victims long enough, stop pretending
from martin luther to rodney, the kingdom is not progressing
what the future will hold remains a question,
still hoping to see that promise of progression

Hook