Old School Ringtones

Alright class, we're gonna get started. Everyone, please don't take your seats, Close your textbook, Stand up, and dance to this song What do you think of when I use the word School? You might shrug your shoulders and be like, 'S cool – It's a needful but imperfect institutional tool To make the people on the planet not be absolute fools Or you might have the view that it's only half true What they teach, and that in truth it's a tool that uses you – Subject to abuse, and the subjects you take Are designed to make your mind subjects of the state ...Some say it's great tho — A-OK – And the best way to go is to go and get A's – But whether you B for it or don't C it as best Society D-mands that you go or you're F'd When we were kids We would sing this hook 'No more pencils No more books' When they made us go to school And yet in the days when the tradition began Way before the institutions and the social demand The Ancient Greek "schole" from which "school" is rendered Did not mean work you had to do, it meant LEISURE Leisure? — Yessir — Free Time? — yes! — If you had food to eat, and other needs didn't press You might read or write, if you liked — free of stress – So yes — in a sense, School meant Recess You might spend your time with a Socrates And talk thoughtfully about God and Being And contemplate concepts of cosmic things Without and obligation or college fees And speaking of ironic etymologies 'Education' from the Latin educare means To lead out from, not to sit inside — And 'study' meant passion for a task — yeah, right Now you might ask why, like — Bruh, what da fuh...? How'd it all become the opposite of what it was? School meant Days Off; study meant fun Why's it upside down? I'm confounded. It's dumb Welcome to the club. Are you really surprised? Humans have a tendency to systematize – And the systems are fine, until the systems are blind To the very human beings for whom the system's designed It's a means to an end. And in the end that means That whoever's at the head gets to set the meanings And assign the readings, and to set the times And to regulate the rhythm of our lives and minds But way before pencils and way before books And way before the tests that everybody took There was Old School School. (Word) Alright let's go ahead and walk outside now Put our hands in the soil. ... Don't forget your improvised song is due... At any time It ain't about your interests, kid – It's how ya get 'er done Better aggregate your passions into learning outcomes Don't be burnin' out, son! Reevaluate your goals Gotta crack another statue from the economic mold Got you docile till you're old – 'They don't want us to know!' But the thing about 'Them' is The 'They' is Us, bro – Life is short, learning's slow – Why go back to the source When you could simply get it second hand? A requisite course And yes, you're being forced – And while at times it may be free So is all your social media – It's not that hard to see That that's another way of saying the commodity's me And the product is becoming what they want me to be You're so lucky – Old school study – So what are we to take from it And what disintegrate? How to disentangle the age-old angle Of obligation in the way When we educate – How to make it relate so it ain't Disembodied and a Knowledge but in name Without making that very same knowledge All but impossible to gain? (Dang) Make it a GAME — make Work Play – Never have to go to, and yet learn everyday – Make it into songs, teach lessons over beats And not just on the internet but also on the streets Education is an art And performance is a part Of its method and its manner 'Cause the head needs the heart – Hip-hop History SchoolHouse Rock Indigenous traditions – Times change. TikTok Here's a thought — Honor teachers in the game that go the hardest 'Cause in the end the teacher is the same as the artist – Let em play their part as pop-stars, getting famous Being bona fide philoso-rapper viral sensations ...I'm biased. ... Should I even talk? I'm a product of the system, a philosophy doc – And my knowledge, on which I base this critical thought Is predicated on the privilege of having been taught – I've thought of that a lot. ...If we lost what we've got Is it tantamount to tossing out the board with the chalk? But it may be worth a shot: and here's the reason why Like nails on a chalkboard, we're just squeaking by Education is the basis of society's design – The system that instills what's in everybody's mind And under this system, the society we find's Economically unequal, ecologically awry So redefine School: Not a tool of the state But a movement that arises from those who create – Whose mode of exchange isn't monetary wealth But Relationship and Wisdom. An end in itself No more tests No more rules No more half-truths Back to the roots – Back to Old School Schools You're so lucky – Old school study No more hassles (Old school study) No wack books No more teacher's dirty looks No more bureaucratic crooks (Old school study) And school boards with too many crooks No more standards (Old school study) No more rules No more half truths Back to the roots No more half truths (Old school study) Back to the roots Back to the roots Old school school Alright well, that's it for me today ... But we'll meet again for our next session ... Whenever we meet again. ... And until then... Study!

Don't believe everything happiness says Nothing feels better than hiding these days We bury our fears in the drinks, in these tears For the days we believed we could fly Call up your brothers and sisters and friends We'll go back to the place where the night never ends We'll remember the fires, the burning car tires Boy, how in the hell did we get here? So why don't you meet me down behind the old school? We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard For how cavalier we used to be that beautiful insanity The apathy's surrounding me Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away Over and over and over again We sat down for a minute, grew up into men Now we're putting out fires and changing car tires Man, how in the hell did we get here? So why don't you meet me down behind the old school? We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard For how cavalier we used to be that beautiful insanity The apathy's surrounding me Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away this time And we'll never get back what we gave away When we still have that fire in our eyes Don't believe everything happiness says Nothings as real as our old reckless ways When we drink by the fires, the burning car tires Bad girls and good liars, the dreams we'd conspire The days we went crazy, the nights wild and hazy Man, how in the hell did we get here? So why don't you meet me down behind the old school? We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard For how cavalier we used to be that beautiful insanity The apathy's surrounding me Don't close your eyes or we'll fade Why don't you meet me down behind the old school? We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard For how cavalier we used to be that beautiful insanity The apathy's surrounding me Don't close your eyes or we'll fade

Here's the old school, with the new school (back, back in the days) Here's the old school, with the new school (back, back in the days) Here's the old school, With the new school (back, back, back in the days) Here's the old school, with the new school (back, back in the days) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) (Back, back in the days) Hey boy, won't you play for me Right now, give me that old school beat I wanna hear it here (there it is) Groovin' all night long I gotta let you know You got it goin' on Play it for me R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) R. Kelly play me something from the old School (Here's the old school, with the new school) Hey boy, let me hear your song Yeah play till the break of dawn Keep it right here Groovin' all night I gotta let you know That it feels so right Play it for me R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school Yo, back in the days I used to listen to records Tryin' to figure out how I could make my own records Workin' in restaurants, bustin' on dishes Hopin' that the man upstairs respect my wishes Cigerette lighters, Ardig wallets, I was sellin' them 'Till I met the B.H and bust down a capella to him He said you got talent and you're goin' places I'd heard that line before but what the heck I signed the papers Ever since that day I drew my head high it was on And now I'm mixing new music with the old school songs R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school R. Kelly play me something from the old school...