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Always Something

by Rawbeartoe & Variex

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Rawbeartoe & Variex "Always Something" CD in digipak with 12-page lyric booklet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Always Something via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 9 Variex releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Struggle Sandwich, Always Something, Beneath Six Feet of Dust (Remixes & Rarities), Strange Waters, The Glass Swan Project: Anti-Love Songs for Lovers, Past Life Discourse, Off The Beaten Path, Quitting Tomorrow, and 1 more. , and , .

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1.
Introspect 02:15
(rawbeartoe) when something's tearing me apart from the inside I've got this therapeutic art form that's self diatribe I don't run and hide, I dive in head first with heart heavy letting the remedy of writing hold me steady so extremities are stretched as far as mental tentacles go it's good to feel the mind exercised by your soul plus the only cost is a penny for my own thoughts and my piggy bank is full, let my vision take control (variex) sometimes I might forget why I even picked up a pen way back when, but then I recall when I empty my head into some self aware prose, tearing holes in my skull haunted by something terrible that I can't bear to hold onto any longer and metaphors are not cutting it rummaging for a proper complement to my substance but what's the point if we don't use our voices I choose not to ignore it and reflect on what's important (rawbeartoe) and even if I could escape its evil clutches I would stay beneath these verbal crutches I'm accustomed to, there's something in the way that I've been juggling all the pieces has me reaching for an answer to accompany all the secrets, all the sequences have lined up so sweetly for me to take advantage of the languages I'm speaking, brief encounters with this savage love distracted by the puzzles and the webs I spin so cautiously while listening to these words again, phonetically pissing into the wind (variex) drifting on a free flowing thought is now the only thing that makes me feel like I have a chance at coming close to peace crawling out of the opening in my chest plate to meditate on every record I should set straight but at the end of the day all that really matters is if I can tolerate the way I've written out these patterns and avoid moving backwards and taking another misstep nothing gets swept under when I introspect
2.
Floating 03:53
(rawbeartoe & variex) serene when sleeping so easy, leaving me secretly jealous well there's no option for dreams and the sequences are embellished [selfish encounters with vultures, I'm left in debt with these vouchers the counter culture imposters holding us hostage are cowards] (rawbeartoe) well, the first time tends to be less than what was hoped for close the door on anticipation, watch the irrigated tear ducts flowing like the flood that's on the daily maybe lazy like the river after fluid is accumulated I've laid around and waited for the sacred sound to make it up the hill so I could take the pill while tumbling back down to sleep while gently rocking me for sanity's sake I'll stay awake, it's typical to contemplate the rituals I've got this sandpaper mâché machete ready for the exploration, patience isn't the only virtue in the jungle I won't get lost if I don't focus on the fact that I was double-crossed I'll spit and fight and hack my way through heavy thoughts I'm floating through space, an emotion as weightless as hoping only I stay awake fully holding my face while I'm coping you showed me loneliness is solely just an ornament for self-importance seldom there's a scorn for what's appropriate but what’s appropriate I'm folding under pressure, now I'm motionless (variex) although I hoped for it I'm pushing back against the corners that are closing in perhaps my vices got the best of me and I let myself believe in destiny, or something along those lines guess I went along for the ride and ultimately lost sight in retrospect it's evident but back then didn't cross my mind until I caught my reflection in those crocodile tears and watched that smile disappear like all our childhood years you can find me here, staring at the ceiling fighting fears with nightmares, the struggle to keep my mind clear as I'm lying there wondering how you reach peace so easily, just waiting to be swept into that scenery but now it seems that I may have forgotten how to dream wandering in a constantly lucid conscious stream lost sleep caught between living a lie and the willingness to quit trying to kill my mind intoxicated by recurring thought and frustration envious of the fact you never seem to get stuck pacing
3.
Degeneration 03:48
(variex) the fear of never accomplishing a dream has become a possibility seems like it's been twenty years that I've been lost at sea but I've fought to keep my head above whitecaps when my body sinks into the bottom feeding siren song that's calling me I can't give a walking talking flying fuck about what's popular, when everything on earth remains a product worth more than our words stay blissfully ignorant and willingly oblivious to the advertising brainwashing our children so pray to whatever god you might believe in for the future human extinction couldn't relieve us any sooner from reptilian politicians and continuously repressed citizens what wouldn't you do for a million, might as well keep killing them in the land of the free, the american dream is not for you and I they'll pursue your genocide and never try to see through your eyes but still tell you you're blind, we are not puppets with enough drops in the bucket to say fuck this and rise above it (rawbeartoe) everything is temporary has become my catchphrase nothing is as permanent or fluid as a cascade pressure building fully living moments in these last days lessons from our past we never care to learn and can't change (variex) up out of the chaos we are living in the last days who would you expect to finish first in the rat race when you compromise your voice to keep up in the fast lane might as well keep calm and watch our generation back pace (rawbeartoe) you know how life goes each day's a stormy one and sometimes it's a cyclone it shakes our trees and plenty of plots are dropped like pinecones all of this wind and yet I still can't hit the high notes I hate the breeze but I'll just float and keep my eyes closed formally open, totally focused on loads of misfortunate mishaps lately only to slip back, laziness is a syntax I've been noticing motives have taken the liberty, raping and pillaging making me feel that I haven't achieved anything worthy enough to believe in I even it out, I'm odd for that reason alone in my doubt I need to be wanted to breathe in the morning I'll leave when it's obvious, I even it out
4.
Mutual 03:44
(rawbeartoe) walking in place everyday, contemplating the pace that won't ever change and I don't have a reason to stay where I've been to no end, there's never an answer for questioning passion forever and after the image is blurry through the various channels I'm surfing on top of tsunamis for wavelengths I travel though constantly searching for the next thing to battle my head is a constant babbling creek and the least of the things I can handle (variex) another morning, another lesson to let fade or get saved in my back pocket as I step away from yesterday's misunderstood interpretations of my self indulgent offerings, though honestly you never caught the breeze and that's fine, these times are a bad game of chess when the pieces are buried in sand to their heads or tangled up wrapped in a black widow’s web it’s generally safe to assume that we’ve accepted the end (rawbeartoe) the feeling is mutual (variex) only wearing these shoes cause I’m used to what’s suitable (rawbeartoe) the feeling is mutual (variex) to be lost in translation when normal’s unusual still I won’t waste my time no time for those overpriced lies still I can’t change my mind it’s decided, there’s no use in fighting it (rawbeartoe) lost in a dream, everything's not what it seems when I try to leave rearrange the focus, strained thoughts, stranger notions now I've been crossed twice doubly, mumble my subtleties someone will comfort me lust lurking lavishly searching for cavities unraveled sanity while slightly panicking xanax and cannabis makes manic practical passionate anecdotes sabotaged not unobtainable seeking relief trapped like animals (variex) from the intangible walls of a panic room built by the ghost of a past life attacking you everybody knows what's best, take it all with a grain of salt when you bleed pour it on the wound, why wouldn't you be in love with mediocrity unraveled sanity spilling out casually any place I might wander dragging around apathy I have what I need to be happy, so don't ask me to try to compromise myself and what keeps me balanced
5.
Erase 03:34
(rawbeartoe) I sit so calmly post ominous harmony, caution surrounding me, pardon my boundaries out of these getting I am what's been eating me, leaving these skin and bones home for the evening keeping it evenly odd as apologies defacing property, let out sighs audibly got to be honest no option just policy, open door anyway locking it bothers me this is my instrument tuned for the soothing, eluding to nothing, I'm touching all bases encased in a network of passages mazes, entangled in massive interwoven paths I breathe in and laugh from the lust of my lunacy, loosely encrypted depictions are soon to be etched and exhumed from the tomb of experience, words are not worthless when memory mirrors it (variex) I have been working on trying to work out how I can actually find myself only time will tell if these expectations are attainable or I'm playing the fool as I'm digging a hole in the center of whatever's left from my soul to my head swallowing the pride that I've taken for never allowing myself to be following trends intelligence isn't pretentiousness, dumb it down then mark it up for the sell of it if you're spoon feeding there's nothing to chew on no matter however you measure it sacrificing a blue sky for the benefit of expressing more than recurring emptiness drifting out on the pacific has never been better than this (rawbeartoe) we've always tip toed through the hallways in the corridors of time every corner of our minds is intertwined within the visions of a calculated life as if the balance will subside to a place beyond the valley of the shallowest existence wow, we're always trying to dig so deep we try to keep it to ourselves because we're selfish proud, we always end up digging too deep we never listen to advice and now it’s helpless (variex) riding away on a black tidal wave or a dark highway where the silence won't break to find me a place maybe I can escape my whole life on a page is mine to erase (rawbeartoe) revision to flip script, simpletons misprint syllables, fiddle with little encryptions this is not anything, energy surging to emptiness, letting it out in the open and soak in the rays in an actual haze, blaze obvious, possible laziest optimist commonly placed and I'm faced with a lack of conviction, you're missing the point of my vision I make these mistakes and it takes me a second to recognize pain in the daily reflections a messy messenger, many lessons learned, plenty of open ended questions vetted they'll want you to stay if you worry the one with the willingness wanders away with the syllabus killin em slowly but surely in slumber, it's true the phoniest number is two (variex) no longer staring at my own reflection like I need the answer to every question I'm stepping in, might as well call it progression or better yet it's just a lack of regressing whatever it is that I'm settling in I can witness it all from this plateau when that feeling of insanity grows I try to put forth my best apathy pose and crash on the shore of what keeps me awake at night, I can stay quiet but can't tame the lions breaking the iron bar cages that they are enslaved in, eating the sheep I've been counting cowering from the empowerment of six thousand perpetual jagged edges to my head that I'm draining through my nervous system and out of a pen
6.
Reminder 03:00
(variex) always was a hard worker but time to time wonder why I would even bother to try to fight the struggle now I can find trouble or write and stay humble to the sound of one clapping hand in the fruitless hustle effort is wasted on words and paychecks forget owning a home when I can hardly make the rent maybe I should save my breath instead of rolling another pushing buttons and nodding my head along like a sucker (rawbeartoe) buried so deep beneath the surface, scratching itches leave me barnacles I hope the scars are worth it, for this less than perfect carnival a carbon copied version of perception so redundant throwing rocks and using sticks to poke the sorest of the subjects plus I know it doesn't matter if my point of view is skewed and every relative encounter won't amount to something new I hope to find some common ground and choose a spot to draw the line or we can sit and watch it burn together knowing that we tried (rawbeartoe & variex) and so these notes we've left behind us provoke emotions to remind us it's merely thin skin we're shedding, weathered and leathery letting go of what's been tethering us down forever (variex) go on and try to wake em up because you know what they're bored with but nobody's snoring, you're just not that important nothing more than a parody of all your heroes you've emulated, regurgitation is worth zero what have you been doing that hasn't already been done you should keep it to yourself, your songs are no fun you must be on drugs, you've been speaking in tongues everybody's got problems, why haven't you grown up (rawbeartoe) why try and hide behind these barriers and various other distractions subtlety precious with my effigies' anatomy I'm next to nothing special and it's just what I expected mumbling extra messy messages with exits for my strategies I act as if the consequential casualties I've caused were used to benefit my future interactions with embarrassment the truth is in the loosely structured idiomatic webs I spin for pleasure and pain relief it's all just the same to me
7.
Excuses 03:12
(variex) life is a beach, I can kick it you gotta learn to float before you can start swimming now I'm familiar with living on the edge of comfortability and it seems California's finding joy in killing me one day will it really make sense or is that something we've been telling ourselves to make amends with the realization our dreams don't like being chased and your impact is less than a smudge on a finger painting so I'm rearranging my thought process in attempt to reconnect, it may be a work in progress but I stay honest, even if it means that until I learn to seize the day I'll keep holding it hostage no nonsense is the approach obviously follow me if you're into polishing your flaws clean walking along the sky's limits where this bird's eye view is worth more than blind optimism (rawbeartoe) just don't drag me down with excuses anymore I don't care what happens next life is a garden, I can dig it you gotta wear gloves in this world so frigid working my digits in the dirt until the skeletal frame is exposed I grow it all back in new layers, the truth is labor painstaking at best but I just savor it the only things I'm bringing to my table are my favorites I'm a live it like I love it cause I do well sometimes even if I don't leave the house when I'm gun shy socially I mean I lean on stress anti-degenerates seeking the sentiments only when stress is imminent I guess that misery hates company but needs it seeds of reason planted deep so roots will benefit (variex) it's all irrelevant, quit back pedaling the skeletons are pounding on your door, don't let em in swallow your medicine and those delicious sedatives squeezing this train of thought through the tunnel my head is in and the light at the end is overwhelming again infuriating, but how could I not be curious burning this candle at every angle till it turns on us as usual but I will emerge from the dust with... (rawbeartoe) a tourniquet wrapped around the burdens of my earnestness curbing it to be enthused and used as social lubricants it's an amusement loosely soothing wounds for part time inhabitants stabbing a westward full of the lonely and frozen contaminants it's never enough to punch a hole through, just merely scratch the surface alternate versions of an angle maimed and mangled from perversion it’s nothing personal, it's just a circle of inclusion that I use as mental curtains
8.
Typical 04:15
(rawbeartoe) I used to be opposed to the game, so close the to the vein but now I can't explain the reasons why it's not an option I stay up late and I'm still not working on a way to make it so much better than what it was today mark my words and knock on wood it's hard to find a new level to reach for with cloudy vision take a step back and act as if it really matters I want a lobotomy cause part of me is too complacent it's all the same thing, sealed wounds, another rotting gangrene scab forming over torn flesh from the embodiment of disillusioned arrogance experimenting with my head and I'm aware of it sidestepping episodes, widespread acceptance of a testimony from a lonely lesser known jabroni put your lips to my ear to softly reinstate the fears and watch the tears roll slowly down my cheekbones (variex) nobody knows the beautiful things only you have seen (rawbeartoe) it's not unlike me to notice but thanks for noticing (variex) every day holds a moment for opportunity (rawbeartoe) but by the time I'm aware of it miss my opening (variex) the way I hold myself up in public is like I've got a bad habit that I can't shake distracted in the face, always following the sunset even if for nothing other than to stand straight these damn legs on a crooked path for a decade still converting dead weight into a useful head space and it goes without saying it's a challenge to sway the balance in the direction of wasted talents but success to me is a finished project not what's in my wallet, that's a foreign concept isn't it, regardless of who's listening this significant part of my existence is getting me higher than your opinions living it since my beginning of over analytics hell, I'm currently well versed in the art of cynicism at the tail end of an observation all too aware but not for nothing, why exactly should I care (rawbeartoe) so concise, it's like these slices of life are so predictable counterfeit originals more than twice I've felt lightning strike yet still don't change my rituals, some would call it pitiful as if the pinnacle of self awareness isn't enough to be a burden on its own, it’s all so typical (variex) the typical daydream threaded through my aging perception it takes some effort to embrace imperfection I've chased my nemesis away from the depths of this apathetic generation catalyst for pessimism so is it any wonder why we lose our vision become a contradiction and start playing the victim of a dysfunctional system, like it’s a given that this rhythm we’ve been living has built around us a prison, nope
9.
(variex) skating over spilled milk is becoming natural composure is collateral when balancing on stilts take the bitter pill, I know the feeling is impractical to climb out of a massive hole without trying to build I'm still caught up in the thrill of passing go over cracks in the road to the other side of the hill state of mind evolving from a wide eyed antelope into a wild animal, braced for the kill for every dead end that had us scratching our heads and turning to the sky for answers, the only way is up still chasing the sun before these days fade to dust until we save the world we better learn how to save us well it is what it is and this perspective here is new to me moving past what I'm usually dwelling on under scrutiny to close in on the moment and step to the edge of a comfort zone that consistently left us for dead (stoomie) I’m feeding off of the way you seem to live more for today, you all from inside, all from inside I’m not yours to fix but you offer to try and you know I got something to prove to the person you’re no longer used to all from inside, all from inside (rawbeartoe) for every sleeve that's left stained red from wearing out my welcome and my ventricles I'm sorry, there's an open shoulder waiting for you so many nights I've spent with premature regrets while resting on my laurels quarreling with the less than permanent anxiousness It makes no sense how every penny and waking moment is spent hell bent on traveling inches in the long haul I can't just focus on the guilt trip, too short of a distance each path will end in the same place, but at least it's still consistent one step forward and three steps back I got a knack for revealing my weakness, it seems that this progress trap is a one way track I cannot lapse into negative defective sequences no more chances as time slips past the only catch is a definite rebound to seek tension life straight packed full of lies stay strapped why do I have to be constantly rebuilding defenses (variex) it's been a long time coming, I'm tired of running in circles inside a cell, it's all so mind numbing but I've got my health and I can breathe so it's all right even if I don't sleep through the night and can't remember dreams well I've made some choices that I wish I would have avoided but these days I would rather build a foundation than destroy it we're fortunate to have a roof that when it rains we can choose to go outside or remain, and that's the point (rawbeartoe) I've tried so hard to make it work, but there's a part of me that wants the worst, arteries have spilt upon my shirt you left me bleeding from reasoning with my demons serenity's the blade we're leaning on, it's mutual, the pain is somewhat beautiful I flew the coop to be a builder of my own nest prematurely surely not recommending the lack of sleep to say the least I've finally reached a point where I can be the person that my kids need and put that part of my mind at ease
10.
Outreach 03:41
(rawbeartoe) it's not a selfish act if you can get to where I'm at inside my head and really feel these lessons on rebuilding a healing factor when I'm captured in my refractory period I have to be serious when I rap about it I've got some friends that are so blind it makes me envious I try too hard, it must be nice to be oblivious if ignorance is just a blissful state of harmony I'll honestly consider signing up for the lobotomy (variex) there's gotta be a better way to fall in line (rawbeartoe) I'm clawing at the walls to get a grip so I can climb (variex) if I ever lost my mind I don't know if I'd want to find it (rawbeartoe) trying to describe this light so bright inside I'm blinded (variex) dancing on the thread in between art and entertainment (rawbeartoe) wasted are my efforts in attempts to sound so sacred (variex) swaying in the breeze I've just been doing what comes naturally (rawbeartoe) it's actually passion that keeps me active in this pageantry (variex) it goes beyond the need to express or the need to be accepted or the need to use music to try to get over regrets, let it go it's more than an image, more than a personal confession after the sun sets, what's left is this connection and when it becomes infectious is when it all makes sense again never cared for attention, only to share a message and the lessons on the way, relating kept me invested our language is an effective ammunition if you arm your weapons (rawbeartoe) slowly I'm dissected and left for interpretation (variex) the cover might be worn but don’t forget to turn the pages (rawbeartoe) sifting through the wreckage of my essence in this petri dish (variex) convincing myself it isn’t all meaningless (rawbeartoe) though I'm flawed in some formulas there's a method to my madness (variex) bleeding out a little color on this canvas (rawbeartoe) use these intimate minutes I spit to clarify polarity (variex) my songs will be my epitaph, quote me then bury me

about

Lyricists Rawbeartoe (Seattle, WA) & Variex (San Francisco, CA) approach hip-hop with an introspective, honest perspective. Producer Variex sets the mood with dusty, jazz/soul-inspired instrumentals, over which the duo trades verses on existential misfortunes, social observations, and what it means to be human. At times cynical, other times sarcastic, Rawbeartoe & Variex are always passionate in using their craft to spark a makeshift light at the end of a dark tunnel. From harmonic melodies to rapid-fire raps, the contrast between the emcees breathes a dynamic, no-gimmicks energy into mellow, gritty rhythms. Their new album, "Always Something," is out now on Variex's new label, Red Tempo Records, and available through all major digital outlets.

credits

released July 27, 2016

Written & performed by Rawbeartoe & Variex.

Produced, mixed & mastered by Variex at Red Tempo Studios.

Artwork & layout by Variex.

℗© 2016 Rawbeartoe & Variex | Red Tempo Records.

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Variex Oakland, California

Variex is a Bay Area, CA based music producer, rapper, and engineer. He is a co-founder of the New Cocoon collective and has worked with artists like Ceschi, Factor, 2Mex, and Alias. He has also shared the stage with Cage and Sadistik, released an album on Milled Pavement Records, and founded his own label, Red Tempo Records. Variex's newest album, Struggle Sandwich, is out now. ... more

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