Store Bought Souls by Gino and Laone V

Laonev: don’t judge me, u will be disappointed to find that I’m far too great to fit into your little, ill-shaped boxes were u filed off the rest of the world, nor will I bend or fold into moulds cast out of stone for u to section-up, divide and marginalize people. that no encyclopedia, dictionary or scholar will give u the right word to neatly print in that illegible hand that small minds write in for a label tag to my toe... No, this soul was not made in a sweatshop, nor was it store bought, it has no "sell by" date or shelf-life, it will not fit into a jar to sit on a shelf and collect dust. In the height of your boring life, when u Google me...

Gino: don’t touch me, yr skin will melt from the heat that my being produces as I stand still, letting the sun itself absorb from me as my mother, Nature intended, step away from me, this closeness that u so take for granted and only recognize only when u see me come up on Google searches as greatness. I am what I’ve always said I was but greater; I am what u think I am but lesser. I will become what I dream 2 become but am. don’t judge me I am the trial

laonev: don’t judge me I am the trial. your trial team came hauling in law books by the truckload, but u can't beat me, u can't beat this...I wrote all of them books. I don’t want to afford u the pleasure of being scared and afraid, crawl into that little corner that I told u was comfort and I'll get my blowtorch. I do not speak to fill your mind with dirty words, that spew forth the filth u have let corrode and corrupt your little brain. No, this is not a revolt, it’s a revolution...an evolution of myself but pay attention coz this revolution too will not be televised... there will be no podcast, or live RSS feed, it won’t b on MySpace, BlogSpot or word press, the pictures won't be on Flickr nor the video on YouTube, but they will b seared so far into your brain that all u will see in every waking moment is how I rose above u, walking over those tattered dance shoes that once danced with all over me when u ripped me apart, washed me out with bleach and hung me out to dry in the rain...it will not b on a blog with a subscription tab for u to follow my every step, but my every step will thud and resound in u as I walk away.
Long after AIDS is gone and tales of terrorist threats are the folktales of times so long gone, they’ll think it’s a lie, this soul will still ride the wave of a southern breeze, and it will not hide in the shadows

Gino: don’t judge me, modern tech has u confusing my lingo, the language of my artistry has yr mind in limbo. harassing the very being of yr disease, the incurable ignorance u have crawling in yr machine. U r trained, not well, but trained 2 receive information and not learn, I pity u. this is not a movie and not all gold belongs to a fool. you do not faze me, yr little tantrum will end long before u realize u march alone, the band will desert u on stage, yr mic will switch off and electrocute u. I wish u no death, don’t get me wrong. I get these lines from the audience u once had digging yr lame ass song. A song that u sing at people, u gaddamn biter... I should shoot u down - hire me a sniper. DO NOT JUDGE ME, no one will believe you. I have perfected the art of illusion, I was birth 2 only bring to fools confusion

Laonev: and you are my star pupil, you have swallowed whatever I threw at your face, telling u was gold, when all it ever was dog poop in old Farerro Roche wrappers. You howl that thing u call a song and I realize that empty vessels do make the loudest noises. But this is not a concert or a contest; it’s an education, a correction of your misguided beliefs and feign understanding. A humbling of that over stroked ego that u got when u held the teller at gunpoint in the middle of a clearance sale at a rundown 7eleven

Gino: go ahead, judge me...I dare u. I want to hear yr sorry excuses of trash talk that u learnt via urban dictionary. Say something try yr best to make people believe that this golden skin aint better than Burberry. Open yr mouth nigga, spill the beans of how I made yr life a living hell leave out the fact that I made all yr dreams come true. LOUDER I can’t hear u, chicken shit now like u weren’t moaning baby yr the best, candlelit, bump n grind soundtrack setting the mood. Yr weak, retreating to a corner with yr tail between yr legs, back the fuck up, put that white flag down and don’t ever let me catch u talking shit bout me. Don’t judge me


Gino Obuseng

Soul Meet

Inspired and dedicated to Musa Mhlasi, response to his 'Are you My Soul Mate?


This peculiar manifestation of a being that inspires, excites, responding to every word, every beat and has me a wonder.
Unprepared for the truth and energy we express so solemnly, believing in its intensity suppressed. Unfazed and unafraid.
You be my lightning I be your thunder.

From dark to dawn we dance on two different floors across our worlds,
Holding still in this dizziness as my head swirls.
I am mesmerized by the idea of you,
Like a disco ball you hang above my head, thoughts of what u do.
My dreams stay safe, unimposing, unaware,
Of our fantasies that in word we have shared, soul to soul as we stare.
As every syllable and comma is as intense as the last dare.

However so as long as you ponder,
Rupturing your mind with this wonder,

When the music stops atop of a hill at dawn we watch as our souls mate,
The one that saved, that enticed these words trapped behind a locked gate.
This response is neither destiny nor fate.

Even if on stone it has never been set,
Blind to each others being, our souls have already met.

Gino Obuseng

A Letter Of Apology To My Soul

I put you through a lot
I shook you, I tested you
I even stood by while you choked, leaned on the door while you got robbed
I let you lay on a cold floor, bruised
I cut off all the water while u danced around, on fire
I ignored yr cries; I held my breath and thought it all a dream

But this was all after I swung you around flaunting you, thinking you invincible and laying you on the table like a pack of smokes for everyone to bum off.

This is all before the hurts came in, I started disbelieving in you, and how dare I not trust you?

This happens when i realized I must stop, drop and roll, instead of running through this field of thorns disguised as roses.

I put you through a lot
I lost you, I found you
I even put you through a never ending maze just to have a laugh
I let you lay your head in hell, exhausted
I lied about the weather and let you go off in the cold.
I left out all the snakes in the stories I told

But this was way before I realized how strong you were, this was when I put all the tests of the world that I got on you. This was when I forgot we were in this together.
This was way after I had ever thought to alternate between us. This was when I lost my mind. This was after my tank E light lit.


At this time, as I stand before this mirror and after stripping all the bullshit away.
After sweeping the ash away, before shedding this skin I say to you; I am sorry, please forgive me.


Gino Obuseng