[Certain]

I have to admit that this was not at all what I was expecting upon clicking the subject line. "Tabula Rasa" is a bit overused, with at least a half-dozen TV show episodes stealing the title. But it seemed like an appropriate title for a young man setting off in a new country with a new life, so I figured some personal introspection would be the theme here. I was surprised, pleasantly for the most part, to find you doing something a bit out of your normal set of topics.

You did well here, though I think you do better with a bit more complexity. I liked the readability and rhyme schemes and general fluidity of this, and I think it falls right in place with my Gift of Gab (rapper from Blackalicious) comparison. This was an exceptionally clean verse.

This is one of those small steps that begins with a blastoff
It’s a BIC to a matchbox, an iron chin to a glass jaw
My microphone’s a cyclone spinning winds of my past flaws
and my pen’s the hammer that I use to chisel on crack rock

When I say that, I’m not tryna tell you that I’m dope
I mean this shit is like a drug the way I use it to cope
This is the feng shui of blunts, E and shrooms that I wrote
The shame I’m doomed to emote through a musical note

I wasn't crazy about the second stanza or the closing line of the first. The rap/writing-as-drug is played out at this point.

It’s foolishness, so I hit the pad and chisel away
Unveiling the nature of every little mistake
Every sniff that I take, or the kisses I fake
It’s all subliminal rape of my Original Slate

Tabula rasa: it’s more than just refreshing anew
It’s often vile. look within and your reflection’ll bruise
A caustic trial, so if you dare to step in my shoes
And walk a mile - be careful what direction you choose

Great rhyming here.

If you backpedal you’ll end up in the regrets that I settled in
like when I nestled my head up to my neck in the sediment
tryin to hide my mind from the inevitable elephant
that my intellectual level is nothing special or relevant
see Geppetto’s dilemma was incredibly elegant—
to build a nest in a skeleton with his breath to embellish it

moving forward, that’s exactly what I aim to restore
a rebirth out of the weakness and the pain I adorned
the beast has awakened, feel the quake of its insatiable roar
so I’ma let it shed the skin of all the names that I’ve worn

This was by far the standout section. Everything was going for you, and your explanatory style felt natural and intelligent here.

Whether genius or idiot, a conceited degenerate
Plus the weed in his system it must’ve weakened his intellect
But to me it’s ridiculous I’m not speaking to critics
This for the folks who grow their soul and keep their egos illiterate
Yeah people get into it, there’s a sequel to finish
Act 1 has begun we just need you to listen

The content here went nowhere and felt a bit trite.[/quote]

So farewell to you Mary Janes and Cocaine Lorraines

@Aero.

I’ll put your occupation in flames, this is propane to Keynes
Lyrically I’m a murderous Copernicus at your throat takin aim
This is a solar flare to polar bears, shit won’t stay the same
To all you naysayers prayin that I don’t break the chains
Fuck you, try to tell me that there’s no way to change

You got really harsh here. It was good but didn't fit entirely with the tone of the verse.

My slate’s clean, I make dreams happen with no compliance
and the greatest compliment paid is a vow of broken silence

This was OK as a closer. I think the second line was a bit wordy and overthought.