Lyrics

[INTRO — silence. Then: BEEP. A card reader. A robotic voice, flat, corporate:]
(robotic voice)
"Transaction… declined."
(BEEP.)
"Transaction… declined."
(BEEP.)
"Insufficient… funds. Please see… cashier."
(two beats of silence. Then Titled1, low, dangerous, a laugh underneath:)
"…See CASHIER?
Nah, nah, nah.
I ain't seein' no cashier.
I'm seein' the MANAGER."
(THE BASS DROPS. Nasty, round, distorted. Drums KICK in sharp and hard. Guitar stabs: CHICK-CHICK. The whole thing lurches forward like a fist through a table.)
[VERSE 1 — sharp, fast, spitting, each line landing like a slap. The flow is tight, percussive, aggressive.]
Swiped my face at the door and the light went RED,
Security said, "Sir, you ain't on the list,"
I said, "I BEEN on the list, I BEEN on the list,
I been on the list since before you had a FIST
To hold the rope to hold the door to hold the VELVET
That you think makes you a GODDAMN GATEKEEPER."
(BEEP — "Declined.")
They said my face don't fit the brand,
My face don't fit the algorithm,
My face too loud, my face too dark, my face too MUCH,
My face don't match the picture they been sellin' since forever.
And I said, "Well, baby, maybe the picture WRONG.
Maybe the WHOLE GALLERY wrong.
Maybe the CURATOR drunk.
And maybe my face is exactly what it's supposed to be
And your little machine just can't READ it."
(BEEP — "Declined.")
So I'm standin' here,
Face in my hand like a ticket they won't honor,
Like a coupon expired,
Like a name misspelled on a reservation
For a table I booked MONTHS ago.
And the hostess lookin' at me like I'm the problem.
And the line behind me is gettin' long.
And everybody's lookin' at me
Like I'm holdin' up the WHOLE DAMN EVENING.
(spoken, sharp, leaning in)
But I ain't movin'.
Nah.
I ain't movin' 'til you run that card AGAIN.
[CHORUS — bouncy, anthemic, call-and-response with the robotic voice. The bass GROOVES. It's angry but you can DANCE to it.]
(Titled1, belting, sharp)
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Insufficient funds.")
Well, I got PLENTY of face, baby,
I just don't got the kind YOU want!
(Titled1)
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Please see cashier.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Do you have another form of identification?")
Yeah! I got MINE!
And it don't need your little machine to validate it!
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(BEEP!)
[VERSE 2 — the flow shifts, more rhythmic, more pointed. Expanding the metaphor. The systems. The patterns. The BEEP punctuates like a gavel.]
Now let me tell you 'bout the OTHER times it got declined:
At the school, at the interview, at the apartment complex,
At the bank, at the hospital, at the "we'll call you back,"
At the "you're not what we're lookin' for,"
At the "have you considered adjustin' your… presentation?"
(BEEP — "Declined.")
They declined it at the award show,
Declined it at the boardroom,
Declined it when I raised my hand in third grade
And the teacher called on everybody ELSE first
Like my face was a typo in the lesson plan.
(BEEP — "Declined.")
They declined it at the family reunion—
"Who invited HIM?"
They declined it at the altar—
"You sure you ready for THIS?"
They declined it at the mirror on a Tuesday mornin'
When I looked at myself and said, "You don't belong,"
And meant it.
And THAT was the worst decline.
'Cause at least the machine at the door
Don't pretend to love you
While it's sayin' no.
(the bass gets meaner, lower, more distorted)
So I took my face card
And I held it up to the light
And I said, "Look. LOOK at it.
This ain't counterfeit. This ain't expired.
This ain't a copy, this ain't a knockoff,
This ain't a version you get to edit.
This is the ORIGINAL.
One of one.
No reprint. No sequel. No 'updated model.'
And if your little reader can't process it,
That ain't a ME problem.
That's a YOU problem.
That's a YOUR-SYSTEM problem.
That's a YOUR-WHOLE-SETUP problem."
(BEEP — "Declined.")
(spoken, cold, quiet, dangerous)
Run it again.
[CHORUS — bigger, more aggressive, the crowd vocal joins]
(Titled1 + crowd)
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Titled1)
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Please see cashier.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
You can't lose a face that's LOOKIN' at you!
(Titled1 + crowd)
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Declined.")
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(Robotic voice: "Please contact your issuer.")
My ISSUER is God, baby,
And He don't do CALL-BACKS!
FACE CARD DECLINED!
(BEEP!)
[BRIDGE — the beat drops out. Just the BEEP, echoing, and Titled1 breathing. Then: a single bass note, low, sustained. The voice is quiet now. Not defeated. Recalibrating. Finding the anger underneath the anger.]
(spoken, slow, measured, each word placed)
And the thing they don't tell you
About havin' your face declined
Is that you start to believe the machine.
Yo