Two Faced

Curtain up, cold room, one mic, no applause

Actor in the spotlight, critic takin' notes in the gauze

Pen scratch, breath catch, every bar under audit

Build a door from a metaphor, then the judge says, "Don't lock it"

Mind split, time slips, two hands on the same wheel

One wants the wound exposed, one wants the wound concealed

A laugh in the left ear, a verdict in the right

Every punchline gets dissected underneath the studio light

Tongue tied to a metronome, pulse heavy as a case

I spit proof into the booth, then cross-examine my face

If the mask fits perfect, is the man underneath a fraud?

Or the actor just a witness who forgot he wrote the law?

Who talks when I talk? Who walks when I walk?

One builds the scene, one circles every flaw

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced

I can't kill the critic, can't fire the actor

So I dance with both faces till the floor turns blacker

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced

Draft one in the ashtray, draft two on the train

Draft three got a gold tooth, still smiling through the pain

Every syllable a switchblade, every couplet a corridor

I make the rhyme look effortless, then bleed behind the metaphor

Friends hear confidence, I hear counterfeit applause

A clean take gets returned with a paragraph of flaws

The mirror knows my government, the lens knows my disguise

The kid who wanted records now edits out his eyes

Late night, Queens-bound, blue light across the glass

I rehearse a better version while the real one watches pass

Punchline lands—crowd jumps—then the private jury meets

Turns a standing ovation into evidence of deceit

Who talks when I talk? Who walks when I walk?

One builds the scene, one circles every flaw

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced

I can't kill the critic, can't fire the actor

So I dance with both faces till the floor turns blacker

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced

Mute the room—let the heartbeat choose the tempo

No notes, no verdict, no polished demo

For one clean minute, the mask comes loose

The critic has a mouth, but the actor cuts the fuse

Then the silence gets loud, and the old rules return

Some cages are made of the lessons we learn

Now the craft got claws; every rhyme has a second blade

I can map the trapdoors in the language that I made

Self-awareness—fine mirror, bad landlord, high rent

Keeps asking for the meaning till the meaning gets bent

Still, I owe that voice—kept me sharp, kept me honest

Stopped cheap gold from passing for a crown in the comments

But it poisoned the water when I reached for a drink

Made me watch myself thinking while I stood on the brink

So I let both speak plainly, no disguise, no retreat

Actor brings the fire, critic checks the heat

If the song leaves a scar, let it prove I was there

Not a perfect performance—just a real one in the glare

Who talks when I talk? Who walks when I walk?

One builds the scene, one circles every flaw

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced

I can't kill the critic, can't fire the actor

So I dance with both faces till the floor turns blacker

Its got me feeling two faced

two faced