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Root Cause

by Cleo Reed

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    Design by Jahmir Duran-Abreu aka The Channel

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  • Bag + Digital Album

    100% Cotton
    Design by Jahmir Duran-Abreu aka The Channel

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    INTERNATIONAL — $10

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Vinyl Me, Please exclusive release featuring a unique (every one is different) black & white A-Side / B-Side vinyl record, a double gate fold, embossed lettering, and a 8-panel poster inside.

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1.
Root Cause 01:50
Leave me open Leave me open Let me spill open Leave me open Leave me open Leave me open Feels like I'm chokin' Savin' pictures Save me quick cuz' I done saved u niggas Make me sick Control the mixture I had unsavory niggas Fall free, free fall When I get low, I get lost Shadowin' your pain from your palms of course, I guess that I'm the root cause I guess that I'm the root cause I guess that I'm the root
2.
Changed my ranking for the enemy. Keys are clicking, so I quickly leave. Ghouls defend my body properly, Then, I procure ya soul, like property! Play back ya words like verb does delay Emotions deep like a dental decay (Momma!) “Say what you mean, and mean what you say!” Dismay, pray 4 power u r cowardly, I pray - I’m too pretty baby for u Games we play and smiles comin thru Miles away Miles away Still, my box I keep my game to play. Still, my box braids weave; I’ve got a cape. Is this just a phase? Just a phase? Fade.
3.
Slip Away 03:30
I’m jumping a-head, mama said take your time, So worried ‘bout the destination, forgot to climb, I get so locked up in my own mind, you might find that every single bone up in my body tellin’ me to listen to my soul instead! And if I think abt it too much, it might slip away [x3] And if I think about it too much, too much, too much, much, much Yeah! Is that a crime, movin’ to my rhythm and rhyme? Greed got you stuck in complications? That ain’t alright. Me say, get high up off ya own vibe, and das fine Cuz even when ya lonely, round the phonies u got homies carryin’ u thru da fuck shit! And if I think abt it too much, it might slip away [x2] And it’s the things that I can’t touch, they might slip away And if I think about it too much, too much, too much, much, much
4.
(Mama say u won’t, whispers) Do I provide, the things u want? Do I just terrify the hate u give? I might be be petrified; Is that what u want? Merrily, and u say it’s free But I ain’t free bitch, I ain’t free, I ain’t huh! I don’t have the will, have the wheel, have the wheel, have the will, will to go will to go will to go… Oh, I don’t give a fuck! [x3] I’ll haunt you, I’m haunted. You bedda know da truth (Find the truth! We dying, We gonna die out soon, don’t die so soon) Not so kind, Neva delicate, yet u kicked me in the da ribs Surely aches and quakes, my body is a pit I won’t forget, imma STAY pissed cuz u laying all deez claims yo greed neglects to let me live mistaken me as one pave ur way let that shit play, buy what u say No, unt uh Merrily, and u say it’s free But I ain’t free bitch, I ain’t free, I ain’t huh! I don’t have the will, have the wheel, have the wheel, have the will, will to go will to go will to go… Oh, I don’t give a fuck! [x3] I’ll haunt you, I’m haunted. You bedda know da truth (Find the truth! We dying, We gonna die out soon, don’t die so soon) How does it feel to know that I’m here? Really, quite, clear. You don’t know me, but you haunt me. You don’t own me, but you think you know me! You are me….you are!
5.
Yea, yea, yea I just logged in, I could barely breathe, Since my breasts got big, now you listening. My tech ladies ring-shift to these industries, cuz when they takin’ up dat space, das a luxury Yea, my mama made a legacy And my intelligence cradles my sensuality y’all finna center, not censor my true reality cuz I could give a fuck if you gon’ try to measure me, yea! I’m so thick it might set u off Lord knows it might set you off Yea u so hard headed dis gon piss u off Lord knows what might set you off I don’t give a fuck what it costs You gonna move to the side, it’s gon’ set you off I’m only gonna give it to you raw Move to the side das gon’ set u off yea off yea Off, off yea
6.
Problem Kid 03:45
Know we only crossed paths once, Got me drunk, and you stole my trust Problem kid, so I pitied you some What you did, I can’t forgive, you won’t relive and you won’t admit I know we only crossed paths once, Got me drunk, and you stole my trust Problem kid, so I pitied you some What you did, I can’t forgive, I won’t relive and you won’t admit know we only crossed paths once, You got me drunk, and you stole my trust What you did, I can’t forgive, I won’t relive and you won’t admit Oh no no, you won’t admit it! you won’t admit it! Quit ya sinning! Fuck your feelings! I’m empathetic, You’re psychopathic, I hate your addiction. Oh, my god. 23, What you did, I can’t relive and you won’t admit
7.
Open ur eyes Like ur searchin’ for somethin’ Keep the lies And all dat shit thatchu been talkin’ Keep ur mind-set on the things u wanted It’s sacrifice in tha way thatchu been walkin’ Don’t trip Don’t even rush a bit Don’t think Let cha dick in da bliss Only one way, I could show u da right thangs Only one feel, I could give it and it’s all real Can you see, how the things you love are growing In front of you, are you blind to that too? Open ur eyes Like ur searchin’ for somethin’ Keep the lies And all dat shit thatchu been talkin’ Keep ur mind-set

about

“Root Cause,” my very first album project.

I’ve experienced many timelines collapsing on top of me—often seen as an “old soul” or “sentient” child, I found myself reliving the pasts of my ancestors through dreams and physical contact with their ephemera.

“ELLA” is my born name, and always rang an older tune. So “CLEO,” a name my great-grandmother had, gave me true comfort as I began to address intergenerational trauma, sacrifices, and observations in my work at 18, 19, and 20 years old. I dedicate this first work to her, and her son, Pops Stewart, a blues musician from Texas.

NOTE: This is BLACK work, FEMME work, QUEER work. I’ll take you through a series of performances that guide you through what I feel being observed/objectified/assessed in this life I’ve lived.

This is not a tender album, but this portrait is gentle; a vision I had that pulls from the roots of my childhood in NYC and the American South.

These songs are pained but there’s love in the truth they carry. I am inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, and on a journey to recollect the stages we ought to use to tell tales that fall outside of the affluent, outside of the stark, and outside of the gaze that came once industry came to be in this country.

credits

released February 23, 2023

Mastered by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Audio in Portland, OR
Visuals
Album Photos and Films created by Amandla Baraka
Assisted by Love Souley in Bushwick, NY
Video Editor: Emma Callahan
Design by The Channel Jahmir Duran Abreu
Executive Produced by Matthew Schonfeld
Executive Produced by Cleo Reed

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all rights reserved

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about

Cleo Reed New York, New York

Ella Moore performs under the alias “Cleo Reed,” modeled after two ancestors. Born and raised in NYC and Uptown DC, Cleo creates under the musical influence of black underground sounds.

mgmt: matt@not97.com

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