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Landlords feat. Sole

from Cicada Exoskeletons by Tim Stiles

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe double vinyl version of Tim Stiles' solo album, Cicada Exoskeletons. Pressed on 180gm, merlot and teal vinyl with full color gatefold jacket, shrink-wrapped. Featuring custom art by Ryan Breault and Richard Lim. Limited to 300 copies.

    LIMITED EDITION VINYL BUNDLE 15% OFF + FREE SHIPPING: timstiles.bandcamp.com/merch/limited-edition-vinyl-bundle-cicada-exoskeletons-visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

    IMPORTANT: Do you want your copy signed? If you would like the cover signed by Tim Stiles, please use the send a message option at checkout in order to request a signature. Signed copies will have their shrink-wrap removed but will be placed inside a resealable poly bag. Unsigned copies come fully shrink-wrapped.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Cicada Exoskeletons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 300 

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  • Purchase both Limited Edition Vinyl LPs at 20% off (Normally $70).

    Includes:

    - Cicada Exoskeletons Limited Edition Double Vinyl (180 gm)
    Details: timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/cicada-exoskeletons

    - Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles Limited Edition 12" Vinyl LP (180gm)
    Details: timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

    - Digital Download codes of both albums (CE download included when checking out, VCxTS redemption code sent separately via email)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Cicada Exoskeletons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 17 Tim Stiles releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wearing My Jordans, Who's The Boss?, Cicada Exoskeletons, I Dropped The Ball This Christmas (A Poem For Casie), L.M.C., A Fish Like This feat. Trinity Richter, Let It Be feat. Trinity Richter, Start With An 'E' feat. Paradame (Qreepz Remix), and 9 more. , and , .

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about

The housing and rental market in Seattle is insane, filled with lies and deceit and insane rent amounts with little to no protection for tenants. This song dissertates the plight I dealt with and speaks to the general travesty of it all. I connected with Sole (of Anticon) who had also faced similar issues. He took my idea to heart and made an incredible contribution to the song. My backstory: For 8 years I lived in my favorite apartment ever in Queen Anne (Seattle, WA). Unfortunately my life was turned upside down once the building was purchased. The company who bought it turned it into a construction zone, forcing all long-time tenants out by raising rent almost three-fold. Lawsuits ensued and I ended up being the last standing tenant until I finally had to give up and find a new rental. After that nightmare of 6 months I signed a least for a small house in West Seattle. Although I made it abundantly clear with that new property management company that I wanted to live their long-term, I was deceived by them from the get-go: They were planning on selling the home after a year. I dealt with multiple inspections and ended up having to hire a lawyer at the end since the manager accused me of making alterations to the home and kept nearly my entire deposit. After a year of this, I finally got my money back but it was barely worth the stress in doing so. After that I got screwed again in my next rental. I was not made aware of the ant infestation nor that the entire neighborhood I lived in would become yet another construction zone with every house around me being demolished to build townhomes.

lyrics

[Tim Stiles]
Come one, come all where the views astound
From the mountains, rivers, lakes and the Puget Sound

It's a sight to see where I've thrived rightfully
No wonder others feel the same and newcomers are inbound
Unsurprisingly emerald states of mind
Flock to the Northwest in a hunt for apartments

Our housing market's stock full
Becoming a run of the bulls thanks to the biggest liars in town

Competition stiffens,
We can't even pick which neighborhood to live in
Due to labor wage restrictions

Winners are comprised of companies who subsidize
Rent for those with salaries too inflated to begin with

Thanks elitists for these rent increases
Goodbye teachers and industry folks who feed us

As they push us to the outer reaches, they cannot win
Let 'em hide behind their picket fence

[Sole]
They produce nothing, gatekeep
Middle-class existence surrounded by surplus
Peddling scarceness

Drug users in homes never get caught
Homeless addicts round it up for heroin
While landlords sniff coke

You ain't rich, you're as broke as me
Just to hope to leverage your position in this Ponzi scheme

No skill involved
You just make poor people pay your mortgage
And the profits go straight up your nose

It's a risky business
That's why the riskers born are renters
And when the equity increases, you keep the winnings

No wonder why they say home ownership is the road to riches
But a house is not a financial instrument

It's what you break your bread and read to kids
And try not to die when every day the world ends

Landlord's a parasite with an empty balance chest
No one owns the land that's predicated on theft

[Tim Stiles]
Price locked in
For a temporary coffin to crawl in
While a cemetery plot thickens

Not a single place affordable to live in
Within city limits even if minimum wage is risen

It's not this city's fault
For the money pit we're digging in
But in my opinion it is its fault for pitching in

To damn flaws written in landlord-tenant laws
Affecting residents involved, isn't it?

The law states within notice of 60 days
Rents may be raised at ridiculous rates

Who's tipping the cash cow now?
Its utterly unforgiving how we're grazed upon
Victims of fate

Roads used to be paved in this land with milk and honey
Now it's just bees buzzing
Around the most cranes in the country

Our emerald's tarnished
As it dissolves, I be the Wizard of OZ turns over in his grave

credits

from Cicada Exoskeletons, released September 3, 2021
Written by Tim Stiles
Co-written by Tim Holland (aka Sole of Anticon)
Prod. by Mack Formway
Hook sampled from I Got An Attitude by Antoinette
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Jay Battle @ The Battlefield

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about

Tim Stiles Santa Cruz, California

Tim Stiles is an independent hip-hop artist historically known as the lead vocalist/rapper of the satirical hip hop band, Passion Party. Tim is no one trick pony. He’s a clever, crafty wordsmith in his own right with an ability to adapt to just about any concept or genre. ... more

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