Do or Die

> On a serious note, the song/video dropping Friday is the most personal and honest shit I've written so far. I can't tell you how many times I thought to myself "Is this too much, is it gonna resonate?". I realized that I was scared to put out my true emotion for fear of being judged, but fuck it! This is me! You can love me or hate me but you will not say I am not myself.
>
> Conor Michael Smith, March 6, 2019

**"Do or Die"** is a remix by Conor Michael Smith, published to YouTube on March 8, 2019. The instrumental used is from Twenty One Pilots' 2018 album, *Trench*, with the third track "Morph" as well as two other tracks. It took Smith about one hour to write the lyrics, where he kept playing the beat in a loop. The music video was directed by long-time collaborator Thomas Crane, who introduced him to the *Trench* album.

## Background

Back in February over his Instagram story, Smith showed the Twenty One Pilots album in his hand with the caption, "This will make sense." He gave hints of what song he was making the remix to, the first being an emoji of the color yellow and a bird, indicating the *Trench* album. On March 3, 2019, over Crane's Instagram story, he announced with the caption "Shot Michaels music video 5 hours ago, edited, done" but on the far-right corner of the photo revealed the output name "Morph2.mp4," giving away the name of the audio. Smith stated that the video will be the most obvious hint, with certain clues in it. The final hint before the day of release was two hands—one finger pointing up, and the other pointing down, with a yellow circle around it, which may have indicated "Morph".

A teaser of the video dropped on March 7, 2019, but used three different tracks from the album including "Jumpsuit," "Morph," and "Levitate". Over Twitter, Smith revealed that the lyrics of the remix explained why he was rapping, while his "Lucky You" remix explained what he was doing.

## Music Video

>
> I shot a music video for my favorite song. It's my favorite video I've ever done, which I said last time, which was still true at the time, meaning Michael and I have both stepped our game up, always giving eachother [sic] 110% percent. — Thomas Crane, March 5, 2019
>
>

Over an Instagram livestream, Smith mentioned the video of having multiple takes, the first being used for most of the final product. It took around three hours for the entire process, working with Crane at noon and ending at three in the morning. In contrast of his previous remix, "Lucky You," he wore a black hoodie and was underground in a parking garage.

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Intro]

Yeah

It's the fire burning

Uh, uh-uh, yeah

[Verse 1]

Uh, I'm still the same kid, visions a little clearer

Tryna become the man that I wanna see in the mirror

Getting older and bigger now mom's starting to tear up

'Cause there were many people who said I wouldn't be here

But I knew deep in my heart that I had ice in my veins

And I ain't special I just know I'm not created the same

So when a pussy motherfucker says to stay in my lane

I cannot help but write a verse that puts me up there with Jay

I study the greats and I do what it takes to get there

If I want to be the captain I'm supposed to make the ship steer

So that being said, I got the passion so I'm destined to last

A bright future why the fuck do I still dwell in the past?

[Verse 2]

I felt alone because people couldn't understand me

And that goes for my teachers, for my friends, and all my family

I wish that I could find a better reason but I can't

'Cause I just wanna tell my grandma that her boy just won a Grammy

So many of us wonder if we're meant for more than this

I promise that we gotta purpose and I'm sure of it

But fame is just an ego trip that forces you to lie again

Bitch I'm insecure and I'm tired of fucking hiding it

[Verse 3]

This is not a gimmick that’s gone in an instance

I gotta be putting my heart on a sleeve

Fuck a barrel of money 'cause there ain't nobody that’s doing it harder than me

And Imma accustomed to barely budging so I find it funny they try to compete

'Cause this is more than just an image, motherfucker this is me

Boy I'm dangerous

I'm glad that they came at us

They said my dreams were crazy, well good thing I'm insane enough

Like haters come and step to me

Don't make me embarrass you

'Cause I am better than half of the rappers you compare me to

This is for everybody who said I wasn't built for this shit

Man just a year ago I think I would've kill for this shit

All the blood, sweat, and tears I had spilt on this shit

I'm just tryna show the world that I'm for real with this shit

And I've always worn my heart up on my sleeve

I remember I used to rap till I could barely fucking breathe

So I ain't playing when I say this shit is do or die

This is more than just a hobby this is keeping me alive

[Outro]

Yeah

Shit is keeping me alive

Shit is keeping me alive

Shit is keeping me alive

Shit is keeping me, shit is keeping me

## References

1. ↑ "Conor Michael Smith (@MichaelConor)". *Twitter*. March 10, 2019.
2. ↑ "Conor Michael Smith (@MichaelConor)". *Twitter*. March 10, 2019.
3. ↑ "Conor Michael Smith (@MichaelConor)". *Twitter*. March 7, 2019.
4. ↑ "Conor Michael Smith (@MichaelConor)". *Twitter*. March 7, 2019.
5. ↑ "Conor Michael Smith (@conromichaelsmith). *Instagram*. March 7, 2019.