[Black Thought] Uh, what what, yo yo P-5-D uncut Check it out, yo yo, S-P uncut Yo yo, what P-5-D uncut, yeah yeah it's that Philly shit Yo yo, check it out, yo yo
[Chorus - 2X] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Black Thought] Mesmerizing, state of the art caffeine It's over head like Omniverse screen I'm not the average savage that curse queens I'm something from his worst dreams First we handling first things, I'm subsurface un-seen Grat'll hold planet by purse strings MC's are earthlings, not built to hurt things Speakin the words of weaklings, nothin but sweet things
[Malik B] Man each world, it ain't no time to recline Act up, get clapped up, my mind is the nine Shine like jewels that spark, swimmin wit sharks Never caught speakin to NARC's, that's weak in the parks I'm the type to sit back and analyze the prize Grip it up and flee the scene wit a different disguise Take a detour, I be all that I can be whore Talkin to this *bitch* life, had to make her my wife Live twice, got seven more lives to live I'm all out, takin things to the fullest extent Help me get it down and we can split one-hundred percent Run a rapper through a maze like a experiment Word up, you know the legendary Roots crew, yo
[Chorus - 2x] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Dice Raw] The Raw Dice rise like a creature from out the swamp Wit my blood-thirsty clergy that's on the hunt for conk Who pumps your heart, I made you wanna rhyme from the start You should be more alert, then you wouldn't get hurt Get off your horse and on your P's and beware Of images you seein, did deceiving, you're scared And even more shook up than the scenes that's near I'm Dice Raw, sting the inside of your mouth like a cold sore Who wanna piece, well it's Round One, let's begin I got a gun that's don't bust, it just suck niggaz in I got shit that'll have you beggin me to shoot ya I'm the professor, you rock a dunce cap, go get a tutor
[Black Thought] Yo, Okay Computer, Radiohead's knock to the Future Shock like Kurtis, at your service None other than, the Fifth governing playin the cut again Y'all clueless to what the fuck is up again Yo, hard times and sufferin What, my peoples in the crevices strugglin 'Nuff of them ?untie? soldier thespian But I'm from the next e-on, supreme being that's unseen for MC'n
[Chorus - 2X] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Malik B] Yo, they all around me 'round me On my head, they got a bounty I'm tryin to get this bell up so I can flee your county Triple-six, come in my mix, flood it wit tricks I'm sharper than rough spoons for icepicks Niggaz price bricks till dawn, if the money is long Cats who play strong will inhale, then go play bong You wrong son, you thought I wasn't droppin a ton Sit and think about the way I wanna tally a sum
[Dice Raw] Aiyyo I sneakfully snuck up from behind and got you From over there in them bushes, I chilled and watched you Dancin all dolly as you pussy for them folly I knock you out wit one punch from me you been Ali-ed I float like hovercrafts and sting like vaccinations WHen my name said out loud, you'll lose your concentration Dice Raw, D-I-C-E-R-A-W, you wanna take it Otherwise, fuck you gon' do? That's what I thought, nada, nothing, caput, zero Rough as sandpaper but still smooth as a tiptoe Raw's takin over, baby don't tell me you ain't know A lot of kids can rap but you fuckin wit the pros
[Black Thought] Namsayin, y'all know the legendary Roots crew, it's like
[Chorus] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Black Thought] Well it's the raw regees, thoroughbred from Philly My name Black Thought, my girl's the Black LILIES Some people try to front like "I ain't feelin it really" But that's silly, cuz how the fuck you can't feel me? When I first felt it, I knew it had to be dealt wit Alot of ice-grillin in the house got melted Some tried to put up a fight, but they was helpless You ain't try to turn that loose, you too selfish Gimme that, guess who bringin the "Get busy" back Women say the sound of my voice, the Afrodeziac Okayplayer.com, where you can hit me at E-me and when I'm in your town, come see me The Real World for real, this ain't your MTV The illest INNERVISIONS since Stevie on wax My vocal like serve-o forty-eight tracks The fact of the matter is a matter of fact That it's the Black Thought, controllin like Ike Turner You wanna get wise, you best to be a fast learner Or just relax and peep how it's done And boogie ya ass to what's about to come because
[Chorus: Jaguar] [singing] The Lesson, now it's now, we close shop We got it locked, it's over now
[Dice Raw] Aiyyo Dice's flows, hit idiots like crossbows Knock em out the atlas, push em off the atlas I'm laugin, lookin down from off top the totem Hop off my pedastall, grab my scrotum Aiyyo y'all niggas ain't FUCKIN wit this shit (I told em) Aiyyo y'all ain't FUCKIN wit the Roots crew (I told em) The rap is a riot yeah cuz my family bouncin Soon as the name, Dice Raw is announced in The arena, the grass is greener on the other side I hit the stores, twenty-five thousand die Now tell who the best in off the top in the world I'll give you a hint, the same guy that's fuckin your girl I just didn't have parents, The Roots found me in the trash But still, a nigga got a lot of class Trick wit my pinky-finger up off the glass Keep talkin shit homeboy, that's your ass
[Chorus]
[Malik B] It's just the simple part of the gam(e) I guess it's just the art of the scam Check for your soul cuz it departed again M-ill-i-tant is atomic, you fall from the sky just like a comet Move out till the bottom of my shoes out How many tracks do you bout? How many of these niggas you doubt? How many of these ladies makin you shout? You on a mission so listen to this Ask yourself what condition is this Sick in the ?wist?, I rap on a satellite disk You gotta like this, askin me about the way that I stroll About the way I enfold, in scrambling mode You're like that, don't bark cat, bite back What up Blood? Is things still the same in the hood? While I sit I gotta get dub, and wish I could plug They thoughts'll leave em stiff in the mud, you wannabe thug In section eight, houses were hush up under the rug The shit I spit is hummin wit slugs, get soaked in the suds
Here's what you want right Here's what you need right We got to give you more Of what you're lookin for
So it's a secret that's been pent up inside for years Exclusive type, only for your eyes and ears You held it in for so long you bursted into tears The letters spilled slowly across the page like a world premiere Well I ain't, the bullshit begins here The obvious cause, the effects is unclear The punishment for crimes of the heart could be severe Though to keep it on the low is a heavy cross to bear You deep now, submerged with no signs of air Still your sunken heart thumpin like the kick in a snare While on the surface it's all turnin to a circus That's why you're nervous, and you got a right to be Cause if somebody woulda done that shit to me I mean my best man hittin my wife-to-be My sentiments exactly would be history Y'know what I'm sayin my peoples in the place let's hit it off one two
[CHORUS]
Yo, it's like nothin changed, it's all the same thang The same characters in a book, with different names It's a lot more to lose than you got to gain You a lot more confused than hip to the game The peep the script of the game the price is pain Men and women get into things, now who's to blame? When everybody whisperin bout whatever took place And how the fact twist a knot with a straight face And lies, hard to swallow from the bitter taste Well that's a point in the past that can't be erased So motivate, though it's hard to let it ride Or set aside true feelings, underhand dealings Our lost trust, I wonder if we lost us It's bigger than me and you, it's monstrous So I'ma, just calm down and try to relax Before I clap ????????
[CHORUS]
If you could only flash back and undo our actions Change what happens, dissect the fractions A time to rewind and be recorded absent For real cause these memories is photographic Pornographic, pushing me close to madness Head heavy like I'm trippin on tablets Yesterday as I recall was all fabulous I thought so But now it feel like shots hittin my torso Spent a lotta time and trust in the wrong place Fought a lotta fights rollin with the wrong ace Love, stronger than pride, we could end disgrace I need, room the think, and space to ventilate Was solid as a rock, shall not disintegrate Thoughts racing like the lunatics on the interstate For real, ya, it's ill, ya, my peoples in the place....
[CHORUS (repeat to end, with Black Thought adlibbing)]
If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me
(Black Thought) Somebody told me that this planet was small we use to live in the same building on the same floor and never met before until I'm overseas on tour and peep this ethiopian queen from philly taking classes abroad she studying film and photo flash focus record said she workin on a flick and could my click do the score she said she loved my show in paris at Elysee Montmartre and that I stepped off the stage and took a piece of her heart we knew from the start that things fall apart, intentions shatter she like that shit don't matter when I get home get at her through letter, phone, whatever let's link, let's get together shit you think not, think the Thought went home and forgot time passed, we back in philly now she up in my spa tellin me the things I'm tellin her is makin her hot startin buildin with her constantly round the clock now she in my world like hip-hop and keep tellin me
Chorus
[Black Thought] Yo, I'm the type that's always catchin a flight and sometimes I gotta be out at the height of the night and that's when she flip and get on some 'ol
[Eve] Another lonely night seems like I'm on the side you only loving your mic I know you gotta get that paper daddy keep that shit tight but yo I need some sort of love in my life, you dig me while politicin with my sister from new york city she said she know this ball player and he think I'm pretty Psych, I'm playin boo, you know it's just wit you I'm stayin boo and when cats be poppin game I don't hear what they sayin boo when you out there in the world, I'm still your girl with all my classes I don't have the time for life's thrills so when you sweatin on stage think of me when you rhyme and don't be listenin to your homies they be leavin you blind
[Black] Yeah, so what you sayin I can trust you? [Eve] Is you crazy, you my king for real [Both] But sometimes relationships get ill [Eve] No doubt
Chorus
[Black Thought] Thet snake could be that chick and that rat could be that cool cat that's whispering "she tryin to play you for the fool Black" if something's on your chest then let it be known see I'm not your every five minutes all on the phone and on the topic of trust, it's just a matter of fact that people bite back and fracture what's intact and they'll forever be I ain't on some "oh I'm a celebrity" I deal with the real so if it's artificial let it be I've seen people caught in love like whirlwinds listening to they squads and listening to girlfriends that's exactly the point where they whole world ends lies come in, that's where that drama begins, she like
This beautiful blend, I knew her through a mutual friend She was a work of art, a part of my heart from back then A brown skin singer, with a knack for actin Alana's whole attraction Just fractionally based on surface I got into her mental on purpose And with alertness, as I flirt with her emotion Walls we built up out of nervousness was broken I reminisce on how this Black Thought had her open Wit da energy that got the whole summertime smokin Very hypnotized When it was time we spent time It's no way to rewind or prevent Time from slipping away like day, into the dark And the way that things fall apart, will make some start To feel more, weak or insecure But for whatever reason our relationship remain mature Even when she caught feelings cuz I stay on tour As I reflect on before, and recap the situation I guess from experience, comes education We set on a path to opposite destinations It's best to chalk it up and add it to the elevation Then eventually flow on to lost communication I called but lost all information And with time forgot it, it's not like I'm all in tears about it But the fact still remains that I miss the Hypnotic
You're a shinin' star No matter where you are For the world to see What you truly be You're a shinin' star No matter where you are For the world to see What you truly be
She was the hypnotic, and potent as a narcotic The bizarre logic of it all, is why the clock tick Pages of the calendar flip, we can't stop it Time will either tell the tale, or turn a love toxic Now was she real, or an illusion of this optical Confusion with the accent of ancient Egypt Or could it be that she's the one I was supposed to be with And together walked this twisted Staircase is somethin realistic Damn, her lips having me addicted to her presence Front page material on essence, a queen Imperial before her adolescence And as she grew into a woman she became refine I never knew another like her in my lifetime So now I travel through a tunnel of space, without a place On the face of this earth, with this pain gettin worse Drivin me insane, or release I'm touchin the brink, of sanity Tto think of how I can link, or contact her I was a fool before, but more wise after the fact I'm analyzin how I'm wantin her back And wonderin exactly where she could be on the map I'm just sittin here spinning the world on one finger Reoccuring thoughts of this brown skin singer Yo, the psychotic, the hypnotic, yo check it out The most melodic hypnotic, yeah
You're a shinin' star No matter where you are For the world to see What you truly be You're my shinin star No matter where you are Dont know what to say Was it true to be
Girl you know that you need to stop givin' me the silent.. treatment baby Can't you see what you mean to me? I wanna love you constantly, but you keep neglecting me And treating me silently
Verse One: BlackThought
Yo, I had a Queen named Amina, height 5'7" Caramel-complected, body like heaven Met her through the sister of my man Big Vince Like some shit from out the flicks we been in love ever since She called me her chocolate brotha, I call her my sugar sista Knew Shorty could work it since before I ever kissed her I never dissed her, painted my picture to hit But because sex she wasn't with, she started flippin an' shit Like, "Listen man, I'm Queen Amina, Amina's not no freak and that game is weak and keep tryin to hit I could quit speakin Tariq in fact, you bein BlackThought don't get ya closer I dig ya but won't bone ya because I'm so-called supposed ta Most o' them would, but that couldn't be me, that's not my flava Go home and think about that, maybe later on I'll page ya..." I contemplated, and then concluded she was bluffin Steady pursuin screwin, gettin nothin but the silent treatment
Chorus (+ "Silently bay-bee" at end)
Verse Two: BlackThought
Crazy frustration, about my lovin situation When patience was a virtue, but I wasn't used to waitin I want some Marvin Gaye healin, feelin is real inside I slip and slide, my ride'll keep you occupied, I'd.. love to get wit it like that, but my baby's kitty cat's capped and locked, Love Boat is docked at the shore And what for? Later for groupies on tour Why won't my sugar call me no more? I mean, my Queen gets upset, rejectin and sexually neglect Then sayin I'm more sewer than Das EFX, and closed-minded It's like I'm blinded by the skinnin I'm into women; because of that, this one's into communication Temptation played the vandal, freakin my brain, my mind Rippin the handle on physically scandalous acts Yo! She knew what I wanted, but she fronted ... bust it
Chorus
Verse Three: BlackThought
Well umm Movin right along with the song, plus the strong feelings on my mind, desire to intertwine Combine and blend, baby bust a message that I send Ain't no need to pretend, cause shit is real til the end I provide a place to hide from crime, hard times and livin trife, while I open ya mind, you're in my life like love, it ain't no way no one can rise above what's real That's why I'm feelin like you're makin me bugged I puff an El on fifty deuce while I walk in the rain Heart feelin killa pain while I hop the train Dial her number to the rest, and ain't no messages left Regardless, my chest thumps from stress, yo it's a mess I don't know what I got to do to make you understand I'm for real and that's no question, no frontin or no guessin Undressin, carressin, in the span, that I contain in my hand could touch and make you say that I'm such a man and call my name, so let me set your body aflame I'll never treat you like a dame or run game Now who's to blame? I know you're not a hoe for niggaz with a lot of dough But I just wanted you to know
Bass check 1-2 Keys check 1-2 Drums check 1-2 Its the roots, Now what we want y'all to do is sit back y'all, and just relax y'all, Sit back y'all, and just relax y'all, Sit back y'all, and just relax y'all, And if you dig it let me hear your mega snap y'all, Gods thought y'all, he on the keys right, Lenoard Hubbard y'all he's on the bass right, y'all, he's on the drums right, Now who I am (beat box) Black thought. (beat box) Everybody say the name of this jam y'all
I'm the (beat box) Rhyme displayer. The vocal (beatbox) Player. (beatbox) I won't chill, (beatbox) So show us some freakin skill. Now, wait a sec, You got a (beatbox) Rep. So, the jam, The name of this jam,
[Chorus]
We got to blah, bring it on, Steve cole is, on the horn. In case you thought my guard was caught, My name is (beatbox) Black thought. I'm from the...roots clan, Say common is my (beatbox) Man. We got to (beatbox) Rock the jam!
[Chorus]
Be-doop get a taste, Of leonard, bang! hubb on the base. He, plays it sweet, He doesnt boom, don't lose the beat. Your words you heard just what I said. So leonard's freakin' with my head, But yo he's boom, bang still my man. Rockin' the (beatbox) The name of this jam
Chorus [Black Thought and Scratch] 2x Once again 'gain Once again 'gain Once again 'gain 'gain ladies and gentlemen Once again 'gain Once again 'gain Once again 'gain 'gain Yo, Adrenaline
[Black Thought] Yo I'm in the eye of the storm, where the pressure's on And MC's is dressed funny like a leprechuan I chop rappers up like chicken seczuan Sells a squads off like a slave auction Aiyyo my zodiac sign read caution On stage, I make your seed to an or-phan Yo, my age an algebraic equation Niggas want some? I hit em wit a portion Son, The Fifth foursome, armed at the door son M-illi-tilla, Dice Raw, quick draw son You don't want no more son? That's when more come And drag a nigga Eerie Avenue to Oregon, you're all done Ladies and gentlemen Select the weapon at the gate upon entering, The Roots instrumentaling Spark shit, them niggas try to talk shit We hit em like the L at 60th and Market South Philly clip a hold into a nigga park it Take sneaks, chains and rings and bracelets Split back this like we the therapist Adrenaline, Fifth mic terrorist, once again
Chorus
[Malik B] Zigga zigga zigga tryin to get a grip but still slip, so lift me up Ever since I was a pup I was designed to errupt You get to know me, you poke me slowly, when caught puzzin Some niggas thought they was, when of course they wasn't Punked em wit a dozen of pellets all in they skelet Transform, from the norm, start to brainstorm Yeah Malik B from The Roots, he ain't gone I took the wrong exit, the sign said Langhorne I'm trapped up in about five worlds wit live pearls Shouts to Armour Akquan who's name is Jalil The moat is deep water so let your hand expand it Demandin, takin you back like Knotts Landing I'm Ralph Cramdon, we out, you'll see in Hampton Yo what the what the what the, what the what the what the Pivot on this concrete earth until I rot Didn't figure how to conquer it yet but still I plot, once again
Chorus
[Dice Raw] Beans passed the mack and we held em, like hostages Rappers see me, hide they face like ostriches Dice'll grind your brain into little sausages Underwater rap, you know who the bosses is North Philly baby, that's where that Raw shit is You'll get blown out the sky once you get talkative A-D devise rise, I fathered it So when you see me on the street, don't bother kid Just be on your merry way, or you might get slit Ask around, wonderin what Dice Raw did Lay you on floors like ya gettin carpeted You need a special kind of mic for retarded kids Me against you's like Kane verse the Partridges You wanna battle, change your name to The Forfeiters Cuz that's what you do, face to face wit raw niggas I give you a bad case of the fucked-up jitters, once again
Chorus
[Beanie Siegal] They used to talk shit, but I'ma quiet them Kick in the door wit my boys stick to riotin First nigga that flinch, I'ma fire em Tape em up, grip his hands, and plyer em Know the bricks is in here, where you hidin em? Don't die in the shit that you lyin in Used to get fronted bricks, now I'm buyin em Used to cop off my man, now I'm supplyin him Paid the front row seat watchin Iverson First class air crafts what I'm flyin in To L.A., Shaq, Eddie, Kobe Bryant and them Save the jokes for Chris Tucker, Richard Pryor and them Used to shotgun in cars, now I'm drivin em Used to hustle 'round bars, y'all was robbin them Ran up in y'all spot wit Rob and them Grew up, two-four, wit Pie and em But do my dirt, 21st, wit Kyle and them Nigga Pop, nigga Buzz, little Mark and them Brother news, nigga schooled Marley Park and them Nigga jump, pull a pump, low sparkin em I know shit right now gettin dark to them Tore they body all up, ain't no chalkin em Too sharp for them, move out in the dark on em These Illadel foul streets what I'm stompin in once again
One one one one two P-P-5-D Yeah, yeah, P-P-5-D I'm sayin, yo Touch this yo, knahmsayin what? Yo-yo, yo, 100%..
[Black Thought] Yo! On these seventy-three keys, of ivory and ebony I swear solemnly that I'll forever rock steadily People wanna know where Malik? He right next to me The weaponry, the secret recipe Hard to peep this, deep shit, shows I eat with Contaminated thoughts I walk the street with I bayonnet cassettes and chop beats with this olympic lyricism you can't, compete with Globe travellin, throwin your verse like a javelin Things Fall Apart and MC's unravellin Backstage whisperin to management like "change the order, it's no way that we can rock after them" My man sport the 'fro like _What's Happenin?_ From the latest hi-atus, The Roots back again Your crew practicin to catch this natural blend They packages read "care when handlin" It's all soft shit, batteries not included with Matter of fact, your whole front's a re-enactment I blow your ba-tty ass into fragments, P-5-D The new testament, mic specialist, what?
Yeah Check it out, yo (3X) Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
The Milli-illitant-tant, 'pon cock, ready to rock Power out, in the clout, it seems out, all through your block Posse don't play the cut, but what, you get sheist Got the personality named trife, ready to heist Smashin 'graphs, snatch the ice, crush your mental device Thought twice, shoulda thought once, got played for the dunce Dialogues I moderate, cool out, we outta state Just blendin in the great, give me room to ventilate Most niggaz is fraudulent, the rap seargeant Bargin, through your regiment, call your president Hittin all targets cuz it's a cause that's lost Between the killers when they probably Teddy Ruxpin talk Droppin tears of steel, two drops up in the bucket Facin three ? and a cop so yo fuck it If I get abducted, trapped up in the belly Wacked up my celly, get known like Dawn Stanley You know the deally on the daily in the ? If I sense you got a bend to your kite, then send it up We press up on your corner with windows they're tinted up Lay our props face down on the ground and get it up, what? Face on the ground and get it up
[Black Thought] Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Check it out While you pose for pictures, I'm the invisible enigma Down low, scope you off the roof like the fiddler Cage you up in the vocal booth, you're held prisoner Watch, while I'm bangin out this hot shit from Sigma Illa-del-P-A, live without a DJ And it's been that way, since Sergio Vallente Yo, The Roots holdin it down, is all you can say Plus the Black Thought em-cey, professional-lay Push pen to paper like Chinua Achebe Thumpin, what was your assumption I lace your function, make it a Black Thought production Word up I'm on somethin, stellar hold off course I'm gone bluntin, travel light and broadcast via satellite, Illa-Fifth Dynamite Lyrically calculus in this arithametic hip-hop metropolis But loyal fiends coppin this hot shit Yaknahmsayin? Hot shit, word up Illa-Fifth hot shit y'all
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Uh, what what, yo yo P-5-D uncut Check it out, yo yo, S-P uncut Yo yo, what P-5-D uncut, yeah yeah it's that Philly shit Yo yo, check it out, yo yo
[Chorus - 2X] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Black Thought] Mesmerizing, state of the art caffeine It's over head like Omniverse screen I'm not the average savage that curse queens I'm something from his worst dreams First we handling first things, I'm subsurface un-seen Grat'll hold planet by purse strings MC's are earthlings, not built to hurt things Speakin the words of weaklings, nothin but sweet things
[Malik B] Man each world, it ain't no time to recline Act up, get clapped up, my mind is the nine Shine like jewels that spark, swimmin wit sharks Never caught speakin to NARC's, that's weak in the parks I'm the type to sit back and analyze the prize Grip it up and flee the scene wit a different disguise Take a detour, I be all that I can be whore Talkin to this *bitch* life, had to make her my wife Live twice, got seven more lives to live I'm all out, takin things to the fullest extent Help me get it down and we can split one-hundred percent Run a rapper through a maze like a experiment Word up, you know the legendary Roots crew, yo
[Chorus - 2x] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Dice Raw] The Raw Dice rise like a creature from out the swamp Wit my blood-thirsty clergy that's on the hunt for conk Who pumps your heart, I made you wanna rhyme from the start You should be more alert, then you wouldn't get hurt Get off your horse and on your P's and beware Of images you seein, did deceiving, you're scared And even more shook up than the scenes that's near I'm Dice Raw, sting the inside of your mouth like a cold sore Who wanna piece, well it's Round One, let's begin I got a gun that's don't bust, it just suck niggaz in I got shit that'll have you beggin me to shoot ya I'm the professor, you rock a dunce cap, go get a tutor
[Black Thought] Yo, Okay Computer, Radiohead's knock to the Future Shock like Kurtis, at your service None other than, the Fifth governing playin the cut again Y'all clueless to what the fuck is up again Yo, hard times and sufferin What, my peoples in the crevices strugglin 'Nuff of them ?untie? soldier thespian But I'm from the next e-on, supreme being that's unseen for MC'n
[Chorus - 2X] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
[Malik B] Yo, they all around me 'round me On my head, they got a bounty I'm tryin to get this bell up so I can flee your county Triple-six, come in my mix, flood it wit tricks I'm sharper than rough spoons for icepicks Niggaz price bricks till dawn, if the money is long Cats who play strong will inhale, then go play bong You wrong son, you thought I wasn't droppin a ton Sit and think about the way I wanna tally a sum
[Dice Raw] Aiyyo I sneakfully snuck up from behind and got you From over there in them bushes, I chilled and watched you Dancin all dolly as you pussy for them folly I knock you out wit one punch from me you been Ali-ed I float like hovercrafts and sting like vaccinations WHen my name said out loud, you'll lose your concentration Dice Raw, D-I-C-E-R-A-W, you wanna take it Otherwise, fuck you gon' do? That's what I thought, nada, nothing, caput, zero Rough as sandpaper but still smooth as a tiptoe Raw's takin over, baby don't tell me you ain't know A lot of kids can rap but you fuckin wit the pros
[Black Thought] Namsayin, y'all know the legendary Roots crew, it's like
[Chorus] You Don't See Us, but we see you You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
Yo my definition is a lyricist for hire My vocal's a passport that never expire Crowd loud like fifty rounds of gun fire Screamin out "The Roots" while I balance wit the wire Yo, expert in this profession, the session In 1987, I linked up wit the ?uestion Eleven years later we shared crop wit Geffen In musical hell, but hip-hop forever heaven My thoughts, interwoven and deep like Beethoven This foul world so filled of shit it like a clogged up colon Swollen wit minds that got stolen Fake-ass cops, uncontrollable patrolmen Torture, blood flow like bodies of water Fathers sexually assaultin they own daughter Out of sync, outta order like a puzzle In the land of the unseen hand that hold juggle In a Game of Life, yo it's hard to roll a double Tryin times, take lives and separate couples Kids thinkin they grown, tellin they moms "Fuck you" Under they breath, livin in the last times left Peep the imagery ?strep?, across the sky like a canvas And we're the artists beneath vigorous rough strokes of darkness Time to set it off, let's spark this Switzerland, LET'S SPARK THIS!! We are the ULTIMATE (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE, rock-rockin it, rock-rockin it, rock-rockin it We are the ULTIMATE (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE LOUDER! (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE (Rock-rockin it) C'mon (Rock-rockin it) C'mon (Rock-rockin it) Yo my definition is a lyricist for hire You couldn't have a clue, it's about to transpire The books I buy live arms ?I wire? The Fifth, similar to ghetto gospel choir We ex-plore the whole states plus record In flight buds, trip that was a prisoner in war Four-four the corridor, seal it, no floor But I could see the drop was a mile aboard To the bottom, electrical shock for rhymes I said "I don't got em", guess it kinda presented a problem When I understood, they said "Let him go" I woke, during a center to London ? And now wit a past, fuckin wit border patrol I'm findin it out, I'm leakin wit my people Hit the studio, spread this information In daze of frustration fogged the education >From Illa-Fifth to Switzerland destination The Roots du journ, go check the translation The dictionary of devout topics, far from ebonics The Fifth Dynast, they can't stop it Yo Zurlich y'all keep it tight heed While The Roots Crew smoke weed Yo, we are the ULTIMATE (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE, say what? (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE, c'mon (Rock-rockin it) C'mon c'mon rock-rockin it, rock-rockin it We are the ULTIMATE (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE LOUDER (rock-rockin it) We are the ULTIMATE LOUDER (Rock-rockin it) C'mon rock-rockin it, rock-rockin it They go *Thought starts humming and Scratch does his thing* *Crowd cheers
[4X] I shall, proceed And continue, to rock the mic
Just think, what if you could just, just blink yourself away? Just think, what if you could just, just blink yourself away? Jeff X can rock the mic with tooth decay I be the 5 foot 7, residing at the mecca lesson south section Used to cut class in the infinite pursuit of ass Back in eighty-seven Easy with the chics I was a chocolate boy Raised in the cellar with the rhythm like Ella Walking down the streets to the subway where i lay Til the train stop then a nigga hop Used to do the pop dance to the planet rock At the block party everybody jocked [who me?] It's the MC sucka niggaz envy I got my contract in 1993 and I shall proceed
[4X] I shall, proceed And continue, to rock the mic
I wake up early in the morning, I mean early afternoon Break a lyrical hymn of the stem like boom I'm flyer when I'm higher put my shit up on a tomb That nigga represented on the 28th of June I'm representing philly on the 28th of June I can make you feel that i'm a surreal cartoon with my pistol in the face of hip hop, stick in your face Because i'm on a paper chase, yes i'm on a paper chase My Timberlands are fully laced I be the Mr. Boogeyman With records from 125th to Japan I laid them play like Johnny Hathaway and shake a hand, shake a hand Your lady tried to kick it, but I couldn't play my man My niggaz is my niggaz ya see she didn't understand I shake your hand and shit'll hit the fan, just think Just think, what? What if you could, just blink, what? Just blink yourself away?
[4X] I shall, proceed And continue, to rock the mic
Malik B get on the mic yo there's too much on my mind [say what?] Malik get on the mic, there's too much on my mind Johnny on the spot, got the rhythm and the rhyme Fuckin with The Roots you know them niggaz is the dime I can make a hundred yard line start to dash I can make a whole lake of fish start to splash I can make Conan and the Titans clash I can Metallica and guns 'N Roses crash Used to smash crash parties like i was disturbed Used to make plots against the herringbone herb But now, all I do disperse the verb And like a nerd i can make you say, "He's superb" Word is perfect, never ever shall you misinterpret I move styles like bowels so now you know i'm worth it Direct from Philly, the lands where niggas scheme So you know I got the sheen in my gleam
[4X] I shall, proceed And continue, to rock the mic
[Black Thought] C'mon.. and yes y'all You are now in tune to the sounds.. of the legendary.. foundation
Yeah, you go Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement You listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement
Word up, we got the HOT-HOT music, The HOT MUSIC (1X) The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music (3X)
Yo, one, two, one-two one-two That's how we usually start, once again it's the Thought The Dalai Lama of the mic, the prime minister Thought This directed to whoever in listening range Yo the whole state of things in the world bout to change Black rain fallin from the sky look strange The ghetto is red hot, we steppin on flames Yo, it's infliction on a price for fame and it was all the same, but then the antidote came The Black Thought, ill syllablist, out the Fifth This heavyweight rap shit I'm about to lift LIKE, a phyllum lift up it's seed to sunlight I plug in the mic, draw like a gunfight I never use a cordless, or stand applaudless Sippin cholorophyll out of ill silver gauntlet I'm like a faucet, monopoly's the object There ain't no way to cut this tap, you got ta get wet Your head is throbbin and I ain't said shit yet The Roots crew, the next movement, c'mon!
And yes y'all You are now in tune to the sounds of the legendary, foundation, check it out, uh
Testin, yo, you go Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement You listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement
Word up, we got the HOT-HOT music, the HOT music (1X) The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music (3X)
Word up, the formation of words to fit That's what I usually disturb you with A lot of rappers never heard of this, or know half the time it is You doubt the Illa-Fifth, what could you accomplish? Whether they skywriting your name, or you anonymous You be speechless, with stinging sinuses The Roots royal highnesses through your monitors I tilt my crown, then blow down a dime a kiss You need to buy a CD and stop rewindin this I'm the finalist, shinin like a rugged amethyst And at your music conference, I'm the panelist Listen close to my poetry, I examine this like an analyst, to see if you can handle this Check it out You, got the groove, emcees freeze, stand still, nobody move unless you dealin with The Next Movement The P-Phi-D we be the mon-u-ment I live my life nice, but I'm not choopid You theatrical as a Broadway play, this ain't Rent One hundred percent, straight out the Basement Spreading this across a planet on some next shit How many people feelin this love music? C'mon
Yo, you go Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement You listeners, stop what you're doin and set it in motion, it's the next movement
Yo, we got the HOT-HOT music, the HOT music (1X) The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music (7X)
Muffled sound of fist on flesh Blows to chest No breath Air gasps You ain't nothing but white trash, bitch! With each hit, each kick, each...broken rib Crack, Crack! Bones are crying Mommy's crying and bleeding And pleading And then... Daddy wants to fuck Dick hard, swelled with power rush And as if all that wasn't enough Mommy's seven months heavy with birth As...Daddy grunts and cursed drunk nothings in her bloodied ear
(singing softly) First...lullaby First...Son...will...ever...hear And never forget
Mommy almost bled to death when she have him...finally She'd already lost...three Uterus-bruised, shredded, and weak From being daily beat And Friday nights were the worse and... Daddy never came with flowers Instead he spent hours at some corner spot With some bar pop named Cookie Putting his thing down Soiling Mommy's sheets with... Sweet...talk shit Cookie's cheap lipstick Hair grease, sperm, and jezebel juice
To hell with the good news that... He was a father for the first time His thirst for wine and women Clouded his vision... No warm welcome for mother and son Just... The rank smell of ass-crack, funk, and cum But Mommy's prayerful strength-her best defense She...burned the dirty linens Made a fresh bed Laid sleeping First Son down And never made a sound As she purged her scourge With birth-blood and quiet tears Watching as her fears and love and sacrifice Lie there in his soft skin and new life Breathing, dreaming, fresh from God's eye Mommy's little survivor Like...her
Mommy called crazy and scorned 'Cuz she two more born One boy soon after The girl much later and... Although they were both sung the same lullabies of hate Her...First Son, the first one Whose...womb-world was profaned Came of age playing street games With Stewie, Rezzie, and Little Brother 'Till his heart start to wither In pain and shame Blamed Mom for the wrong she let Daddy do to her And him... Let...sins of the Father cause his Innocence to wander Found honor amongst thieves Chose to squander his dreams Stopped believing in himself Become prodigal with his life Make impossible shit right with... Gang-ties, crime, lies Erase wise, woeful words of Mother Replaced them with absurdities of others Who had also lost their way
Played a different kind of street game now First Son plunged deep Speak street-family vows Espouse no causes but his own See, he couldn't protect Mommy's neck from Daddy's grasp Or...protect Mommy's ass from Daddy's wrath Couldn't shield her ears from... Daddy's foul-mouthed, liquor-breath jeers His only defense-served be confidence Brown bottles housed his swift descent Phones called cops on block frequent for his shenanigans Now...Daddy and him twins in addiction Driven to false-hearted heavens and friends By liquefied demons Had become what he despised from Conception 'til End Destined for a demise Survived nine lives of staying high Conning, jewelry-pawning, arrests, theft Womanizing...only for money, never for sex Bullet in chest, baseball bat to the head Left for dead So, eyes wide and glassy Speech...slowed and slurred Lips twitched with caked-up codeine candy And mouth corners one December 24th Mr. Hide and False Friend Took final ride to suburban supplier Shots were fired by the gray man With shaky hand But not shaky enough to miss... Hit...Lost Boy in back So-called Friend runs for door Leaves First Son blood-born Lying alone in blood on cold floor
Death was the cause of... Returning to Innocence Lost...
Baby 'Sis awake for dawn on Christmas morn To Mommy's sobs and shakes Daddy's silhouettes of regret All past, omitted, and absolved by lost As they clung to each other Knowing...
You are all... We don't even come to see our own, man Listen, Freddy, listen... If we had to depend upon black people to eat We would starve to death You've been out there You on the bandstand You look out there, What do you see? You see Japanese, you see... you see West Germans You see Slobovic, you know, anything, except our people man It makes no sense, it incenses me that our own people Don't realize our own heritage, our own culture This is our music That's bullshit! Why? That's all bullshit Everything, everything you just said is bullshit You're complaining about- I'm talking about the audience That's right The people don't come because you grandiose motherfuckers don't play shit that they like If you played the shit that they liked then the people would come Simple as that
Inevitably, hip-hop records are treated as though they are disposable They are not maximized as product, not to mention as art
If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me Somebody told me that this planet was small we use to live in the same building on the same floor and never met before until I'm overseas on tour and peep this ethiopian queen from philly taking classes abroad she studying film and photo flash focus record said she workin on a flick and could my click do the score she said she loved my show in paris at Elysee Montmartre and that I stepped off the stage and took a piece of her heart we knew from the start that things fall apart, intentions shatter she like that shit don't matter when I get home get at her through letter, phone, whatever let's link, let's get together shit you think not, think the Thought went home and forgot time passed, we back in philly now she up in my spa tellin me the things I'm tellin her is makin her hot startin buildin with her constantly round the clock now she in my world like hip-hop and keep tellin me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me Yo, I'm the type that's always catchin a flight and sometimes I gotta be out at the height of the night and that's when she flip and get on some 'ol Another lonely night seems like I'm on the side you only loving your mic I know you gotta get that paper daddy keep that shit tight but yo I need some sort of love in my life, you dig me while politicin with my sister from new york city she said she know this ball player and he think I'm pretty Psych, I'm playin boo, you know it's just wit you I'm stayin boo and when cats be poppin game I don't hear what they sayin boo when you out there in the world, I'm still your girl with all my classes I don't have the time for life's thrills so when you sweatin on stage think of me when you rhyme and don't be listenin to your homies they be leavin you blind Yeah, so what you sayin I can trust you? Is you crazy, you my king for real But sometimes relationships get ill No doubt If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me Thet snake could be that chick and that rat could be that cool cat that's whispering "she tryin to play you for the fool Black" if something's on your chest then let it be known see I'm not your every five minutes all on the phone and on the topic of trust, it's just a matter of fact that people bite back and fracture what's intact and they'll forever be I ain't on some oh I'm a celebrity I deal with the real so if it's artificial let it be I've seen people caught in love like whirlwinds listening to they squads and listening to girlfriends that's exactly the point where they whole world ends lies come in, that's where that drama begins, she like If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me If you were worried 'bout where I been or who I saw or what club I went to with my homies baby don't worry you know that you got me
Chorus [Black Thought and Scratch] 2x Once again 'gain Once again 'gain Once again 'gain 'gain ladies and gentlemen Once again 'gain Once again 'gain Once again 'gain 'gain Yo, Adrenaline
[Black Thought] Yo I'm in the eye of the storm, where the pressure's on And MC's is dressed funny like a leprechuan I chop rappers up like chicken seczuan Sells a squads off like a slave auction Aiyyo my zodiac sign read caution On stage, I make your seed to an or-phan Yo, my age an algebraic equation Niggas want some? I hit em wit a portion Son, The Fifth foursome, armed at the door son M-illi-tilla, Dice Raw, quick draw son You don't want no more son? That's when more come And drag a nigga Eerie Avenue to Oregon, you're all done Ladies and gentlemen Select the weapon at the gate upon entering, The Roots instrumentaling Spark shit, them niggas try to talk shit We hit em like the L at 60th and Market South Philly clip a hold into a nigga park it Take sneaks, chains and rings and bracelets Split back this like we the therapist Adrenaline, Fifth mic terrorist, once again
Chorus
[Malik B] Zigga zigga zigga tryin to get a grip but still slip, so lift me up Ever since I was a pup I was designed to errupt You get to know me, you poke me slowly, when caught puzzin Some niggas thought they was, when of course they wasn't Punked em wit a dozen of pellets all in they skelet Transform, from the norm, start to brainstorm Yeah Malik B from The Roots, he ain't gone I took the wrong exit, the sign said Langhorne I'm trapped up in about five worlds wit live pearls Shouts to Armour Akquan who's name is Jalil The moat is deep water so let your hand expand it Demandin, takin you back like Knotts Landing I'm Ralph Cramdon, we out, you'll see in Hampton Yo what the what the what the, what the what the what the Pivot on this concrete earth until I rot Didn't figure how to conquer it yet but still I plot, once again
Chorus
[Dice Raw] Beans passed the mack and we held em, like hostages Rappers see me, hide they face like ostriches Dice'll grind your brain into little sausages Underwater rap, you know who the bosses is North Philly baby, that's where that Raw shit is You'll get blown out the sky once you get talkative A-D devise rise, I fathered it So when you see me on the street, don't bother kid Just be on your merry way, or you might get slit Ask around, wonderin what Dice Raw did Lay you on floors like ya gettin carpeted You need a special kind of mic for retarded kids Me against you's like Kane verse the Partridges You wanna battle, change your name to The Forfeiters Cuz that's what you do, face to face wit raw niggas I give you a bad case of the fucked-up jitters, once again
Chorus
[Beanie Siegal] They used to talk shit, but I'ma quiet them Kick in the door wit my boys stick to riotin First nigga that flinch, I'ma fire em Tape em up, grip his hands, and plyer em Know the bricks is in here, where you hidin em? Don't die in the shit that you lyin in Used to get fronted bricks, now I'm buyin em Used to cop off my man, now I'm supplyin him Paid the front row seat watchin Iverson First class air crafts what I'm flyin in To L.A., Shaq, Eddie, Kobe Bryant and them Save the jokes for Chris Tucker, Richard Pryor and them Used to shotgun in cars, now I'm drivin em Used to hustle 'round bars, y'all was robbin them Ran up in y'all spot wit Rob and them Grew up, two-four, wit Pie and em But do my dirt, 21st, wit Kyle and them Nigga Pop, nigga Buzz, little Mark and them Brother news, nigga schooled Marley Park and them Nigga jump, pull a pump, low sparkin em I know shit right now gettin dark to them Tore they body all up, ain't no chalkin em Too sharp for them, move out in the dark on em These Illadel foul streets what I'm stompin in once again
[Dice Raw] Yo, look at all the scavengers All wannabe contenders Dismember, wack niggaz I intend ta Y'all ain't shit but sticky shit on the bottom of Timber-lands I know you clam heads wanna surrender Don't even act like the battlefield the place you wanna enter Yo niggaz is hopeless, you really need to focus On who's the fuckin dopelist or wind up hopeless Lookin for some soup, tryin to recoup some fuckin loot, only thing you get is the boot To me these punk MC's is nothin but fruit Cakes, shake they booty on stage and get head with lyrics that I kick, talkin that bullshit You might get lit like a front of a spliff for runnin, off at the lips talkin that nonsense Raw get on stage, take your confidence Break you off since powerful defense *fades*
One one one one two P-P-5-D Yeah, yeah, P-P-5-D I'm sayin, yo Touch this yo, knahmsayin what? Yo-yo, yo, 100%..
[Black Thought] Yo! On these seventy-three keys, of ivory and ebony I swear solemnly that I'll forever rock steadily People wanna know where Malik? He right next to me The weaponry, the secret recipe Hard to peep this, deep shit, shows I eat with Contaminated thoughts I walk the street with I bayonnet cassettes and chop beats with this olympic lyricism you can't, compete with Globe travellin, throwin your verse like a javelin Things Fall Apart and MC's unravellin Backstage whisperin to management like "change the order, it's no way that we can rock after them" My man sport the 'fro like _What's Happenin?_ From the latest hi-atus, The Roots back again Your crew practicin to catch this natural blend They packages read "care when handlin" It's all soft shit, batteries not included with Matter of fact, your whole front's a re-enactment I blow your ba-tty ass into fragments, P-5-D The new testament, mic specialist, what?
Yeah Check it out, yo (3X) Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
The Milli-illitant-tant, 'pon cock, ready to rock Power out, in the clout, it seems out, all through your block Posse don't play the cut, but what, you get sheist Got the personality named trife, ready to heist Smashin 'graphs, snatch the ice, crush your mental device Thought twice, shoulda thought once, got played for the dunce Dialogues I moderate, cool out, we outta state Just blendin in the great, give me room to ventilate Most niggaz is fraudulent, the rap seargeant Bargin, through your regiment, call your president Hittin all targets cuz it's a cause that's lost Between the killers when they probably Teddy Ruxpin talk Droppin tears of steel, two drops up in the bucket Facin three ? and a cop so yo fuck it If I get abducted, trapped up in the belly Wacked up my celly, get known like Dawn Stanley You know the deally on the daily in the ? If I sense you got a bend to your kite, then send it up We press up on your corner with windows they're tinted up Lay our props face down on the ground and get it up, what? Face on the ground and get it up
[Black Thought] Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Check it out While you pose for pictures, I'm the invisible enigma Down low, scope you off the roof like the fiddler Cage you up in the vocal booth, you're held prisoner Watch, while I'm bangin out this hot shit from Sigma Illa-del-P-A, live without a DJ And it's been that way, since Sergio Vallente Yo, The Roots holdin it down, is all you can say Plus the Black Thought em-cey, professional-lay Push pen to paper like Chinua Achebe Thumpin, what was your assumption I lace your function, make it a Black Thought production Word up I'm on somethin, stellar hold off course I'm gone bluntin, travel light and broadcast via satellite, Illa-Fifth Dynamite Lyrically calculus in this arithametic hip-hop metropolis But loyal fiends coppin this hot shit Yaknahmsayin? Hot shit, word up Illa-Fifth hot shit y'all
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought] Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B] Malik B, I represent the P-5-D Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
