You can't run away From these styles I got oh baby hey baby 'cause I got a lot oh yeah Anywhere you go my whole crew gonna know oh baby Hey baby you can't hide from the block oh yeah Yo Now that I escape selling five million plates My beeper vibrates like California earthquakes But I keep a balanced head 'cause you're hot they're not M C's go Hollywood then lose their spot on the jukebox Still ichi bang wack M C's get the gong Lyrical tongue Wireless mics from Samsung Wyclef seduced once by an actress Angela Basset wanted the head of Jean Baptiste Meanwhile across town I steal no money to Carlito Mama always said don't gamble I'm trapped in casino No more money in my bags Nightmares getting closer I slept on Elm Street Freddy Kruger Woke up with a German Luger Black serial killer man turns to gorilla Provoked I change faces like Michael Jackson's Thriller And you don't stop Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break If any joker come fe' test another life we take 'Cause when we gunning all the dance we are the specialist So scientist lyricist pop your pen intense Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break If any joker come fe' test another life we take 'Cause when we gunning all the dance we are the specialist So scientist lyricist pop your pen intense If I could change the times and make rhymes raise the babies Give all the pigs rabies Send biting niggas to Haiti's Clothe young ladies Chase the rainbow find the pot Free the third time offender once he learns to makes a lot Lose the fame Take the money Play boys just like the bunny Find a man with a plan Slap a chicken If she acts funny Break the bank on tank Stop niggas from acting stank Take over your bounty rovers Teach a man to find Jehovah Own the stores own the tours Watch the record pimps and whores Make love stop the wars Cop the land like the Moors Make the last be the first Make the God respect the Earth Change the murder rate to the birth Bust it Ready Or Not Here I come You can't hide Gonna find you And take it slowly Ready Or Not Here I come You can't hide Gonna find you And make you want me No more tours no more scores Por favor senor I tempt crews like a bull to a matador Run you for your Range Rover Like that Leave you in a broken Nova Like that Buffalo soldier Dreadlock rasta Rather be slaughtered than be captured Three refugees one unusual suspect A snitch at the table how far will your trust get Lust got you busted unlocking my vault Body as a Q Tip right on the asphalt Tell the youth that you shouldn't skylark Or get marked like a narc as The Beast in Nu Yok You can't run away From these styles I got oh baby hey baby 'cause I got a lot oh yeah Anywhere you go my whole crew gonna know oh baby Hey baby you can't hide from the block oh no Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break If any joker come fe' test another life we take 'Cause when we gunning all the dance we are the specialist So scientist lyricist pop your pen intense Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break If any joker come fe' test another life we take 'Cause when we gunning all the dance we are the specialist So scientist lyricist pop your pen intense Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break If any joker come fe' test another life we take 'Cause when we gunning all the dance we are the specialist So scientist lyricist pop your pen intense
Why am I trapped in a cage? (THE NAPPY HEADS ARE COMIN OUT) Barber can I get a fade? (THE NAPPY HEADS ARE COMIN OUT) Teacher teacher check my grades (THE NAPPY HEADS ARE COMIN OUT) I grab the mic in a RAGE... You maintain to put a negro in pain you used to diss me
Yo, this is the Fugees Refugees About to take you on a journey Into the dimensions of the Booka basement The basement, word Uhh
Hey yo, one two three! The crew is called Re-Fu-Ge-ee-es An if yu come fa tes the rap stylee Stop the violence and just bring it on, willld
Verse One: Lauryn Hill
Hey yo I, feel kind of melancholy people think they really know me I keep a wrap about me while I'm driving daddy's Audi I pay the toll fighting for my own soul Cause the bourgeoise type of mental sucks like a flat comb But I be baitin the rebel base to bass distort the EQ The devil's wishin they could send me back to Mogadishu Cause I've been wild since I was a juvenile Afro-centric profile, back when righteous rap was your style Now kids are whylin so I ask the bad black Boogie bandit, what's the damage, gimme the estimate then pray tell me when's the revolution will begin? I turn on my TV I check out Farrakhan on CNN see I'm like the phantom that's flying like the bird do And things you never heard plus I come from the suburbs Word to God, I heard you're acting kind of hard And you got your skin scarred when they was shootin on the boulevard
[Lauryn Hill]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (On the real got the vocab) You know we got the vocab (All my peeps got the vocab) Yeah, we got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo Praz, grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
Verse Two: Prazwell
Then cast off from here to Mexico You see my four-five-six a-be my Celo And when I rest my head is on a pillow Be-ba-dee-be, be-dee-be, be-dee-be-bo You see the skills I manifest is very tho-rough And if you don't believe me ask Freres Ja-cques Mmmm, Freres Jacques, Freres Jacques A dorme vous? A dorme vous? WATCH OUT NOW! When I choose to speak I'm forming the cipher fly East to the Five Percenter Knowledge is born, to all beginners Cast the first stone, if you feel you ain't a sinner, ahh Say o-ur father, who art in heaven Forgive the foolish rapper for he not know how Fugee be steppin Correct and, stopped and kept in, nuff respect to the DJ, that be selectin, the type of record ahhh
[Prazwell]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (The click's got the vocab) You know they got vocab (Brooklyn got the vocab) We got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo Clef grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
Verse Three: Wyclef
Check it out, here we go Back in Eighty-TREE, no one wanted to be NAPPY I turn on my TV, it's a dreadlock for FREE Kill the gimmick It's nonsense, it's no sense or value a rapper, disaster, nobody ever told me that "Roxanne, you don't got to work for money no more!!"... and... Back in the days I used to listen to Kool G Rap Way back when before guns became gats and Run-D.M.C. used to ask Mary was she buggin? I loved P.E., they kept me concious of what I was saying Afrika Bambaata, Poor Righteous Teacher Got within myself so it made me a Five Percenter Say La-Di-Da-Di, UHH! we like to party but my jam was BDP, with My Philosophy Say Grandmaster Flash, MC Melle Mel Then LL Cool J came with Rock the Bells! See I'm the one for the crew, like a Jew is a Jew Like Apollo got the moon, like the men who got the blue Like the Fu got the Manchu, Chaka got the Zulu Hawaii got the Honolulu I got the rap lieu, so skippedy-de-bop-bop you don't stop You do the rock-rock from hip-hop through be-bop from be-bop to bee-bee
[Lauryn Hill]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (Boogie Down got the vocab) You know they got the vocab (Black people got the vocab) Word, we got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo peeps, grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
(You got the vocab) Yeahh, we got the vocab (Queens got the vocab) You know y'all got the vocab (Uptown got the vocab) Yeahh, they got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo, bros grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
(DC got the vocab) Word, y'all got the vocab (Virginia got the vocab) Aiyy, I know y'all got the vocab (Oakland got the vocab) Word, they got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo, sisters grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
You can't run away From these styles I got oh baby, hey baby, 'cause I got alot, oh yeah Anywhere you go, my whole crew gonna know, oh baby Hey baby, you can't hide from the block oh yeah!
[Wyclef - Verse One] Yo! Now that I escape, selling five million plates My beeper vibrates, like California earthquakes But I keep a balanced head, 'cause you're hot, they're not M.C.'s go Hollywood, then lose their spot on the jukebox Still ichi bang, wack M.C.'s get the gong! Lyrical tongue Wireless mics from Samsung Wyclef, seduced once by an actress Angela Basset wanted the head of Jean Baptiste Meanwhile across town, I steal no money to Carlito Mama always said don't gamble I'm trapped in casino No more money in my bags Nightmares, getting closer I slept on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger Woke up with a German Luger Black serial killer, man turns to gorilla Provoked I change faces like Michael Jackson's Thriller B-B-B-B-B-Boo! (Imitating young Michael Jackson) And you don't stop!!!
[Lauryn - Chorus]
Sometimes the Refugees gotta take a stand and break! If any joker come fe' test another life we take! 'Cause when we gunning all the dance, we are the specialist! So scientist, lyricist, pop your pen intense (?)! ( 2x )
[Lauryn - Verse Two]
If I could change the times, and make rhymes, raise the babies Give all the pigs rabies Send biting niggas to Haiti's Clothe young ladies Chase the rainbow, find the pot Free the third time offender once he learns to makes-a-lot Lose the fame Take the money Play boys, just like the bunny Find a man with a plan Slap a chicken, If she acts funny Break the bank, on tank Stop niggas from acting stank Take over your bounty rovers Teach a man to find Jehovah Own the stores, own the tours Watch the record, pimps and whores Make love, stop the wars Cop the land, like the Moors Make the last be the first Make the God respect the Earth Change the murder rate to the birth! Bust it!
[Lauryn Singing]
Ready Or Not Here I come You can't hide!
Gonna find you! And take it slowly!
Ready Or Not Here I come You can't hide!
Gonna find you! And make you want me!
[Pras - Verse Three]
No more tours, no more scores Por favor senor, I tempt crews, like a bull to a matador Run you for your Range Rover, Like that! Leave you in a broken Nova, Like that!! Buffalo soldier! Dreadlock rasta! (Wyclef in background) Rather be slaughtered, than be captured! Three refugees, one unusual suspect A snitch at the table, how far will your trust get? Lust got you busted, unlocking my vault Body as a Q-Tip, right on the asphalt Tell the youth that you shouldn't skylark Or get marked, like a narc, as The Beast in Nu Yok (New York)
[Lauryn - Singing]
You can't run away From these styles I got oh baby, hey baby, 'cause I got alot, oh yeah Anywhere you go, my whole crew gonna know, oh baby Hey baby, you can't hide from the block oh no!
I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style. And so I came to see him and lip sing for a while. And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes.
Strumming my pain with his fingers, (one time, one time) singing my life with his words, (two time, two time) killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song, telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song
I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd, I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud. I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on.
Strumming my pain with his fingers, (one time, one time) singing my life with his words, (two time, two time) killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song, telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song
(instramental interlude)
Strumming my pain with his fingers, (yes he was) singing my life with his words, killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song, telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song
CLEF] A dedication to all the refugees worldwide One time say, say, say
I remember when we used to sit in the government yard in Brooklyn. Observing the crookedness as it mingled with the good people we meet. Good friends we had, Good friends we've lost along the way. In this great future you can't forget your past, So dry your tears I say And to my peeps who passed away, No woman, no cry, no woman no cry, say say say. Hey little sister don't shed no tears No woman no cry say say say. I remember when we used to rock in a project yard in Jersey, And little Georgie would make the firelight, As stolen cars passed through the night And then we'd hit the corner store for Roots, paper, and brew. My drink's my only remedy For pain of losing family, but while I'm gone Shorty, Everything's gonna be alright, everything's gonna be alright, Fugees come to the dance tonight, everything's gonna be alright, O everything's gonna be alright, The gun man's in the house tonight, But everything's gonna be alright.
[CLEF] No woman no cry, no woman no cry. Hey, little sister, don't shed no tears No woman no cry say say say. I remember when we used to sit in a government yard in Trenchtown.
The hypocrites as they mingled with the good people we meet. Good friends we had Oh good friends we've lost Along the way hey. In this great future, You can't forget your past so dry your tears I say And no woman no cry. No woman no cry say say say. Hey, little sistser, don't shed no tears No woman no cry and to my peeps who passed away
Yo, this is the Fugees Refugees About to take you on a journey Into the dimensions of the Booka basement The basement, word Uhh
Hey yo, one two three! The crew is called Re-Fu-Ge-ee-es An if yu come fa tes the rap stylee Stop the violence and just bring it on, willld
Verse One: Lauryn Hill
Hey yo I, feel kind of melancholy people think they really know me I keep a wrap about me while I'm driving daddy's Audi I pay the toll fighting for my own soul Cause the bourgeoise type of mental sucks like a flat comb But I be baitin the rebel base to bass distort the EQ The devil's wishin they could send me back to Mogadishu Cause I've been wild since I was a juvenile Afro-centric profile, back when righteous rap was your style Now kids are whylin so I ask the bad black Boogie bandit, what's the damage, gimme the estimate then pray tell me when's the revolution will begin? I turn on my TV I check out Farrakhan on CNN see I'm like the phantom that's flying like the bird do And things you never heard plus I come from the suburbs Word to God, I heard you're acting kind of hard And you got your skin scarred when they was shootin on the boulevard
[Lauryn Hill]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (On the real got the vocab) You know we got the vocab (All my peeps got the vocab) Yeah, we got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo Praz, grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
Verse Two: Prazwell
Then cast off from here to Mexico You see my four-five-six a-be my Celo And when I rest my head is on a pillow Be-ba-dee-be, be-dee-be, be-dee-be-bo You see the skills I manifest is very tho-rough And if you don't believe me ask Freres Ja-cques Mmmm, Freres Jacques, Freres Jacques A dorme vous? A dorme vous? WATCH OUT NOW! When I choose to speak I'm forming the cipher fly East to the Five Percenter Knowledge is born, to all beginners Cast the first stone, if you feel you ain't a sinner, ahh Say o-ur father, who art in heaven Forgive the foolish rapper for he not know how Fugee be steppin Correct and, stopped and kept in, nuff respect to the DJ, that be selectin, the type of record ahhh
[Prazwell]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (The click's got the vocab) You know they got vocab (Brooklyn got the vocab) We got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo Clef grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
Verse Three: Wyclef
Check it out, here we go Back in Eighty-TREE, no one wanted to be NAPPY I turn on my TV, it's a dreadlock for FREE Kill the gimmick It's nonsense, it's no sense or value a rapper, disaster, nobody ever told me that "Roxanne, you don't got to work for money no more!!"... and... Back in the days I used to listen to Kool G Rap Way back when before guns became gats and Run-D.M.C. used to ask Mary was she buggin? I loved P.E., they kept me concious of what I was saying Afrika Bambaata, Poor Righteous Teacher Got within myself so it made me a Five Percenter Say La-Di-Da-Di, UHH! we like to party but my jam was BDP, with My Philosophy Say Grandmaster Flash, MC Melle Mel Then LL Cool J came with Rock the Bells! See I'm the one for the crew, like a Jew is a Jew Like Apollo got the moon, like the men who got the blue Like the Fu got the Manchu, Chaka got the Zulu Hawaii got the Honolulu I got the rap lieu, so skippedy-de-bop-bop you don't stop You do the rock-rock from hip-hop through be-bop from be-bop to bee-bee
[Lauryn Hill]
(You got the vocab) I got the vocab (Boogie Down got the vocab) You know they got the vocab (Black people got the vocab) Word, we got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo peeps, grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
(You got the vocab) Yeahh, we got the vocab (Queens got the vocab) You know y'all got the vocab (Uptown got the vocab) Yeahh, they got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo, bros grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab
(DC got the vocab) Word, y'all got the vocab (Virginia got the vocab) Aiyy, I know y'all got the vocab (Oakland got the vocab) Word, they got the vocab [Lauryn] Aiyyo, sisters grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab