Rakim

Friends Jody Watley featuring Eric B. & Rakim (Andre Cymon?Jody Watley)

Have you ever been stabbed in the back By someone you thought was really cool
Did they steal your lover or was it money Or was it lies they told
Strangers just disguised as your friends- Never again cause now you know

(chorus)
That friends will let you down
Friends wont be around
When you need them most of all- friends
Friends are hard to find-
Friends, yours and mine
I'm talking about your friends.

Smiles they hide behind Never know whats on their mind
Could be true deception
Jealousy and envy reign
They never want to see you get ahead
They just hold you back

Friends will let you down
Friends wont be around
When you need them most all, your friends
oh, Friends are hard to find
Friends, yours and mine
Im talkin about your friends

Friends are hard to find, so be careful You could be flyin an inch or mile if I pay you
But some aint that bad, but one might back stab To get the fake tips of what one might have
Bite the hand that feeds you- leave the people who need you for those who hold you back and mislead you
To be a leader- dont get lead on unleaded The wrong direction, a dead ends next then so


Heed the detour, lifes like a seesaw The ups and downs, and Ill bet therell be more
Potholes and obstacles in our path, thats righteous At times you need a hand to fight this
Way of life, straighten up, take the door to the placid And dont you act two-faced Cause jealousy and envy, and you still act friendly You could find the end if you pretend to be

Friends will let you down
Friends wont be around - When you need them most of all your friends
yeah Friends are hard to find Friends, yours and mine Im talkin? bout your friends

Used to kiss me, tell me you missed me But now you try to glaze me, play me and diss me
Uh, wide awake, ready to break, so we argue What happened to the kisses, and, Why, how are you
forgot about the times when i rhymed you and bathed you
rings were the only little things that i gave you
still aint thankful, your still complaining used be a bright sun but now its raining
harder than ever- im thinking whether
you should be friends let it end is a bad
so you foregt to remember your bodies so tender the vibe that i send her
make you surrender
the feelings you capture, caught in a rapture no women can match you so im looking at ya
paint a perfect picture so you can remember me but You could find the end if you pretend to be

Friends will let you down
Friends wont be around When you need them most of all are you friends
ohhhh- Friends are hard to find
Friends, yours and mine talking about your friends
(repeat 1x)

You and me (You and me)
We used to be together (Used to be)
Everyday together (Everyday)
Always (Always)

You was dead from the beginning, all i had to do was survive
In a race against millions where they lose they die
?
?
At the end of the race waiting so I used your guide
I found heaven in you, You shared your light with me
Gave me insight way before the light hit me
It's more than just a bone 'cuz we inseparable
Even when they cut the cord on the ambilocal
Never martyred a moment away
And fix whatever was wrong and always know what to say
The same way to my sisters and brothers
Always honest, and showed me what unconditional love is
The voice of a goddess, the stars twinkle in your eyes
My heaven on Earth or angel in disguise
If you was here I'd just hug and kiss you
'Cuz to me words can't explain how much I miss you

You and me
We used to be together
Everyday together
Always

I watched the ladies shine, and stay on their grind
While the world weighed heavy on the lady's mind
It was a crazy time
It's like the world stopped fast with pap's pass in '89
The harder we cry, the harder you cry too
?
It's hard to keep going, the harder you try to
?
You tried to be strong and keep the fam together
?


While you smile with your open arms
?
You said it takes some time, take it slow, but time will take it's toll
And the stakes is high, 'till the day you die
But I refuse to accept eventually that I would have to say goodbye

You and me
We used to be together
Everyday together
Always
I really feel that I'm losing my best friend
I can't beleive this could be the end

I'm starting to see how short life is
Every second it gets shorter, but your heart get warmer
And you get stronger
Even when they said you need a transplant and dialysis to live longer
?
You still managed to live life to the fullest for years
And then things got complicated
They found a donor so they operated
A gift and a curse, and concern that things took a turn for the worse
And even if I seen the signs I doubt the actions
Nothing had prepared me for what was 'bout to happen
The hospital; the 18th floor, vivid
July 18th, 2005 I can't forget it
It's that day I'll forever know
The end; the day I hope will never come

You and me
We used to be together
Everyday together
Always
I really feel that I'm losing my best friend
I can't beleive this could be the end

(Rakim)
Ay, yo this right here man, its like the documentary of a gangsta man, the rise and fall

Hook

(IQ)
How them boys gon' play me? They must be crazy, baby, oh you better pay me

(Rakim)
I aint playin wit yall

(IQ)
How them actors gon' act up, like I aint got back up, back up 'for you get smacked up

(Rakim)
Where my paper man?

(IQ)
Why they wanna play games with me? But they don't know that im crazy

(Rakim)
Don't make me kill someone.

(IQ)
I don't know what they thinking, they must've been drinkin.

(Rakim)
But what?

(IQ)
I'm that king pin

(Rakim)

He said slow papers, you're out oh.
It's like spittin', heresy is all about flow
Like he can't eat his cake and he starve when the count low
He call the lab the bakery, he all about dough
Stuffin' bread, his pockets is hungry
You talkin' nonsense, unless the topic is money
He call a hundred dollars a hunny, mommy's he call 'em dimes
So his mind's on his money, but mommy's is on his mind
Like a o.g. focused on the come-up,
Think he f-in around? He approachin' with the gun-up (bam)
Roll a blunt up and forget it happened
Stash the dollars, bag the product and get it crackin'
He get pies, he flippin' 'em tricks, he trickin' 'em
He call 'em heifers, he hugh heffin' 'em, he pimpin' 'em (where my money)
Fonzie, getting them ones for the connect
So have them ones correct when he come and collect (here he come)

Hook (IQ)

(Rakim)

That sound like blood money
And I ain't just talking double dubs and club money
I'm talking drug money, move out the hood money
Double up money, you could catch a slug money
This kid'll murder you, more than the business
If you livin' for revenue its principal never personal
Get rid of you if you blockin' the bigger picture
He on the block thinkin' a gwop is gettin' richer (get them ones)
He flipped some urban blue, played with them keys
For them c-notes, so he can handle the whole piano
Hammers unloadin' ammo, if his army ain't in harmony
He kill his own fam-o, like tony soprano
He's tryin' to take it from minor to major and grind for the caper
His mind is made up, he'll die for the paper
Crime is second nature when you love cash
Do 'em dirty, he turned the ave into a blood bath (here he come)

Hook (IQ)

(Rakim)

The heater bustin' mean the reaper comin'
Drug money keep him buggin' out the trees he puffin'
Streets is buzzin' bout the repercussion
But he so much in love with his bread, the beef is nothin' (ain't nothin' man)
He got medals for war, just like a veteran
But now he bringin' cheddar in, more than he ever been,
Banked up, he stepped his hustle - pimp, smoke, coke, crack
Heroin game up, American gangsta (uh huh)
Sleep with the fish while he ran the loot and
You like ballin? He like stealin' and shootin'
Comrades, customers, competition connect (don't matter)
Some hustlers is wishin' and plottin' the day of his death (bring it on man)
What's his focus? Keys is.
Even with karma catchin' up, it's hard to set him up, he always holdin' heaters (whoa)
But yo, they know his weakness, so they gave that bread to him
Somebody put a gun to his head, guess what he said to 'em?

Hook (IQ)

[Chorus]Holy are youHoly are youThere is no God but you (ah huh)There is no God but you(I need to talk to yall for a minute)Praised be the Lord(And be serious for a minute)Holy are youHoly are youThere is no God but youThere is no God but you (Rakim Allah)G-O-D, the God MCYeahFor those who find it hard to believe, and it isWhy they call me the God MC, the lyricistTrace this down to the roots from GenesisThe world wonder, Im still standing like pyramidsDesign so vivid, every brick it got a story to tellMy rhyme flow different like a hieroglyphicMind prolific, infinite, like mathematicThe first language, now add that, and add graphics (Go head)Then go let the blocks know its the gospelLifes new manual, so watch closeThe new Michaelangelo and Pablo PicassoPrepared to show you the cosmos and rock flowsEven my lyrical metaphysicalWhat this will do is help you get to your spiritual pinnacleYou find your mind too far-fetched for it to fathomI bring the darkness to the light, split the atomIts like watching the big bang theory emergeI take titles, bond them to reveal new wordsThey want a clear viewFrom the farthest and the darkest corners of the universeTo a corner near youA pharaoh in ghetto apparel, stay blinged upFort Knox display, a modern day King TutWrapped tight, rap like Ive been preserved in timeSpit the holy water, then touch it and turn it to wineIts the GodHoly are youHoly are youThere is no God but you (I am, I am the Alpha and Omega)There is no God but youPraised be the LordWe were children of the most high, so we fellFrom paradise to holy hellProbably descendants of the Holy GrailAnother part of history they wont revealTimesll only tellYou waiting for Judgment? It cameIn the form of a thug in the gameTo create a strong position, theres blood in my veinThe chemical is identical, we one and the sameWith seven letters in all three of my government namesWalk on water? Nah, neither did JesusIts a parable to make followers and readers believersFrom Egypt to Budapest, Rakim is the truest leftUnderstand the Scriptures like the minister Louis FI told you who God is, you ignored me like most the prophetsJesus, Solomon, Abraham, Moses and MuhammadI showed the scholars, well fulfill the broken promiseI spit this truth to predict the future like NostradamusLike Revelations, Im hoping my quotes revealThe seven spirits of God when I open the sealInterpret the holy Quran, these flows will guide youTranslate the Torah, and decode the BibleWarn the elders in the mosques, masons, and the lawThe seven churches, the synagogues, its the RenaissanceSkin is bronze, like the MessiahRakim Allahs bout to reveal a bigger secret than time and the GodHoly are youHoly are youThere is no God but you (I want to challenge you)There is no God but you (and soon I will challenge you)Praised be the Lord (I am, I am the Alpha and Omega)

Look what yall made me do
Chorus:
this is your koran or bible
to be a true emcee icon or idol
the contents you put in your songs are vital
like training for the ufc you want a title
slam thoughts on a canvas flip em and pin em metaphors and similes and synonyms in em
spit heat around the town the more you get it heard till you spit at 2000 miles before it hit a curve
then flood your rhymes and your rap pages word play punch lines and catch phrases
heat sports with players and ballers new game street talk straight off the corners new slang
i got heat for crowds for those that pursuit it
spitters i show you flow till your vocals are through it
I m showing you freestyle just focus into it
if you a gee ill show you how to cope when you do it
Chorus:
forever sick like catching aids is
in a class of greatness for magic phrases
my predicates last for pages every letter fit trend setter like fashion statements
my quotes get a shrine in the hood forever
I wrote some of the illest rhymes ever put together
soon as i make em rappers take em analyze em for days and para phrase em
Im back hip hoppers
I back my scripts and documents
raps hit the block its a wrap its the apocalypse
the hood give my rap flow names like nine eleven and crack cocaine


I hit the building it gets hotter in em
its like birds most rappers dont know how to flip em
i got hip em get hop and show em how to spit em i bust a rhyme then i school em for for free i scholarship em
Chorur:song the competition know the deal your not ready now
because your dealing with the R know how its going down this is it your so sick with your skills your flow goes right in you can kill rap
its hard since you can flip it isnt it bars its infinite so ra deliver it far different
hard lyric and part instruments start spitting the articulate yall rhythms get
till every syllable you drop is pivotal
its not original its not as memorable
ill lyrical till hes so popular they sick of you
pandemic a threat level five its critical
kill em off with a word like euthanasia
till it spread to the youth in asia
in the booth im major my music monumental im a mogul
you gonna make sense im gonna show you
you got to put the life in them lines make the deaf hear sight to the make your flow tighter brighter design
so if the mic is your grind then biting s a crime especially if a ghost writers writing your rhymes.
Chorus : it don matter if i aint on the page
you gonna tell me what you want
i give it to you the way you want it show you how to flow and how to rip any phrase you you want you just keep your eye on me i show you how to emcee
if its wack ordinary displays you want tell what you want i give it to you the way you want show you how to flow and how to rip any stage you on i can show you how to emcee like i got a degree

Yall know what my purpose is
I spit verses that lift curses off my dead president worshipers
Back where the surface is gangsters and murderers
Making money made us merciless
It?s the birth of the streets its over they said
Rappers crossed over they dead
I spit my verse with technique till they know when they ledge
First to compete then I?m over their heads
He too lyrical and too subliminal
Every day from spiritual too criminal
It?s a message in the bottle open it
It?s a lesson in survival cope with it
It don?t make sense to die for the root of evil
It get too cerebral when that don?t seem lethal
Either way is hell I cant save the world
But I can show them how to save themselves
From the?

Evil things that people do, sometimes, legal dreams that we pursue, sometime we don?t think that we can lose, sometimes
Call it >>>>, it?s the root of evil we the proof, some times it?s a plea from me to u

I seen through the eyes of the prophets
King tutankhamun
And Martins and Malcolms
And Elijah Mohameds
Wise with knowledge
Paid in full interest aside in the pockets
Just rise with the topics
Rise economics I show you that time is more valuable than them diamonds in your watches
U grind where the block is you die for those dollars
Plus work for them too u know right where wallet is
Thugs is pitchin chicks is in the club stripping

Flippin drugs and pimpin hood is flood of grippin
Latin kings and black guerillas governments
In fact hopng we don?t go at these go at these cracker killers
It sound like a set up and we the victims
One out of a million will beat the system
Here and wish for flippin brinks is over with
Take your chips and go legit
From the?

Evil things that people do, sometimes, illegal dreams that we pursue, sometime we don?t think that we can lose, sometimes
Call it >>>>>>>>>>>, it?s the root of evil we the proof, some times it?s a plea from me to u

To my g?s on the block that do what they gotta do
Don?t get me wrong I don?t judge I?m not knockin you
Guess that?s what not having a job will do
People starving gotta get their dollars too
Get that prop at night it?s a lot of strife
My advice is don?t get blinded by the lights
Drug money and blood money got a price
6 feet under or 25 to life
Do the crime and u might do the time you served it
What it?s worth when you do a crime and get murdered
Time is precious it?s time we earned
Its time to questioned your grind isn?t working
It?s time that we changed the game
We been waitin for change and exchange
Why play with death play it safe momma
And do your best to stay away
From the?

Uh창?짝..I got it good (Neyo)

I put product in the street that sell quicker than weed, I spit it raw like I'm flippin a key
I got what y'all need (Satisfaction Guaranteed)
I got what y'all need (Satisfaction Guaranteed)

I got pure for the fiends give u more than a breeze, thru ya blood stream quicker than D,
I got what y'all need (Satisfaction Guaranteed)
I got what y'all need (Satisfaction Guaranteed)

Uh, its what they been waitin for창?짝창?짝


I put the whole world in a dope fiend and still leaning, a many years away from the game they still fiendin
My hustle and flow, sound like C-notes, smoke like a pound hit the town like key-notes
I bag it up and get it crackin in clubs, go on tours like I'm trafficking drugs

(I got what y'all need)

Who want musical narcotics, they all got it, bomb product will sure profit when y'all cop it
Any hood or any city I'm pumpin in, any slum I'm in, my custom is come again
Spit flow by the boatload like a Columbian, my shipments go out then bring the money in
Like supplies the product than do the pra bricks, go out my way, so biters can't dupe what I spit
Like Freddy told Priest in that superfly flick, playa u always got some superfly shhhhhh

Chorus

Uh, It ain't a city I ain't moving weed in, the world wonder my product got em hallucinating


Droppin heaviest rhymes known, to every minds flown, keep it poppin until its clockin in every time zone
Uh, time is money, my grind is hungry, it's for my dudes and my dime honeys

(I got what y'all need)

Things run up in it mass where I been, nothing get em high as a bag of Rakim
I'm red like Canadian, cuss wit a Opium touch a fat piece of hash, seen soap with some dust
I got it so good, I got the whole hood smoking it, coke cookers kill for the flow to cook coke in it
The new form of crack, turn fans to fanatics hip hop hands to attacks fiends hit off that
DJ's cut it, let the streets step on that, still a hundred percent pure King Heron's back

Chorus

I got a bout a million Mami's that call me they ex love cuz I kept em ex thug and F'd up like sex drugs
They never come down futuristic high; I leave em, spaced out so they can kiss the sky
Its like Budda, Mami's say, man is he blessed Pac to push a man in a vest
They won't relapse no indeed he's back, my rap flow natural aphrodisiac
I'm a key to a user, piano to a dealer, liquor to a alcoholic to smokers a piff of chocolate
The gospel, for the ghetto so spit the gossip, is he Moses to drugs, either way it's a profit
Call me your drug lord, spit commandments you hooked, it's the King pin every day I get a book
Playing my surveillance tapes, I'm hot on the streets, even cops on the beat they call copping the heat

Chorus 2X
(Neyo)

hey yo every time hear some real hip hop man I start thinking... yo I"m still in love man ...listen
I'm in booth like prison
lid like lift
if music's like woman
i'm whipped like a nymph
i love to keep it pushing
like the basement speakers
love hearing real hip hop and making heaters
born entertainer
armed with the flamer
if they bust shoots with it
come on it's the blamer
got the place to loose it
booth shaking to it
true gangster music
screwface included
macho lingo
the beat'll remind you
of the quatro cinco
or cinco de mayo
put it in your car
turn the sound sky high
Ra down the block sound like a drive by
keep chicks moving
heat keep them open
put em in the mood and they leave something broken
D.J set the scene to it in the club
sound track to the hood theme music for the thug
I told you I'm still in love baby
beats drop heavy every rhyme one ton
streets not ready hurry nine one one
spot gets frantic
too late to panic
the meteor they can't stop from hitting the planet
Sodom and Gamorah
Sadam and Osama
the horror without the bomb and no llama
spitting at a show performing
vocals are swarming
flow overflowing like it's global warming
I flood the market out
I'm over your head now
roll the carpet out


the droughts over and dead now
when I kill a track
the true story the cause of euphoria
the thrillers back
next flow level
hip hop lover
dress code ghetto
lit vibe cutter
just an artist trying to rep the hardest
and make history so not even death can part us
it's love
I'm still in love baby I'm still in love
It's the god Rakim
they know I get it (in)
they pull me back (in)
I'm going back (in)
spitting fire
ghetto music
getting higher like a drug therapeutic
hooked like an addict
strung like sex
look I got to have it
It alleviates stress
quick as marijuana settle in the brain
needle hit the record like heroin to vein
blood start flowing
adrenaline rush
love start jonesing
school yard crush
Ra still feining still emceeing
more deals and geeing
broads still screaming
it's that dude here's that sick
spit that jewel
talk that (shhh)
and wait till the lights go off the show start
that's when it's time for Ra to go hard
I told you I'm still in love
always was

[Tracey Horton - Intro] (Rakim)
La-da-da-dah, la-da-da-dah
La-da-da-dah, la-da-da-dah (Uh...yeah...)
(This is for the haters...keep hatin)
La-da-da-dah, la-da-da-dah
La-da-da-dah, la-da-da-dah
(It's what we call money music, right here)
(Uh, yeah, let's go in)

[Rakim - Verse 1ne]
I perform in cities, hoods, and slums, the best seller is drugs
And money is the only thing that get love
They say don't let it make you, but that's how they rate you
And the more you got, the more they hate you (That's okay too!)
Just don't get in the way, 'cause at the end of the day
My agenda's make sure I get them ends to get paid (uh-huh)
So I'm stackin grands 'til the math expand
It's the man with the master plan
Since the Bambino, cash made my path cross with evil
Uno dos cinco on a crowded corner rollin c-lo
To chips and the chick in the casino pourin Cliquot
'Cause now I make music for the c-notes
From New York to Puerto Rico, California to Rio
Hit the streets like the kilo but I'm legal
It's swga like I walk with heat though with all my people
But it's just me and my alter ego

[Chorus: Tracey Horton]
I walk these streets, wit my mind on my plan
It's alright if you don't understand
I walk these streets, think like I got a gun in my hand
'cause hatin is the nature of man
(Sometimes I wanna, stop the cameras, just pop the hammer
Box the innocent bystander and his man up)
I walk these streets, think like I got a gun in my hand
It's alright if you don't understand
Just stay outta my waaaay

[Maino - Verse 2wo]
MAINOOOOO~!
Yo, one for my comrades, two for my family
Three for the day that I run into my enemies
We gon' make a movie, the world gon' remember me

I survived it all dawg, what the hell you tellin me?
I remember days when, I was young and aidin
Cuttin class, chasin ass, couldn't pass grades and
Chillin on the block then, listenin to Rakim
Back of his album filled up with Killer Ben
Supreme Magnetic and I wasn't athletic
But I ran around with the Tre-8 Magnetic
Money on my mind, crack vials in my Levi's
Been a dog since I had the cream colored Filas (Hahahah!)
Yeah, yeah, we fly, seen it all with these eyes
Gunplay and drugs if you put my mind on rewind
Fast forward my life, ya boy done MADE IT!
If I could do it over, I wouldn't CHANGED IT!

[Chorus]

[Rakim - Verse 3hree]
(Ay, good lookin out my dude)
Aiyyo Maino, it's the same ol' same ol'
Don't matter if you in it for the fame or you lay low
Haters gon' hate but, it's okay though (Keep doin what you ddo)
The angle is make sure the payroll stay swoll
Big faces, cake dough and di-nay-ros
Rubels, yen yang, euros and pesos
Seven digit figures, tryna make more zay-ros
Spray holes in whoever in the way so (Stay outta my waaaay)
While I count the next bundle (that's right)
"All means necessary," Malcolm X hustle
A threat yet humble, about to flex muscle
Get a big amount then I'm in and out the next jungle
'Cause every other day, I'm in another state
It's like I cross the thin line between love and hate
But I gotta eat, gotta get another plate
So I'm on my cake walk for the cake

[Chorus]

Just stay outta my waaaay..
(It's what they do..)
Just stay outta my waaaay..

[Intro - Rakim - talking] In the words of the late, great Martin Luther King "How long? Not long" ... Won't be long, uh huh Uh, uh Sing along [Chorus - Rakim] (Tracey Horton) - w/ ad libs (It won't be long, 'til the trouble and the struggle is gone The hustle make the struggle get gone) It's hard to make a move, we strugglin Everybody hate to lose but they love to win (It won't be long, 'til the world sings the words to our song That way we forever live on) Back on my grind, I'm hustlin It's just a matter of time and I'll come up again [Verse 1 - Rakim] They told me hustle never prolong But I got caught up in the struggle like a slow song (uh huh) 'Cause my love and respect for this is so strong I question the state of hip-hop (uh), major labels, etc. and so on (uh) The show'll go on, still fiend to get my blow on But if it's like this, then I might quit But hold on (uh), this can only go wrong but for so long (uh huh) Get right quick or I might flip Try to keep a tight lip, not to complain Ramblin, mind scramblin 'cause patience ain't blockin the pain (uh uh) Mic sick, lyrics is still locked in the brain (uh huh) Like Mike Vick sittin in jail watchin the game (uh) I wait 'til the day I can play my position (yeah) Or should I say the die I obey my addiction (uh huh) Then complete my legacy (uh) Without compromisin my artistic integrity (come on) [Chorus] - w/ ad libs [Verse 2 - Rakim] So when they ask where I go from here (go 'head) The road and the goal is clear (uh) but it's so severe (uh) Sometimes I feel like lettin go, I swear I had setbacks my whole career (straight y'all) Messin with my grind's like messin with my mind But yo, I'm still breathin, so I guess it's just a sign (uh huh) But it's meaning to the message in the lines (word up) Some things happen for a reason like a blessing in disguise But success was in my eyes, the shine was blindin me The fame, a little bit of change, it took some time to see The lesson for the wise, profit more Time to be a record and the prize was poppin off Finally I made a couple of moves, got my own label (got to get it) Me and a couple of dudes, we at the dope table (let's get that money) Took a oath to stay true, now it's an empire Put out the new Rakim album and it's fire [Chorus] - w/ ad libs [Verse 3 - Rakim] Feel like I'm back where I belong when I'm in the booth (uh) Produce and perform at my pinnacle (uh huh) Speak the truth in my songs and my interviews (the truth) For the youth and my dons and my women too (uh huh) Guap insisted, watch your business with a drama dunn (get that money) Hustlers is where we get persona from Gotta get it, not just wish a dollar come We optimistic since Obama won But these days of recession We ain't safe yet (uh huh), pray, a paycheck away from the Great Depression (uh) Major stressin but we wait for blessings Long as the Federal Reserve still paper pressing I wrote the plot for gettin this cabbage in the hood Where the average cat can triple his status in the hood Don't stop, 'til we livin lavish in the hood I'm like Barack with The Stimulus Package in the hood [Chorus] - w/ ad libs [Outro - Tracey Horton] - w/ Rakim ad libs until fade It won't be long, 'til the trouble and the struggle is gone The hustle make the struggle get gone It won't be long, 'til the world sings the words to our song That way we forever live on

You and I will always be together
Peace or war no matter the weather
Me and you like birds of a feather
Til the wind blows us away
We stand tall while they fall together
Gun left I formation like the letter
Modeling the shelter cause we're built for whatever
Til the wind blows us away

From the beginning it felt like we been in love
We took at chance knowing how slim it was
The world is ours now let's split it up
And you know how short life is lets Big it up
Lets get fitted up/Get it in and live it up
Dinner plus the cinema then let's hit the club
Posting up like both of us is spending wads
Cause we didn't get it if it didn't come in him and hers
Chemistry together just like a recipe/Or destiny we was meant to be together
Don't worry bout me going left or doing you wrong
We right for each other it's a beautiful bond
We hug and touch we love and lust
We last through the bashes we cuss and fuss
until we trust that love is just for us
Until it's ashes and ashes and dust to dust

You and I will always be together
Peace or war no matter the weather
Me and you like birds of a feather
Til the wind blows us away
We stand tall while they fall together
Gun left I formation like the letter
Modeling the shelter cause we're built for whatever
Til the wind blows us away

In each others arms
It's like heroin love
That dope fiend forever in love
But it's better than drugs
It's heavy on the heart it's still a risk
But we'll never fall apart we was built for this
Nuttin that we can't sort out, sport up, and thought out
Erase all doubt
Go hard and all out
You and my fam fall out
Most of your family can't stand me
We can't let that cross out our family plans can we
Uhuh, we won't get no love from it let's just keep it 100 til we 100
Stack Grand's til we grandparents
Whatever work but lets hope for the best and expect the worse
Cause we'll have good and bad times together
But the bad will make the good times that much better
So let's absorb it
Til we scrolled out in coffins in 20-12
If the world fall out the orbit

You and I will always be together
Peace or war no matter the weather
Me and you like birds of a feather
Til the wind blows us away
We stand tall while they fall together
Gun left I formation like the letter
Modeling the shelter cause we're built for whatever
Til the wind blows us away

We go together like criminals and crime
Instrumentals and rhymes
Clothes and trends like real G?셲 and dimes
Stone Gems and shine real cream and pies
Chrome rims and rides like ill teams and grind
Like identical designs the pentacle to rise
Flows and ants like skilled dreams and drive
Home in France like a lil??trees and bobs
Close as kin like heels, jeans and thighs
Since I was rocking Giselle?셲 you was hotter than hell
Now it?셲 me and you like Barack and Michelle
Denzel and Pauletta
prevail in all weather
Stand tall while they fail and fall together
Pleasure and the pain the pressure and the hate
Through whatever we together like forever and a day
Checks and dollar signs
The love for paper
Better yet like father time and mother nature

Yo Rakim what's up?
Yo I'm doing the knowledge E. I'm trying to get paid in full
Well check this out since Nobry Walters is our agency right?
True
Kara Lewis is our agent
Word up
Zakia/4th & Broadway is our record company
Indeed
Okay so who we rollin with?
We rollin with Rush
Of Rushtown Management. Check this out since we talking over
this def beat that I put together, I wanna hear some of them
def rhymes, know what I'm sayin? And together, we can get
paid in full...


Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain't nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
But now I learned to earn cos I'm righteous
I feel great! so maybe I might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
Then maybe I'll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do I miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish
Cos I don't like to dream about gettin paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
To now test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, cos I'm paid in full

Intro>
Drunken Tiger Balm,
아픈 마음의 상처에 음악의 연고를 발라버려

Hook>
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)
All my drunkens in the place make ya feet stomp,
drunken in the back get ready to react.
drunkens in the place make ya feet stomp,
drunken in the back get ready to react.

Verse 01>
밤마다 밤새 마감일에 압박
구겨진 종이 쪼가리로 더럽혀진 방바닥에
엎질러진 커피를 대충대충 닦아 난 창작의 노예 창작의 고뇌
좁혀지는 오선 정지선 안에 갇힌 노랫말
말들은 머릿속 마구간에 서 있구
그들은 그저 들판으로 자유롭고 싶구
금 토 일 월 화 수 목 화
인생은 드라마 이젠 놀랍진 않아
매일매일 끄떡거리는 연필심을 따라
필요 없는 우표에 침을 발라버려 엽서에 붙여 하늘로 날려버려

Hook>
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)
All my drunkens in the place make ya feet stomp,
drunken in the back get ready to react.
drunkens in the place make ya feet stomp,
drunken in the back get ready to react.

Verse 02>
Liars, liars 발라버려 마른 입술에 침을 발라버려
떡볶이에 고추장을 발라버려 김밥에 참기름을 발라버려
찬밥을 라면국에 말아먹어 비빔밥에 고추장을 발라버려
삼겹살에 쌈장을 발라버려 다 발라버려 발라 발라 버려
Ain’t no future in your fronting, I’m a monster
(Ain’t no running from him)
난 한방을 노려 난 한방을 노려 지더라도 상관없어
다음 판을 노려 난 갈 때까지 갔어 (What’s up!, What’s up!)
난 참을 만큼 참았어 (What’s up!, What’s up!)

Break>
All my drunken in the place say bomb(bomb),
All my drunken in the place say bomb(bomb),
All my drunken in the place say bomb(bomb),
발라라 발라라 발라버려

Hook>
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)
밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려) 밤 밤 바바바 밤(발라버려)

[Eric B]: Yo Rakim what's up?
[Rakim]: Yo I'm doing the knowledge E. I'm trying to get paid in full
[E]: Well check this out since Nobry Walters is our agency right?
[R]: True
[E]: Kara Lewis is our agent
[R]: Word up
[E]: Zakia/4th & Broadway is our record company
[R]: Indeed
[E]: Okay so who we rollin with?
[R]: We rollin with Rush
[E]: Of Rushtown Management. Check this out since we talking over
this def beat that I put together, I wanna hear some of them
def rhymes, know what I'm sayin? And together, we can get
paid in full...

[Rakim]
Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain't nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
But now I learned to earn cos I'm righteous
I feel great! so maybe I might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
Then maybe I'll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do I miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish
Cos I don't like to dream about gettin paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
To now test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, cos I'm paid in full

I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnetize me no more
But it's biting me, fighting me,
inviting me to rhyme
I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
The rhyme will be kicking
it until I hit my last note
My mind remains to find all kinda ideas
Self-esteem makes
it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one
And you know that I'm the soloist
So Eric B, make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric B easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
Cuz to me, MC means move the crowd
I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's coming
next from the flex of the wrist
Say "Indeed" then I proceed
cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix
his fingertips,
so I rhyme until there's no rhymes left
I hurry up because the cut will
make him bleed to death
But he's kicking it cuz it ain't no half steppin'
The party is live, the Rak can't be kept inside
if he's eruptin' just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style
or the same old rhyme
Cuz I'm better then the rest of them
Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

Go get a girl and get soft and warm,
Don't get excited,
you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand
cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have I done lately
First you said all you want is love
and affection
Let me be your angel
and I'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of things
You caught an attitude,
you need food to eat up
I'm scheming like I'm dreaming
on a couch wit my feet up
You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me

Jeah.. uhh.. it's what I do for a livin nigga
Eat for a livin nigga (watcher)
That's how I live for a livin nigga.. (watcher)
Okay, let's do this (the watcher)

[Verse One: Jay-Z]
Things just ain't the same for gangsters
But I'm a little too famous to shoot these pranksters
All of these rap singers claimin they bangers
Doin all sorts of twisted shit with they fingers
Disrespectin the game, no home trainin or manners
I was doin this shit when you was shittin Pampers
I was movin them grams 'fore you, knew what a hand that hand was
Duckin the vans, radars, the scanners
'Fore you knew what hard white to tame was
I was hittin the turnpike, aight with the bammers
I was nice with my hands, cuss aight with them hammers
I was prickin my finger 'fore you knew what a Fam was
I had it laid out 'fore you knew what a plan was
Three hundred mill' later, now you understand us
Y'all ain't see us comin through Vegas
You ever seen so much cham' bust in one night
Grand fucked up one fight
I was on the Peter Pan bus
You was Peter Pan up in your room, y'all fuckin with whom?
Allowed me to be taught
You cowards is just now learnin the shit that we talk
You niggaz ain't know about a Robb Report
Bout a high speed Porsche, i.e.
You niggaz ain't know how to floss 'til I came through the door
like "Eric B. for Pres," respect me in this BITCH!
You can't disrespect us cause you got a little check cut
You was suckin for so long, fuckin your little neck up
Now you too big for your britches, you got a few little bitches
You think you Hugh Hefner, you just ridiculous
I blew breath for you midgets, I gave life to the game
It's only right I got the right to be king
Niggaz that got life really like what I sing
Cause they know is he really like, niggaz feel my pain
Know the shit I DON'T write be the illest shit that's ever been recited
in the game word to the hyphen in my NAME!
J, A, Y, DASH, Hoffa
The past present nigga the future, proper
The holy trinity of hip-hop is us
We give, Dre his props BUT that's where it stops
It's the Roc

[Chorus: Truth Hurts]
I know, you got your eyes on me
I feel you watchin me
But it ain't hard to see that you can't see me
You try, but what you think you saw
Ain't what you thought you saw
You bed-da off not lookin at all
(Everywhere that I go, ain't the same as befo')
(People I used to know, just don't know me no mo')
(But everywhere that I go, I got people I know)
(Who got people they know, so I suggest you lay low)

[Verse Two: Dr. Dre]
I'm still on top of the game
Still droppin flames, still cock and aim
Still at the top had the Roc for the fame
over setbacks, there's been a lot since I came
You seen it all, how I got, how I gained
The momentum when it dropped, how I got through the pain
When I roll and shock, they watched me reclaim
the streets, they made a special spot for my name
Dre, haters wanna stop to my reign
But the music lives in me, every drop in my veins
The pride and the pain
All the way back from the rise of my name
See the world clear through the eyes of the mane
See the world chear for the rhymes that I gave
When the beat bangs it'll drive them insane
The eyes that I played
The best to emerge in the game is The Watcher

[Chorus]

[Verse Three: Rakim]
I'm "Rated R," my brain contains graphics thangs
It turn traumatic teens into addicts, and fiends
It's like, watchin a movie through a panoramic screen
Which means, I can see the whole planet in the scene
Cash is the topic, the object, a fatter pocket
Some take the crack and chop it, but those that haven't got it
take away the added profit, it's catastrophic
I take the gat and cock it, and I'll sit back and watch it
These New York streets is ugly, I keep it gully
The world is mine and can't nobody keep it from me
Yo, my neighborhood is never sunny
In the place where the number one cause of death is money
You can try copin
I've seen enough shit to leave your frame of mind broken
I'm still alive and scopin
Be another hundred years 'til my skies close in
And I'ma die with my eyes open, the watcher [echoes]

[Chorus]

*R - Rugged and rough thats how I do it
A - ALLAH who I praise the fullest,
K - keep it moving
I - stand alone
M - its my crown, my world, my throne

R - Rugged and rough thats how I do it
A - ALLAH who I praise the fullest,
K - keep it moving
I - stand alone
M - its my crown, my world, my throne

hey yo we rockin a log shack,
its a rack, ya all relax, the almanac,
just show me where the parties at,
simmin all of that, call, coma's and cardiac's
bra's and cats screamin on my god he's back,
just imagine, I hit the lab and get it crackin,
a thousand styles in one verse, riddled to switch patterns,
chicks get stabbed in the back, till they get spasm,
known to spit a magnum or split an atom,
who would have known that jesus would come back to the ghetto,
on that level and that ferral, like a black hero,
with pack medals, so black rebels, who backpedal,
ta ferral with five levels and take over the rap world,
gettin bizarre, hardcore, this is for yall,
get over the park, playing when you get in the car,
chill at the bar, sip something but split a cigar,
get with ya dawgs, i'm gettin on, schemin the bar, its the...

* Repeat

yeah, yo, I used to make things blow when makin stroll's, (??)
and learn ta make this dough where gangsta's roll,
think like the late, great ca pone, when the bank is closed,
its cash-in (??), claim they bold but they aint this cold,
i'm from the dog city, even pritty chicks act up,
cause they get claped up and stack up, they stick that up,
put the strap up, you think my name was kid, back up,
big nigga's (Huck), pick that up or lick that up,
raised by gangsta's and scandlers, hustlers,
con artists and convicts, killers and dawgs,
drug dealers, players and pimps, smoothe talkers,
stick up kid, thugs, real nigga's and god's,
haunted by any, swallen, lay dead in the turf,
cursed by every spirit that never made it to birth,
since the moon seperated from earth, thats why they saying,
i'm the greatest that ever orchistrated a verse, its the...

* Repeat

hey yo, toast to that, its the cat, it burns back to a soul clap,
a smoker track, how dope is that, po-per rap, rope backs, demo
stacked,
and know that before they turn coke to crack,
to my dawgs, settin sirens on and firearms, out come die'in wars,
and behind iron bar, to pull above entire braws with iron ball, (??)
tryin rob, my dialog, I engolf,
chicks know this and get next to my thrown and sniff my calone,
and get right along, sex pots at home and testosterone,
corress, ice, dress drops, and my bed rocks the room,
hit the floor, its time for two thousand three, its galore,
who rock the style as wild as me, rest ashore,
when I rock dance crowds, they scream, dis malore,
I rock my album Rakim, its the...

* Repeat (x2)

[Eric B]: Yo Rakim what's up?
[Rakim]: Yo I'm doing the knowledge E. I'm trying to get paid in full
[E]: Well check this out since Nobry Walters is our agency right?
[R]: True
[E]: Kara Lewis is our agent
[R]: Word up
[E]: Zakia/4th & Broadway is our record company
[R]: Indeed
[E]: Okay so who we rollin with?
[R]: We rollin with Rush
[E]: Of Rushtown Management. Check this out since we talking over
this def beat that I put together, I wanna hear some of them
def rhymes, know what I'm sayin? And together, we can get
paid in full...

[Rakim]
Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain't nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
But now I learned to earn cos I'm righteous
I feel great! so maybe I might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
Then maybe I'll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do I miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish
Cos I don't like to dream about gettin paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
To now test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, cos I'm paid in full

Planet Earth was my place of birth
Born to be the SOLE controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any a rhyme that I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets going, the going gets rough
When I start flowing, the mic might bust
The next state, I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes
'Cause times was hard on the Boulevard
So I vote God and never get scarred and gauled
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Looking over the edge but the R never fell
A trip to slip 'cause my Nikes got grip
Stand on my own two feet and come equip
Any stage I'm seen on, I'M LIKE A PHENOM
I stand alone and need nothing to lean on
Going for self wit a long way to go
So much to say but I still flow slow
I come correct and I won't look back
'Cause it ain't where you're from, it's where
you're at
Even the (ghetto)

I learn to relax in my room and escape from New York
And return through the womb of the world as a
thought
Thinking how hard it was to be born
BEING EQUIPPED wit no physical form
Millions OF CELLS wit one destination
To reach the best part, it's life creation
9 months later, a job well done
Make way, 'cause here I come
Since I made it this far, I can't stop now
There's a will and a way and I got THE know-how
To be all I can be and more
And see all there is to see before
I'M Called and go back to the essence
It's alot to learn so I study my lessons
I thought the ghetto was the worst that could
happen to me
I'm glad I listen when my father was rapping to me
'Cause back in the days, they lived in caves
ExileD from the original man, a straight way
Now that's what I call hard times
I rather be here to exercise the mind
Then I take a thought around the world twice
From knowledge NEWBORN back to knowledge precise
Across the desert, that's HOT AS THE ARABIAN
But they couldn't cave me in 'cause I'm the Asian
REaching for the city OF Mecca, visit Medina
Visions of Neffertiti then I seen a
Mind keeps traveling, I'll be back after I
Stop and think about the brothers and sisters in
Africa
Return the thought through the eye of a needle
For miles I thought and I just fought the people
Under the dark skies on a dark side
Not only there but right here's an apartheid
So now is the time for us to react
Take a trip through the mind and when you get back
Understand you're third eye seen all of that
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)
Even the (ghetto)

No more props, I want property
In every borough, nobody's stopping me
Because I'm thorough, rhymes are making real estate
for me to own
Wherever I bless a microphone
007 is back and relaxing
On POINT N' reactin' and ready for action
I'm so low key that you might not see me
Incognito and taking it easy
Quiet, it's kept on a hush hush
In front of a crowd, I get loud, there's a bumrush
Be calm, keep a low pro, and play the background
HOPIN' the wack rapper'LL put the mic back down
So rip it, break it in half, go head and slam it
'Cause when it's time to build, I'm a mechanic
I'm bonding and mending, attaching and blending
So many solos, there is no ending
People in my neighborhood, they know I'm good
From London to Hollywood, wherever I stood
Footprints remain on stage ever since
As I walk the street, I leave fossils and dents
When I had sex, I left my name on necks
My trademark was left throughout the projects
I used to get rich when I played celo
When I rolled 4, 5, 6, they go we know
So I collect my cash then slide
I got my back, my gun's on my side
It shouldn't have to be like that
I guess it ain't where you're from, it's where
you're at
Even the (ghetto)
I'm from the (ghetto)
Word up, peace

I'm the arsenal
I got artillery, lyrics of ammo
Rounds of rhythm
Then I'm 'a give 'em piano
Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin' to ricochet
ready to aim at the brain
~Now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin'
Felt like a rifle
Massage 'n' melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an Uzi
Nothin' can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don't lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While I'm lettin' this fifi get wit me
You steppin' with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin' at me
Beats and bullets pass me
None on target
They want the R hit
But wtch the god get
Quicker, the tongue is the trigger
'Cause I'm real fast
Let off some rhythm at 'em
Let 'em feel the blast
Penetrate at a crazy rate
This ain't no .38
Hit 'em at point blank range
And watch 'em radiate
Runnin' out of ammunition
I'm done wit' em
You ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em

I push a power that's punishable
Better be a prisoner
The hit man is the
Brother wit' charisma
Showing you that I have
Powerful paragraphs
Followers will become leaders
But without a path
Ya mentally paralyzed
Crippled ya third eye
Rhymes are blurred
Then it occurred that you heard I
Reduced the friction with crucifixion
Let loose the mix then
Boost the piston
Eric hit 'em with' some of that
Cut like a lumberjack
And me gettin' hit back
It won't be none of that
I'm untouchable
You see me in 3-D
When I let the rhythm hit another M.C.
Lyrics made of lead
Enters your head
Then eruptions of a mass production
Will spread when
Music is louder
Full of gunpower
Microphone machinery
When I see a crowd of
Party people pumpin'
Their fist like this
Ya hide in the back
Thinkin' that I might miss
But the R is accurate
Plus I'm packed up with
Educated punch lines that
I have to hit
Whatever I aim at
I line 'em up
Ya body is weak, feel with pain
That time is up
You been hit with somethin'
Different, isn't it?
Rakim is gonna radiate and nothing's equivalent
Nothin' can harm me
Why try to bar me
You couldn't come around THE RA with aN army
You'll get wrecked by the architect
So respect 'em
I disconnect 'em, soon as I inject 'em
With radiation
Put 'em by the basement
Bust his chest open
Bash his face in
Let it split 'im
Since he brought his main man wit' 'im
He ask me how I did 'im
I let the rhythm hit 'im
Let it hit 'im

Dance floor's dangerous
Packed in like a briefcase
Rhyth with ral rough rhyme
Beats with deep bass
Girls with tight pants
Maybe they might dance
Tonight if the Rs on the mike
There's a slight chance
The crowd is crucial
M.C.'s grounds are neutral
Now that you're here let me introduce you
Get ready
I'm hard read like graffiti but steady
Science I drop is real heavy
Radiant energy, that'll be the penalty
Touch the third rail on the pain of remedy
The prescription's one every hour
Now it's a HABIT
Ya need another hit from the freestyle fanatic
Attention: follow directions real close
Keep out of reach of children
Beware of overdose
Too many milligram
NO ONE made a iller jam
My rhyme is the rhythm of thoughts
That kill a man
Ideas for the ear to fear
Might split 'im
He'll never forget 'im
He'll rest in peace wit' 'em
At least when he left he'll know what hit 'im
The last breath of the words of death
Was the rhythm

Now throw you hands in the air and yo, go
Rakim will do the rest of this slow
If I speed they know you'll blow the hell up
If I slow up, THEY'LL catch up, hell no
Wicked as I kicked it
Don't need to remix it
'Cause I prefixed it
Reversed and switched it
To perform to perfection
Section for section
Rhymes keep connectin'
Ya guessin' what's next an'
Blood pressure rises, ya damn near lost it
Ya hit the ground burnin' and woke up frostbit'
'Cause when I explained ya can't complain for pain
Travel through the brain hit a vein
Then remain, let it radiate
Vibes will vibrate
Why did you violate
Now I'm 'a have to let the style brak
Moans now the tone is ingrown
After this here's thrown, gimme another microphone
Before I get that fifi I met
Whisper I wanna reach HER intellect
Kiss her 'cause I wanna give her the most respect
So I shine and let the write reflect
Hold 'er, mold 'er, make 'er feel older
Lay her on my shoulder
EEverything I told her
Makes her feel secure whenever I'm wit' 'er
And you know how I did 'er
Me and the rhythm hit 'er

I'm the arsenal
I got artillery, lyrics of ammo
Rounds of rhythm
Then I'm 'a give 'em piano
Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin' to ricochet
ready to aim at the brain
~Now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin'
Felt like a rifle
Massage 'n' melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an Uzi
Nothin' can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don't lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While I'm lettin' this fifi get wit me
You steppin' with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin' at me
Beats and bullets pass me
None on target
They want the R hit
But wtch the god get
Quicker, the tongue is the trigger
'Cause I'm real fast
Let off some rhythm at 'em
Let 'em feel the blast
Penetrate at a crazy rate
This ain't no .38
Hit 'em at point blank range
And watch 'em radiate
Runnin' out of ammunition
I'm done wit' em
You ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em

I push a power that's punishable
Better be a prisoner
The hit man is the
Brother wit' charisma
Showing you that I have
Powerful paragraphs
Followers will become leaders
But without a path
Ya mentally paralyzed
Crippled ya third eye
Rhymes are blurred
Then it occurred that you heard I
Reduced the friction with crucifixion
Let loose the mix then
Boost the piston
Eric hit 'em with' some of that
Cut like a lumberjack
And me gettin' hit back
It won't be none of that
I'm untouchable
You see me in 3-D
When I let the rhythm hit another M.C.
Lyrics made of lead
Enters your head
Then eruptions of a mass production
Will spread when
Music is louder
Full of gunpower
Microphone machinery
When I see a crowd of
Party people pumpin'
Their fist like this
Ya hide in the back
Thinkin' that I might miss
But the R is accurate
Plus I'm packed up with
Educated punch lines that
I have to hit
Whatever I aim at
I line 'em up
Ya body is weak, feel with pain
That time is up
You been hit with somethin'
Different, isn't it?
Rakim is gonna radiate and nothing's equivalent
Nothin' can harm me
Why try to bar me
You couldn't come around THE RA with aN army
You'll get wrecked by the architect
So respect 'em
I disconnect 'em, soon as I inject 'em
With radiation
Put 'em by the basement
Bust his chest open
Bash his face in
Let it split 'im
Since he brought his main man wit' 'im
He ask me how I did 'im
I let the rhythm hit 'im
Let it hit 'im

Dance floor's dangerous
Packed in like a briefcase
Rhyth with ral rough rhyme
Beats with deep bass
Girls with tight pants
Maybe they might dance
Tonight if the Rs on the mike
There's a slight chance
The crowd is crucial
M.C.'s grounds are neutral
Now that you're here let me introduce you
Get ready
I'm hard read like graffiti but steady
Science I drop is real heavy
Radiant energy, that'll be the penalty
Touch the third rail on the pain of remedy
The prescription's one every hour
Now it's a HABIT
Ya need another hit from the freestyle fanatic
Attention: follow directions real close
Keep out of reach of children
Beware of overdose
Too many milligram
NO ONE made a iller jam
My rhyme is the rhythm of thoughts
That kill a man
Ideas for the ear to fear
Might split 'im
He'll never forget 'im
He'll rest in peace wit' 'em
At least when he left he'll know what hit 'im
The last breath of the words of death
Was the rhythm

Now throw you hands in the air and yo, go
Rakim will do the rest of this slow
If I speed they know you'll blow the hell up
If I slow up, THEY'LL catch up, hell no
Wicked as I kicked it
Don't need to remix it
'Cause I prefixed it
Reversed and switched it
To perform to perfection
Section for section
Rhymes keep connectin'
Ya guessin' what's next an'
Blood pressure rises, ya damn near lost it
Ya hit the ground burnin' and woke up frostbit'
'Cause when I explained ya can't complain for pain
Travel through the brain hit a vein
Then remain, let it radiate
Vibes will vibrate
Why did you violate
Now I'm 'a have to let the style brak
Moans now the tone is ingrown
After this here's thrown, gimme another microphone
Before I get that fifi I met
Whisper I wanna reach HER intellect
Kiss her 'cause I wanna give her the most respect
So I shine and let the write reflect
Hold 'er, mold 'er, make 'er feel older
Lay her on my shoulder
EEverything I told her
Makes her feel secure whenever I'm wit' 'er
And you know how I did 'er
Me and the rhythm hit 'er

Me and Eric B was coolin' at the Paladium
Seen a all-world covered girl, I said "Hey lady I'm
Sorry if You're in a rush - Don't let me hold ya up
Or interveen or interrupt, but. . .
You got the look - I wanna get to know ya better
I had to let her know - but yo, I didn't sweat her
'Cause if you woulda seen what I was seein'
Almost looked Korean, but European.
When she spoke, her accent was self-explanatory -
Even her body language told the story
Her name was Mahogony - twin's name was Ebony
I said "My name is Ra - and this is Eric B"
Since the music was loud, I said "let's take a walk,
So we could talk and see New York.
Show time doesn't start until one o'clock
And once I entered your mind I wouldn't wanna stop
Caressin' ya thoughts till we was thinkin' the same
Calm ya nerves, massage ya brain
Each mic is a mineral, poetry's protein
Verse is a vitamin - Affects like Codine
So tell me how you feel and I'll reveal
A pill that'll heal ya pain - 'cause I'm real
She musta OD'd 'cause she couldn't resist
She spoke slowly when she told me this, she said

Chorus:

Over Me, She's goin' crazy
She'll rub me on my chest and call me Mr. Sexy
She said she'd have my kids and help me make my next G
Tell me I ain't finesse Mahogony . . .


Verse Two:

So I prescribed her, something to revive
And surprise her, she's liver and much more wiser
Than the light I shine when my brain cells spark,
Come to me so we can glow in the dark
And soon, you can represent the moon
As long as I keep ya in tune
I'll tell ya who ya are and why ya here
Take it in stride 'cause it might take a year
It's funny - how time flies when ya havin' fun
We got close and it was almost one
She kissed me slow, but you know how far a kiss can go
F*ck around and miss the show
So I told her to hold that thought real tight
We can finish where we left off later on tonite
Back to the scene of the crime on time
As they introduced the 'Fiend of the Rhyme'
She stood with a birds-eye view of me
Thinkin' of later on of what she would do to me
The back of the room I could see her eyes gloom
Patient, but hopin' that the show was over soon
As the place was ripped in half, she made her way to the front row
So I said "let's go"
I packed my mic as they screamed for an encore
The speakers were blown, plus my mic was sore
Besides I got places to go, ladies to see
And she could tell me how crazy she was over me
We drove off - she said she liked the way that I performed
And couldn't wait to get 'soft and warm', I said,
"I've been watchin' you, watchin' me
Looks I received made it hard to MC
I can take a hint, so I knew that she
Wanted my "Agony Agony Ag-on-y" in her bod-y
Showed her some sights, then I took her to the Condo
She was pipin' hot, but I kept my calm So
She asked how come I don't smile
I said, "Everything's fine, but I'm in a New York state of mind!"
As we reached the kingdom, she said bring some
Champagne, she'll entertain then sing some
Sentimental, songs real gentle,
It hit the spot and you know where it went to
As we embraced I felt her heart pumpin'
I knew she was in the mood for somethin'
So I laid on my back and relaxed
It wasn't the Perignon that made her collaspe
Over me

I'm the Alpha, with no Omega
Beginning without the, end so play the
eye inside, no extended version
Next episode be smooth as a Persian
Rhyme everlastin, there'll be no part two
Knowledge is infinite, once I start to draw
a better picture for your third eye, if you're blind
You know with a mic, I'm a black Michaelangelo
I'm the brother who ID ideas are colorful
Givin em insight, but givin em trouble to
comprehend cause they thoughts won't blend in
They're pretendin, while I'm extendin
You bite like a parasite, said that it you attacks
But you won't strike, cause you ain't no match
You need more light cause yours got dim
Then you get sparked by the Lord Rakim
What's the matter G, check your battery
Go get charged up, then come battle me
You try hard and Die Hard, you ain't Eveready
When they check the pulse, you'll be Dead as Freddie
SHOP AT SEARS for new ideas
Check your engine and ask your engineers
to equalize, try to disguise it
If that don't work yo, then MIDASIZE it
You need more power, better bring Battlecat
But this ain't Grayskull, and you ain't rippin jack
Don't drop the mic and jet for your tooley
("Bring it to me!")
We can go rhyme for rhyme til the mic stop the
workin
Then I'ma leave you behind the Iron Curtain
and you'll remain backstage
Your book is over, I ripped your last page
Changed the endin, at least you went out rappin
Now I'ma tell em what happened
I filled the mic with explosives, and lit it up
It was too heavy to hold, he couldn't pick it up
Pass the mic, let him try to get paid
He hit the stage, it went off like a hand grenade
Now scrape him off the floor and off my list
I ain't a soloist, I'm an arsonist
Sprayed up, he said he was gonna do what?
Played up, MC Grand but Pooh-Butt
Stole his lady, and drove her crazy
You asked me why - cause her man tried to play me
I sent her back a nervous wreck
and tried to put her back in check
My speciality is masterin the female species
I specialize in her, until she sees
where I come from, and why I came
I tame the train til she manifest my name
Fill her with life until she burst with energy
Then leave her restless, cause a lot of women be
tryin to drain us, and leave us stripped dry
Put holes in our pocket, but you ain't that fly
I clipped your wings and bring you down to Earth
and tell you what life is worth
It ain't rings and things that's materialistic
You wanna pip on, imperialist with
food for thought, cause I'm the shelter
I'll be your clothes, keep you warm and help ya
not to be hot to trot by a haunt
And why do y'all got to flaunt?
("You gotta use what you got
to get what you want")
Cool, I heat you up like a black mink coat
Hug your neck like a fat gold rope
Words I speak and my DJ's cuts will warm ya ears
like mink earmuffs
So Eric show em how fast your hand'sll go
so the people in the stands'll know
that you don't scratch your cuts in the grave
Moves in waves to my rhyme displays
Float, evoke, my tempo jets
Expressions express when you kick steps
Keep em, energetic, so let it
pound in your head til what I said is embedded
Don't forget it's copastetic, set it
Anywhere you want your poetry's pathetic
You gets.. no.. credit.. til you get it straight
Let's motivate
No intermissions cause it ain't commercial
If you wanna break then I'll reimburse you
I won't let go so my mic won't drop, cause
("I can't.. stop!")
Vocabs is endless, vocals exist
Rhyme goes on, so no one can stop this
Especially when I start to say the
rhymes with no omega

No omega
No omega

("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") *scratched*

("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") *scratched*

("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")

("I can't.. stop!")

("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") *fades*

Here I go again, ready to flow again.
Better HOPE my mic don't blow again.
Warned by alarms when the mic gets warm.
Crowd'll get critical, can't keep calm.
Jet for the exit, why hang around?
Words that I found make the mic melt down.
If you stay, better cooperate, cuz I amputate,
and whoever don't break, I'm-a suffocate.
Leave 'em with asthma, you better pass the
mic to the massacre master who has the
power to build and destoy at the same time,
so track the wack at the right, and exact could
shine. (?)
Meant to beat overheat, but I won't stop,
so evacuate the spot when the mic's hot.
Switch it from one hand to another,
and that's a hint, my brother, run for cover.
Cuz I'm armed, my brain contains a bomb,
as if I escaped from Vietnam.
Some people label me lethal, lyrics I made then put
beats to.
Format, collapse your lungs twist your tongues,
you can't bump your gums off of none of the drums.
Words that I made'll create an iller scene,
Eric B. is the fly human being on the guillotine.
Hook 'em up to a respirator, cuz it's the Mista
Suffocator.
What I write is like shovin' a mic down your
windpipe.
Don't let him bitE rhymes Rakim write.
No mic-to-mouth resuscitation is neccessary;
no obituary, and NOTHING LEFT TO BURY.
As it strikes on the same mic twice and then,
cut it on, and I'm-a strike again.
I meditate off the breaks, till the place shakes,
then I make rain, hail, snow and earthquakes.
Speak the truth, tear the roof off the mother.
The stage is stompin' grounds -- run for cover.

(scratching)

Evacuate the building, danger, cuz I came to
explain the
strategy that'll be tragic automatically,
havin' me to cause another catastrophe.
All you gotta do is give Rakim the
microphone and the crowd'll yell "Timber."
Buildings collapsin', rappers gettin' trapped in,
areas closed off, no one gets back in.
So set up roadblocks, barrIcade the doors,
fade, put a detour sign on the stage.
Hold my microphone as evidence, the weapon I use
and been usin' ever since
the days in the park when, rap was an art then.
Plus I was dominant, determined and dark-skinned.
Makin' it hard to walk the streets at night
for those who talk the weak beats on the mic.
Whoever's livin' large better wear camouflage.
Prepare to be bumrushed when I yell charge.
Surround by sound of the beat-down another brother,
this is stompin' grounds, run for cover.
Wheels or foot, better not stay put.
Whole place shook till the mic's unhooked.
Then you've got seven minutes to vacate the
premises.
Lyrics'll echo soon as the break finishes.
Don't act wild, single file to the door.
No need for an encore, just clear the floor.
Cuz my mic's about to self destruct,
the stage'll blow up when my rhymes erupt.
So make sure the place is cleared out and abandoned,
cuz minutes from now it won't be standin'.
Then send out and A.P.B.: All Poets Beware of a
brother like me.
Now how many rhymes could your man manufacture?
How many bitin' MCs can I capture?
Trap rappers who try to run off at the mouth;
take over their route, play 'em out like a Cub
Scout.
So leave troopin' for MCs at war,
and if it's a battle let the crowd keep score.
Cuz me and the drummer make drama, and that's word
to mother...run for cover.

[Eric B]: Yo Rakim what's up?
[Rakim]: Yo I'm doing the knowledge E. I'm trying to get paid in full
[E]: Well check this out since Nobry Walters is our agency right?
[R]: True
[E]: Kara Lewis is our agent
[R]: Word up
[E]: Zakia/4th & Broadway is our record company
[R]: Indeed
[E]: Okay so who we rollin with?
[R]: We rollin with Rush
[E]: Of Rushtown Management. Check this out since we talking over
this def beat that I put together, I wanna hear some of them
def rhymes, know what I'm sayin? And together, we can get
paid in full...

[Rakim]
Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain't nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
But now I learned to earn cos I'm righteous
I feel great! so maybe I might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
Then maybe I'll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do I miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish
Cos I don't like to dream about gettin paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
To now test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, cos I'm paid in full

I'm back! The god remains, still at the end
They sabotage the game, still I'm a win
Rakim Allah's the name, and with a pen
No one can dodge the rain, kill 'em again
In a club or the streets I swerve, cool in the cut
Looking to see what occurs, crusin' the truck
Shorty got deadly curves, soothin' her up
If I must explain with words, I smooth as a fuck!
The world's most greatest, hip-hop's elite
You obsolete, you cannot compete, drop the beat
Keep ya ear to the ground when I rock the street
Cock the heat, we deep, papi got to eat
So cut on the mic and spit, I much rougher
Plenty of ice and a whip, plus a crusher
Because I don't like to stick, or bust a brother
Long as they never forget I'm a ill mother fucker

So if you love to get your party on
And you feel that your game is strong
And you get mad when the broads is gone
You like it all-night-long
And when they love it when the place is warm
And they go out for their favorite song
They hate when the player game is wrong
They like it all-night-long

My caliber's out rated
Yeah, player, so why hate it?
My rhyme through, out of control when I say it
Spit back with a rap or gat, can I spray it
How can I say it? I leave it dehydrated
I take aim, and he keep the place flamin'
Till the place cave in, hey yo, this ain't a safe haven

The best is yet to come, so they stay in
They keep the music loud, the lights is low
The kid with a different style, I like to flow
It's time to move the crowd, tonight's the show
See what it's all about, they like to go
Get Henny and Mo and Cris, the clothes, the platinum, gold, the wrist
Plenty of dough, and chicks who pose for flicks
Women who love roll their hips when I'm holding this

My mic's equipped with a microchip, with a million megs
Bite this I might flip, spread a billion plagues
Put medicine in it before I kill ya dead
You can get away if you can fill your legs
Could you walk? No, at least you thought though
Auto fours blow a hole in your torso
Damage his brain with more flow until he talk slow
Try to say something now? I thought so!
I leave emcee's bleeding while I'm fleeing across sea, and
Start breeding, double my Swiss cheese in Sweden
Free on the weekend, come back see if he breathing
They breathing, somebody left his brains beat in
A deadly attack is rare, style will be raw
Be ready to rap, you'll hear, as wild as before
If I bust a gat in the air, watch the galaxy fall
And the world will be splat on the floor, that'll be all

Where the ladies at?
Clark world baby
Uh, uh

It's the R baby, it's the God baby
It's the R baby, it's the God baby
It's the R baby, it's the God baby
It's the R baby, it's the God baby

I got rhymes, I love to bust looking for a club to rush
It's like thugs will rush the illustrious
We all love to touch the voluptuous
It's a must that we lust, plus we love to crush

Women pose, from timberland's to feminine clothes
Check there portfolios and put 'em in centerfolds
Pen explode, draw crowds respond reel
I stay calm as hell surrounded by bombshells

Careful as I get near 'em, stand near and compare 'em
Or all girl heir 'em, I'm the man with the serum
Assets, probably dressed but still bear 'em
It seem like they wear 'em, just for me to tear 'em

In quakes I see more things shake then spring break
It's like a dream state, perfect shape same date
You got a lot to give and look how hot it is, you so provocative
And it's your prerogative, baby bounce

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones
New York, L.A., Atlanta, V.A., Miami, D.C., tell me

Bon jour, baby here go my brochure
Give me a phone call, I'll show you the whole store
It's so raw, I'll have your world in all
You wanna know how much the whole package go for?

My spectacles, like a festival, it's majestic, special guest for you
Ready to party hard the party's in yards to the mardy graud
Rap say on's, please give you a body massage
Rock jams, have you hot in your pants and nasty

Forbidden dance with me, or tickle your there see
Let ra take you on a ron day vue
Couple of days will do if it's okay with you
Deserted isle style middle of winter with no bed

I'll comfort you like you were Jennifer Lopez
You get what you deserve if I said we swerve
I'll hit more than nerve and that's my every word
Baby bounce

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones, Houston, Philly

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones

Baby you wake up the next day laundry negligee
Give you a sex ex ray before we catch the rays
Let's blaze a lot more games left to play
While you still amazed from yesterday's escapades

Steadily show my pedigree so thoroughly
To the B O N E like chemotherapy
Sex and triple X you ready to wed next
Relax baby you need plenty of bed rest

You've been a passenger of a high speed crash
With a wild style fashioner
Dark skinned ambassador, chiropractor with a passion
For smashin' your ass like a cardiovascular massacre

You've be through shock heading at your cu wop
Body's o hot, you need a shot from your new doc
With better cures where's it sore I'll wetter more
And let it pour from her to head to her particulars, baby bounce

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones, Detroit, San Fran

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones, Chi-town, Boston

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones, Cleveland, B-more

Ladies, nothing but the finest ones
The lavishest ones, the ain't hard to finest ones
From the boldest to the shyest ones
Which city got the livest ones, Orlando, N.O.

What, Brooklyn, Uptown, Queens, Bronx, L.I.
Staten Island, N.J., what, Connecticut, can't forget y'all
Girls everywhere, ha ha, girls, girls, girls, girls, uh,uh uh
Dedicated to the ladies from Rakim the God
And lark the world, you heard, what

[Rakim]
Hey yo what's going on?
The Mic Lebanon Teflon Don,
I'm back baby
The year of the 9's
And I'ma have to make these motherfuckers a offer they can't refuse
Ya know?

Ha, what's going on? Yo c'mon, you know it's on
I wrote a song, test my flow on the Autobahn
Make sure the force is right, I floss all night
Get off the mic it'll smoke like an exhaust pipe
Keep em in the lie-bury, studying my theory
Ra theory get translated in Swahili
From the lands as far as Zanzibar
They understand the are, the man Allah
It's obvious why the copiers, they copy this
Soon as my data processes Y2K they floppy disk
Now who the hottest is? How can it not be this?
Baby who the cockiest? Papi is? Gracias
Hey , this be so, magnifico
Even my, typical, style difficult
Make a crowd go wild when I rip a show
Better stand back, this'll blow, you didn't know?

[Chorus]
They show me love when I'm come through
Yo any club that I come to
I hit a microphone check one two
And they know what I want to do - flow forever

You ever witness rapport like this before?
It's cause y'all kiss the floor, say this my Lord
It's the chosen one, with the golden tongue
Flow for the old and young when I'm holding one
In the front row sitty, we show no pity
Where kids get jiggy and girls are so pretty
The Wanderer, back from Casablanca
To stomp all, what next for Ra the Conqueror
So let's go, the best show will explode
No dress codes, they just pose in they best clothes
Girls get exposed when I show my rap expo
Will there be a next episode? I guess so
Those that halved out, wanted to have clout
What they mad about? Must be a cash route
MC's switch they style from they last bout
And I bet soon as they hear this they spaz out

[Chorus: x2]

Wherever Rakim go, it's the God temple
It's simple, my M.O., no problemo
Been all over the map, even know where Hell is at
I did the welcome mat, and then welcome back
My flow is raw, they treat me like Mr. Know-it-All
They want me to show em all my brand new protocol
Excuse-a-moi, I make a move for Ra
You ain't souping Ra, save the hoop-a-la
Let me find out you rhymed out designed out
Pulling dimes out then climb out, for time out
I'm at the free throw, playing ball, or cee-lo, I keep dough
Reloaded like Carlito, incognito
I be so, low key, women get nosy
I do a show they want to go see to get to know me
In the front row seat they cosy
Thinking I'm giving them the bo-bo-bee until they O.D.

[Chorus: x4]

[Rakim]
Before the dough came, my whole aim, was blow like propane
Control the whole domain, and then show no shame
Make rappers go ? and they so lame, playing with no game
Put em on the lil plane til they can't claim no fame
I got, the range, better, stay in the slow lane
I make the flow change from hurricanes to a slow rain
Your thoughts are so plane, I rearrange your whole frame
Until my whole name grow out your brain like Rogaine
Letter by letter, I put words together
Once merged, apart never, they be heard forever
And then I grab a pen and stab him in his abdomen
And smash him in, throw his mic like a javelin
Then I explain verses, that remain on the surface
At times it get deep, but I never defeat the purpose
Never go out, to go the dough route, forever hold out
I never sold out, for any amount, no doubt

[Chorus: x2]
That's how I get down, so tell me how you like that
I hit the town, hold it down on a tight track
I start a party now, everybody like rap
Haters are mad cause they gave the are the mic back

[Rakim]
I like to hang where everything seem to happen at (ya know?)
It's Ra's habitat, I'm like that czar Arafat
And yes I have a gat, snap like a Israeli
A terrorist I never miss blowing up kids daily
I step to writers, and let my virus hurt the closest
I'm sick as hepatitis and worse than tuberculosis
Pull out a pen, like a grenade, and drop it quick
I strike again and I'ma get paid, exotic shit
You know the God ra be, hot as the Mojave
Swing like King Usabi, my posse be kamikaze
On the corners like I'm homeless and I, don't know where home is
The bonus, is where the next open microphone is
Me and my team, vision like a radar screen
Intervene and yo, cut the mic off, cause Ra fiend
To show the whole world some of the things I seen
Then blow it up, like Edi Amin, ya know what I mean?

[Chorus]

[Rakim]
I do a thing thing, I write the songs they sing
Make sure that they swing, from New York to Beijing
Put your thoughts in the sling and your brain is gangrene
Pull in the ring, repeating and saying the same thing
Xerox, zero, no match, you ditto
Copy machine, couldn't reprint my ?
My new style, that I produce now's beyond two-thou'
I knew how, since a juvenile, to make a ka-pow
When the night's falling, I can hear the mic calling
I like balling, I cut back like Mic Jordan
This is for y'all while I'm spitting literature's
Lyrics'll ball like Allen Iverson dribble the ball
They hopeless, whoever approaches my high explosives
My vision sadicious, and freestyle's ferocious
I wrote this, words flew over my head like a locust
I turned the beat up, sat back, and stayed focused

[Chorus]

Aye yo, who's the most explosive one yet?
The a roundest one left
Who flows express to them rhythm drum set ain't done yet?
Flow like a trumpet to your eardrum are deaf
Who pose a threat?
Yo, who's more ferocious, none yet
To the night damn set mic trends and life ends
In sight, I see the whole world through a tight lens
Rhymes I write wins and kept a white Benz
Spend G's like hundreds and hundreds like tens
I get paid, Black, but laid back with mild manners
When I flip it's the opposite of dark Bruce Banner
Out the lab with soul and melodies in your ear
And just when it all seem clear I disappear
All you gotta do is holler
Reappear like vol,la the street scholar
I'm 40 deep like Ali Baba
Give the mamas something to talk about in the beauty parlor
Keep it hot like lava, yeah
It's Rakim Allah

[Chorus]
I know you find it hard to believe that
I am the genie of the mic an
I can do anything you wish but
Right now I'm commanding you to dance

Ready to dance y'all, my magic carpet's the dance floor
Last chance y'all even if you can't ball
What part don't you understand? Your wish is my command
And I'm a rock a jam by popular demand
You gone love this, it's marvelous, baby
It gotta thug's twist,it start to get crazy
It's off the meat rack, can't keep my peeps back
Speak raps and I freak tracks for these cats
I got a fetish for puttin' together words and letters
It ain't all about the cheddars and y'all know where my head is
Ghetto scriptures for my little brothers and sisters
And still get vicious for the thugs and the Misses
What I don't do is talk about the same old thing
When I come through, I drop it, and they gone swing
I bring the ladies joy until they make crazy noise
'cause the beat's bangin', I'm born to blaze, baby boy

[Chorus]

The editor,forever more the predator, I said it all
I spread a war, like never before
Spit lead at yours like a ghetto braud raw at a?
She'll never pause
With raw metaphors, I set it off
But I just begun the best is yet to come
Blessed with a majestic tongue since I was young
But I was stressed for funds and obsessed with guns
Test the one, let Allah protect your son
Cause something musical magician, the ageiathic author
The microphone magician when I have a magic marker, a mentor
You can explore, every sentence is a tour
The inventor is more than adventure
You'll be blown away, and a zone?
It's so ill, I still grab the microphone and say
One of my own displays like I'm known to blaze
And I bet rhyme pays until I'm old and gray

[Chorus: x4]

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

I will always be there
I'll be there

I'm 'bout to meet my comrade on the busy ave where we clash
Trying to see how much gritty cash this city has
Meantime harass every bitty that pass
And then here you come with your pretty ass

All petite like you make ends meet on Wall Street
Your for keeps couldn't find a woman more complete
You got your head on tight and when you talk I like
For me and you two different walks of life

I'm in the streets too much I pack the heat too much
Put too much trees in the Dutch and don't keep in touch
You try to get in contact I don't respond back
Where the God at come back smellin' like Cognac

Baby beware I'm tryin' my best to be fair
Aye yo, the key here is repair this love we share
'Cause if we care we would prepare to see clear
Eye to eye we here as long as you be there

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

Yo, I'm startin' to understand it you like your evenings enchanted
Love is bond, organic, restaurants romantic
Want me to take your hand and take you around the planet
But I take advantage and take you for granted

Call collect explainin' why I ain't came yet
I ain't winnin' the game yet can I get a rain check
Blow me a kiss in the wind, I'm missin' again
Don't let your sisters and your friends tell you this is the end

Talk a hole in your head puttin' bugs in your ear
Make you role in your bed when your thug ain't there
Somewhere around ladies know I get lonely and proud
Open my file baby you should know me by now

Tryin' to get paid and stay away from old sites
Find my place in life plus I like to hold mics
It might be seven whole days and seven whole nights
But yo it's gonna be alright just hold tight

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll always be there baby

Who said something good won't last forever
I know too much of any thing is bad whatever
Long as we have good and bad times together
Bad times make the good times that much better

Peaches and cream, diamonds and ice
You like pieces of dreams you shinin' in the night
Features of a Queen and your mind frame is tight
Timin' is right get ready for the time of your life

You speak about stackin' gees and havin' seeds
Apparently we know it's no guarantee
But losin' you boo who smooth as you
You unusual this is for the cool in you

And for the chill I will forever come real
Your appeal makes it hard to keep my love concealed
All it took was one look, one kiss, one meal
Now come feel, let's make this a done deal

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

I will always be there
I'll always be there for you
I will always be there
I'll be there

interviewer possibly Harry Allen]
What are you giving them back?

[Rakim]
Umm I think what I'm givin them back man is umm...
what they been waitin for yaknahmean? Umm...

SKILLS

(1st verse)
If I lay low and let the day go it'll slow my payroll
Aye-yo I'm a terrorize charge and slay shows
Ra slay flows go as far as the Barbados
On the turntable sound like tornadoes
My style is performed like tropical storms
Your not to get on the whole spot will get torn
I keep the metropolitan hollering and bring the dollars in
Keep the models following wise as King Solomon
Come slow through the jungle like an animal
Invade any land I go like General Hannibal
From Long Island to Queens light up the New York scenes
All the way to New Orleans and everything in between
Left to go bless a show in Mexico
Next Thing I know it's extra cold I see Eskimo's
Time to rock get it hot soon as I get in there
Spit in they ear so flow they froze and I disappear

(Chorus)(2x)
It's a must that I bust any mic that you hand to me
It's inherited it runs in the family

(2nd verse)
They said I was a head of my time or either here before
To see the idea clear it takes a year or more
Now times that by the years I reign straight-seven
No hear for four years still multiplied by eleven
The silence's a set back make em regret that
One way to get back is violence and wet cats
But hold your head black or I'll never rap again
Just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in
Now that was two years ago and if cats start interfering
Then I'm a go back to the gat and racketeering
My sabotage is camaflouge and espionage
You ain't havin Ra so don't test the god
I'm takin' all orders I can't afford extorters
I hit em in the head with a hundred dollars in quarters
So warn a friend tell em it's on again
If it's a freestyle bust in a park I want in

(Chorus)(2x)
It's a must that I bust any mic that you hand to me
It's inherited it runs in the family

(3rd verse)
I managed to get paid for a decade now add three years on to that
Perform with a knack yes I was born to rap
The mic Lebanon Teflon don is back
I strike with better bombs and armed to attack
So reload the van go ahead let em in
Every tours a war and I'm on the road again
Suprise a town the place it's live and loud
We vibin' now I go wild and dive in the crowd
Never hit the ground they catch me and carry me around
Then put me right back on stage to shut it down
From New York to Cali, Japan and I-tali
I'm known as the microphone Muhammad Ali
I'm worldwide my brothers be biggin' me up
Keep the girls occupied lovin' diggin' me what
Ain't around when I come to town they mad glad
Like Saddaam they even say I'm the bomb in Baghdad

(Chorus)(4x)
It's a must that I bust any mic that you hand to me
It's inherited it runs in the family

Hey yo, it's Mr. Low,key, you need to go see
The host by far a mostly O.T., with a brand new show, but
You know how the flow be
'Cause when I swerve, you observe it closely
If you smoke trees, smoke more than an O.Z.
Mix any kind of dope with me, you O.D.
You get the seed, LP, C.O.D.
Poetry 'cause you to fully load the V
Drop place to place, be crazy over me
Even different nationalities, over seas
However, do a don't emcee, you know me
G,O,D.
She know she D.O.E., so show me
Even with no jewelry she call me Goldie
Like a Jacuzzi, she overheat an O.G.
Like sushi swimmin' in a open sea, I'm comin'

She said it's the same since I came and reigned: it's still hard
You can stimulate the brain, feel the god
It's hard to go against the grain, it's real large
Drive 'em insane, leave dames in silk bras
Plus real cups spill, spill that bars
What's the deal? Kids with Hennessey grills , they feel charged
And you know what time it is? It's still Ra's
When I do a show real far, they steal cars
Stages of battle field reveal your scars
Train hard 'cause this is a game with ill squads
Play with pain and gain a couple of yards
And if you know the deal, you can deal the cards
And appeal to broads with jobs and ov,e,ods
Body parts like buns of steel and spa's
Then we can kick tha blahzay blah, smoke a cigar
While I get ma massage
I'm comin'

From the inner city to the suburbs, the street poet
The most jiggiest kid with words, and peeps know it
They've read about it and heard, plus T.V. show it
So how do I reserve my swerve? I low pro it
Now they're eager to know just how deep the flow get
I don't know yet, sometime the flow be so wet
Spit a tech that will effect quicker than most
Or high as anything you smoke, yet go ahead, roll it
Any microphone I hold, my heat blow it
My E,M,O is make more dough till I can't fold it
Anything I see or touch, I want to own it
Drop a jewel in baby girl ear, now she my co,ed
I reload and she keep the candy coated
And when she know she can't control it
She tell me she about to blow at any moment
Well, go ahead, baby, I can't hold it
I'm comin'

Yeah
It's the paragraph ambassador
The wild style fashioner
It's the god Rakim, the master
Feel this

This is that lost ass track off-the-rack kind of a track
You forced to rap, remember that? It's that
You know where I'm at, there go the gat
Pass me a bat, the kill-or-be-killed kind of attack
Steamin', speedin', navigatin' the map
Negotiating with a chick, she got her head on your lap, ya hand on your gat
Premeditated plan of attack, with two of your most deadliest men's in the back
Comb the block, stop in the zone that's hot
Get out like you own the spot, home or not
It's that no mood to play, move out the my way
Yo, I been whistlin' this tune from throughout the day
Hey, yo, this is that ol' y'all niggas don't want to battle
Turn it up loud make the whole block rattle
Boom boom, this one is gettin' blazin' hot
Boom boom, make you bust another shot from the glock

[Chorus]
From the streets below to everything above
To the heart that pumps Ra-kim Allah's blood
I swear I kick a hole in your speaker and pull the plug
You emcee's is playing tug-a-war with your tongues
From the streets beneath my feet to the sun
I'm number one and competition is still none
And I'm gonna keep kicking holes in your speakers and pullin' plugs
You emcee's is playing tug-a-war with your tongues

Here we come now
Turntable spin like a merry-go-round
Never slow down, depending on how good your stereo sounds
Set it, up in the hood where we go surround
Tearin' through towns, turn 'em into burial grounds
This is the track that made Theodore want to scratch
The track that caused the first kid to spin on his back
And then we saw, kids spray-painting the wall
While some of y'all was waitin' for war breakin' the law
It's no antidote it's what you can't provoke
So just relax with your girls or your mans and smoke
And take a real hit, soon as it bang you feel quick
It's real thick, this is that ol' real shit
This is the description of designs for you to listen to
Reminiscin' the times and nothin' in particular
Keep you goin' just like a whole pot of coffee
Have you and your shorty doin' 80 in a 40

[Chorus]

You know what this is
Yeah kid, give up your riches
Vicious, visions is not for motion pictures
Unstoppable, rollin' witcha sickest clique of niggas
Or witcha missus, gettin tropical kisses
Makin' faces, anticipatin' places her tongue hits
Suck her neck or just peck, better to funk it
The EP is in effect from dusk to sunset
She want a rim shot all over her drum set
Jump the bed rubbin' your head- it's rough sex
50 ways to keep a love wet
Down and up the steps with crazy positions left till she upset
"Damn, baby, you ain't come yet?"
Hell, no doomstick big as a elbow
Gel soft, well blow, give him a minute, he'll grow
And all you gotta do is play the track again
I'm ready and revived, baby, back again

[Chorus]

[Canibus]
Yo!
Check it, Yo!

I'm faster than leopards running across the vast desert
In twenty-two yards per second to catch me to daily delicatessen
It takes me thirty minutes to eat 'em, forty minutes to digest 'em
And fifty minutes for it to pass through my intestines
So ask yourself a question (What question)
Can the Canibus rhyme
Is a fuckin porcupine half swine
No time to make up your mind, you want to run or die
Clip you while you're running by, trip you up from behind
My rhymes, confuse niggas
Like somebody try to gang-bang
Wearin' a blue shirt and red pants, throwin' up signs with their left hand
Standin' out on the corner of wetlands with a confederate flag for a headband
God dam eggplants, niggas getting' me vexed man
Cause I'm surrounded by garbage like Fred Sav
And I can't seem to get away from it
I dreamed that I stabbed leviathan through the stomach, and ate from it
In my past life I slayed hundreds, and in the life before that
I played trumpets, to warn you that I was comin'
There's one billion ways to die, and I already tried
Nine-hundred million nine hundred and ninety nine
When I aim and fire my rhymes, like a hundred cannon balls flying
Striking you one at a time, in a parallel line
While the art of emceeing is steady dying
Canibus and Rakim Allah is still in their prime

[Chorus]

[Rakim]
One two

Yeah, yeah,
"Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"
Yeah it's the God baby,
Long Island's own,
Barbarian of the microphone,
"Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"
It's for y'all niggas

And the streets just a couple of miles East of Mecca
Where peeps touch nothing but style heat and cheddar
Compete with ya livelihood to eat better
And ain't nothing sweet but the ladies who speak wetta
With a torn smile, trying to get my song on file
It's on now, the whole town done gone wild
Kick rhymes off my heartbeat as a unborn child
Then developed a strong style on Long Isle
Won't be long now, I started rhyming young
I designed for fun, knowing my time would come
I started, paying dues DJ'in with crews
Learning the inner city rules, conveying the news
Soon as the jam start the man's art'll jam parks
Slam so hard it remains a landmark
The rhyme that I'm styling, smooth as a violin
But "Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"

("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"(

Like any G.O.D., loose on a spree for new degrees
Things to do and see until nothing is new to me
A true MC usually be into a breeze
And I can still see New York City through the trees
My advance slams put you outside looking in
Or the other way around, that depends, look again
Took a pen so you could zero in on my book of gems
It extends from the Hamptons to Brook-lyn
Through every hoodie in town, to learn the Boogie Down
Til every DJ around, wanted to put me down
Rhymes got rougher til I was ready to blast off
And harass all from Suffolk County to Nassau
Where we keep the money piling, keep the honies smiling
Keep the heater just in case kids start whyling
The rhyme that I'm styling, smooth as a violin
"Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"

("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island)

Grew up in Wyndanch, formerly known as Crime-Danch
Me and my mans we travel lands to find jams
Where violence usually ends in sirens
By all means, we all fiend for finance
We make cash on the street called straight path
We take class, build with the Gods with great math
Everyday true to the street, and never fronted
Along the way, learned from the best that ever done it
Being exposed to life's highs and lows
Got my flows ready for shows, I'm ready for the pros
I put it on a tape and then the city I tested
Then on the radio the are's requested
Now the whole world's whyling, all the girls smiling
You know, it's on, soon as they let the crowd in
The rhyme that I'm styling, smooth as a violin
"Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"

Word up.. I want to give a big up to Long Island, stomping grounds, for real
("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island")
Crime-Danch, one love baby, word up
("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island")
I want to give a crazy shout out to all the DJ's back in the day
Who used to let me smoke they microphones, ya know what I mean?
Big up to DJ Maniac, DJ Teddy Tuff, and DJ Cool Breeze
("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island")
Word up

("Rough enough to break New York from Long Island")

Levantore!
Yeah, it's just ghetto, kid test the devil to hit the next level
Wish they was a rebel with cerebral metal
Inflex the bezzle with the peddle to the metal
In a thug's paradise where love have a price
So we love for life like thugs love the night
They sell drugs for ice for the Benz with bug lights
Some hug mics to the world, hung like parasites
The likes lethal, the mics lead you
A sneak preview, watch what we do and what the hood teach you
I still see through the eye of a needle
So I can watch people cause slug backwards is evil

Levantore!
Yo, what's this? Yo bust this. Yo it's time to up lift
They think all we do is bust clips and puff splifs
And plush whips and clutch chips and touch chicks
Flont rocks like Fort Knox and hog blocks
Taunt cops with more props and we want not
Panhandling with your mans and them
Scrambling, gambling, plans to win
While the cops clock em, thieves flock em
Women watch em, traders wanna top em
Ay yo what's the problem
Before the narcs knock em opposite players plot to rob em
The ghetto got em, my man said it's rough at the bottom

Levantore!
Ghetto alert, let's do whatever work to get rid of the curse
We went from 1st to America's worst
On this competitive turf, now let's inherit the earth
There's more prize for one another, and call shots
12:00 til the next ball drop
All year around plus they shuffle non stop
You think it's rough at the bottom, it's even rougher on top
My peeps gonna have to reach and turn for me
And everybody's side of the street'll be celly
Ain't nothing funny, burn plenty and burn money
And earn money and watch the century turn 20

Levantore!
We all should, from the woods to the big city and the small hood
Everybody should be welcome to the ball if we all could,
But we fall cause we brawl, yo it ain't all good
We need to play right, stay tight with ya air alight
Keep your game tight, no need to play trife
Get cheese from the daylight to the late night
And it's shouldn't take death to appreciate life
Before a lot parish, we got to cherish if Allah let us
Let's give prop and merits till the block flourish
In this metropolis, stay on top of this
You know what the prophet is, be prosperous

Levantore!
Now we networking
Respect the next person, it'll be less hurting
Or left lurking, while we kept our dreads working
Connect set for certain, total networking
Last chance to advance and stash grands
If you have plans to have fam and mad land
Own shine, condone crime or hold 9s
I know what the problem is, killing our own kind
To my flame throwers, train sober, remain soldiers
Stay sane so these pretty dames can hold us
Terror terrain rollers and Range Rovers so the train goers
Claim your fame, maintain, till your game's over

Levantore!
Ghetto alert, let's do whatever work to get rid of the curse
We went from 1st to America's worst
On this competitive turf, now let's inherit the earth
There's more prize for one another, and call shots
12:00 til the next ball drop
All year around plus they shuffle non stop
You think it's rough at the bottom, it's even rougher on top
My peeps gonna have to reach and turn for me
And everybody's side of the street'll be celly
Ain't nothing funny, burn plenty and burn money
And earn money and watch the century turn 20
Levantore!

[Rakim]
Yeah, it's the god Rakim
Word up, I'm blazin this out to all my comrades
Ya know what I mean? From the gslums of New York, to the gutters all over the world
This is for y'all,
Through my travels I try to take righteous steps
Because right or left could mean life or death
No matter how trife it get, my sights is set
But it's twice the threat when the ?nights is death?
My mental windows refuse to close, they get exposed
To the neighborhood info where the poison wind blows
A deadly plague spreading negativity, viciously
Unto every city be in ghetto misery
Don't let it get to me, the writer be left to die
But it get mesmerize if it catch your eye
Shines enormous, from pure revered cool's and garments
But it's torment, jealousy drug wars or warring
Tallying, slowly turning into barbarians
More scary when the whole boulevard's carrying
Living in the world of sin, my ghetto girls and men
Waiting for the world to end

[Chorus: x2]
"Trying to paint a perfect picture and excel"
"In case you didn't know"
"Never moving backwards"
"Complicated"
"Know what I mean?"

I see destruction, even little kids trust none
They bust guns, that's what they get a rush from
When I see em, we build and have a real discussion
"Yo Ra, what's the jewel of the day?" "What up, son"
"You got ambition?" Shorty said, "Man listen
I got demands for living, can't stand division
Make grands on my mission, till everything glisten
Women in the Expedition, no plans for prison
In a vision the city get, 2 milleni G
Sitting in my MSC sipping Hennesy
Getting high, and watch life pass me by"
So I asked him why, wit a fast reply
He said "I'm living just to die without any feelings
So I wait here for my Maker till it's time to go
Wit this dime I know
Wit all of her girls and all of my men's
Waiting for the world to end"

[Chorus: x2]

Shorty was taught to keep his head to the sky, and never cry
But the streets left him to die, now it's death in his eye
Living a sin of hitmen, a sinister grin
From be-ginning to end, in it to win
Evil rebels, doing what we doing in the ghetto
Thinking if we was thorough we can deceive the devil
You can't win, your life be end, try again
Shorty said, "Why we born again to die again?"
That's what I said when I realized I had a gift
To uplift and be one of Allah's advocates
Teach the youth and speak the truth
Show em what peace can do when ?ill? reach for you
And my reward won't be jewels or cheese, it's even better
I can be one of the greatest MC's ever
If I tell em they intelligent women and great men
And live, stop waiting for the world to end

[Chorus: x2]

"I'm raging, ripping up the stage an'
Don't it sound amazing, know what I mean?"
"Don't it sound amazing, know what I mean?"
"Rakim"

[DJ Premier scratches hook]

(Hardcore...real ill niggas)
(I'm internationally known)
(When I be on the mic)

(Hardcore...real ill niggas)
(I'm internationally known, yo)

(Hardcore...real ill niggas)
(I'm internationally known)
(When I be on the mic)

(Hardcore...real ill niggas)
(So all hail the honorable)

It's to my real ill niggas, heavyweight hitters
Dough getters, fifty ways to make figures
My niggas, that come on the spot to feel sisters
Like they hear real spitters and kids on the zigga-ziggas
When it's ugly, then the club is lovely
Thugs be sipping Henessey and bubbly
To my comrades that keep it flaming hot
On dangerous blocks, claiming spots
Where the goal is to be one of the top-ranked soldiers
Forty-five holders, one of the high rollers
Get respect in the hood, credit is good
Knock it down lumberjack style, baby, extra wood
Rock it all night long, the bang-a-thon baby
Keep hanging on, we like it with the lights on
Don't have to blow twenty thou' to get to know honey's style
Show her the town, steal her heart, no money down


(Hook)

How about some hardcore, yeah we like it raw for sure
Broads on the floor, wall to wall
There's more at the door, players ball to score
'Cause this right here is for all of y'all
Rakim and Primo, yo I got what you need bro
You go see a show, smoke an L, mean yo
And deejays play hits with hard bass kicks
And then they display tricks like The Matrix
Make the record fly undetected by the naked eye
So just feel the vibe 'cause your ears never lie
Nowadays deejays bags of tricks, graphic
On some behind the back shit, catch it and scratch it
Classic, this kid got his craft mastered
Hands is mad quick like he mix with magic
Spin it back and forth and grab it, and know just where it is...
There it is

(Hook)

To my elite peeps with the murderous mystiques
I hit the streets with beats and they critique for weeks
They be like "How that kid Ra reach the peak?"
Pull out the heat and use my technique to speak
It's dangerous, sit calm and explain to kids
What part of the game this is and foreign languages
They hold Ra's events in different continents
Put my lyrical contents in monuments
In ghetto garments, I rock a towel like a pharaoh
Mind travel, design style like apparel
My fashions last long as a lifetime
Cause I can see the future when the god write rhymes
They're mad cause I managed to reign so long
Like their chance to make money done came and gone
This is strictly for my listeners on the corners at night
And the sisters that be keeping this right, when I be on the mic

(Hook)

Don't sweat the Technique(2x)

Let's trace the hints and check the file
Let see who bit to detect the style
I flip the script so they can't get foul.
At least not now, it'll take a while
I change the pace to complete the beat
I drop the bass,'till mc's get weak.
For every word they trace, it's a scar they keep...
'Cause when I speak, they freak
To sweat the technique
I made my debut in '86
Wit a melody and a president's mix
And now I stay on target and refuse to miss
And I still make hits
wit' beats, parties, clubs, in the cars and jeeps
My underground sound vibrates the streets
MC's wanna beef then I play for keeps
When they sweat the technique

Don't Sweat the Technique

They wanna know how many rhymes have I ripped in rep., but
Researchers never found all the pieces yet
Scientists try to solve the context
Philosophers are wondering what's next
Pieces are took to last who observe them
They couldn't absorb them, they didn't deserve them
My ideas are only for the audience's ears
For my opponents, it might take years
Pencils and pens, are swords
Letters put together form a key to chords
I'm also a sculpture, born with structure
Because of my culture, I'm a rip and destruct the
Difficult styles that'll be for the technology
Complete sights and new heights after I get deep
You don't have to speak just seek
And peep the technique

But don't sweat the technique

I speak indiscreet cause talk is cheap
Then I get deep and the weak then complete their
Pull with a seat, never weak or obsolete
They never grow old techniques become antiques
Better then something brand new 'cause it's radiant
And the wild style'll have much more volume
Classical too intelligent to be radical
Masterful, never irrelevant: mathematical
Here's some soothing souvenirs for all the years
They fought, and sought, the thoughts and ideas
It's cool when you freak to the beat
But don't sweat the technique

Don't sweat the technique (2x)

Double oh seven is back..
Double oh seven is back..

Double oh seven is back..

[Rakim]
I don't stress my day cause it's best to parlay
I guess you could say I've been away
I wake up slow when I'm hot but I destruct the plant
and fourteen hands comb New York for fans
They make waves as they wiggle in my waterbed
Pull back the leather covers and silk bedspread
A mornin massage turnin into a real rough rubdown
so I figured I'll lay around
They keep me wet with a juice called Tahiti
It make the room steamy, so soon they couldn't see me
They know more than calisthetics as they worked up a sweat
It wasn't even ten o'clock yet
Scrub down, then I get moist, they never treat me mean
They sweetly keep me squeaky clean
I chill as they filled the jacuzzi
I said, "I'm tight from a real long flight, could you soothe me
Support my thoughts, cause I got a lot of writing to do"
They said, "Cool," and just enjoyed the view
It ain't hard cause it's miles from the sidewalk
I'm overlookin every borough in New York
The entire, Empire, State to concentrate
for every rhyme I make
So at exactly noon they played my favorite tune
And just before they all cleared the room
they said, "We're glad you're home from tour, now we feel secure
We wish you didn't have to leave no more"
But they wanna go to war, they even tried to shoot up the door
Double oh seven is back..
Rest assured

Double oh seven is back..
Feel secure
Double oh seven is back..

I'm fillin up the page when I'm steppin on stage
Got the people in a rage with they hands in the air
Fellas sayin HOE, everybody yellin GO
Fly ladies in the house all screamin "awww yeah"
That's how they react when I attack the mic
In fact it's like a stack of dynamite, powerful and bright
Girls love to squeeze me real tight
Double oh seven is back..
Ra has returned, to romance em, better than Johnny Handsome
When I was young, women said, "Damn son"
Ain't nuthin change but the year and I'm still here
C'mere dear and let me whisper in your ear
Hug my words so I can taste your lips
I set up hips like domino chips
but I don't let em hit the floor
And if you got sore, then feel secure
Where's the pain, is it the spot you set us in
Almost magic, better than medicine
Take one of these and put your mind at ease
I get more work than a lot of M.D.'s
If I'm hawkin New York, or out on tour
I express the raw dialect and explore
But don't get fooled by metaphor
Double oh seven is back
Rest assured

Feel secure
Rest assured
Rest assured
Yo, feel secure

What's going on?

What's happening it's been so long what's going on
And what's going wrong? The good old days are gone
You forgot your plot and your plans as a young man
You invented a scam even you don't understand

You rig the enigma can't figure it out
You change the route now you're in doubt
You use to cut class smoked grass still passed
Figured you was all that but that ain't last;

The times is harder, the drugs is heavier
You say whatever, the more, the merrier;
Smoke chokes your dreams and blurs your scenes,
Now a young man fiend change his plan to schemes;

No more good times, no more time,
Too far to find, you're almost blind,
You can't see what spot that the trap is in
(Hey bra!)What's happening!

You had it mapped out, your plans get torn,
You stayed up for days and now your dreams are gone
You said you quit, stated your word is bond
(Hey bro) what's going on?

What's going on?

My neighborhood don't look so good
I'll find a way out.. yeah, I would if I could,
But the government is doing a project
so I live in the projects;

Where we fight for elbow room to the doom,
Try to live long but you die too soon,
I might not be alive to see 25,
Taught at ten to make money and strive;

I sold tapes at school and made some ends
Met a lot of skins and even made some friends,
Cool, 'cause now I got a crew to run wit,
Break a couple of rules, have crazy fun wit;

But every now and then, they give my knuckle game a test,
But I won't fess, I just get rid of the stress!
And then shake hands like a man,
'Cause it's a family thing, only the crew would understand!

But you had a one on one fight wit drugs,
When we ain't cool no more, we buss slugs,
Clip after clip, until one of us is gone
(Hey bra!) what's going on?

Yo, what's going on?

The crime rate in New York State elevate,
A city filled wit hate, more deaths accumulate,
Drug wars daily, a lot of blood spilt,
Kids on the playground shot down and kilt!

Nobody wants to live on the 1st floor no more
'Cause stray bullets explore!
We're killing ourselves off slowly but surely,
And at the end of the year, I'm sure many more'll be

Rubbed out in a quest for clout
The rest'll be drugged out, this is bugged out!
Half of the projects is dead or locked up,
Kids getting kidnapped and then found chopped up.

Human abortion create distortions
And that's just a portion, you know that we're lost when
Babies are addicted to drugs when they are born!

(Hey bra!) what's going on?
(Hey bra!) what's going on?
(Hey bra!) what's going on?

Casualties of War!

Casualties of war; as I approach the barricade
Where's the enemy? Who do I invade?
Bullets of Teflon bulletproof vest rip
Tear ya outta ya frame with a bag full of clips
Cause I got a family that waits for my return
To get back home is my main concern
I'ma get back to New York in one piece
but I'm bent in the sand that is hot as the city streets
Sky lights up like fireworks blind me
Bullets, whistlin over my head remind me...
President Bush said attack
Flashback to Nam, I might not make it back
Missile hits the area, screams wake me up
from a war of dreams, heat up the M-16
Basic training, trained for torture
Take no prisoners, and I just caught ya
Addicted to murder, send more bodybags
They can't identify em, leave the nametags
I get a rush when I see blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! (4X)

Day divides the night and night divides the day
It's all hard work and no play
More than combat, it's far beyond that
Cause I got a kill or be killed kind of attack
Area's mapped out, there'll be no, Stratego
Me and my platoon make a boom wherever we go
But what are we here for? Who's on the other side of the wall?
Somebody give the President a call
But I hear warfare scream through the air
Back to the battlegrounds, it's war they declare
A Desert Storm: let's see who reigns supreme
Something like Monopoly: a government scheme
Go to the Army, be all you can be
Another dead soldier? Hell no, not me
So I start letting off ammunition in every direction
Allah is my only protection
But wait a minute, Saddam Hussein prays the same
and this is Asia, from where I came
I'm on the wrong side, so change the target
Shooting at the general; and where's the sergeant?
Blame it on John Hardy Hawkins for bringing me to America
Now it's mass hysteria
I get a rush when I see blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! (4X)

The war is over, for now at least
Just because they lost it don't mean it's peace
It's a long way home, it's a lot to think about
Whole generation, left in doubt
Innocent families killed in the midst
It'll be more dead people after this
So I'm glad to be alive and walkin
Half of my platoon came home in coffins
Except the general, buried in the Storm
in bits and pieces no need to look for em
I played it slick and got away with it
Rigged it up so they would think they did it
Now I'm home on reserves and you can bet
when THEY call, I'm going AWOL
Cause it ain't no way I'm going back to war
when I don't know who or what I'm fighting for
So I wait for terrorists to attack
Every time a truck backfires I fire back
I look for shelter when a plane is over me
Remember Pearl Harbor? New York could be over, G
Kamikaze, strapped with bombs
No peace in the East, they want revenge for Saddam
Did I hear gunshots, or thunder?
No time to wonder, somebody's going under
Put on my fatigues and my camoflouge
Take control, cause I'm in charge
When I snapped out of it, it was blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! (4X)

I came in the door, i said it before
I never let the mic magnatize me no more
But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme
I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
My rhyme will be kicking it until I hit my last note
My mind'll range to find all kinds of ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one
And you know that I'm the soloist
So Eric B, make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric B easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
Cuz to me, MC means move the crowd
I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist
Saying indeed that I precede cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix
If they can get some around until there's no rhymes left
I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death
But he's kicking it because it ain't no half stepping
The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in-
Side, it needs erupting just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style of the same old rhyme
Because I'm better then the rest of them
Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

Go get a girl and get soft and warm,
Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have I done lately
First you said all you want is love and affection
Let me be your angel and I'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of things
I must of got you too hot and burned off your wings
You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up
I'm scheming like I'm dreaming on a couch wit my feet up
You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me

Funky

Verse One:

Follow me into a solo
Get in the flow - and you can picture like a photo
Music mixed mellow maintains to make
Melodies for MC's motivates the breaks
I'm everlastin, I can go on for days and days
With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays
I can take a phrase that's rarely heard, FLIP IT
Now it's a daily word
I can get iller than 'Nam, a killin bomb
But no alarm - Rakim will remain calm
Self-esteem make me super superb and supreme
But for a microphone still I fiend
This was a tape I wasn't supposed to break
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate
I want to see who can keep followin and swallowin
Takin the making, bitin it and borrowin
Brothers tried and others died to get the formula
But I'ma let ya sweat - you still ain't warm
You a step away from frozen, stiff as if ya posin
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen
So follow me and were ya thinkin' you were first?
Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the Universe
What could ya say as the Earth gets further and further away
Planets are small as balls of clay
Astray into the Milky Way - world's outasight
Far as the eye can see - not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As ya stare in the darkness, ya knowledge is took!
So keep starin soon ya suddenly see a star
You better follow it cause it's the R
This is a lesson if ya guessin and if ya borrowin
Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin
The Leader

Verse Two:

This is a lifetime mission, vision of prison
Aight listen
In this journey you're the journal I'm the journalist
Am I Eternal? Or an eternalist?
I'm about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep ya movin cause the crowd said so
Dance - cuts rip ya pants
Eric B on the blades, bleedin to death - call the ambulance
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone murderin' MC's
Let's quote a rhyme from a record I wrote
(follow the leader) Yeah - dope
Cause everytime I stop it seems ya stuck
Soon as ya try to step off ya self-destruct
I came to overcome before I'm gone
By showin and provin and lettin knowledge be born
Then after that I'll live forever - you disagree?
You say never? Then follow me!
>From century to century you'll remember me
In history - not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
>From the cradle to the grave, but remember
You're not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that
But we couldn't see it because our mind was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, reveal my name
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous
It can't be mixed, diluted; it can't be changed or switched
Here's a lesson if ya guessing and borrowing
Hurry hurry, step right up and keep following
The leader

Verse Three:

A furified freestyle, lyrics of fury
My third eye makes me shine like jewelry
You're just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid
I'll be here when it fade to watch you flip like a renegade
I can't wait to break and eliminate
On every traitor or snake - so stay awake
and follow and follow, because the tempo's a trail
The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail
I'm Rakim the Fiend of a Microphone
I'm not HIM, so leave my mic alone
Soon as the beat is felt, I'm ready to go
So fasten your seatbelt, cause I'm about to flow
No need to speed slow down to let the leader lead
Word to daddy, indeed!
The R's a rollin stone, so I'm rollin
Directions is told, then the rhymes are stolen
Stop buggin', a brother said, dig em, I never dug 'em
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug 'em
into danger zone, he should arrange his own
Face it, it's basic, erase it, change ya tone
There's one R in the alphabet
It's a one-letter word and it's about to get
More complex from one rhyme to the next
Eric B be easy on the flex
I've been from state to state, followers tailgate
Keep comin but you came too late, but I'll wait
So back up, regroup, get a grip, come equipped
You're the next contestant - clap ya hands, you won a trip!
The price is right - don't make a deal too soon
How many notes could you name this tune?
Follow the Leader is the title, theme, task
Now ya know, you don't have to ask
Rap is Rhythm And Poetry, cuts create sound effects
You might catch up if you follow the records E. wrecks
Until then keep eatin and swallowin
You better take a deep breath and keep followin
The leader

"Once again back is the incredible" --> Chuck D

Yeah, yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits, make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this, and cash in this
Mastered this, flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up, and play it loud
Hip-Hop's embedded, before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

*I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

* Repeat

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

* Repeat (x2)

"Once again, back is the incredible" --> Chuck D
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
"Rakim Allah" --> Rakim
Till death do us part
"Once again, back is the incredible" --> Chuck D
It's on
"Rakim Allah" --> Rakim
*CD sample, *Ra sample in sequence to 3:50
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..." --> Chuck D

Once again back is the incredible" >Chuck D

Yeah yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this and cash in this
Mastered this flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up and play it loud
Hip Hop's embedded before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

*chorus*
I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

*chorus*

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

*chorus* 2X
"Once again, back is the incredible" >Chuck D
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
"Rakim Allah" >Rakim
Till death do us part
"Once again, back is the incredible" >Chuck D
It's on
"Rakim Allah" >Rakim
*CD sample, *Ra sample in sequence to 3:50
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..." >Chuck D

Once again back is the incredible" >Chuck D

Yeah yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this and cash in this
Mastered this flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up and play it loud
Hip Hop's embedded before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

*chorus*
I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

*chorus*

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

*chorus* 2X
"Once again, back is the incredible" >Chuck D
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
"Rakim Allah" >Rakim
Till death do us part
"Once again, back is the incredible" >Chuck D
It's on
"Rakim Allah" >Rakim
*CD sample, *Ra sample in sequence to 3:50
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..." >Chuck D

"Once again back is the incredible" --> Chuck D

Yeah, yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits, make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this, and cash in this
Mastered this, flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up, and play it loud
Hip-Hop's embedded, before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

*I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

* Repeat

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

* Repeat (x2)
"Once again, back is the incredible" --> Chuck D
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
"Rakim Allah" --> Rakim
Till death do us part
"Once again, back is the incredible" --> Chuck D
It's on
"Rakim Allah" --> Rakim
*CD sample, *Ra sample in sequence to 3:50
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..." --> Chuck D

I ain't no joke, I use to let the mic smoke
Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke
When i'm gone I wrote this song cuz I won't let
Nobody press up and mess up to seen I set
I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn
Bu think about it then you'll understand
I'm just an addict addicted to music
Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it
Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up convert it in a hip-hop form
Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in
Deep concentration cuz I'm no comedian
Jokers are wild if you wanna be tame
I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
Cuz you'll get fried in the end if you pretend to be
?Can be? cuz I just put your mind on pause
And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours
I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stun
Remember me, the one you got your idea from
But soon you start to suffer but you only get rougher
When you start to stutter that's when you had enuff of
Biting it, I make you choke, you can't provoke
You can't cope, you should of broke cuz I ain't no joke

I got a question, it's serious as cancer
Who can keep the average dancer
Hyper as a heart attack nobody smiling
Cuz you're expressing the rhyme that I'm styling
This is what we all sit down to write
You can't make it so you take it home, break it and bite
Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits
Get the style down pack then it's time to ?swit?
Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours
Then you figure you're ready for the neighborhood chores
The E-M-C-E-E don't even try to be
When you come up to speak, don't even lie

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of how many weak shows you slept through
Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you
Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss
The rhymes from the microphone soloist
And you sit by the radio, hand on the dial, soon
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Dance wit the speaker 'till you hear it blow,
Then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go
It's a 4 letter word when it's heard, it control
your body to dance (You got it) soul,
Ditects the tempo like a red alert
Reaches your reflex, so let it work
When this is playing, you can't get stuck wit
The steps, so get set and I'm a still come up wit
A gift to be swift, follow the leader, the rhyme will go
Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago
It can be done but only I can do it
For those that can dance and clap your hands to it
I start to think and then I sink
Into the paper like I was ink
When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines,
I escape when I finish the rhyme...
I got soul

You got it (4x)
I know you got soul

Picture a mic, the stage is empty
A beat like this might tempt me
To pose, show my rings and my fat gold chain
Grab the mic like I'm on Soul Train
But I'll wait 'cause I mastered this
Let the others go first so the brothers don't miss
Eric B. break the sticks (you got it)
Rakim will begin when you make the mix
I'll experiment like a scientist
You wanna rhyme, you gotta sign my list
'Cause I'm a manifest and bless the mic I hold
You want it next? then you gotta have soul
'Cause if you ain't got it, I'm a make an encore
Take the mic, make the people re

Planet Earth was my place of birth
Born to be the soul controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any a rhyme that I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets going, the going gets rough
When I start flowing, the mic might bust
The next state, I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes
'Cause times was hard on the Boulevard
So I vote God and never get scarred and gauled
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Looking over the edge but the R never fell
A trip to slip 'cause my Nikes got grip
Stand on my own two feet and come equip
Any stage I'm seen on, a mic I fiend on
I stand alone and need nothing to lean on
Going for self wit a long way to go
So much to say but I still flow slow
I come correct and I won't look back
'Cause it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)

I learn to relax in my room and escape from New York
And return through the womb of the world as a thought
Thinking how hard it was to be born
Me being queen wit no physical form
Millions have settled wit one destination
To reach the best part, it's life creation
9 months later, a job well done
Make way, 'cause here I come
Since I made it this far, I can't stop now
There's a will and a way and I got to know how
To be all I can be and more
And see all there is to see before
Called and go back to the essence
It's alot to learn so I study my lessons
I thought the ghetto was the worst that could happen to me
I'm glad I listen when my father was rapping to me
'Cause back in the days, they lived in caves
Exile from the original man, a straight way
Now that's what I call hard times
I rather be here to exercise the mind
Then I take a thought around the world twice
>From knowledge to born back to knowledge precise
Across the desert, that's how to store a radiant
But they couldn't cave me in 'cause I'm the Asiant
REaching for the city, a Mecca, visit medina
Visions of Neffertiti then I seen a
Mind keeps traveling, I'll be back after I
Stop and think about the brothers and sisters in Africa
Return the thought through the eye of a needle
For miles I thought and I just fought the people
Under the dark skies on a dark side
Not only there but right here's an apartheid
So now is the time for us to react
Take a trip through the mind and when you get back
Understand you're third eye seen all of that
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)
Even the (ghetto)

No more props, I want property
In every borough, nobody's stopping me
Because I'm thorough, rhymes are making real estate for me to own
Wherever I bless a microphone
007 is back and relaxing
On poignant reacting and ready for action
I'm so low key that you might not see me
Incognito and taking it easy
Quiet, it's kept on a hush hush
In front of a crowd, I get loud, there's a bumrush
Be calm, keep a low pro, and play the background
Over the wack rapper, put the mic back down
So rip it, break it in half, go head and slam it
'Cause when it's time to build, I'm a mechanic
I'm bonding and mending, attaching and blending
So many solos, there is no ending
People in my neighborhood, they know I'm good
>From London to Hollywood, wherever I stood
Footprints remain on stage ever since
As I walk the street, I leave fossils and dents
When I had sex, I left my name on necks
My trademark was left throughout the projects
I used to get rich when I played celo
When I rolled 4, 5, 6, they go we know
So I collect my cash then slide
I got my back, my gun's on my side
It shouldn't have to be like that
I guess it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)
I'm from the (ghetto)
Word up, peace

[interviewer, possibly Harry Allen]
What are you giving them back?

[Rakim]
Umm, I think what I'm givin them back man is umm...
what they been waitin for yaknahmean? Umm...

SKILLS

interviewer possibly Harry Allen]
What are you giving them back?

[Rakim]
Umm I think what I'm givin them back man is umm...
what they been waitin for yaknahmean? Umm...

SKILLS

DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim the microphone soloist"

[Rakim]
Follow procedures the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

{DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim"

[Rakim]
When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

{DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[Rakim]
When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb

이 뒤부터 왜 가사가 없나요

It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist

Follow procedures, the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this - I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim

When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..

When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb
Like, 3-D in 'Nam, vivid like CD-Rom
Info kept like "internet.com"
My note-book's my bond like the Holy Qu'ran
Since I came in the door, said it before
But no I ain't down with Eric B. no more
At night the open mic be invitin me to rhyme
So yo I'm online, it's been a long time

It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
.. Rakim, the microphone soloist
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..
It's been a long time..

DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim the microphone soloist"

[Rakim]
Follow procedures the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

{DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim"

[Rakim]
When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

{DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records}
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[Rakim]
When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb

이 뒤부터 왜 가사가 없나요

"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"

Follow procedures, the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this - I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim"

When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb
Like, 3-D in 'Nam, vivid like CD-Rom
Info kept like "internet.com"
My note-book's my bond like the Holy Qu'ran
Since I came in the door, said it before
But no I ain't down with Eric B. no more
At night the open mic be invitin me to rhyme
So yo I'm online, it's been a long time

"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.." {extended scratch}
"It's been a long time.." {extended scratch}
"It's been a long time.."

I'm the arsenal
I got artillery, lyrics of ammo
Rounds of rhythm
Then I'm 'a give 'em piano
Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin' to ricochet
ready to aim at the brain
~Now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin'
Felt like a rifle
Massage 'n' melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an Uzi
Nothin' can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don't lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While I'm lettin' this fifi get wit me
You steppin' with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin' at me
Beats and bullets pass me
None on target
They want the R hit
But wtch the god get
Quicker, the tongue is the trigger
'Cause I'm real fast
Let off some rhythm at 'em
Let 'em feel the blast
Penetrate at a crazy rate
This ain't no .38
Hit 'em at point blank range
And watch 'em radiate
Runnin' out of ammunition
I'm done wit' em
You ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em

I push a power that's punishable
Better be a prisoner
The hit man is the
Brother wit' charisma
Showing you that I have
Powerful paragraphs
Followers will become leaders
But without a path
Ya mentally paralyzed
Crippled ya third eye
Rhymes are blurred
Then it occurred that you heard I
Reduced the friction with crucifixion
Let loose the mix then
Boost the piston
Eric hit 'em with' some of that
Cut like a lumberjack
And me gettin' hit back
It won't be none of that
I'm untouchable
You see me in 3-D
When I let the rhythm hit an

Verse one:

I'm rated "R", this is a warning, ya better void,
Poets are paranoid, DJ's D-stroyed,
Cuz I came back to attack others in spite-
Strike like lightnin', It's quite frightenin'!
But don't be afraid in the dark, in a park,
Not a scream or a cry, or a bark, more like a spark;
Ya tremble like a alcoholic, muscles tighten up,
What's that, lighten up! You see a sight but,
Suddenly you feel like your in a horror flick,
You grab your heart then wish for tomorrow quick!
Music's the clue, when I come your warned,
Apocolypse Now, when I'm done, ya gone!
Haven't you ever heard of a MC-murderer?
This is the death penalty,and I'm servin' a
death wish, so come on, step to this
hysterical idea for a lyrical professionist!
Friday the thirteenth, walking down Elm Street,
you come in my realm ya get beat!
This is off limits, so your visions are blurry,
All ya see is the meters at a volume,
pumping Lyrics of Fury!

it's a ....fearified freestyle!

Terror in the styles, never error-files,
indeed I'm known-your exiled!
For those that oppose to be level or next to this...
I ain't a devil and this ain't the Exorcist!
worse than a nightmare, you don't have to sleep a wink,
the pain's a migraine every time ya think,
Flashbacks interfere, ya start to hear:
The R-A-K-I-M in your ear;
Then the beat is hysterical,
that makes Eric go get a ax and chops the wack,
soon the lyrical format superior,
faces of death remain,
MC's decaying, cuz they never stayed,
the scene of a crime every night at the show,
the fiend of a rhyme on the mic that you know,
It's only one capable, breaks-the unbreakable,
melodies-unmakable, pattern-unecscapable,
a horn if want the style I posses,
I bless the child, the earth, the gods and bomb the rest,
for those that envy a MC it can be,
hazardous to your health so be friendly,
a matter of life and death, just like a ethch-a-sketch,
shake 'till your clear, make it disappear, make the next,
after the ceremony, let the rhyme rest in peace,
if not, my soul'll release!
the scene is recreated, reincarnated, updated, I'm glad you made it,
cuz your about to see a disastrous sight,
a performance never again performed on a mic:
Lyrics of fury!

a fearified freestyle!

the "R" is in the house-too much tension!
Make sure the system's loud when I mention
Phrases that's fearsome...
You want to hear some sounds that not only pounds but please your eardrums;
I sit back and observe the whole scenery,
then nonchalantly tell you what it mean to me,
strictly business I'm quickly in this mood,
and I don't care if the whole crowd's a witness!
I'm a tear you apart but I'm a spare you a heart,
program into the speed of the rhyme, prepare to start,
rhythm's out of the radius, insane as the craziest
musical madness MC ever made, see it's
now an emergency, open-heart surgery...
open your mind, you will find every word'll be
furier than ever, I remain the furture,
battle's tempting...whatever suits ya!
For words the sentence, there's no resemblance,
you think you're ruffer, then suffer the consequences!
I'm never dying-terrifying results,
I wake ya with hundreds of thousands of volts,
mic-to-mouth resuscitation, rhythm with radiation,
novicane ease the pain it might save him,
if not, Eric B.'s the judge, the crowd's the jury...
How do I plead to homicide?
Lyrics of Fury!

they're getting furier! a fearified freestyle!

Verse One:

Me and Eric B was coolin' at the Paladium
Seen a all-world covered girl, I said "Hey lady I'm
Sorry if You're in a rush - Don't let me hold ya up
Or interveen or interrupt, but. . .
You got the look - I wanna get to know ya better
I had to let her know - but yo, I didn't sweat her
'Cause if you woulda seen what I was seein'
Almost looked Korean, but European.
When she spoke, her accent was self-explanatory -
Even her body language told the story
Her name was Mahogony - twin's name was Ebony
I said "My name is Ra - and this is Eric B"
Since the music was loud, I said "let's take a walk,
So we could talk and see New York.
Show time doesn't start until one o'clock
And once I entered your mind I wouldn't wanna stop
Caressin' ya thoughts till we was thinkin' the same
Calm ya nerves, massage ya brain
Each mic is a mineral, poetry's protein
Verse is a vitamin - Affects like Codine
So tell me how you feel and I'll reveal
A pill that'll heal ya pain - 'cause I'm real
She musta OD'd 'cause she couldn't resist
She spoke slowly when she told me this, she said

Chorus:

Over Me, She's goin' crazy
She'll rub me on my chest and call me Mr. Sexy
She said she'd have my kids and help me make my next G
Tell me I ain't finesse Mahogony . . .


Verse Two:

So I prescribed her, something to revive
And surprise her, she's liver and much more wiser
Than the light I shine when my brain cells spark,
Come to me so we can glow in the dark
And soon, you can represent the moon
As long as I keep ya in tune
I'll tell ya who ya are and why ya here
Take it in stride 'cause it might take a year
It's funny - how time flies when ya havin' fun
We got close and it was almost one
She kissed me slow, but you know how far a kiss can go
F*ck around and miss the show
So I told her to hold that thought real tight
We can finish where we left off later on tonite
Back to the scene of the crime on time
As they introduced the 'Fiend of the Rhyme'
She stood with a birds-eye view of me
Thinkin' of later on of what she would do to me
The back of the room I could see her eyes gloom
Patient, but hopin' that the show was over soon
As the place was ripped in half, she made her way to the front row
So I said "let's go"
I packed my mic as they screamed for an encore
The speakers were blown, plus my mic was sore
Besides I got places to go, ladies to see
And she could tell me how crazy she was over me
We drove off - she said she liked the way that I performed
And couldn't wait to get 'soft and warm', I said,
"I've been watchin' you, watchin' me
Looks I received made it hard to MC
I can take a hint, so I knew that she
Wanted my "Agony Agony Ag-on-y" in her bod-y
Showed her some sights, then I took her to the Condo
She was pipin' hot, but I kept my calm So
She asked how come I don't smile
I said, "Everything's fine, but I'm in a New York state of mind!"
As we reached the kingdom, she said bring some
Champagne, she'll entertain then sing some
Sentimental, songs real gentle,
It hit the spot and you know where it went to
As we embraced I felt her heart pumpin'
I knew she was in the mood for somethin'
So I laid on my back and relaxed
It wasn't the Perignon that made her collaspe
Over me

Chorus

I was a fiend before I became a teen
I melted microphone instead of cones of ice cream
Music orientated so when hip-hop was originated
Fitted like pieces of puzzles, complicated
'Cause I grabbed the mic and try to say,

Standing by the speaker, suddenly I had this
Fever, was it me or either summer madness
Cuz I just can't stand around
So I get closer and the closer I get, the better it sound
My mind starts to activate, rhymes collaborate
Cuz When i heard the beat, I just had to make
Something from the top of my head
So I fell into the groove of the wax and I said
How could I move the crowd
First of all, ain't no mistakes allowed
Here's the instruction, put it together
It simple ain't it but quite clever
Some of you been trying to write rhymes for years
But weak ideas irritate my ears
Is this the best that you can make?
Cuz if not and you got more, I'll wait
But don't make me wait too long coz I'm a move on
The dancefloor when they put something smooth on
So turn up the bass, it's better when it's loud
Cuz I like to move the crowd

Move the crowd...

Verse two:

Imagine me wit the heat that's made by solar,
It gets stronger everytime I hold a
Microphone, check the tone to get started
The line for the microphone is departed
So leave it up to me, my DJ is mixing
Everyone is moving or eager to listen
Your hands in the air, your mouth, shut!
Cuz I'm on the mic and Eric B is on the cut
For those that know me, indeed I like to flow
Especially when the music's going slow
It gives me a chance to let everybody know
It's time to bust out the Rakim show
I'm the intelligent wise on the mic I will rise
Right in front of your eyes cuz I am a surprise
So I'ma let my knowledge be born to a perfection
All praise due to Allah and that's a blessing
Wit knowledge of self, there's nothing I can't solve
At 360 degrees, I revolve
This is actual fact, it's not an act, it's been proven,
Indeed and I proceed to make the crowd keep moving

Move the crowd

Verse One:

Turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar
I'm lettin knowledge be born, and my name's the R
A-k-i-m not like the rest of them, I'm not on a list
That's what I'm sayin, I drop science like a scientist
My melody's in a code, the very next episode
Has the mic often distortin, ready to explode
I keep the mic in Fahrenheit, freeze MC's and make em colder
The listener's system is kickin like solar
As I memorize, advertise, like a poet
Keep you goin when I'm flowin, smooth enough, you know it
But rough that's why the middle of my story I tell E.B.
Nobody beats the "R", check out my melody...

Verse Two:

So what if I'm a microphone fiend addicted soon as I sing
One of these for MC's so they don't have to scream
I couldn't wait to take the mic, flow into it to test
Then let my melody play, and then the record suggest
That I'm droppin bombs, but I stay peace and calm
Any MC that disagree with me just wave your arm
And I'll break, when I'm through breakin I'll leave you broke
Drop the mic when I'm finished and watch it smoke
So stand back, you wanna rap? All of that can wait
I won't push, I won't beat around the bush
I wanna break upon those who are not supposed to
You might try but you can't get close to
Because I'm number one, competition is none
I'm measured with the heat that's made by sun
Whether playin ball or bobbin in the hall
I just writin my name in graffiti on the wall
You shouldn't have told me you said you control me
So now a contest is what you owe me
Pull out your money, pull out your cut
Pull up a chair, and I'ma tear shit up
My name is Rakim Allah, and R & A stands for "Ra"
Switch it around, but still comes out "R"
So easily will I e-m-c-e-e
My repetition of words is "check out my melody"
Some bass and treble is moist, scratchin and cuttin a voice
And when it's mine that's when the rhyme is always choice
I wouldn't have came to ?set? my name ?around the? same weak shit
Puttin blurs and slurs and words that don't fit
In a rhyme, why waste time on the microphone
I take this more serious than just a poem
Rockin party to party, backyard to yard
Now tear it up, y'all, and bless the mic for the gods


Verse Three:

The rhyme is rugged, at the same time sharp
I can swing off anything even a string of a harp
Just turn it on and start rockin, mind no introduction
Til I finish droppin science, no interruption
When I approach I exercise like a coach
Usin a melody and add numerous notes
With the mic and the R-a-k-i-m
It's a task, like a match I will strike again
Rhymes are poetically kept and alphabetically stepped
Put in order to pursue with the momentum except
I say one rhyme and I order a longer rhyme shorter
A pause, but don't stop the tape recorder



I'm not a regular competitor, first rhyme editor
Melody arranger, poet, etcetera
Extra events, the grand finale like bonus
I am the man they call the microphonist
With wisdom which means wise words bein spoken
Too many at one time watch the mic start smokin
I came to express the rap I manifest
Stand in my way and I'll lead a ??? words protest
MC's that wanna be dissed they're gonna
Be dissed if they don't get from in fronta
All they can go get is me a glass of Moet
A hard time, sip your juice and watch a smooth poet
I take 7 MC's put em in a line
And add 7 more brothas who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that's 21 MC's ate up at the same time
Easy does it, do it easy, that's what I'm doin
No fessin, no messin around, no chewin
No robbin, no buyin, bitin, why bother
This slob'll stop tryin fightin to follow
My unusual style will confuse you a while
If I was water, I flow in the Nile
So many rhymes you won't have time to go for your's
Just because of a cause I have to pause
Right after tonight is when I prepare
To catch another sucka duck MC out there
Cos my strategy has to be tragedy, catastrophe
And after this you'll call me your majesty
My melody...


Verse Five:

Marley Marl synthesized it, I memorize it
Eric B made a cut and advertised it
My melody's created for MC's in the place
Who try to listen cos I'm dissin ???
?Take off your necklace, you try to detect my pace?
?Now? you're ?buggin? over ??? off my rhyme like bass
The melody that I'm stylin, smooth as a violin
Rough enough to break New York from Long Island
My wisdom is swift, no matter if
My momentum is slow, MC's still stand stiff
I'm genuine like leather, don't try to be clever
MC's you'll beat the "R", I'll say "Oh never"
So Eric B cut it easily
And check out my melody

[from the movie _Wildstyle_
If you was born in New york City let me hear say "You know that"!
YOU KNOW THAT

Aiyyo, once upon a rhyme where the scenery sets, you see stress
Streets a matter of life and death, no regrets
Life's a test, strife, wit special effects
Neighbourhood's full of reps, cities are projects
Where the young cadets get stripes from the vets
And comrades quest to be the next, to finess
Collect debts and select bets with death threats
Object - Chedder, better your total net
Where trends are set from ways to express the outfits
Friends get wet tryin' to make ends connect
Avenues to check, boulevards to sweat
The smell of gunsmoke more common than cigarettes
WE GOT clicks for wreck
WE LIKE Pits for pets
WE GOT Giants and Jets, the Knicks, Yanks and Mets
WE LIKE much respect and sex extra wet
And High-Tech dialect you ain't catch yet

(The Bronx
Ya out there?
No doubt
Brooklyn
ya out there)

[Rakim]
Aiyyo, we got blocks and glocks with
big shots with big knots and big props
yo this is where the bullshit stops
where herbs get got
if you snitch you get shot
we get down and leave the town in a state of shock
WE GOT dangerous hang out spots and slick cops
place called Riker's Island where kids get locked
a lotta gear to rock with blocks of clothes shops
styles are top notch, this is the place to buy
so bust the box the radio station is hot
ease your mind staring at skylines from rooftops
flip scripts for chips
and new Whips of the lot
quick to call a shot, pollitic with thick plots
and eh, Carnegie niggers a see what we got
to make sure the core of the big apple don't rot
where seeings believing we be achieving a lot
since disc jocks created hip hop, check it out!

(Queens
ya out there?
no doubt
Manhatten
no doubt
New York city
Staten Island
New york new york
long Island
New york
ya out there)

[Rakim]
Aiyo, we got five bouroughs of ghettos
with amny places to meet, you get lost in city streets
the city that never sleeps
Mecca ? Medina the population increase
the desert and the oasis, New York, the far east
with gods and Sheiks
pretty amazons for weeks
player dons that fleece the family's black sheep
icons that teach that we all act unique
we got stats to reach so we all have to eat
a mass of peeps, with they own masterpiece
the crafts elite, we going past the beat
the latest technique no other place get as deep
who parks release some of the worlds greatest athletes
DJs and MCs and graffiti artistes
who use walls and subway trains for marquees
we go back to b-boys, breakdancing, breakbeats
and it'll never cease and on that note
we say peace

[from the movie _Wildstyle_
If you was born in New york City let me hear say "You know that"!
YOU KNOW THAT

Aiyyo, once upon a rhyme where the scenery sets, you see stress
Streets a matter of life and death, no regrets
Life's a test, strife, wit special effects
Neighbourhood's full of reps, cities are projects
Where the young cadets get stripes from the vets
And comrades quest to be the next, to finess
Collect debts and select bets with death threats
Object - Chedder, better your total net
Where trends are set from ways to express the outfits
Friends get wet tryin' to make ends connect
Avenues to check, boulevards to sweat
The smell of gunsmoke more common than cigarettes
WE GOT clicks for wreck
WE LIKE Pits for pets
WE GOT Giants and Jets, the Knicks, Yanks and Mets
WE LIKE much respect and sex extra wet
And High-Tech dialect you ain't catch yet

(The Bronx
Ya out there?
No doubt
Brooklyn
ya out there)

[Rakim]
Aiyyo, we got blocks and glocks with
big shots with big knots and big props
yo this is where the bullshit stops
where herbs get got
if you snitch you get shot
we get down and leave the town in a state of shock
WE GOT dangerous hang out spots and slick cops
place called Riker's Island where kids get locked
a lotta gear to rock with blocks of clothes shops
styles are top notch, this is the place to buy
so bust the box the radio station is hot
ease your mind staring at skylines from rooftops
flip scripts for chips
and new Whips of the lot
quick to call a shot, pollitic with thick plots
and eh, Carnegie niggers a see what we got
to make sure the core of the big apple don't rot
where seeings believing we be achieving a lot
since disc jocks created hip hop, check it out!

(Queens
ya out there?
no doubt
Manhatten
no doubt
New York city
Staten Island
New york new york
long Island
New york
ya out there)

[Rakim]
Aiyo, we got five bouroughs of ghettos
with amny places to meet, you get lost in city streets
the city that never sleeps
Mecca ? Medina the population increase
the desert and the oasis, New York, the far east
with gods and Sheiks
pretty amazons for weeks
player dons that fleece the family's black sheep
icons that teach that we all act unique
we got stats to reach so we all have to eat
a mass of peeps, with they own masterpiece
the crafts elite, we going past the beat
the latest technique no other place get as deep
who parks release some of the worlds greatest athletes
DJs and MCs and graffiti artistes
who use walls and subway trains for marquees
we go back to b-boys, breakdancing, breakbeats
and it'll never cease and on that note
we say peace