[Talib Kweli]
Yo Dee (What?)
Come on (Yeah..)
What? What? Come on
(Yeah)
"Give me the fortune, keep the fame," said my man Louis
I agreed, know what he mean because we live the truest lie
I asked him why we follow the law of the bluest eye
He looked at me, he thought about it
Was like, "I'm clueless, why?"
The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible
Our morals are out of place and got our lives full of sorrow
And so tomorrow comin later than usual
Waitin' on someone to pity us
While we findin beauty in the hideous
They say money's the root of all evil but I can't tell
YouknowhatImean, pesos, francs, yens, cowrie shells, dollar bills
Or is it the mindstate that's ill?
Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build
Over money and religion there's more blood to spill
The wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal
What's the deal?
A lot of cats who buy records are straight broke
But my language universal they be recitin my quotes
While R&B; singers hit bad notes, we rock the boat
of thought, that my man Louis' statements just provoked
Caught up, in conversations of our personal worth
Brought up, through endangered species status on the planet Earth
Survival tactics means, bustin gats to prove you hard
Your firearms are too short to box with God
Without faith, all of that is illusionary
Raise my son, no vindication of manhood necessary
[M.D.]Not strong
[T.K.]Only aggressive
[M.D.]Not free
[T.K.]We only licensed
[M.D.]Not compassioniate, only polite
[T.K.]Now who the nicest?
[M.D.]Not good but well behaved
[T.K.]Chasin after death
so we can call ourselves brave?
[M.D.]Still livin like mental slaves
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[Mos Def]
Yo, I'm sure that everbody out listenin agree
That everything you see ain't really how it be
A lot of jokers out runnin in place, chasin the style
Be a lot goin on beneath the empty smile
Most cats in my area be lovin the hysteria
Synthesized surface conceals the interior
America, land of opportunity, mirages and camoflauges
More than usually -- speakin loudly, sayin nothin
You confusin me, you losin me
Your game is twisted, want me enlisted -- in your usary
Foolishly, most men join the ranks cluelessly
Buffoonishly accept the deception, believe the perception
Reflection rarely seen across the surface of the lookin glass
Walkin the street, wonderin who they be lookin past
Lookin gassed with them imported designer shades on
Stars shine bright, but the light -- rarely stays on
Same song, just remixed, different arrangement
Put you on a yacht but they won't call it a slaveship
Strangeness, you don't control this, you barely hold this
Screamin brand new, when they just sanitized the old shit
Suppose it's, just another clever Jedi mind trick
That they been runnin across stars through all the time with
I find it's distressin, there's never no in-between
We either niggaz or Kings
We either bitches or Queens
The deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
Long barrel automatics released in short bursts
The length of black life is treated with short worth
Get yours first, them other niggaz secondary
That type of illin that be fillin up the cemetary
This life is temporary but the soul is eternal
Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you
Not strong, only aggressive, cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will of the oppressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not live, we just excitin
Cause the captors.. own the masters.. to what we writin
Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained
Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game
Not good, but well behaved cause the ca-me-ra survey
most of the things that we think, do, or say
We chasin after death just to call ourselves brave
But everyday, next man meet with the grave
I give a damn if any fan recall my legacy
I'm tryin to live life in the sight of God's memory
Like that y'all
[Mos Def]
A lot of people don't understand the true criteria of things
Can't just accept the appearance
Have to get the true essence
[Talib Kweli]
They ain't lookin around
[M.D.]Not strong
[T.K.]Only aggressive
[M.D.]Not free
[T.K.]We only licensed
[M.D.]Not compassioniate, only polite
[T.K.]Now who the nicest?
[M.D.]Not good but well behaved
[T.K.]Chasin after death
so we can call ourselves brave?
[M.D.]Still livin like mental slaves
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[both]Hidin like thieves in the night from life
Illusions of oasis makin you look twice
[Mos Def (singing)]
Stop hidin, stop hidin, stop hidin yo' face
Stop hidin, stop hidin, cause ain't no hidin place
* repeat 2X*
(Mos Def singing)
I'm flyin' high, in the friendly sky
without ever leaving the ground, yeah yeah
Rest of the folks are tired and weary
And have laid their bodies down
(Talib Kweli)
We lyrically rich, livin, spiritually fit
Eating healthy, coming clean never filthy
In God's eyes I'm wealthy
Felt the power as I entered the palace of 7 lights
Time traveled participatin on battles my brethren fight
For birth rights that they already got, and shouldn't have to get
Break down the steady plot that's accurate
Bust the shots that's immaculate
Take it to your nugget cause my beloved covet they freedom
Believe it put nothing above it love it or leave it
We blessed with free will so we choose to be ill
Like sharks keepin it movin we could never be still
Swim in the channels of life
The orators of rhyme handling mics
Tiptoeing through the corridors of your mind with candlelights
Everlasting in your hood like liquor stores and check cashin
Niggaz flashing (?----) classes sippin thug passion blastin
Makaveli 4, I bet on brothers with nothing to live for
To give more to the struggle, they already at war
(Chorus)
So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blastin holes til the night bled sunshine
Breathe in...
Breathe out,
Heard the bass ride out like an ancient (mating call)
I can't take it, I can feel the city breathing
(Mos Def)
I pushed my pen and wrote this scribe
Like the morning wouldn't find me alive
I'm surrounded on all sides
By the kind and the cool, wise men and the fool
Young guns attending school, ghetto classes include:
Get yours, get it right
Get down, get paid, get ass, get around
Get on, get fly, get jig and get high
Live to get and you'll only end up getting by
When the nighttime covers the city like a cloak
I approach and assemble my hopes, into notes
Hard to sleep in the city that don't
Cause it won't let you rest, noises on your doorstep
'Nuff distress
Police department, raid the park bench on nonsense
Cause they fear to see the brothers conference
Regardless, we bond tight and we rumble all day to break night
Daylight, wifey riffin' to death - "you ain't right"
The same fight about my late night habits is mad static
But the city's so alive that I just got to have it
The planet of Brook-LAWN is what I look on
Ghetto chef rock your vest when you gettin your cook on
Dedicating this song to Scott LaRock, B.I.G. and 'Pac
Kwame Ture, Betty Carter and John Henrik CLark
Ron Brown, and freedom fighters going down
You set the pace, now we finish the race
It's on now
(Chorus)
So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blasting holes til the night bled sunshine
Breathe in...
Breathe out,
Heard the bass ride out like an ancient (mating call)
I can't take it, I can feel the city breathing
(Black Thought)
Yo, Yo
I'm from the year-round shootouts to summertime cookout
The wintertime grind with the shorties on the lookout
A chosen few know the rule, the rest threw the book out
The law stay on crews, thirsty with they hook out
That old-school bang out,
Money that pulled the thang out
They bit him and hit him with a few, he just came out
With the sharks that travel all parts within the same route
Narrow walls closin in, cutthroat to exit at the opening
Wrong place, you wasn't where you were supposed to been
You back around the end, heavy wasteline again
With them same suspect cats that waste time again
Ya'll need to wake the fuck up, and peep the monument in your face
Cuz ain't no time to waste not a minute
I seen my cousin (?----) said "Peace, yo where you been at?"
He said "the final frontier 'Riq, I'm up in that,
and it's the time to watch the place your foe and where your friend at,
Cuz where I rotate ain't nothin to grin at, I been at
the fork in the crossroads, the outer limit,
See you can stand tall or crawl and act timid"
The Black Thought with the Black Star, infinite
What what what, what what, what what, what what
Woaaaahhhhhhh!
One two three, Mos Def and Talib Kweli
We came to rock it on to the tip-top
Best alliance in hip-hop, wayohh
I said, one two tree, Black Star shine eternally
We came to rock it on to the tip-top
And Hi-Tek make the beat drop, wayohh
[Talib Kweli]
RE:DEFinition, turning your play into a tragedy
Exhibit level degree on the mic, passionately
Niggaz is sweet so I bet if I bit I'd get a cavity
Livin to get high, you ain't flyer than gravity
We Die Hard like the battery done in the back of me by the mad MC
who think imitation is the highest form of flattery, actually
Don't be mad at me, I had to be the one to break it to you
You get kicked into obscurity like judo, no Menudo
cause you pseudo, tryin to compete with reality like Xerox
Towards destruction you spiraling like hairlocks, wipe them teardrops
Chasing stars in your eyes, playing games with your lives
Now the wives is widows soakin up pillows, weepin like willows
Still mo' blacks is dyin, kids ain't livin they tryin
"How to Make a Slave" by Willie Lynch is still applyin
Regardless, the Mos is one of my closest partners
Rockin ever since before Prince was called The Artist
Rocker before Funkmaster Flex was rockin Starter
When 'Pac and Biggie was still cool before they was martyrs
Life or death, if I'm choosin with every breath I'm enhancin
Stop, there comes a time when you can't run
[Mos Def]
What, lyrically handsome, call collect a king's ransom
Jams I write soon become the ghetto anthem
Way out like Bruce Wayne's mansion, move like a phantom
You'll talk about me to your grandsons
Cats who claimin they hard be mad fag
so I run through em like, flood water through sandbags
Competition is mad, what I got, they can't have
Sinkin they ship, like Moby Dick, did Ahab
Son I'm way past the minimum, it's a verb millenium
My rap's hold a gat to your back, like Palestinians
Ancient Abyssinia, sure to hold the Gideon
Official b-boy gentlemen, long term, never the interim
Born inside the winter wind, day after December 10
These simpletons they mentionin the synonym for feminine
Sweeter than some cinnamon from Danish rings by Entenmann's
Rush up on adrenaline, they get they asses sent to them
(Gentlemen) you got a tenement, well then assemble it!
Leave your unit tremblin like herds of movin elephant
Intelligent embellishment, follow for your element
from Flatbush settlement, skin posseses melanin
Hotter than tales of crack peddlin, makin em WOOP
like blue gelatin, swing like Duke Ellington
Broader than Barrington Levy, believe me
The hot oppresion rent who burn down your chief teepee
You see me?
One two three, Mos Def and Talib Kweli
We came to rock it on to the tip-top
Best alliance in hip-hop, wayohh
I said, one two tree, Black Star shine eternally
We came to rock it on to the tip-top
Because we rulin hip-hop, yes we is rulin hip-hop
Talib Kweli is rulin hip-hop
Say we Black Star we rule hip-hop-ah-ahh-ah-ahh-ahh
'Now listen'
[Mos]
..doin this song for you.
all my little brothers.. out in the street.
strugglin to survive.. keep your eyes on the prize, you know
[Kweli]
Yeah, the revolution will not be televised
Or broadcast live on the net
My man Mos said it's personal.. knamsayin?
It's gotta start from right up in here, you know
[Mos & Kweli]
You can't stop, you know [3x]
You can't stop when we rep
[Kweli]
We rep the ain't-gots
Ain't nobody can't start no party like us, we crush the faint hearts
From Hallsey to St. Mark's, walk in the main blocks
Painted with blood that's still hot, so deep it stain socks
The pain spark frustration, situations lead to hatin
Some deal with drug distribution, others walk the plantation
Some know the code a' the streets, some got a college education
Come down on the weekend, and peep the conversation
[Mos]
On the corner, units stormed out
Ghetto lookin bombed out
Police waited to roll, for those who walk the wrong route
Shorties goin all out, they got they swords drawn out
Ready to brawl out, gettin fought til they fall out
Black like Morehouse, 40 o'z is tossed out
For brothers that they mourn bout, get wrecked til it's dawn out
Whether they broke or flossed out, honeys pass they draws out
Lookin for a ticket out the poor-house
A jungle out here
Lions keep they claws out, fangs and jaws out
Weak just get forced out
Names is called out, ghetto-fame is sought out
You wanna be the man that they talk bout
I walked out
I had some things on my mind to sort out
I thought bout the wild circumstance we born out
Remember myself at your age, when I was just like you
If that was now, I don't know what I would do
My answer's? closest to me
So what I say to you is goin for me
Son we both still growin indeed
But where you at, I was, and where you been, I left
Utilize my experience to guide your step
Some people get love but don't command respect
It's somethin that you can't ride with a check
Over-rollin your lex or icy links that hang from your neck
If it's real, who need to deal with the special effects?
[Kweli]
Come here, come here, yo
Lemme drop this on ya, look they gotchu cornered
The corner of the block is hot, I ain't got to warn ya
'Cause I see you every day, trapped in every way
'Shit, I'm a thug, and that's all that I can say'
Who are you anyway?
Mary J.? I spend, many nights awake, watchin you while you sleep
Tryin to figure out how to be the example, 'cause talk is cheap
As you walk the streets, study cats on the real
In a convo, just make your point to relax and chill
[Niggas] wanna destroy each other in a cypher instead a' build
Be a- man of will, don't be- standin still
If you- don't plan ahead, then you- plan to fail
Do ? in a daze when the ways reveal
Like they funny style but I'm not laughin
Serious [niggas] makin money while the police is passin
Can't wait for opportunity to knock, you gotta make it happen
It ain't about no spectacular ways a' rappin
Just immaculate ways a' action.. dig?
[Mos sings]
Little Brother
I know that times is hard
Keep your mind on guard
Stay clear of things that are harmin
You'll get along
I sing my song
For little brothers
Out there in the street
Strugglin to make ends meet
Gotta hold the heat
Strugglin so hard to compete
Stay clear of things that harm
Do it for y'all
Try to stay strong
Keep movin on [6x]
[Talib Kweli]
So many emcees focusin on black people extermination
We keep it balanced with that knowledge of self, determination
It's hot, we be blowin the spots, with conversations
C'mon let's smooth it out like Soul Sensation
We in the house like Japanese in Japan, or Koreans in Korea
Head to Philly and free Mumia with the Kujichagulia TRUE
Singin is swingin and writin is fightin, but what
they writin got us clashin like titans it's not excitin
No question, bein a black man is demandin
The fire's in my eyes and the flames need fannin (3X)
With that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination
*repeat 4X*
[singer]
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
[Talib Kweli]
Yes yes come on, yes yes
Knowledge Of Self is like life after death
With that you never worry about your last breath
Death comes, that's how I'm livin, it's the next days
The flesh goes underground, the book of life, flip the page
Yo they askin me how old, we livin the same age
I feel the rage of a million niggaz locked inside a cage
At exactly which point do you start to realize
That life without knowledge is, death in disguise?
That's why, Knowledge Of Self is like life after death
Apply it, to your life, let destiny manifest
Different day, same confusion, we're gonna take this
hip-hop shit and keep it movin, shed a little light
Now y'all bloomin like a flower with the power of the evident
Voices and drums original instruments
In the flesh presently presentin my representation
With that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination
*repeat 6X*
- - - - these two parts overlap - - - -
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
*repeat 2X*
[Talib Kweli]
The most important time in history is, NOW, the present
So count your blessings cause time can't define the essence
But you stressin over time and you follow the Roman calendar
These people enter Cona like Gattaca, you can bet
they tryin to lock you down like Attica, the African diaspora
represents strength in numbers, a giant can't slumber forever
I know you gotta get that cheddar whatever
Aiyyo I heard you twice the first time money, get it together
You must be History, you repeatin yourself out of the pages
You keepin yourself depleatin your spiritual wealth
That quick cash'll get your ass quick fast in houses of detention
Inner-city concentration camps where no one pays attention
or mentions the ascension of death, til nothing's left
The young, gifted and Black are sprung addicted to crack
All my people where y'all at cause, y'all ain't here
And your hero's using your mind as a canvas to paint fear
With, broad brush strokes and tales of incarceration
You get out of jail with that Knowledge of Self determination
Stand in ovation, cause you put the Hue in Human
Cause and effect, effect everything you do
and that's why I got love in the face of hate
Hands steady so the lines in the mental illustration is straight
The thought you had don't even contemplate
Infinite like figure eight there's no escape..
From that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination
*repeat 4X*
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
*repeat 2X*
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
*repeat 2X*
i have made my bed and now it is time to lie down
dark clown eternal with a permanent wry frown
still holding out with pessimistic hope
better the devil you know than the one that you do not
i should have known
better the devil you know than the one that you do not
hold your loved ones close and your enemies closer
i guess they never ever come any colder
lash it out give them enough rope
[Talib Kweli]
Yes..
Every day somebody ask me where all the real MC's is at?
They underground
There's mad talented cats underground with that raw shit
Yaknowwhat'msayin? Bringin them raw skills
YaknowwhatI'm sayin?
Really, to me..
It's a Small Wonder, like Vicki, why I'm picky
These niggas suck like hickies
and still get the shit they slip in like Mickies
I'm sick of the hater-players, bring on the regulators
With the flavors like a farm team fucking with the majors
Like a river how I run through it, I do it so cold
Freezin up your bodily fluids, your style is old
You runnin your mouth, but don't really know what you be talkin about
You should retire, get that complimentary watch, be out!
Yo, with the quickness, so swift you miss this lyrical fitness
Now get this, these emcees wanna test me like litmus, bear witness
I'm like shot clocks, interstate cops, and blood clots
My point is, your flow can stop!
By all means, you need more practice, take that ass home
Everybody lookin at you, fish tank syndrome
In full effect, I stay catchin lyrical rep
And keep it blacker than the back of your neck
What you expect, that shit's hollerin
Cause we developin the followin
Gettin played like stone love tapes and dollar vans
Order reverse your universe so your demise is first
Before your rise it gets worse
You need a night nurse like Gregory
Beggin me - stop it hurts! - is what you say to me
Like that's supposed to mean somethin?
You the one I seen frontin in the club
Your act I don't buy it, I got the dub
Come on everybody, come on just show your love
Come on everybody, come on just show your love
Come on everybody, come on just show your love
Come on everybody, come on just show your love
Come on everybody, come on just show your love
Chorus: *chanted in background*
Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-uh-oh *repeated 4X*
[Mos Def]
Visions occupy my synaptic space
Command and shake, to illustrate my mind's landscape
The tall grass, the low plains, the mountanous ridges
Thickets among the forests, rivers beneath the bridges
Presence of hilltops, lit up with tree tops
Eavesdrop; and hear the incline of sunshine, nine
Stones in orbit, refuse to forfeit
They all form a cipher, and they came to observe it
I follow suit, and face it, embrace it
Shinin bright, but still I'm careful not to waste it
Destined to rise, because I'm basement adjacent
Spirit is still so just chill and be patient
Some heads approach like I'm the one to base with
Clowns about to scream and shout but don't say shh..
I ain't your student so I ain't to be tested
I'm majestic, I represent my strength without effort
My, method is unorthodox, but of course it rocks
My serious synopsis will drop kick, my topics
run the gauntlets and galvanize the audience
I must represent, I don't come off with no corniness
It's all luminary, despite commentary
Some people say, Mos how you get so?
My sign will make you jump around like calypso
And, murmur to yourself like a schizo
There ain't no bottom on the ???
Chorus
[Talib Kweli]
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Here we go. Blackstar, hop on the Blackstar line
We bout to take y'all home.
YaknowwhatImean? Here we go...
We got all markets on lock
From meat to stock
Blackstar, what? throwin like head rock in bars
Men flock to where we are, cause its the place to be
Grab my paint, jump on stage and deface emcees
We sell our souls like Spawn and come for the drone I sit upon
Freestyle or written songs so we can get it on!
Going back and forth, fallin back, all across the track
Passin the mic's like quarterbacks
of course its phat, get off of that!
Reverse psychology got em scared to say when shit is whack
out of fear of being called a hater, imagine that!
We ain't havin that reachin past the star status that you grabbin at
My battle raps blast your ass back to your natural habitat
So floss, cause what it costs ain't worth it to me
Cause I'm the one these Spice Girl emcees Wannabe
But they can't, ain't no points forever, so why bother?
Cause your girl calls my name out like Clarence Carter
Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter!
(I be strokin, that's what I be doin)
Aiyyo, as we rock harder
And always drop the bonified head nodders
Aiyyo, later for the hater-players
Yo-yo, yo-yo, later for these hater-players
Chorus
Blackstar keeps shining
Chorus
[Child #1] ...and then Jackie Chan just started kickin em
like POW! POW! POW!
[Child #2] Whaaaaa??!
[Mos Def] Alright y'all, alright y'all enough of that
it's time to go to bed y'all
Time to go to bed -- I don't wanna hear that
You know what time it is, you know what time it is
[Children] Uncle Mos?
[Mos Def] Yeeesss?
[Children] Would you read us a bedtime story please?
[Mos Def] Okay, okay. Ya'll tucked in?
[Children] Yeessss...
[Mos Def] Heeeere we go...
Once upon a time not long ago
When people wore Adidas and lived life slow
When laws were stern and justice stood
And people was behavin' like hip-hop was good
There lived a little boy who was misled
By a little Sha-tan and this is what he said
"Me and you kid we gonna make some cash,
Jackin' old beats and makin' the dash..."
They jacked the beats, money came wit' ease
But son, he couldn't stop, it's like he had a disease
He jacked another and another, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
Set some R & B over the track for 'Deep Cover' (187!)
The kid got wild startin' actin' erratic
He said "Yo, that presidential I got ta have it..."
With liquor in his belly son, he made up the track
But little did he know that his joints was wack
The shiny A & R said "Great new hit G!"
"Whenever you need a loop, yo come get me..."
The kid got amped and he starts to figure
"I'm-a get dough like all-a these otha niggaz!"
So, he's in the studio workin' 'round the clock
For pop radio, jacked the beat to 'Planet Rock'
Was out in the street when he met this sister
Who couldn't sing for shhhh but the mix wit' her sister
Hooked up the track and in excitation
He decided he'd head for the radio station
But (But!) he was runnin' and he made a left
Was skeezin' at top speed and ran into Mos Def
I slowed the young man down and I started: "Yo money,
Yo, why you sellin' lies to our wives and children?"
He ran upstairs up to the top floor
Opened up the door then guess what he saw? (Who?)
JANE the chickenhead radio host
Who be yappin' 'bout beef between east and west coast
He said "This one's a bullet, you got ta give it run!"
The chicken said "Thanks." and spanked it #1
He went outside, was gettin' props all over
Then he dipped into his ride, the 4-point Rover
Raced up the block doin' 83
Some cats with Hennessey saw him at a R-E-D
He winked his eye like his star status mattered
They rat-a-tat-tatted to make his blood splatter
"You rockin' crazy ice and all you do is cling static
And rollin' down to Brooklyn late night is problematic..."
His eyes was bloody red, he hung on every word they said
They told the kid "Back down, that playa shit is dead."
Deep in his heart, he knew he was gone
But he grabbed his 45 and decide to blaze on
Wit' shades on founded had him astounded an'
Before long, the young man got surrounded
Those grabbed the guns, so goes the glory
And that is the way I got ta end this story
He was out chasin' cream and the American dream
Tryin' to pretend the ends justify the means
This ain't funny so don't you dare laugh
It's just what comes to pass when you sell your ass
Life is more than what your hands can grasp
Good Night!
(kids talking)
Knock 'em out the box Mos, knock 'em out Mos
Knock 'em out the box Mos, knock 'em out Mos (3x)
Knock 'em out...
A-nother...Mos Def...Black Star MOVEMENT...
[Mos Def]
Be like yo, let me ask you somethin
I wanna know, I wanna know who you are
*Mos Def singing*
[Mos] Brown skin lady, hey hey
[Talib]Yes
[Mos]Where you goin
[Talib]This goes to the brown skin ladies
[Mos]Brown skin lady
[Talib]Yo, indigineous women of the planet Earth
[Mos]What you doin?
[Talib]Givin birth to the brown skin ladies first
[Mos]Brown skin lady
[Talib]For what it's worth, from me to you
[Mos]How do you feel?
[Talib]From me to you, watchin you
I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, yes, I live the way you move
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like the WAY you move
[Talib]I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, please, won't you do that dance
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like you baby
[together]
And everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing
Everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing, there she is
[Talib]
Fresher than Tony Rebel's vestibules at African street festivals
My incredible women is, plentiful
Over the years I met a few, none of them compare to you
Preparin you to make food bearable, somethin terrible, let's see:
you fruitful, beautiful, smart, lovable, huggable
Doable like art, suitable to be part
of my life, Coppertone, oh you copyright infringement
Pay you bidness ten cents, way back in the day
It's like I'm standin there you know appreciatin God's design
and then you showed up, it's like you read my mind
DAMN SHE'S FINE, I think I add the R-E, in front of that
and see if she D, to get, with a cat like me
[Talib]I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, yes, I live the way you move
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like the WAY you move
[Talib]I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, please, won't you do that dance
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like you baby
[together]
And everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing
Everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing, there she is
[Mos Def]
Ooooh! Daring me girl, look at you!
Comin on the block lookin fresh and brand new
Ooooh! Headwrap cover your hairdo
Pretty feet peekin through open-toed shoe
Ooooh! No limit to what I would do
Make love to you like long interview
Whooh! Is she for real, me like you
Good look champion, win the title
True, many man try invite you
Shot down lyric each time they cyph you
Jewel, what man you get all insides you
Feet they walk way and just that sheik posture
Ooooh! Can't be a next one like you
Famous like tapes made by DJ Clue
I tighten up my game as I approach you
Yo check her she the nectar the bee get close to
[Talib]
I don't get many compliments, but I am confident
Used to have a complex about, gettin too complex
You got me, willin to try, looked me in the eye
My head is still in the sky, since you walked on by
I'm feelin high, got my imagination flickerin like hot flames
it's how it seems, you make me wanna ride the Coltrane to A Love Supreme
My brown lady, creates environments, for
happy brown babies, I know it sounds crazy
but your skin's the inspiration for cocoa butter
You provoke a brother we should get to know one another
I discover when I bring you through my people say TRUE, all I can say
is all praise due I thank you God for a beauty like you
*Mos Def singing*
[Mos] Brown skin lady
[Talib]Yes
[Mos]Where you goin
[Talib]This goes to the brown skin ladies
[Mos]Brown skin lady
[Talib]On the planet Earth today, yes
[Mos]What you doin?
[Mos]Brown skin lady
[Mos]How do you feel?
[Talib]I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, yes, I live the way you move
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like the WAY you move
[Talib]I like the, I like the, I like the, I like the
way you walk, yes, please do that dance
[Mos]I like the way you walk, when you walk on by
I like the way you move, I like you baby
[together]
And everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing
Everybody on the avenue, I know, when they see us sing, there she is
[Mos]There she is, she's a brown skinned lady
Such a brown skinned lady
She's a brown skinned lady
She's a brown skinned lady
She's a brown skinned lady
She's a brown skinned lady
[Talib]
You know what some people put themselves through
to look just like you?
Dark stocking, high heels, lipstick, alla that
You know what?
Without makeup you're beautiful
Whatcha you need to paint the next face for
We're not dealin with the European standard of beauty tonight
Turn off the TV and put the magazine away
In the mirror tell me what you see
See the evidence of divine presence
Women of the, Carribean, they got the, golden sun
I know women on the continent got it
Nigeria, and Ghana, you know they got it
Tanzania, Namibia and Mozambique
and Bothswana, to let it speak
about latinas, columbianas
Tallenas, of course the Brooklyn women walk that walk
And the Bronx women walk that walk
Honies from Queens walk that walk, NYC, ATL, LA
[mos def, kweli, background singers]
(yes you areee, you're so beautiful)
fantastic
(on your knees)
absolutely fantastic
(in my life)
absolutely fantastic
(on my feet)
all the world fantastic
(beautiful)
absolutely fantastic
(come to meee)
*quietly*(scientifically, scientifically)**
fantastic
(down again, so we'll wash it over me)
fantastic x3
[Kweli]
Tell the world
[Mos Def]
I dreamt that I could paint you in words
but there were no colors, bright enough
black or white enough
blue or green enough
it didnt mean enough
you are the star to touch the earth
shine bright for all eyes to see,
radiate and touch me
now Im shining like you do
it was dim before I knew you
bright light for weeping eyes to get used to
trust who? thats some shit I had to adjust to
soon as you relax they ease back and cold bust you
love murdered in Brooklyn, sound the alarm
but you still remain calm
my passion is unarmed
I try to practice my warlike tactics
but in your clutch, in your touch
my armor, just collapses
such bliss breeds obliviousness
I recollect sweet breath still wet on my lips
my prayers this:
God protect my beloved
and keep her covered
from the valley to the summit
like the land undiscovered
like the stars outnumbered, you are so beautiful.
(chorus) background singers [kweli & Mos Def]
beautiful
[im doing my best so i can be true to you]
on your knees
[aint nothin in this world i wouldnt do for you]
in my life
[you're my everything more than ever and usual]
on my feet
[like the stars outnumbered you are so beautiful]
beautiful
[you shine so very far from where i stand]
come to me
[from a distant land understand who i am]
down again, we can wash it over me.]
(Talib Kweli)
You know what!
they say that beauty's in the eye of the beholder
so I use my third, and now our love is solid like a boulder
wanna build with you as I get older, and thats my word
sure as I stand on my ancestor's shoulders
you see through my drama and my world like a stage
not the same years but livin in the same age
its the KWELIty not the quantity
follow me
def-in-ate-ly,
far from probably.
got to be, you and me
beau-ti-ful-ly fit,
like pieces of a man I used to be
now Im back because of what you do to me
you're like my reflection
the better half to my whole
like lyrics to the beat
you're the mate for my soul
the breath for my life, my sister and my lover
used to have cold feet, now you're the warmth under my covers
I cant ignore your aura because it grab me by the hand
like the moon pull the tide (mos & kweli)and the tide pull the sand
(2nd chorus) [mos & kweli]
[go head baby baby sing that song what]
ooooooooh
[alright, yeah, we feelin it, go ]
soooo beautiful
[go head baby baby sing that song]
that dream that'll be, so beautiful
[alright, yeah, we feelin it, go ]
[go head]*fades out*
i wanna say ohhh clearly, that i love you, aloud
oooooh the love you give, all the love you give to me
ooooooh my days and niiiiights were lonely
and its soooo beautiful
i know i have a friend that i can talk to yeaaah
ohh you're so beautiful.
(mos def & Kweli) ... Note: they switch off after a few bars, and trade it back and forth. you'll get the idea if you listen to the song.....
(mos) because you're fruitful
(mos & kweli) beautiful, smart, lovable, huggable, doable like art, suitable to be part of the
(kweli) Cosmos! with my eyes closed i see you clearly
(mos & kweli) combine lifetimes with like minds your love light shine
(mos) bright! the apple of my eyesight, the tender kiss that whet my appetite
my mighty aphrodite, the flame that ignite me
(mos & kweli) your name just excite me, your eyes so alive they invite me cuz you
(kweli) are so beautiful, you dont even know, the length i would go, to make absolutely sure you is respected and protected
(mos & kweli)and never neglected, i hope my prayers is accepted that you always
(mos) will be watched over, and never rocked over, and if you need me to ill stop over to check on you, i never jet on you.
(mos & kweli) i know a lot of foolish cats that slept on you, but what *background singers enter* im gonna do is be
(kweli) totally committed, if you need me ill be hotter than a new york minute with a hundred percentage from the start to the finish
(mos & kweli)because the vibe that you give
(mos) leave me so replenished, its a new beginning, this is serious business. got my heart and soul in it, its the way that im livin. let it be noted that devotedness gon always prevail. the newly risen truly livin
(mos & kweli) universal for real, its like that ya'll.
beautiful
(on your knees)
you're the only love i know
beautiful
(in my life)
you're the only love that knows
beautiful
(on my feet)
you're the reason why im here
beautiful
(come to me)
you're the reason why i want to give you everything
[Mos Def]
Yo yo, yo, whassup, yo yo
Yo yo, we gonna, we gonna slow it down
so we can speed it up y'all
Right now I want everybody come to the front
That's right, move forward
I want all the poppers and the breakers, to form this circle
I want all the poppers and the breakers
The writers and the exciters, to get in this circle
and make it real live yo
Cause I'm seein too many stars up in here tonight yo
I'm seein the Rock Steady Crew
I'm seein Ken Swift, I'm seein Mr. Wiggles
I'm seein Modesho, I'm seein Crazy Legs
Man I'm seein the Zulu Nation up in here
I'm seein the Rawkus family, Shabaam Shadeeq, Company Flow
Menelik, I'm seein G-ology, Shawn J. Period
Man this the Black Star movement
Mos Def, Talib Kweli we gon' keep it live
for the b boys and b girls universally
Rock Steady Japan, Rock Steady Europe
Rock Steady New York, yo we just gonna keep it live
all over the world -- get live
[Talib Kweli]
Party people, in the place to be
My name is Talib Kweli
Yo, I got my man on the side of me
Mos Def-initely, and we, are
(Fresh) Black Star
(Fresh) G Young
(Fresh) Hi-Tek
(Fresh) Native Tongue
(Fresh) Shawn J.
(Fresh) Eighty-eight
(Fresh) Ninety-eight
we bout to motivate, come on y'all
Here's a little story that must be told
About two young brothers who was put on hold
They tried to stop the goal
We on a spiritual plane
Tried to kill the pride
And destroy the name
We just two bad brothers
Who will never quit
I'm Mos Def
Kweli (WE THE ULTIMATE)
Make sure that you tell
Everybody you know
To get on line
Take a ride
To the Black Star show!
Black Star
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house y'all
Black Star
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house y'all
Black Star
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house y'all
Black Star
Shinin
Shinin, we in the house
Shinin
[Mos Def]
Against the canvas of the night
Appears a curious celestial phenomena
called Black Star, but what is it?
[Talib Kweli]
Black people unite and let's all get down
We got to have what? We got to have that love
[Mos Def]
What is the Black Star?
Is it the cat with the black shades, the black car?
Is it shinin from very far, to where you are?
It is commonplace and different
Intimate and distant
Fresher than an infant
[Talib Kweli]
Black, my family thick, like they're striped molasses
Star, on the rise, in the eyes of the masses
Black is the color of my true love's hair
Star's are bright, shining, hot balls of air
[Mos Def]
Black like my baby girl's stare
Black like the veil that the muslimina wear
Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared?
Black like the slave ship that later brought us here
Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears
that leave black faces well traveled with years
Black like assassin crosshairs
Blacker than my granddaddy armchair
He never really got no time to chill there
Cause this life is warfare, warfare
[Talib Kweli]
Deep on the front lines, and blacks is all there
Black like the perception of who, on welfare
Black like faces at the bottom of the well
I've been there before
To bring the light and heat it up like "la cocina"
Make without imagine happen but maybe I'm just a dreamer
I love rockin tracks like John Coltrane love Naema
[M]Like the student love the teacher
[T]Like the prophet love Khadeeja
[M]Like I love my baby features
[A]Like the creator love all creatures
[Talib Kweli]
Who acknowledge truth and peace seekers
We on point like heat seekers
Targettin the black marketing strategists
Run up on em with the heaters
Everybody followin with no leaders
Feelin like we killin ourselves
because I know they can't defeat us
It don't stop til we complete this, keep this fly
There's so much to life when you just stay Black and God
[Mos Def]
Blacker than the nighttime sky of Bed-Stuy in July
Blacker than the seed in the blackberry pie
Blacker than the middle of my eye
Black like Fela man cry
Some man wan ask "Who am I?"
I simply reply, "The U.N.I., V.E.R.S.A.L. Magnetic"
Work to respect the angelic, climb the mountaintop
and tell it til the valley's enveloped
You're full of big chat but you nah know me
I'm dark like the side of the moon you don't see
when the moon shine newly
[M]You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) Me
[T]You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) Me
[A]You know who else is a Black Star, who we? (And we)
[A]be shinin and shinin, when we rhymin and rhymin
We be shinin and shinin, when we rhymin and rhymin
[Mos Def]
Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
[T]You know the light
[M]Go from the dark
[T]The other way is ass-backwards
[M]It's absurd
[T]Make you wanna crow like a blackbird
[M]That's right
[T]You livin from your first day to your last night
[T]Sometimes you show your ass like
[M]Lint on your clothes
[T]When you froze in
[A]THE BLACK LIGHT
[M]Dead that
[T]Before you get your head wrapped
[M]Like Badu
[T]We see through your voodoo
[T]Just like Eve's Bayou, you dealin with that black magic
[M]Try to civilize you
[T]Not walk on by you
[M]Like Sybil(lies do get you black listed) it'll
[T]Be unlucky for you like a black cat
[M]A panther
[T]Revolution is the answer
[M]That's what we need
[T]Greed plague my people like the cancer
[M]True indeed
[Mos Def]
Now black people unite, and let's ALL GET DOWN
Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
Everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
(Blackstar;Walker)
You would like to think you know it all
You would like to think you have got it sussed
Well you are a real hopeless fool
Too much in love with lady luck
Well take a look at yourself
When are you going to realise
Well get out of my sight
Because it is you I despise
Well that is right
Yeah so long
You are going to have to face it
That you are nothing but a waste of
That is right
Yeah so long
You are going to have to face it
That you are nothing but a waste of space
You are such a waste
Nothing more than a waste of space
You are always out to lunch
Always too blind to see
You are just a tourist in another persons reality
Well take a look at yourself
Tell me can you see the signs
A real fool with no hope
look into these eyes
and tell me who do you recognise
look into these eyes
and tell me do you really want to be free
do you want to know the truth
then tell me how to get it through to you
come on and tell me can you hear me
can you hear me calling
calling for a revolution today
a revolution of the heart
calling for a revolution of the heart
look into these eyes
and tell me when are you going to realise
look into these eyes
and tell me do you really want to believe
do you want to know the truth
then tell me how to get it through to you
come on and tell me can you hear me
can you hear me calling
look into these eyes
and tell me do you really feel alive
look into these eyes
and tell me do you really want to free
do you want to know the truth
then tell me how to get it through to you
come on and tell me can you hear me
(Blackstar;Walker)
"I've got a never ending love for you
from now on that's all I want to do..."
I have got no reason
I have got no reason at all
Getting older but not getting any wiser
And I never even heard the last call
I have got no reason
No reason have I got
Seems like I am stuck in my old ways
Bitter jaded and vitriolic
Yeah I have got the lot
Got no reason
I have got no reason at all
Got no reason
At all
At all
At all
No reason at all
I got a new song to sing now
Wishing to christ that I would never get old
Whilst to the sands of time my mind and body were being sold
Yeah I have got a new song to sing now
Got no time for getting the blues
After all it could be worse
I could be like you
Well I got no reason
Seems like I lost the plot
Well I am putting it all on the line now
so you do not know what you have got until it is gone
cannot change my tune but i sure can change the song
and you know the show must go on
how long
yeah how long
tell me how long
you do not know what you have got until it is gone
cannot change my tune but i sure can change the song
and you know the show must go on
how long
yeah how long
you will never know just what you had
i tell myself that there is never any going back
there is no time for feeling so sad
let go
just let go
just let it go
well kiss this goodbye
just let go
let it go
giving up the
well easy come and easy go
reaping the seeds that someone else has sown
(Blackstar;Walker)
Well I think I have said it all before
And I think it sounds like a bore
And I think I have said this somewhere else before
And I do not want to talk anymore
Do not want to talk about it
I said I just do not want to talk about it
Well it is tough I have had enough
I do not want to talk about it
Yeah
And I think I have heard it all before
And I do not want to talk anymore
(Blackstar;Walker)
Well you can take that look off your face
Because I just cannot take it no more
Take that look right of your face
Your stupid face that I abhor
That I abhor
Well tell me to what do you amount ?
Well come hear me shout
Well do not make me laugh
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
So not make me
Laugh on the other side of my face
With a little smile of scorn
With misery I have been graced
Bursting until my lungs are sore
Come hear me roar
And what have I achieved ?
Come hear me sing
(Blackstar;Walker)
Yeah little rock and roller
Tell me how does this feel
Things are never what what they seem
And nothing is ever real
Yeah little rock and roller
I am telling you things never last
One foot in the present
Just a draught from the past
Little rock and roller yeah
All aboard come enjoy the ride
As the rock and roll circus comes around one more time
Hey little rock and roller
There is some good times up for grabs
It is such a pity
Your are stuck in anothers past
Hey little rock and roll
Play another number
Go bargain your soul
Living out the lie
i have had the same old dream always lately
and i do not want to dream no more
i have had the same recurring dreams lately
and what i have dreamt i am not quite sure
i am not quite sure
recurring dreams
all that we see
all that we see or seem
is just a dream
just a dream within a dream
i have had the same old dream always lately
day in day out day after day
i had the same old dream again today
christ knows it is easy
so goddamn easy
so come on and give me your best shot
please criticise me
come analyse me
because i can take it all
let me tell you now
i know that the game is over for me
but i am just too stuck in my ways
i suppose that the game is over today
and i am not going quietly
you know it is easy
it is so plain to see
so come on and give me your best shot
talk comes so cheap
and i am not going to go quietly
and i can swallow it all
let me tell you how
(Talib Kwali):
Yo I was sold to a sick European by a rich African battlin'
Middle Passages, I can't go back again
Battlin' years of denyin' history, lies and mysteries
Wives with misty eyes watchin' their niggas be beaten viciously
Battlin the wilderness of North America
Ran by the river, only stoppin' to pray
Chased by predators
Terrorists with etiquette who vote and kill their president
Their capacity for evil so evident and prevalent
Ain't no hesitation involved, a nation dissolved
While we sit back waitin' to evolve
Those who would trade in their freedom
For their protection deserve neither
Fuck a name, fuck tradition
Religion - you learn Jesus
Turn the other cheek
Inherit the Earth, just stay meek
Fuck the way you speak
Try to walk, we chop off your feet
Fastforward to 2003, niggas beef
The psychology of children of slaves it run deep
[Mos Def and Talib Kweli]
Hell yeah, hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
What's beef? hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
That's beef, hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
It's always your own peoples
Sometimes it's your own peoples yo
Yeah yeah, hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
What's beef? hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
That's beef, hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yo
It's always your own peoples
Sometimes it's your own peoples yo
[Mos Def]
Beef is not what Jay said to Nas
Beef is when workin' niggas can't find jobs
So they tryna find niggas to rob
Tryna find bigger guns so they can finish the job
Beef is when the crack kids can't find moms
Cause they inna PINE box or locked behind bars
Beef ain't the Summer Jam for Hot 97
Beef is the cocaine and AIDS epidemic
Beef don't come with a radio edit
Beef is when the judge is callin' you "defendant"
Beef, it comes with a long jail sentence
Handed down to you in a few short minutes
Beef is when your girl come through for a visit
Talkin' bout "I'm pregnant by some other nigga"
Beef is high blood pressure and bad credit
Need a loan for your home and too broke to get it
And all your little kids is doin is gettin' bigger
You tryin not to raise 'em around these wild niggas
Beef is when a gold digger got ya seed in her;
A manicured hand out like "pay me nigga"
Or I'm tellin' your wife
Or startin' up some foul rumor that'll ruin your life
Beef is when a gangster ain't doin it right
And other gangsters done decided what to do with his life
Beef is not what these famous niggas do on the mic
Beef is what George Bush would do in a fight
Yeah, beef is not what Ja said to 50
Beef is Weldon Irv not bein here with me
When a soldier ends his life with his own gun
Beef is tryin' to figure out what to tell his son
Beef is oil prices and geopolitics
Beef is Iraq, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Some beef is big and some beef is small
But what y'all call beef is no beef at all
Beef is real life happenin' everyday
And it's realer than them songs that you get at Kay Slay
This has been a Black Star PSA
From Mos Def, Pretty Flocko(?), black Dante
[Mos Def]
Lawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwd, lawd have mercy
All nice and peace and true, follow me now, we say
Say Hi-Tek yes you're ruling hip-hop
Say J. Rawls yes you're ruling hip-hop
Redefinition say you're ruling hip-hop
Say Black Star come to rock it non...
Yo, from the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate
The whole and not the half of it, vocab and not the math of it
Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit
Me and Kweli close like, Bethlehem and Nazareth
After this you be pressing rewind on top your master disk
Shining like an asterisk for all those that be gatherin
Connectin like a roundhouse from the townhouse to the tenaments
Cause all my Brooklyn residents, rollin heavy regiments
Don't believe, here the evidence, where Brooklyn why all
See that? Bound to take it all kid, believe that
From where they sellin tree at, to where the police be at
Talib Kweli e-Kweli-ty yo tell them where we be at
[Talib Kweli]
Brooklyn New York City where they paint murals of Biggie
In cash we trust cause it's ghetto fabulous, life look pretty
what a pity -- blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense
Tree scents is dominant can't be covered with incense
My presence felt my name is Kweli from the Eternal Reflection
People thinkin MC is short hand for Mis Conception
Let me meditate, set it straight, came to the conclusion
that most of these cats is featherweight, let me demonstrate
Walkin the streets is like battlin, be careful with your body
You must know karate or think your soul is bulletproof like Shawty!
Stop actin like a bitch already, be a visionary
And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituary
Third rate teacher readin and talkin about,
"I knew he'd amount to nothin"
Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type,
who'd have thought they was frontin?"
Talkin +Loud+ like you in RCA, get carted away
with body parts and treys, what a way to start your day
Yo it's like
Chorus: Mos Def and Talib Kweli
One two three
Mos Def and Talib Kweli
We came to rock it on to the tip-top
Best alliance in hip-hop, why all
I said one two three
It's kind of dangerous to be a emcee
They shot Tupac and Biggie
Too much violence in hip-hop, why all
[Mos Def]
I said Manhattan keep on makin it (Bo!), Brooklyn keep on takin it (Bo!)
So relax we're takin it back, Redhook where we're livin at
Plenty cats be strugglin not hustlin and bubblin
It ain't about production and -- what else we discussin?
When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows
Strivin for perfection ever since I was a snot-nosed
COLOSSAL, true original b-boy apostle
Standin on the rooftop with the, Zulu gestapo
[Talib Kweli]
You think you the shit
somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
It could be your crew or click
or some random kid you smoked buddha with
Consider me the entity within the industry without a history
of spittin the epitome, of stupidity -- livin my life
expressin my liberty, it gotta be done properly
My name is in the middle of e-Kweli-ty
People follow me and other cats they hear him flow
And assume I'm the real one with lyrics like I'm Cyrano
[Mos Def]
Still sippin wishin well water, imported, from Pluto
Three hundred and sixty milliliters for all our believers
In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot proceed us
in the jungle with the leaders we the lions you the +cheaters+
A cypher, will complete us if we come through your receivers
You can play us and repeat us and then take us home and read us
(line for line) Good Jesus, Mos Def and Kweli just
make a pussy freeze up, thinkin we will ease up
[Talib Kweli]
Yo, we been through this before right? (Word, word...) So we
figurin', if we gonna do it, we gotta freak it, y'know what I'm sayin?
(True, true, true...) Cuz everything gotta go up from here, right?
So Hi-Tek, turn it up a notch...
[Jane Doe]
Hail Mary, 'matta fact hail Jane
Niggaz take my name in vain/vein like I was cocaine
My affirmations kill emcees like assasination
Bringin' you pain until you wish you had a vaccination
Or vaccine, I shine like Vaseline
Gas plays like petroleum, walk over them like linoleum
My vocab expand like a rubber band
Walkin' nekkid through the motherland, give the finger to my brotherman
Niggaz just don't understand my reasons, I transcend like season
And scar these rappers like legion
It's treason, my suspension attract attention
I'm ventin', givin' these chickenheads detention
Did I mention my name, yo, go by the Jane Doe
Drenched in Polo, chill downtown in Soho
You don't know, this is just half my potential
Check my credentials, come harder than sequential
It's essential, you listen, I drive, you a pedestrian
They bless me on the track cuz I attack wit' the estrogen
Rhyme against the best a men, Jane burn it up
When you hear it in the whip, tell your man to turn it up!
[Wordsworth]
Yo...get it...yo
Yo, we fortified live, supportin' allies
The wack is tryin' to shorten our lives, it sorta waters my eyes
But here is some'n the cryin' talk about
The verse on that cassette you and cousin fought about
That led to God and Satan's fallin' out
Encourage the liquor for those who ain't here that you pourin' out
On 3-way, your parents, preacher and spouse called my house
Revive or ruin, my theories of mics
Sony or Aiwa, black or white, I fit in all stereotypes
Search for a cast to plot, I make you a laughin' stock
So shook, I could walk a half a block and feel the aftershocks
Rain of acid drops, seek some help
Now don't rewind, get it the first time,
Shouldn't have to repeat myself
Eternally verbally, I have numbers, succumb to time outs
In rhyme bouts you'll dial 9, just to get a line out
Known fact or factors and non-rappers fractured
Results in more cast appearances than a hundred actors
Emcees I'm testin' like diseases injected in gerbils
Wordsworth, Kweli, Hi-Tek, Reflection Eternal..what...
[Talib Kweli]
My style high life like Fonz when I burn heads like a conk
Cuz niggaz front, when their chances get slim like Pharoahe Monch
Thinkin' they shits is heavy when they light like ilumination
Intellectual masturbation with premature ejaculation
I'm comin' cleaner than vaccinations
My fascination with character assassination,
Got these niggaz burnin' like sensation
We keep it hot like matches and on lock like latches
Wack emcees get they microphones snatched like Lee patches
So YOU GO! To every wack muthafucka that you know (Scram...)
My lyrics they get up in your genes/jeans like Parasucos
So there's no mystery about the father, niggaz is hot and bothered
Like the bitches that they are, takin' pictures with stars
And got 'em open, but after they little hopes and dreams get broken
Me and Hi-Tek, we live long and prosper like Vulcans
Think I'm jokin'? We both got sons, we make cream and break dreams
See through the fake schemes, wipin' your slate clean
Like a squeegee, we be lightin' shit up like phosphorus
Turnin' flamboyant niggaz anonymous, depressin' to optimus
You stoppin' us is preposterous, like an androgenous masohganist
You pickin' the wrong time, steppin' to me when I'm in my prime like Optimus
Transformin', from rookie of the year to veteran
Hip-hop is big business like Con Edison or medicine
But fuck it, they gonna let us in, or else we rush the door
I got to many reasons, save your 'whys' and 'what fors'
CHORUS:
[Kweli] This is twice inna lifetime so I'm lettin' you know (let 'em know,
yo!)
Blackstar, Wordsorth, Punchline and Jane Doe (yo!)
[Mos] Lyrical com-pete and WE emcee
We got the fortified five, exhibit level degree
[Punchline]
Check it...
I keep dough in my pocket while you follow the false prophet
Get deep like Islamics wrapped in a white garment
I touch topics that try to open up your optics
Vacate in the Tropics, you dodgin' bullets in the projects
Cut the nonsense, I'm hotter than alot a men
Start honorin', got more wifeys than Solomon
Fuck the squad you in, a-yo we be the biddomb
Regardless what I spit on, you worse with the tracks I shit on
Once you get on, it's fair you can't trust (Yes!)
Words & Punch, make rappers march like the third month
I build with friends, lyrically spit gems
Call me diamond, cuz I'm your girl's best friend
Emcees are born losers, alcoholic abusers
I'll go on the radio and start a gay rumor
And then I'll talk about how the crowd tried to boo ya
Label shoot ya, stressed out with brain tumors
My gat claps, 50% of the wack
Take it back to real rap, Krylons wit' the fat cap
Get robbed for your ASCAP, leave you inside
Fortified live, reppin' NY 'til I die!
[Mos Def]
Black body radiation situation that we workin' wit'
My verb exists enlisted by the bogeys campin' services
The purpose is, make you go and purchase this, no nervousness
We are, hot like black tar, Black Star with emergerence
Superlative, you fabricated like the word absurditive
I'm rockin this from here to where the persians live
To Brooklyn where the merchants live
Next door to the murderers
And bourbon is a elder man's medicinal alternative
My memory is furnished with, back streets to back seats to fat Jeeps
Legendary athletes who play by the trash heap
My crew wasn't that deep, but beef we didn't act sweet
Treadin' on these stompin grounds you better catch some black feet
Flashy, it was between DeKalb and Pulasky
Off the meter like an out of borough taxi
They run your pockets fastly, black and nasty, nappy and crafty
THAT'S WHY they either sittin' in Clinton or Kaksaki
MAYOR Rudolph can screw off! You too soft to stop us
You and your coppers should see some foot doctors
Got your BIRD chest popped up, but keep your guns cocked up
Cuz all them cats that you knocked up and always gon' be locked up
HOT STUFF like Donna Summer, another number one
And comin' from the underground, this is how it's comin' down
Baby let me run it down,
Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jane Doe, Punch, Wor.. umm..E!
Excuse me! Just ate another emcee!
Sometimes that's just how it be
Partner wash you down with green tea and some lime
[Mos Def: talking behind singing vocals]
It's always the nervous cats, that's like...
Yo money, you tryin to dis me or something?
What you tryin to get fly or something?
You tryin to get a little rep off me or something, money?
Let me tell you something money, you don't know me like that
NawI'msayin, you don't know none of my crew like that
NawI'msayin, and if you really wanna make some little insinuation
About me nawI'msayin, don't talk about it, be about it money
If you wanna do something, we can do it right now
[Pharoahe Monch]
I levitate through meditation
Sitting my legs crossed, source to build force field
To shield my immediate surroundings
Avoiding falling sheet rock, rubble and granite
Expand, white man, got plans to feed the planet
Excessive hate, repercussions of manic-depressive state
Panic, God forbid we all take it for granted
Delivering lyrical thoughts for spiritual dividends
Half the concentrate, like Hampstead we'll be livin in
Magnetic boring them, it's a must I score again
And pollute em, shoot em like white students in Oregon
Cuz when I was broke, I always found figures to fuck bitches
Wit full-force like them muscle-bound niggas
[Rah Digga]
Well it's the R-A-H, big up to Brick City
When I'm not rippin niggas I be ?feelin wit commitee?
Got two rap clicks, so bring all the kingred
Buggin off of rappers sayin shit that I been said
Askin me how your mob sound, bringin my high down
Flipmode put shit together quicker than a seamstress
Thinkin I talk white cuz I speak proper English
All up in your air like I was celly interference
Rip shows and make little cameo appearance
White label to death if I can't get no clearance
[Mos Def: talking behind vocals]
Alot of cats think I'm trapped in a box, livin cruel and if that's true
I'm talkin to you
Thinkin of dissin your steez, your degress, everything you're attached to then
I'm talkin to you
Wonderin who we talkin about, yo is my name in his mouth, well then
I'm talkin to you
No mystery, you ain't got to scratch your head
Like "Is he dissin me?", we talkin to you
[A-Butta]
Aiyyo we severed the lever that I pull
It's never the bull, shit instead of the full clip, click
You get hit in the head wit dialect
When I pre-fect my new script
Check the architecht then select the newest blueprint
When I pro-ject the move-ment of the mic, it might strike
And brand new life trife that handle
?Flyin off?, literature that's pure
Yo we miniature before, you finished yours, I get mine
Musically inclined, like the sign of a clef
To my death, I rhyme and yes I left you, sense-less in the mind
Plus I'm, going to show no re-pentance
My flow's relentless, you know the sentence
[Talib Kweli]
You will respect it when we set it
Fake MC's get tossed
For leavin the microphone covered wit the gloss
Don't get lost, bitch-asses who switch fastest
When my hits smashes, impacts like whip crashes
Fuckin up your face like thick glasses
You still can't see shit
I'll snatch your faith, your imagination won't believe it
It's ill, you can't conceive it
Any nigga can make a baby, it takes a man to be a father
Why bother, you'll be run over in the street like Frogger
Comatose like Central Park joggers when my crew goes wildin
Lyricist who will never Lounge till all wack shit is silenced
I'm not violent, niggas come aggressive wit that nonsense
Yo, it's time for us to get aggressive wit our conscience
[Mos Def]
Alot of cats think I'm chattin about
Them and they crew, and if that's true
I'm talkin to you
Wondering if I'm dissin you and everything you're attached to
I'm talkin to you
Runnin your mouth, wonderin "yo, who Mos be talkin bout?"
I'm talkin to you
No mystery, you can consider yourself dissed officially
You can consider yourself dissed officially
You can consider yourself dissed officially
[Intro - Mos Def]
Wha-wha-wha, wha-wha, wha-wha, wha-wha/
Wo-aaaahhhhhhh!/
One, two, three/
Mos Def and Talib Kweli/
We came to rock it on to the tip-top/
Best alliance in hip-hop, wo-ahh/
I said, one, two, tree, Blackstar shine eternally/
We came to rock it on to the tip-top/
And Hi-Tek make the beats drop, wo-ahh/
[Verse 1 - Talib Kweli]
RE:DEFinition, turning your play into a tragedy/
Exhibit level degree on the mic, passionately/
Niggaz is sweet, so I bet if I bit I'd get a cavity/
Livin' to get high, you ain't flyer than gravity/
We Die Hard like the battery/
Done in the back of me by the mad MC/
Who think imitation is the highest form of flattery/
Actually, don't be mad at me/
I had to be the one to break it to you/
You get kicked into obscurity like judo, no Menudo/
'Cause you pseudo, tryin' to compete with reality like Xerox/
Towards destruction you spiraling like hairlocks/
Wipe them teardrops/
Chasing stars in your eyes/
Playing games with your lives/
Now the wives is widows soakin' up pillows/
Weepin like willows/
Still mo' blacks is dyin'/
Kids ain't livin they tryin'/
"How to Make a Slave" by Willie Lynch is still applyin/
Regardless, the Mos is one of my closest partners/
Rockin ever since before Prince was called The Artist/
Rocker before Funkmaster Flex was rockin Starter/
When 'Pac and Biggie was still cool before they was martyrs/
Life or death, if I'm choosin with every breath I'm enhancin'/
Stop, there comes a time when you can't run/
[Verse 2 - Mos Def]
Lyrically handsome/
Call collect, a king's ransom/
Jams I write soon become the ghetto anthem/
Way out like Bruce Wayne's mansion/
Move like a phantom/
You'll talk about me to your grandsons/
Cats who claimin they hard be mad fag/
So I run through 'em like flood water through sandbags/
Competition is mad, what I got, they can't have/
Sinkin' they ship, like Moby Dick, did Ahab/
Son I'm way past the minimum/
It's a verb millenium/
My rap's the holy gas in your bag, like Palestinians/
Ancient Abyssinia, sure to hold the Gideon/
Official b-boy gentlemen/
Long term, never the interim/
Born inside the winter wind, day after December 10/
These simpletons, they mentionin the synonym for feminine/
Sweeter than some cinnamon from Danish rings by Entenmann's/
Rush up on adrenaline/
They get they asses sent to them/
(Gentlemen) you got a tenement/
Well then assemble it!/
Leave your unit tremblin like herds of movin elephant/
Intelligent embellishment/
Follow for your element from Flatbush settlement/
Did posseses melanin/
Hotter than tales of crack peddlin/
Makin em "WOOP" like blue gelatin/
Swing like Duke Ellington/
Broader than Barrington Levy/
Believe me/
The hot oppresion rent who burn down your chief teepee/
You see me?/
[Outro - Mos Def]
One, two, three/
Mos Def and Talib Kweli/
We came to rock it on to the tip-top/
Best alliance in hip-hop, wo-ahh/
I said, one, two, three/
Black Star shine eternally/
We came to rock it on to the tip-top/
Because we rulin hip-hop/
Yes we is rulin hip-hop/
Talib Kweli is rulin hip-hop/
Say we Black Star/
We rulin hip-ho-ah-ahh-ah-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh/
[DJ Evil Dee]
Uh, this is Side 2, Evil Dee in your area
Rawkus, every four minutes of dump flavored Now and Laters
[laughs] and ass-crack Oreos
(ready, ready)
[interlude]
[Talib Kweli]
[laughs]
Throw your hands in the air, and wave em like you just don't care
And if you, love the truth, and you livin proof
Let me hear you say "oh yeah"
And you don't stop, and you don't quit, and you don't stop
And you don't quit, and you don't quit
It's Talib Kweli I'm the ultimate
Got my man Mos Def and he's freakin shit
Listen to the way the beat gets intricate
Anybody who is illiterate, probably will never even consider it
Yo, Evil Dee what up? my name is Talib Kweli
That's Mos Def on the ?Wilison?
Yo, this is futuristic Soundbombing, welcome
Please do not hold onto the doors
(Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to introduce
A very interesting young man who's traveled from very far away
To be with us tonight)
[Mos Def]
(yes, yes) yo yo yo yo (yes) yo yo
Aiyyo Kweli I heard there's a function goin on at the D&D;
Some things that I gotta see, heard that the Rawkus click
Was doin some ill shit wit my man Evil, and the rest of my people
Is you wit it?
[Kweli]
I'm always wit it, always forget it
If you a MC, you couldn't get wit it, you too dim-witted
MC's come to and try to diss this
Chicks want Kweli for Christmas, on they wish list
Here we come through, kick the lyrical swiftness
You missed this, again it's over your head
Now I send it, over to my friend Mos Def
MC's got no fuckin rhymes left
[Mos Def]
[phone rings]
Hello, yes I got the call, don't need no answering machine at all
I got a, Caller ID to screen my calls
So I can see who's tryin to speak to me cuz frequently
A lot of cats try to get in touch but I don't want to be in they clutch
I got my man Kweli who I love very much, and such and such
My man, Rawkus click, we on some ill shit
[Kweli]
I call 7-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Don't want to say his number, MC's is in slumber
Yo they wakin up they takin up too much time
Mos Def, I got to get in touch wit and get a Dutch
And then head over to his crib and say
"Yo look what these kids did, and I had my kids at my crib"
And I can't believe they tried to roll up on my like that
MC's come through because they always lookin wack
[Mos Def]
They always lookin wack cuz look at the way they dress
Thinkin you a Mister you must be a Miss
I'm watchin the slip underneath your skirt
Steppin to me like that kid you only get hurt
Son I stand five-ten wit the open palms, I'm droppin bombs
Wit the, urban songs and I never stay calm when I kick it
A matter of fact I get type wicked and very specific
[Kweli]
And exquisite wit the beat, MC's is incomplete
They ain't like whole wheat, I need to eat
More of that for my nutrition, MC's catchin coniptions
They readin the writin on the wall like an Egyptian
Comin through is my verbal mission, to try to track you down
It's the MC formerly known as Genesis
You will remember this, it's your verbal nemesis
Yo, Mos Def is
[Mos Def]
Yo my style is original like fingerprints
I been down ever since, make you Reminisce like Pete Rock
When the beat drop, kids stop to listen
Because they hear the verbs glisten
I'll play your opposition like a fullback, I got the full pack
Just like a convict on lock, the beat never stop
And we come on time like a clock, this is the real hip-hop
[Kweli]
The real hip-hop, try to test me, you get stomped
Why try, you get caught up in the paparazzi like Princess Di
Yo, come through we always lookin fly
MC's try to come up to me, they singin lullabyes
They on a plantation, I'll free you like Emancipation
From that thought you have is makin your mind needin some sanatation
I'm fillin the schools up like asbestos
It's best that you leave my premesis
[Mos Def]
And what's better, is to make cheddar
And try to get yo shit together
I freak it wherever and whenever just like Maxwell
The style that I got will tax well
Yo that just bomb, but I don't spend my time
Focusin on mistakes, I feed breaks
This is the way that we make, and sound hype
When we stand on the mic
[Kweli]
We focus on true, we never dwell and hate
[DJ Evil Dee]
[Talib Kweli]
We fantastic, flippin on tracks like gymnastics
Small brats get they ass kicked, me and Mos smash it
Top gun like what comes after the, fist rockin' knife
Check the keys that get played on the roads of life
Yo the rhyme is so heavy like a load of my chest
Travel on these mc's, leave 'em broken like house pets
Priceless like the streets I'm on, my word is born
You like Paula Abdul-ka-ka compared to Sarah Born?
Sayin, what did I do to be so black and blue
Mc's sayin damn what got it goin after you
Slam my microphone and do just what I have to do
Aiyyo, I'd like to stop and chat but I'm just passing through
You know I'd like to stop and chat but I'm just passing through
[Mos Def]
I'm on my way back to Louis Avenue
Inside Brooklyn the b-boy capital, lot of cats travel to black eratical
Say, my response is invatically yes
We invatically fresh, you dramatically stressed
These mc's proceed to cease the presidential palace
And burn Babylon like a ?
Strive to maintain balance
With the God given talent
Articulate the article, eliminate the fossical
Black Star Line shine remarkable, they style ain't even talkable
These socalled criminals is fictional they make the party turn miserable
We document the memorable
Then break 'em up like syllables
Straight down to earth like minerals
Your style is foul like down? chemicals
We five-dimensional, audio, visual, physical, spiritual, lyrical
Another world
Another world, y'all
We transmit another world
Another World, y'all
We transmit another world
Another World, y'all
We transmit another world
Black Star 'bout to shine from what
[Talib Kweli]
Yo Mos, ain't it a shame how these people treating life like a game
Ain't gonna give you no fame by callin out your name
Just explain how I do it and, lead by example
Stay away from repetition don't wanna sound like no sample
You can't handle this Messiah
My shit is classical we get bug' like Umfufu, "You treat me like animal!"
Just 'cus you got money, don't mean you made it
Just 'cus you make it don't give you the right to be a ?
Matter fact stay out my face
I can't take it like them stupid big horse bills
Your defense is nill, my chatter, shatter your forcefield
Kweli and Mos Definition with more lines then a petition
Yo my mission is to break shit in half, like intermission
Then get missin' with Hi-Tech or anyone like that
Costin' one million pounds 'cus it sound so fat
Lay you flat like the carpet
Take the tobacco out my spliff before you spark it
The only tye I rock is chocolate
Makin profits like Spacely Sprockets, you can't stop it
The topic, we always gonna be black like markets
From the underground, look around and tell me what you see
Another picture painted perfectly by yours truly
Another world, y'all
Say what, another world
Another world, y'all
Say what, another world
Travellin' through, time and space
On the the Black Star galactica
Yo, another world
'nother 'nother, 'nother, 'nother, 'nother world
[Mos Def]
Never never never soap opera
Whether you, indian, dominican, jamaican or bolivian
No matter what disc recorder or part of town you livin' in
I recommend you listenin' to these distinguished gentlemen
Who take the proper measurement to represent
The solo's ? chrome is known to built on
Gleam on the measurement
Master mc carpentry
Talib kwa, the Kweli in quality
Put the groundation down properly
You can't trespass the property
Ain't takin' or breakin', robbery
Got the whole owner blast-back policy
Follow me, descendant of the grand master armery
Where cats rock the Wallabe and Kangols, mc's exchange flows
The same goes on, they'll be here when we gone
Hope they heart stay strong for
The other world
The other world y'all
Say what, another world
Another, 'nother 'nother 'nother
Say what, another world...
Dancing,yeah(X4)
(Verse)
My baby moves at midnight
Goes right on till the dawn
My woman takes me higher
My woman keeps me warm
What you doing on your back?(aah)(X4)
You should be dancing,yeah
Dancing,yeah(X30)
Staying close to midnight
Goes right on till the dawn
My woman takes me higher
My woman keeps me warm
What you doing on your back?(aah)(X2)
You should be dancing,yeah
Artistic flowing perfect picture and frame
She said she could feel me coming and she screaming my name
And here she was, she was she called me lover, she called me lover
She gets me off, ah, ah
Does she do like I show you
Yeah that's all it's all about
The mystery, yeah that's all it's all about
Yeah listen don't be difficult, I'm tryin' to tell you something
Listen don't be difficult she tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin'me that she is love
But in the jelly surprise
And I think it's all it was
She's sorta kinda lost without advice
She's turning on the note the night
Let's just go to the star seat, oh now
Let's get everything off tonight
She's sending love to me
I said tonight she's sending love to me
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin'me that she is love
Dang, shout let it all out
Don't you listen this time
This is what she said
I'm turning light on again
And Wut the red light on
You wanted them I'll put the red light on
Dang, shout let it all out
Don't you listen this time
This is what she said
I'm turning light on again
And put the red light on
You wanted them I'll put the red light on
Now baby it is her always telling me
What I am telling you at this moment
You see I am kinda sorta her interpreter
I have extra abilities baby
And one of them is I communicate with cats
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin'me that she is love
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin' me I'm tellin' you
She tellin'me that she is love
