Common Filmography

• Now You See Me (2013)
• The Untitled Johnny Spain Project (2013)
• Pawn (2013)
• Unity (2012)
• Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
• Ali 70 from Las Vegas (2012)
• The BET Honors (2012)
• The 54th Annual Grammy Awards (2012)
• LUV (2012)
• Soul Mates: Maya Angelou/Common (2012)
• LUV (2012)
• Hip Hop Squares (2012)
• 2011 Soul Train Awards (2011)
• Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011)
• Happy Feet Two (2011)
• Little Brother: The Street (2011)
• New Year's Eve (2011)
• VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul (2011)
• Just Wright (2010)
• Date Night (2010)
• The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards (2010)
• Brave New Voices 2010 (2010)
• Music (2010)
• Ray Charles America (2010)
• The National Christmas Tree Lighting (2010)
• The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2009)
• Black to the Future (2009)
• Yes We Will! BET's Inaugural Celebration (BET) (2009)
• Michel Gondry 2: More Videos (Before and After DVD 1) (2009)
• Dow Jones (2009)
• De bon matin (2009)
• The National Christmas Tree Lighting (2009)
• Terminator Salvation (2009)
• Wanted (2008)
• BET Hip Hop Awards 2008 (2008)
• A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the Brave (2008)
• Yes We Can (2008)
• Max on Set: Wanted (2008)
• Street Kings (2008)
• American Gangster (2007)
• MTV VMA Pre Show Royale (2007)
• ESPY Awards (2007)
• Pepsi Smash Superbowl Bash (2007)
• Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life (2007)
• 4th Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors (2007)
• BET Awards 2006 (2006)
• Gangster with a Heart of Gold: The Noonie G. Story (2006)
• 3rd Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors (2006)
• Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable (2006)
• MTV New Year of Music: New Years Eve 2006 (2006)
• Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops (2006)
• September in Brooklyn: The Making of 'Block Party' (2006)
• Smokin' Aces (2006)
• Block Party (2005)
• Kanye West: College Dropout - Video Anthology (2005)
• Letter to the President (2005)
• Be (2005)
• Black in the 80s (2005)
• The MC: Why We Do It (2005)
• MTV Video Music Awards 2005 (2005)
• React Now: Music & Relief (2005)
• VH1 News Presents: Hip Hop Videos - Sexploitation on the Set (2005)
• 2nd Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors (2005)
• There's a God on the Mic (2005)
• Fade to Black (2004)
• Game Over (2004)
• 5 Sides of a Coin (2003)
• Essence Awards (2003)
• Lyricist Lounge: Hip Hop Video Classics (2003)
• Beef (2003)
• Soundz of Spirit (2003)
• The 30th Annual American Music Awards (2003)
• Hip Hop Babylon 2 (2003)
• Brown Sugar (2002)
• The Lyricist Lounge Show (2000)
• Pete Rock: Soul Survivor (1998)
• The 1995 Source Hip-Hop Music Awards (1995)

• Lyrics: play full screen play karaoke
• Come Close - Common
• Forever Begins - Common
• It's Your World - Common
• Chi-City - Common
• Faithful - Common
• Southside - Common
• Misunderstood - Common
• Break My Heart - Common
• Real People - Common
• New Wave - Common
• I Am Music - Common
• Between Me, You & Liberation - Common
• Aquarius - Common
• Stolen Moments Pt. III - Common
• Stolen Moments Pt. II - Common
• Stolen Moments Pt. I - Common
• Retrospect For Life - Common
• Reminding Me (Of Sef) - Common
• Real Nigga Quotes - Common
• My City - Common
• Making A Name For Ourselves - Common
• Hungry - Common
• Gettin' Down At The Amphitheater - Common
• G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition) - Common
• Food For Funk - Common
• All Night Long - Common
• 1, 2 Many - Common
• Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela) - Common
• Thelonious - Common
• The Questions - Common
• The Light - Common
• The 6th Sense - Common
• Pop's Rap III - Common
• Payback Is A Grandmother - Common
• Nag Champa (Afrodisiac For The World) - Common
• Funky For You - Common
• Coldblooded - Common
• A Song For Assata - Common
• A Film Called (Pimp) - Common
• GOD - Common
• Yelling Away - Common
• The Dreamer - Common
• Puppy Chow - Common
• Watermelon - Common
• Wack Niggas - Common
• Universal Minds Control - Common
• Universal Mind Control - Common
• Time Travelin' - Common
• Thelonius - Common
• The Hustle - Common
• The Game - Common
• The Believer - Common
• Sum Shit I Wrote - Common
• Start The Show - Common
• Punch Drunk Love - Common
• So Sweet - Common
• So Far to Go - Common
• Sex 4 Sugar - Common
• Resurrection - Common
• Real Compared To What? - Common
• Raw (how You Like It) - Common
• Pitchin' Pennies - Common
• One Four Love Pt. 1 - Common
• No Sell Out - Common
• Nag Champa - Common
• Maintaining - Common
• Geto Heaven Part Two - Common
• Love Is - Common
• Just In The Nick Of Rhyme - Common
• Inhale - Common
• Hurricane - Common
• Heidi Hoe - Common
• Heaven Somewhere - Common
• Heat - Common
• Gold - Common
• Gladiator - Common
• Ghetto Show - Common
• Ghetto Dreams - Common
• Electric Wire Hustler Flower - Common
• Don't Come My Way - Common
• Communism - Common
• Cloth - Common
• Changes - Common
• Celebrate - Common
• Book Of Life - Common
• Blue Sky - Common
• Believe - Common
• Baby I'm Selfish - Common
• Any Given Sunday - Common
• Announcement - Common
• A Film Called - Common
• 8 Minutes to Sunrise - Common
• 1-9-9-9 - Common
• Common, Dice Raw, Flo Brown, Jazzyfatnastees, Mos - Common
• Windows - Common
• U, Black Maybe - Common
• They Say - Common
• The People - Common
• The Food - Common
• The Corner - Common
• TESTIFY - Common
• Star 69 (PS With Love) - Common
• Be (Intro) - Common
• Soul Power - Common
• Pops Belief - Common
• One Day It'll All Make Sense - Common
• Lovin' I Lost - Common
• Like They Used To Say - Common
• Invocation - Common
• I Want You - Common
• I Got A Right Ta - Common
• High Expectations - Common
• Go - Common
• Everywhere - Common
• Drivin' Me Wild - Common
• Dooinit - Common
• Common - Sway & King Tech

It's just a fly love song, what
Mmmmm
It's just a fly love song, what
Are we living in a dream world?
Are your eyes still green girl?
I know your sick and tired of arguing
But you can't keep it bottled in
Jealousy, we got to swallow it
Your heart and mind baby follow it
Smile, happiness you could model it
And when you feel opposite
I just want you to know
Your whole being is beautiful
Im going to do the best I can do
Cause i'm the best when i'm with you
Come close to me baby
Let your love hold you
I know this world is crazy
What's it without you
Put down your bags love
I know in the past love
Has been sort of hard in you
But I see the God in you
I just want to nurture it
Though this love may hurt a bit
We dealing wit this water love
You even give my daughter love
I want to build a tribe wit you
Protect and provide for you
Truth is I can't hide from you
The pimp in me
May have to die with you
I know what you're thinking, you're on my mind
You're right, you're right, you're right
You promise so fast you just might take flight
Hope your not tired, tonight, tonight
You help me to discovery me
I just want you to put trust in me
I kind of laugh when you cuss at me
The aftermath is you touching me
It's destiny to we connected girl
You and i we can affect the world
I'm tired of the fast lane

Victory won, in a world of hennessy and guns
Too young for the marches but I remember these drums
The stark reality of wars and battles, we
Fought for ours, parted in ghetto tragedy
I talk to my aunt named Mattie Lee
And recognized importance of family
Hand me a joint, good music, and room to breathe
Those that doubt Com' will soon believe
Can't judge the weave, my lady had one
I'm more like a fool for soul and passion
The price of gas rises
And street life is pumpin' fast lives, and
I watched Crash and realized that we're all survivors
No religion or race could ever describe us
My guys do dirt, move dirt, but never really talk about it
Forever begins, jus' because I thought about it
Living
Once Again
We...
Living
Then you're gone
Ashes and snow falls, I wonder when the roll call for heaven gon' come
Forever gon' come
It's a cold world and I can never go numb
Look fear in the eyes, say I'm never gon' run
Sooner than later, I know the cheddar gon' come
For now I write the world letters to better the young
On tree by jury, together we hung
Now we let our chains hang, and gang bang to maintain
Afghanistan goin' through the same thing
It trickles down, at each other we aim pain
I shoot for stars, peace and exclusive cars
Through the wire I learned to earn hard
Watched gangstas turn God in the midst of War
No matter how much I elevate, I kiss the floor
It was in the wind when she said Dilla was gone
That's when I knew we lived forever through song
Origin is forever
Well, well well,
We are back in the studio again
Look at that
Hey, I don't need no cue cards
They got the engineers holdin' up cue cards
What that say
Oh they say; "just talk, don't sing"
Son, I bet you feel like you and I've been here
Forever
30 years old red eyes,
Beholding red eyes
I see my world's tears
Yeah, origin is forever
Every peak will have 2 values
Hopeful eyes in the comfort
Of true protection and admiration of the chime
That's forever
Forever is to strive
A place of endearment
Forever,
Forever is what I leave
My I-self contribution
Damn, what I'm gon' leave?
Ok...
I leave my one and only grain of spiritual sand
To universal scales of humanity
All humanity
Forever is finding a solution to a solution
Tsunamis, Hurricanes
Following the trails of the African slave ships
War, War, and more War
Floods, Columbine, Global Warming, Earthquakes
Another somebody's done me wrong, son
Virginia Tech, there's not a hole but to Heck
We're still, did you place your one grain of spiritual sand forever?
Confusion need a solution
Blend and stir, stir and blend the part of humanity
Sift the ingredients of acknowledgment, apology, amendment, atone
We gonna work with the four A's here
Forever part
Common good is forever

Night Blows, Stoves don't work, Hoes at work
A warrior, so I wear M.O. on my shirt
Wishin I was free as Che was,I spend a day buzzed
Trippin on heights, wishin for Nikes in different flavors
The age of Kane and Big Daddy,shown by the caddies
Uncles named Larry, that never really grabbed me
My mother gave birth but she really never had me
Left to the hood to play daddy
Raised by niggaz named Butch, Puda, Bebe
With weight so they weigh they status on the streets
License plates that say they, motto This is Chicago in the hay day
Similiar to Good Times, I guess that I was Jay Jay
A skinny nigga, young girls with penny figures
So many niggaz, stacked upon each other
It's the black upon each other that we love so much
Wonder how many of us, these drugs gonna touch
Used to gangbang, ain't really thug that much
Rather have some thick broads and a dutch to clutch
Went to school in Baton Rouge for a couple of years
My college career got downed with a couple of peers
Came back home, now I gotta pay back loans
Same nigga, same block, same shit they own
Only thing different, quicker, they click that chrome
In my defense, yo I had to hit that zone
Man to man, I'm good workin with my hands
My generation never understood workin for the man
And, of bein broke I ain't a fan
Now I stand in the same spot, as my old man
My life I planned not to be on this corner
I still wanna see California
But this is my world
"It's your world"
Yeah
Life and death blow around us
Four pounds and pounds of herb from out of towners
It's hard to stay grounded
We stay high, thats why old folks down us
Lost, nobody found us, the force that sorrounds us
Ain't with us, they get us on the ground and hit us
We paint pictures of the change under their names and scriptures
Removed from earth, only to return through birth
Knew this girl sellin her body, wish she knew what it was worth.
Between God and trash, lookin in every car that pass
With a walk that suggests head, to milk niggaz she was breastfed
She know dairy so she say cheese to get bread
In the area where it's more weaves and less dreads
Kinda scary, amongst theives and base-heads
Said it was her toes, but I could tell her soul hurt
She was cold Turk, growin up she got to know hurt
very well in a world where self hate is overt
Her step-father thought he was ike, so her mother he striked
she got to like like minded niggaz, who liked crimes and figures
Doin white lines and liquor, see hard times had kicked her
In the ass, that used to be thicker
Life is fast, some choose to be quicker
I remember in high school she had a passion to sing
Now she see herself in a casket in dreams
These are the children of crack and rap, blacks that lack
Self-esteem, yo we forgot the dream
On our jeffersons y'all but we forgot the theme
In the Chi, we even rootin for a garbage team
This queen never seen herself on this Corner
She still wanna see California
But this is her world
Be, be here, be there, be that, be this
Be greatful for life, be greatful to life
Be gleeful everyday, for bein the best swimmer among 500,000
Be-nign, be you, be mom's mean pie, be little black sambo With bad hair
Be aware of what a lynch is, Be, be boundless energy
Be a four star ghetto general, be no one except I
Be a strong academic student, be an A student in sociology
Be food for thought to the growin mind, be the author of your own horoscope
Be invited, be long-living, be forgiving, be not forgetful
Be a proud run, only to return to fight another day
Be peaceful if possible, but justice in ways (?)
Be high when you low, be on time but knowin to go
Be cautious of the road to college, takin a detour through vietnam or the middle east
Be absent of wars at any past or present fought amongst themselves
Be visual of foreclosure over your shoulder while beggin
A nation built on free labor for reperation, Be a cartopogropher
Be a map maker, be able to find afro-american man
search thoroughly it may be close to black man
Be ammended 5/5ths, be ammended 5/5ths human
Be the owner of more land than is set aside for wild life
Be cupid, to world government
Be found among the truth, lost tribe
Be at full strength when walking through the valley
Be not foolish as tender 18 of the mountain tops
Be a brilliant soul, sparklin in the galaxy while walkin on earth
Be loved by God as much as God loved Ghandi and Martin Luther King
Be that last one of 144,000, be the resident of that twelfth house

And you say Chi city
We don't stop naw we don't quit
I rap with the passion of Christ, @#%$ cross me
Took it outta space and @#%$ thought they lost me
I'm back like a chiropract wit b-boy survival rap
This ain't '94 Joe we can't go back
The game need a makeover
My man retired, I'ma take over
Tell these halftime @#%$ break's over
I'm raw hustlas getcha bakin' soda
Too many rape the culture
Leave rappers with careers and their faith over
It's a war goin' on you can't fake bein' a soldier
In the basement listenin' to tapes of Ultramagnetic to the fact I'm a science black
I turn the TV down we could take it higher than that
I wonder if these wack @#%$ realize they wack
And they the reason my people say they tired of rap
Inspired by black Muslims and Christian
Pushin' Cutlasses, dope, and other traditions
In the conditions of the city, the city, the city, the city, the city, the city, c'mon
A black figure, in the middle of chaos and gun fire
So many raps about rims, I'm surprised @#%$ ain't become tires
On the street you turn code and then go screech
I tell em @#%$ em, like I do the police
The beast in runnin' rampant
I'm in between sheets tryna have sex that's tantric
But the getto, tryna make a get up stand up anthem
You spit hot garbage son of Sanford
What you rappin' for to get fame or get rich
I slap a @#%$ like you
And tell him Rick James bitch
Witcha Hollywood stories on porches
We poli hood stories on who became rich
And whatever light they hit, we wanna hit the same switch
You didn't know where to aim it, you still remain bitch
I'm forever puttin' words together
Some'll sever mothers from daughters and fathers from sons
The name Com has never been involved in Run
Unless it's DMC or runnin' these broads to bein' free
I'm hotta than the times, you hardly scary
Holdin' gats inside, you cats is Halle Berry
They ask me where hip hop is goin', a Chicagoan
Poetry's in motion like a picture now showin'
It's the city, the city y'all, the city, the city y'all

Featuring: Bilal, John Legend
We got to be, we got to be
We got to be, I want to be
We got to be, yes, it's for the people
God moves, yeah
I was rollin' around, in my mind it occurred
What if God was a her?
Would I treat her the same? Would I still be runnin' game on her?
In what type of ways would I want her?
Would I want her for her mind or her heavenly body?
Couldn't be out gettin' bogus with someone so godly
If I was wit' her would I still be wantin' my ex?
The lies, the greed, the weed, the sex
Wouldn't be ashamed to give her part of my check
Wearin' her cross, I mean the heart on my neck
Her I would reflect on the streets of the Chi'
Ride wit' her, 'cause I know for me she'd die
Through good and bad call on her like I'm chirpin' her
Couldn't be jealous 'cause other brothers worship her
Walk this earth for her, glory, I'm grateful
To be in her presence, I try to stay faithful
We got to be
We got to be
We got to be
I'd like to be her very best friend
He worked with her, she was his lady's best friend
Even if they don't try, some ladies test men
And this was a test that was bigger than him
Some believe it's the nature that is given to men
He had a good gig, a wife, a kid, a decent home
One reason or another couldn't find peace at home
She asked, "Why do men always have to stray?"
He said, "I'm bad, not as bad as Eric Benet"
"I used to take 'em out to eat but they wasn't really eatin'
Mighta got a little head but I wasn't really cheatin'"
It's hard when your lady don't believe what you say
And what you did in the past you gotta live with today
She asked if they could spend the night together
He thought, and said, "I'm tryin' to get my life together"
Went home to his lady, these were his confessions
"Baby, you a blessin' and my best friend"
We got to be
We got to be
We got to be
I'd like to be her very best friend
Faithful to the end
Faithful to the end
I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be so faithful
I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be so faithful
So, so, so, so, so, so, so faithful
So, so, so, so, so, so, so faithful
So, so, so, so, so, so, so faithful
So, so, so, so, so
That's what I'm gonna do, faithful to the end
That's what I'm gonna do, faithful to the end
That's what I'm gonna do, faithful to the end

(feat. Kanye West)
La, la, la, la, la - and e'rybody say
La, la, la, la, la - I know you, I know you...
I know you're thinking, thinking that it must be
Armor All flow cause it never get rusty
I aint gotta say it, man dawg trust me
Bust somebody head, T.L.C. where was we?
Still rock the prada 'fore that, rock the Starter
Niggas out in Georgetown, and Magic way harder
Thinking back to the projects, and they way they tore 'em all up
Like when I do a project, and come back and tear the mall up
[Chorus]
We coming from the..
South (side), South (side)
South (side), South (side)
South (side), South (side)
South (side), Side of the Chi
The broads, the cars, the half moon, the stars
I'm like Jeff Fort the way I get behind bars
Burn cd's with no regard for the stars
Come to the grip with conflict diamonds and the arts
Back in '94 they call me Chi-town's Nas
Now them niggas know I'm one of Chi-town's gods
We eatin' Joe, you're still talking no carbs
A conscious nigga with mac like Steven Jobs
[Chorus]
Your fly is open, McFly
The crowd is open I think I know why
I'm back from the future seen it with my own eyes
And yep, I'm still the future of the Chi
Back in college I had to get my back up off the futon
I knew that I couldn't cop a coup with no coupons
Look at that neutron on his green like croutons
People asking him, "Do you have any grey poupon?"
[Chorus]
You in the building but the buildings falling
You wouldn't be ballin' if your name were Spalding
My mind get flooded I think about New Orleans
Back to school, ya'll niggas you should call in August
I'm the sun that goes down but yet I'm still revolving
Southside 'bout to walk it out, I still get crawling
If rap was Harlem, I be James Baldwin
With money in the bank like G. Rap, we're calling
[Chorus]
With niggas masked up like Phantom of the Opera
Dreaming of the day they push a phantom to the operas
Can't wait till they say, "Ye', he ran up at the Oscars."
Poppa, I heard his life is like a movie
Like when Em' played him and Mekhi played a rasta
Mexican don't love it like it was for La Raza
But this is for the mobsters, Holla
We some true chi-town legends, accept no imposters
[Chorus]
Uh, the un-American idol, tower like the Eiffel
Lean wit it, rock wit it, black like the disciples
Know when to use a bible, and when to use a rifle
You rap like you should be on the back of a motorcycle
Caught a case of robbery, and 'Beat It' like Michael
Your career is a typo, mine was written like a haiku
I write to 'Do the Right Thing' like Spike do
The conflicts is crucial and trauma is psycho
[Chorus]
La, la, la, la, la, la, la-la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
We're coming from the...Hey!
*scratches*.. spice it up (la, la , la..)
Ya might have to spice it up
Spice it up, spice it up,
Take your life and...
Yo, we're coming from the...Hey!
We're coming from the...Hey!
...and this concludes our Chicago show

Baby, you understand me now
If sometimes you see that I'm mad
No one can always be an angel
When everything goes wrong you see some bad
Well I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
Yeah, uh (Misunderstood)
We do this, for the people that walk that path
Tryna get to their dream, yeah, uh (oh)
He stood on the corner with the rest of them
Though he knew that this corner wasn't the best of him
Hard streets and a life that crested him
Dirt police domestic beefs that's festerin
He knew the President wadn't addressin him
Though dead presidents was undressin him
Two kids from hot sex no protection and
People don't see how AIDS is affectin 'em
It get hard to get the get the God question in
Can't find a job so you robbin and hustlin
He killed marks and sold dope for cousin 'em
Can't believe they would be the ones bucking him
He on the ground he could feel God touching him
He heard the sound of his moms sayin trust in him
At heaven's gate, saying please Lord let me in
Or send me back to tell my people to be better men
Misunderstood
'Cause we are - Misunderstood
Misunderstood, Don't let me be misunderstood
I'm just human, oh
Uh, yeah
She dancin she dance she dance for them
Her body move but her mind was manic'n
Thinkin I don't know where they hands have been
Relationships with men have been so damagin
She thought back to when she was at Howard and
Dreams of doing scenes with Terrence Howard and
Broadway plays and dancin with Alv and them
The ones that make it always ain't the talented
Some dreams get lost never to be found again
At first strippin seemed so empowerin
Most every girl wanna do it now and then
But bein meat every day is devourin
Cats puttin paper where she put powder and
Life would break her, now she powderin
She was high when she fell down and then
Crowd surrounding and, heart was poundin and
She fell into a deep sleep the siren sounded and
Seen bright lights in the midst of clouds and then
Talked to God, feeling like his child again
Said Lord let me live so I can make you proud again
The life we lead, will always lead us
And we pray that he, will never leave us
It's the price we pay, I guess that's the reason
Why my grandma sang, we all need Jesus
Misunderstood, don't let me be, misunderstood
Misunderstood, don't let me be, misunderstood

Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you,
With lots of love to give you
(love to give..you, you)
love to give you
love to give
It was a dream day
Met her on spring break,
look like the type that be like
"no habla engle"
she said you look like you rap
where's your bling'e
and yours clothes is tight
but you dont seem gay
I said naw
thats dude from NSYNC'e
She wasnt married
kept her ring on her pinky
She said "you know I dont be datin' rappers"
I said I got my SAG card, baby I'm an actor.
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you,
With lots of love to give you (give, give it, uh)
(love to give..you, you) (give, give it, yeah)
love to give you (give, give it, uh)
love to give (give, give it, yeah)
See her again at All Star weekend
she didnt have tickets
and she ain't into hoopers
she was there to kick it
with her roommate
who was a video vixen
spend so much on outfits
she's about to get evicted
said "I'm married to this rap shit,
looking for a mistress"
you can be by my side
like flavor and deelicious
long as you ain't scared of the kitchen and the dishes
she said "you one of them fishes, I know your mind switches", and..
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you,
With lots of love to give you (give, give it, uh)
(love to give..you, you) (give, give it, yeah)
love to give you (give, give it, uh)
love to give (give, give it, yeah)
Time revolve
we fell in love as crazy as Nas and them
broads were textin
cuz I stop calling them
I met the parents
watch the game with her father and
questions of marriage
and I start dodging them
what happen to me
happens to lots of men
get deep in love
and then your needing some oxygen
as far as wives I was thinking like Solomon
she said "there you go, breakin my heart again!"
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you,
With lots of love to give you (give, give it, uh)
(love to give..you, you) (give, give it, yeah)
love to give you (give, give it, uh)
love to give (give, give it, yeah)
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you
(she said "don't break my heart")
Oo..we you break my heart,
but I'll be there beside you,
With lots of love to give you (give, give it, uh)
(love to give..you, you) (give, give it, yeah)
love to give you (give, give it, uh)

Yeah, yeah, you know how me and 'Ye do
Real People walk in the streets, the streets is talkin'
Often it's beef this city never does
People walk and talk in they sleep
Cold sweats and wet dreams
On how to get green our faith is all in a jeep
Black souls raw and they deep
Hypes tryna talk with no teeth
Shorties sayin' ball or retreat
A lesson we all speak at one point or another
Whatchu expect from one who smoke a joint with his mother
Anointed hustlers in a fatherless region
Through the pain wish they know that God was just teachin'
We want decent homes
So dreams we say out loud like speakerphones just to keep em on
It's like a colored song that keep keepin' on
I guess knowin' I'm weak is when I'm really bein' strong
Somehow through the dust I could see the dawn
Like the Bishop Magic Juan, that's why I write freedom songs
For the real people
I wonder is the spirits of Bob Marley and Haile Selassie
Watch me as the cops be tryna and pop and lock me
They cocky, plus they mentality is Nazi
The way they treat blacks I wanna snap like paparazzi
We're the children of a better God searchin' for better jobs
We could cop ghetto cars tryin' not to catch a charge
They say the dope game is sour
Now they doin' homework that's when they follow you for hours
Come to your crib and devour all that you work for
Must be more than paper these niggaz hurt for
Through the purple haze I circle days I rhyme that work for pays
Tryna reverse the slave's mind and insert the brave mentality
Heard that it's drama at home
Can a dude break free and still get honored at home
I was told by a chief it's the games nature
When you're glowin' some will love and some will hate ya
It's real people
Black men walking wit white girls on they arms
I be mad at em as if I know they moms
Told to go beyond the surface, a person's a person
When we lessen our women our condition seems to worsen
The weary cursin' the sky
Talkin' to themselves givin' the version of why help and hurt in they eye
I live across from it, some of it I do be in
I be showin' niggaz lives
Like UPN
It's real people
Yeah.
For you and yours
Good music
Forever
Yeah
Rock on
We keep on
Uh.. Yeah
Yeah, yeah

Yeah! The war zone. Who you fighting for?
It's funk to rhythm and punk to rock
loud like shot that come from a glock
Pick up your mind, run from the spot
Revolution jumping in the parking lot
Shit is so hot that the sun watch
Children by the window with the gun cocked
they could get robbed and stop the luck (?)
Monkeys dance around for MTV spots
I lock into a....
rock into a rhythm of street and ancient wisdom
Experiment in stereo loud so crank the system
For the humble on the path I paint a vision
How far will a nigga go just for attention
And to be remembered, you forgot the mission
Listen!
All traces of life
in our gats we carry
that's used to dress humanity
it's a New Wave, Come on!)
All traces of life
in our gats we carry
that's used to dress humanity
it's a New Wave, Dig it!)
This life is precious
it's goddamn? marvelous
before it ever ends
it's a New Wave, Come on!)
This life is precious
it's goddamn? marvelous
before it ever ends
Come on! Come on!)
I lay terror in this era like Che Guevera
for the people to make or wait it's better
in a room called real I stay forever
Everyday I lose something I gain forever
Meditate on how I can change the weather
My brainstorm for some it's like (?) umbrella
where bullets and lies both spray together
My mind scream like Al Green "Let's Stay Together"
How could a nigga be so scared of change
That's what you hustle for, for the currency exchange
Ya'll rich, we could beef curry in the game
out your mouth, ain't nobody hurrying my name
You seen what happened when the Com go BANG
Wouldn't have a shot, even at a gun range
Seen hype become fame against the grain become main-stream
It all seems mundane in the scope of thangs
From a land of shit talk, boy stars and pitch forks
didn't really see white until I went North
Getting bent on backyards, wishing in the air for a black god
Where people fix cars and clap hard
and look to the stars for rap jobs
I walk through the black fog with reflectors on my boots
smelling war near, I'm connected with the troops
that master anger and ain't afraid to shoot
through poured liquor fallen angels they salute (Whew! Whew!)
Feel the wind blow
A new wave- people with their hair trimmed low
It's two ways living in this world of techno
This age can't really save the ghetto
I pause for the rebels who rock heavy metals
and tell them that they're pharoh so let go

Can you speak your words of bedtime
I was just saying to myself the other day
Most of believing the magician
But you're bewitching
Because of this I must say
I (I)
I (oh I)
Appreciate what you give to me
Yeah (I)
I (oh I)
Appreciate what you give to me
People say I got soul look at all the records I hold
The lives I've affected, connect and control
With me in your basement, your mama got blown
I provide the vibe to keep the strippers on poles
Through me the black experience is glorious told
From a school that's old bold, so I rock gold
And platinum, so cats I hold notes and cash for them
On streets I rap for them, in ghettos I blast for them
Mash with them, at the party and all
Peep the universal language that's embodying all
Put the Billie Holiday, Bob Marley in y'all
Y'all feel most high when I be in y'all
System, with the rhythm I up jump the boogie
Shame I rely on record labels to push me
Since the bush, I been y'all way to escape
Through eight-tracks wax CDs and tapes
I am music
You can feel me all over alive, I help culture survive, I opened the eyes of many
Styles y'all wrote in the skies, with your lows and highs, open your mind to hear me
In the streets I beat cops and obsolete
On every station it's hot you can't stop my heat
I taught J and Dre how to rock the beat
On what's going on today yo, I gots to speak
I take the stand, yo you could feel me bam
Whether in Larry Graham or Steely Dan
Live I be killing it man
For how long I survived yo I'm realer than man
Got a soft side but I'm still a man
For me women cry and children dance, I'm trying to eat
I could'a got a mil and ran
But like Sly for the fam still I stand
I am music
I been here since the beginning
Beginning of time yo beginning of time
Deep in the mind of the ancient ones
Everybody love me like they do the sun
I shine at times yo at times I'm dark
You can't categorize me, my mind's a art
Inside my heart, it ain't about climbing charts
I'm the one you roll with when your ride is smart
The change that came, the change that comes
I change with chords and I kick it with drums
Get blow with horns and did it on the one
Riffed for guitars, for the Lord I sung
Spun around the world at parties and weddings
Wherever I go I create the setting
You know me from lessons or your pops collections
Whether whole or half stepping I'm a blessing

She rested her head upon my chest
Sensed liberation in between breaths
Wonder if sex is what she found it in
Peace, found it laying down with men
Wasn't there to judge her, many ways I loved her
It was more than bodies we shared with each other
We layed under the cover of friends
A place where many lovers began
I began, to feel her body shake in my hand
Body language, it's so hard trying to understand
Usually after sex, it's a good feel
Took by silence, emotion stood still
I could feel, her tears spill, from her grille
Hurt from before that began to build
She told me hold me, a story she assembled it
Tellin' it, trying not to remember it
It was a story of innocence taken
Thought she could redeem, through love makin'
When she was eight she was raped by her father
And tried to escape through multiple sex partners
Felt pitiful, she had only learned,
To love through the physical, inside it burned
My heart turned, I thought of what this man did
She forgave him, she grew to understand it
Her soul was tired and never really rested
Only with men through aggression
Said it was a blessing and it happened for a reason
By speaking it, she found freedom
Between me and you
Sometimes I wish a, careless whisper
Serenade her, without speaking a word
Because of you I'm stronger, I'm afraid no longer
I feel so alive in me, you have liberated me
She laid, I watched her breathe
Happy to be here, not afraid to leave
I couldn't concieve her not being here
Death in her face her not having fear
Less than a year she was diagnosed with it
Memories of that year, so close and vivid
Happiness, would only visit, once in a while
To watch an adult, becoming a child
Somehow, I knew she'd make it
The life of one so given early would God take it?
Hurt she placed in, hope and prayer
Hurt she placed in chemo and lost hair
I stare with my eyes closed
Wonder when the body leave does the mind go
Watchin' Jordan became less important
Seeing this disease eat away my aunt's organs
According to doctors theres no cure
We went through doubt, and cases of insure
Wish I knew then how to heal with herbs
Knew a part of her I could heal with words
But the (?) was (?)
What seemed like the end was the beginning for her
Like that, she didn't want us to remember her
No more medication did she want us to give to her
It spread from her liver to her lungs to her last breath
Only to be freed through death
Between me and you
He spoke with his eyes, tear-filled
A lump in his throat, his fear built
My whole life it was in steel
This ain't the way that men feel
A feeling, he said he wish he could kill
A feeling, not even time could heal
This is how real life's supposed to be?
For it to happen to someone close to me?
So far we'd come, for him to tell me
As he did, insecurity held me
I felt like he failed me
To the spirit, yelled help me
I'd known him for like what seemed forever
About going pro we dreamed together
Never knew it would turn out like this
For so long he tried to fight this
Now there was no way for him to ignore it
His parents found out and hated him for it
How could I judge him? Had to accept him if I truly loved him
No longer he said had he hated himself
Through sexuality he liberated himself
Between me and you
Liberation...

Yeah!
Yeah!
Nigga deep in the rhythm, experience speak
Some keepin' the wisdom, the life hustlers seek
I seeking it with em, i'm dope the streets need me to hit em
With some of that (revolutionary rap)
Revolutionary blunted rap
My peoples want hits, I hit it from the back
Under the cherry moon, I hold notes and carry tunes
My guise pack heat enough to bury June, on my feet
Im getting married soon, walking in the clouds like Mary Bethune
Fumes of a real nigga seep into your room
Or through fifthteens of the your jeep that you boom
Son so many cats, they call me high noon
Offerings to Osun hoping war is over soon
Guard your grill like George Foreman
Time to build, as far as building im the doorman, opening doors
My blood I expose on the floors, tell them the game aint only the score
Hold on to your life as I carry these styles
To have you tapping your head like Darius Miles
You aint supposed to rhyme, better off with a clothing line
In this business of pimps, many hoes get signed
Opposed to shine so me holding the blinds
Mixing golden seal and wine, holding a nine
In the age of aquaruis...
The water that arrives (ba-ba ba ba)
To purify the world (du-ba ba ba)
Flying through the night (du ba-ba ba ba)
So watch out here he comes (du-du ba ba ba)
Aquarius!
Between churches and liquor stores, my mic leaks
With raps, all over your head like Tweet
Playing with yourself, thinking the game is just wealth
Hot for a minute, watch your name just melt
Same spot where it's joyous, where the pain is felt
As you build and destroy yo remain yourself
They say im slept on, now im bucking in dreams
And rhyme with the mind of a hustler scheme
Or the struggle of feinds, I flow over water thats as troubled as teens
For the love of the team, trying to double the dream
Be greatful like the chruch psalm my grandmother sings
Im rubbing my rings across the domes of clones
Punchlines like Roy Jones with poems
While you and your dogs foam at the mouth
Thinking rap is the only way out
The black human genius will never play out
I take you way out, where you never been before
Been it since birth, sent to replish the Eatrh
That truck that you roll is like a miniature hearse
I deaded your shit before you finished a verse
From niggas to gods from bitches to earths
From Nat to Truck Turner that lives in my verse
Realness is an act that you cannot rehearse
Holla back, but listen first
We in the age of aquarius...

Q-Tip:
Hey , hey, hey, hey,
Hey, who dat Hey, who dat
Hey, who dat Check it, what
Hey sucka nigga, whoever you are(x2)
Hey sucka nigga, hey sucka nigga
Whoever you are, whoever you are
Common:
Fuck waitin under my skin, the situation is scrapin
Somewhat like the girl X-ratin
It's hard to be patient with no VCR or PlayStation
Knowing your Rockports, somebody may be lacin
Make me wanna leave the city when I can't take a vacation
Without somebody breakin in my demonstration
For some South side information, I search the Nigga-net
It certain things about this I ain't figure yet
Dirt, the guy who stayed with me and had a set of keys
Because his job had been stopped smokin weed
Thursdays is off days, he usually watch his seed
For him to have done it, a babysitter and a car he would need
The stripper broad, my TV and couch, she couldn't carry it
Unless some nigga helped and that's who she'll get buried with
She was vegeterian and she wouldn't have cooked chicken
I confronted her with it, to her story, she was stickin
The plot thickens, as we drove in search of this hype
Who I ain't know by name, but I knew by bike
Chances of him breakin in, chillin and eatin
Are about as slim as he is
Though I knew where he lived
In his house with three kids, one I was cool with
As we roll, I told the guy, turn on the music
Just as I thought I closed in on one suspect
The nigga who did it popped the tape in the deck
(Excerpt from a movie)
Just tell me why. Don't lie to me man, just tell me why
It's the money, alright
Just tell me why
It's the fuckin money, alright
(fighting)
Reynoldo, shoot that piece of shit
Q-Tip:
Know what I'm sayin. Word up
It ain't sweet when you do that shit(x7)

Black Thought:
It's a frantic situation(x7)
Common:
Extra salty cuz whoever beat me, got me for this 31-inch
And this Alpha Bailey jacket I had just bought me
Out of snappin, my God tried to talk me
But what could get me half way calm was this Donny Hathaway song
The tape that it was on I had wanted while I was gone
But forgot to pack it, in fact it was in that jacket
This demo, it's time to track it and lay it down
Either it's somebody I know or somebody I stay around
Day before I broke out, niggaz was over my crib gettin smoked out
No tellin who had the place scoped out
Donnie brought over some niggaz I didn't know
I'm askin, who are you, they said I'm with the Mo
If it was them, soon I will collide with them
And they better not be rockin no new Iversons
Then it could have been this hype that usually shovel my snow
If I'm out of town or not, by my car, he would know
Now, it might have been this stripper I met at Pinkhouse party
Thick, but my furniture wasn't worth her body
What if it was this nigga I let sleep in my crib
To have the set of keys but that I wasn't tryin to believe
But I could have put it past him or those other bastards
It would be assed backwards for me to ask if they did it
Cuz whoever did ain't gon admit it
The blunted dirty dishes is my only exhibit
Wondering if I should give it a rest and through the wind
It might surface
Cuz tellin Allah, Joe is worthless(uh)
chorus(x2): Black Thought
Hey sucka nigga, whoever you are(x3)
Wherever you are, whoever you are
Check it out

Common:
Down da-down-da-down-down-down, what(x3)
Down-da-down, check it, check it
There was a Hardy boy mystery I was tryin to solve
Can't understand who the fuck was involved
Back from a show I had came, hopped off the plane
In my mind home was pictured and rest was the frame
My God came and grabbed in something less than a Caddy
Go buy them gas and food was less than a cabby
As we approach my tilt, paranoia in my bones had built
By the lock on the door, a hole was drilled
I opened it to the kitchen floor my heart nailed
In my shit, somebody had broke in like a mitt
My mind started swingin and who I thought the glove fit
As usual, niggaz is suspects
Who did I tell I was going out of town
Not too many people, I guess the word got around
The people upstairs should have been disturbed by the sound
Must have came during the day when at work, they was found
At the mount I stand folded than tie
Askin who done it
Fuck Hitchcock, I got the fifth cocked
About to go wild hunted
Whoever did it had the nerve to chill and get blunted
And left a roach in the ash tray, I had cleaned out the last day
Before I left, this thief decided to play chef
With the beef in the fridge to cook chicken breast
I'm kickin what shit was left all around the house
Thinkin whoever came in on me is out
chorus
It's a frantic situation
It's a frantic situation, yes it is
(What can I do)
It's a frantic situation
It's a frantic situation, hear me now
(What can I do)
It's a frantic situation
It's a frantic situation, yes it is
(What can I do)
It's a frantic situation
It's a frantic situation, hear me y'all
(What can I do)

Yo, we gotta start respectin life more y'all
You look at your brother man you gotta see yourself
Gotta see the God within him
Brothers gettin changed real quick over nothin
We losin too many of ours
Gotta recreate y'all
Yo, check it
Knowin you the best part of life, do I have the right to take yours
Cause I created you, irresponsibly
Subconciously knowin the act I was a part of
The start of somethin, I'm not ready to bring into the world
Had myself believin I was sterile
I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl
Turnin this woman's womb into a tomb
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed
But someone, I woulda fed this information I read
to someone, my life for you I woulda had to leave
Instead I lead you to death
I'm sorry for takin your first breath, first step, and first cry
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially
Havin a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me
Plus I wanted you to be raised within a family
I don't wanna, go through the drama of havin a baby's momma
Weekend visits and buyin J's ain't gon' make me a father
For a while bearing a child is somethin I never wanted to do
For me to live forever I can only do that through you
Nerve I got to talk about them niggaz with a gun
Must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son
I could have sacrificed goin out
To think my homies who did it I used to joke about, from now on
I'ma use self control instead of birth control
Cause $315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth it
[Lauryn Hill (two layers of vocals, same words)]
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
[Common] Yo
Why didn't you stay
Seeing you as a present and a gift in itself
You had our child in you, I probably never feel what you felt
But you dealt with it like the strong black woman you are
Through our trials and tribulations, child's elimination
An intergration of thoughts I feel about the situation
Back and forth my feelings was pacin
Happy deep down but not joyed enough to have it
But even that's a lie in less than two weeks, we was back at it
Is this unprotected love or safe to say it's lust
Bustin, more than the sweat in somebody you trust
Or is it that we don't trust each other enough
And believe, havin this child'll make us have to stay together
Girl I want you in my life cause you have made it better
Thinkin we all in love cause we can spend a day together
We talkin spendin the rest of our lives
It's too many black women that can say they mothers
but can't say that they wives
I wouldn't chose any other to mother my understanding
But I want our Parenthood to come from Planning
It's so much in my life that's undone
We gotta see eye to eye, about family, before we can become one
If you had decided to have it the situation I wouldn't run from
But I'm walkin, findin myself in my God
So I can, discipline my son with my writin
Not have a judge tellin me how and when to raise my seed
Though his death was at our greed, with no one else to blame
I had a book of Afrikan names, case our minds changed
You say your period hasn't came, and lately I've been sleepy
So quit smokin the weed and the beadies and let's have this boy
[Lauryn Hill]
I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
You said you would be here when it rained
Ohh I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
Now the situation's made things change
Things change
Why, didn't you stay
Why didn't you stay...
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
In summer
You said you would be here when, it rained
When it rained, it rained
Ohhhohh I, never dreamed, you'd leave in summer
You said you wouldn't leave
Now the situation's made things change
Things change, why didn't you stay
Stay, stay stay stay stay stay stay
Mmmmm, stayyy
Uh-uh
Ohh why didn't you stay..

[Common]
Yeah, yeah, what, yeah
Reminding me of Sef, what
Fat fat thick booty, what
You say jack that big booty, yo
He say OOH OH
I heard the boy he said OOH OH
The party people he said OOH OH
Uhh uh uh uhh yo yo yo
Check it, check it
Driftin on a memory, brought forth
from a fifth of Hennesey, as in times
of eighty-nine they envision me
Warm days and the cold beer chemistry
Eventually broken up by responsibilities and such
Sometimes this era mentally I reconstruct
High school I came out it
Cats with clout at graduation got they name shouted
Go to Great America, me and my lady rock the same outfit
My niggaz be fuckin girls that she hang out with
Round then Guy came out with, 'Piece of My Love'
Arguin over if he said, quot;Dumb bitch quot;
Everyday the same old with rainbow, watchin the sun twist
Cool as a Mig Dry, that in the trunk shit
Afterparties in Wendy's parkin lot, unfamiliar faces got marked a lot
Showin off for hoes in bricks and rows had us charged to box
That demo sorta stopped once A.C. got popped
Chorus: Chantay Savage
It's remind-ing... mmm whooahhh yeahhh
It's remind-ing... heyyeahhahh, uh-huh
[Common]
Check it
Before these minds got ahold to some drugs
and start thinkin they thugs
We'd be at the Bismarck, and the Racquetball club
Plugged with Gucci promotion so we got in free
Against the wall me and my guys formed a colony, Ron'll be beatin
Saved my day, dancin on speakers
Flames snatched I was born this way
87th Street and Hyde Park was warrin
Over gossip, Kenwood bras was pourin
Suited in three-quarter Jordans, pro-models
and started coach out the back of Beauty Shop Sevalas
Buy the dope, put my name in they verse, EPMD
I would quote, stolen leathers I'd sell, like a child of broke
behind the beat, I took my first shot of Henny
It hit me in the chest like when them marks shot Benji
Shame on the girl that left her Fendi around crew
I'da go through it or, take it, we was bound to
Travellin like Vice Lords, down to the taste
Not wantin to bring my lady around crew cause they would snake
House parties was the lick, behind bars we'd come up
at em' I did the Hooper dance with my thumbs up
Chorus
[Common]
There go the break
To get the break go, it go OOH OH
Yeah, it go OOH OH
You heard the people they go oh oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh
Yo, check it, check it
Nowadays niggaz is fake, like that party at McCormick Place
I don't draw with em, cause they was born to trace
At times I contemplate movin to a warmer place
Then the Lake and skyline, give me a warm embrace
remindin me of the pointed parties Moe used to mace
Six deep in the Hyundai bumpin Twilight Tone tapes
Come home late callin broads hang up on they mother
If it wasn't nowhere to scrap at then we would fight each other
Get a room at the Dunes havin bakeouts
We'd eat, at Giadonno's and break out
Then everybody thought that they could spend
High rollers had the MCM blazer blend
Girbauds and Guess jeans we was takin in
Cranes and freight trains we was breakin in
Tim a be basin Mike down at I.I.T.
Rememberin numbers depended on how high I'd be
It's a Deja-Brew, when I see bottles of Gill
My man Sef passed I feel hollow but still
Chorus

One two, one two, one two
Yo, I be the Big Illinois, here to build and destroy
I come on your deck, on your set
On your strip, through your burrough
Rippin any muthafucka that steps towards me
Yeah, I got power like floors be
Yo, check it out y'all
[Common]
Real nigga quotes I tote, got some shit on the free but
This some shit that I wrote, legendary like The Goat
Who got game? Giving a quarter rest while I make these quarter notes
My album, niggaz was expectin, now my water broke
Before it, I was sorta broke
Get the paper for the funnies, sports and the horoscope
On a curry goat, like flu stokes order coke
You sharp with your rings and chain but you short a rope
At the end of the road trip still, I'ma hold shit down like syndrome
Rappers are like Fox Brown tryin to get home
Rarely get your touchdown, I'm in the end zone
You can't honor what I'm on, then bitch nigga, get gone
>From the wind storm, I've been told the street folklore
Body language spoke raw, don't talk to broads that are spoke for
That provokes war, stand out like cold sores
You claim that you hard but you wholecore
George Bush and CIA, you movin old or
I Wright like Richard for publishing while you sold yours
[Chorus: Dug Infinite]
Com got rhymes, Dug make beats
Style complete, plus unique, the shit be sweet
(on the real)You know the shit be real(x5)
(down on the real to real)
[Common]
Chicka-chicka-M-chicka-C-chicka-M and my
People call me Com and collective with prospective
I draw crowds, go off like car alarm sounds
Bomb like 'Nam sounds, tell yo bitch to calm down
Unless you want to get me skull askin me to take my hat off
On ill raps, I spit as if I had a bad cough
This Craig nigga stole a style and ain't take the tag off
Playin yourself, you can't come with it, so you jack off
More heart than an artery, jones in my bones
To see thugs in harmony, it's gonna be some drama
If you try to sit Com down, this ain't comedy
Shit is real like a station property, crew is formin colonies
Commonly, I hear these rats thinkin they mahogany
On every rap hook, soundin like a dog to me
In a reservoir, I flow and go
On and on, like Erykah or etcetera
Designated not to make hits but hit home
Out of proportion, hit makers get blown
(scratching)(on the real)
[Chorus: Dug Infinite]
[Common]
R and B studs kill me with they hardcore ballads
Love songs is violent, them niggaz whole style is silent
I hate to Staple the singers together, but in my head
It's been ringin forever...and a day if you grew up on Marvin Gaye
Where all you singers booty this and freak me baby, it gets me
MCs be insecure, like them little hoe niggaz Immature
Wearin bobs, if I got a show in your town, I'm there with mob
Bukein niggaz and pullin broads is the apparent job
(scratching)(on the real)
chorus(x2)

This the city of Chicago
The state of confusion
The style I'm using is free
Or at least it would be if my mind was
Peep I'm behind cause
I didn't handle my function while in high school
Although I was cool
The hood I live in ain't that proper
Cause a cop a stop ya
And have you at a hundred and eleventh before you can say not guilty
I'm not filthy
Nor am I rich
Ain't that a bitch
Like life is
Not your wife is
See that your better halve
Do your math
And peep that two halves make a whole
And all I have to hold
Is my self pride
So these streets I strive
Like a Black Panther
Asking can the
situation get much worst
All I do is try to appeal to the masses
As the phrase keep it real passes
The teeth of too many phoney individuals
Snakes, that smooth like criminals
They create chemicals
That the Earth hate
Doing their damndest to decrease my birth rate
I'd settle for lesser knowing I'm worth wait
Or at least my weight in precious gems
So I'm steadily steadly steadly
Trying to lose my religion, like R E M
Created in His own image so are we him
And through all this crises
Shid(Shit) I wonder where Christ is
Well he damn sure not in K town or the wild hundreds
Where they broadcast G.D. till the world blow-up
And Stone run it
Hunted by police for display in state vile cages
Come out to make minimum wages
And with a desiese that are contagious
It is fucking outrages
The amounts of Black and Brown they lock up
But the Most High encourages me to put the glock up
And Stock up on do for self knowledge
A brother couldn't afford to go to collage
So I had to learn form the school of hard knock
On the hard blocks of the Chi
Even I, think about moving out to River Oaks
As my liver soaks
In mad Hennesy
Cause I got a bad tendency
To do a lot of drinking
Now I do a lot of thinking
Blinking, was your third eye
When you heard I
was one of the chosen one
Industry doors keep closing
(sing) Watch the closing doors
Niggas want a record deal
But can they deal with a record
Cause once they get rich
They tend to switch
Like a sissy
Please miss me
With all that bullshit you popping
This knowledge I'm gonna keep dropping
Even if you had one of them red octagon
Motherfuckers say Mylik how you make your living
I say by breathing oxygen

Canibus:
Yeah, yeah
Me and my man Com Sense
Rallyin troops like Joseph Stalin
Where you at yo
Common:
I'm bout to make the name Com Sense a name you fear
Y'all niggaz is scared, I'm your worst nightmare squared
Canibus:
And I'ma make the name Canibus a name you fear
Y'all niggaz is scared, I'm your worst nightmare squared
Canibus and Common:
That's double for niggaz who ain't mathematically aware
(Rakim from quot;My Melody quot;(To catch another sucka duck MC out there)
Common:
I can tell by how you write, you the type to run in a fight
I hold mics while you hold spite
Like a broken hearted bitch
Don't give no fuck who yo team or who you startin with
Cameoed or charted with, I house niggaz like apartments with
Mic mechanisms, I dissect a rhythm
Move crowds with kinetic wisdom
It's like a Malcolm X-orcisim, fuck the rhythm, I hit him
I want him got not get him, auction his wack ass off, then bid him
Canibus:
I'm creatin the ultimate verses with perfect lines
Puttin together them whether my rhyme one threat at a time
So you niggaz need to stop testin me
Cuz you know you can't quot;F quot; with me
Steppin to me with insuperior weaponry
Exposin yourself to the verbal radiations
Sayin you can defeat me is nothin but speculation
Lyrics unravel, faster than bullets travel through barrels
Niggaz be diggin my styles like fossils and pterodactyls
Who wanna battle
I'm bad to the bone marrow
The Earth got one sun but I walk with three shadows
With Allah, my supernatural bodyguard
Niggaz couldn't touch me if they gave me a massage
MCs will compete with lyrics and beats get crushed
I'll hit you in your chest so hard, your shoulders will touch
What!
(scratching)
Common, steppin to me is like going to the county being a neutron
Common, I ain't scared of no nigga
Common:
I persue sound fairs, relaxed like Dru Down's hair
Other nigga's rhymes are like gang signs, I throw down theirs
On knots, I landed, players get played like Hamlet
Supposedly nice, taken for granted like life
I write twice and drop singles in record pools
Niggaz I'm dunkin like when cops mingle
Fuck hip hop jingles, rhymin big words and not sayin shit
The click that you came in with accent your flavor wit
Like moose, I go to the caves and get niggaz off all fours
I'm the shit that's uncalled for, the shit that you fall for
Far more advanced than a rapper who's career
You could only take a glance, couldn't make the transition
gt;From B-boy to C-note stance
I stand in a circumference, the humbleness
But in the Chi, bumbleless
Was thinkin as a weakness were poetrys in motion
Like a bitch, I'm the main feature
Amongst hard working teachers and corrupt preachers
I make my living off of singles like Latifah
In between sheets like reefer with blunted senses
You couldn't make a statement if you was from a sentence
I'm cold with numb intentions
(scratching)Fuck with Canibus(x4)
Canibus:
Yo, the Canibus is an animal with a mechanical mandible
Comin to damage you, spittin understandable slang at you
I be the all seeing lyrical, hammerhead sharp peripheral
With 360 degree visual
When the signal was given, MCs get biten with venom
gt;From a poisonous algorithm liable to kill 'em
My style will get in 'em, way up in 'em
My face don't belong in The Source
It belongs on the shroud of turan, for certain
I grab mics and murder shit
It's wickeder than Satan worshippers going to Catholic church services
You heard of this
The lyrical verbalist, trash herbalist
The wrath of my cold-blooded verses is merciless
Rap snap, get your ass cracked like bear traps
Contaminate your air sacs like tear gas
And I swear black, try to battle me, you won't last
I'll turn your ass into the artist formerly known as, you gay ass fag
I'll blow you to ashes with tactics
Strip you naked, then make you hug a cactus, you bastard
So phat to be a rap star, takin pictures at music seminars
People know who you are
Now I got mad shorties that wanna call me
Because they saw me, up in The Source chillin on page 40
Put this in your CD-ROM
www dot Canibus dot com
You can find me on the internet talkin to chicks
That was sweatin me off the Music Makes Me High remix
I be talkin mad trash tryin to get 'em to laugh
See, if I click and drag long enough, I'll get the ass
Bring it bag to the lab on Mount Prospect Ave.
Let your chicken suck me off and send her home in a cab
You know how we do, liquid aluminum like the T2
Beast from the East part 2, comin to see you
Common:
It's time I made the name Com Sense a name y'all fear
Y'all niggaz is scared, I'm your worst nightmare squared
Canibus:
Now that I made the name Canibus a name you fear
You still scared, I'm your worst nightmare squared
Common and Canibus:
That's double for niggaz who ain't mathematically aware
(To catch another sucka duck MC out there)
Common:
Since I made the name Com Sense a name y'all fear
Y'all niggaz is scared, I'm your worst nightmare squared
Canibus:
And since I made the name Canibus a name you fear
You stay scared, I'm still your worst nightmare squared
Common and Canibus:
That's double for niggaz who ain't mathematically aware
(To catch another sucka duck MC out there)

[Common]
Yo, niggaz don't want none of this
Niggaz know they can't fuck with this
Turn this shit up just a little more
I walk the night in rhymin armor, bomb a nigga like a winter coat
Have him on Death Row searchin for an Interscope
Yet I sparkle like Irene Cara
Symbolize dope, like sirens do terror
Mariel just had a baby someone else decapitated
Flashbacks of past raps make me so glad I made it
Players is gettin traded
I drop a gem off, them who's style is jaded
My juice is grated
Shit is so bangin niggaz say it's gang related
On philosopher's rink of thought, I've skated with precision
Crews is gettin split like decisions
Com will let it ride in collision
Vision like Coleco or tele, I battle stars in stellar...
Regions, my thought scheme was my like my offspring
Now, it's teethin
My reason of rhyme applies to season and time
Season of mind, body and regions divine
In mom's cookouts, I'm leavin the swine
Verbal vegeterian, squashed beef with Ice Cube
Came in this rap life nude
Now I'm fully clothed with flows
You tricks can't hide behind expensive cars and clothes
Old niggaz I expose like Luke does hoes in videos
With classic material, imperial and rugged like
Got mag, but my slugs a mic
You fake like a smile, like a hug, I'm tight
Skip ladies, this is rip a muthafucka night
Oracle arouse, niggaz don't even run for cover right
Downtown interracial lovers hold hands
I breathe heavy like an old man, with a cold can of Old Style
Hold a Stone Isle profile
Mix between Malcolm X and Sef when I go wild
Hold mics like a second nut until the second comin
Hummin comin towards you with power like forwards do
Hip hop, you my bitch and like a Ford, I'm Explorin you
So, wack niggaz be cool, with them, I stay cordial
Flowin room temperature, cats is presumed miniature
Like golf. Soft like Tiger Woods
And real nigga angles I've stood with ways that's geometric
Don't need to rob banks with dike broads to Set it
I levitate to the occasion, lounge like a lyricist
Rhyme wise, you a rest haven
You sat by the door spooked like I was Wes Craven
You need to do more deletin and less savin
A praise in hell, raisin heaven
Like the bill on my pager leavens
What you should have known from day one
You will on day seven

quot;Ga-ga-gangbusters!! quot;
[Dove]
Hey give it Boogie like the BX, sex regular booger bitches
get the backseat, G-bumps'll make you buy tapes
Ex-cape the fire tonight, switch like Jekyll and Hyde
and shit, wreckin we live and shit
This swamp water style'll keep em dirty and wet
I bet mills on the rhyme skills, we walk away set
Rich like topsoil, connect coin with currency
Places that I couldn't pronounce, and then bounce
Illegal ain't illegal if it's less than an ounce
Keep it come in T. La Rock amounts, see +It's Yours+
Study scrolls that includes the clause
Get your dirty paws out my bowl, your hustle's too old to deal
with the shuffle, you exhaust me like a muffle
Get zapped and zipped in the duffle
Came to the set splashed, no Roley on the wrist
To Hell with a guest list, we all up in this!
A two dollar somethin got your eyes on him
But yo she pinchin my ass so we go, limb for limb
Lights studio dim, it's EXACT tonight
So we can drop the Rap Delight, on one!
Just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
quot;Just get on down.. quot;
[Common]
Underground under pressure, my style is the child
of a lesser, God, I Master like Farad
Persona in between the El Rook'n, and El DeBarge
Metaphorically massage, verbal hajj
I take over breaks and chop loops
Glorifyin, one-eighty hat cats can rock in my troops
Wisdom like a tooth, mock new shits I knock loose
Datin game Thursday's I spot juice, Plug like Pos'nus
Before you get a style, let's get a style
My style pans the crowd back and forth
You were soft as the tracks you rappin off, I pop shit
You tried to laugh it off, actin like you had to cough
and didn't hear it, my spirit sustains in the same pattern
emcee, familiar sample period; spottin where you sampled
your rhyme scheme from -- I ain't clearin it
I drop science and experiment -- contractually
came to terms of endearment with my label
Want to pick out a day to smack wack niggaz, I contact niggaz
like P.O.'s, you spit background lyrics, I rip Lee flows
Wipin your nose like you need blows
Claimin it's a allergy, I react allergic to cats
or is it how they word it
If you had weight it must have been some pussy you served with
Thoughts fermented, I rode rhythms and words tinted
Many lip profess, I'm verb centered
Just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
quot;Just get on down.. quot;
[Pos]
It's like rip y'all, add it on to lip
Wonder Why's upon this, just to flex my strength
I was the one who killed wackness so I had to do a bid
of twelve years on the mic, before parole with Tommy 'Kid'
Infinite landscaper, green paper maker
Leap far from home with chrome rims and trims
Man these people still takin rappin for a joke
The pimp, I rock it one-double-oh percent
Some of you MC's should be called CM's, Carbon Monoxide
on the mic exposin your polluted bloodtype
Y'all niggaz need a visit from the Brain Fairy
Walk around dead, like your physical's buried
Wrote the rhymes durin a earthquake, cause your style's
shaky as SHIT! Just need to come clean and admit
that yo' quick draw fails the test, and mine was flawless
My DJ gave the scratch, yours was clawless
Your crew couldn't even measure to mine
That's why yo' bitches is busted, and mines is fine
Performin with an upper design, so back on off the plank
We bringin this Big and Bad like Hank
Just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
quot;Just get on down.. quot;
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down
and just dance, you know you gots the feelin
Just dance, ah come on and get down!!!
quot;Just get on down.. quot;
* cut and scratch of quot;Just get on down.. quot; to the song's end *

After bein' 25, you know, just trying to survive in the world
?Bout to have a little boy or baby girl, who knows?
Anyway, just when you start getting? that little age
And experience to you
You start thinkin? about stuff, tryin? to make the right moves
So bust it out, this is what I was thinkin?, check it
Yo, the education of the Lon-chicka-Lonnie Lynn
Began, began with time
Bein? my bloodline is one with the divine
In time brotha, you will discover the light
Some say that God is black and the devil's white
Well, the devil is wrong and God is what's right
I fight with myself in the ring of doubt and fear
The rain ain't gone but I can still see clear
As a child, given religion with no answer to why
Just told believe in Jesus ?cuz for me he did die
Curiosity killed the catechism
Understanding and wisdom became the rhythm that I played to
And became a slave to master self
A rich man is one with knowledge, happiness and his health
My mind had dealt with the books of Zen, Tao the lessons
Koran and the Bible, to me they all vital
And got truth within 'em, gotta read them boys
You just can't skim 'em, different branches of belief
But one root that stem ?em
But people of the venom try to trim 'em
And use religion as an emblem
When it should be a natural way of life
Who am I or they to say to whom you pray ain't right
That's who got you doin? right and got you this far
Whether you say, "In Jesus name", or, "Al hum du'Allah"
Long as you know it's a bein' that's supreme to you
You let that show towards others in the things you do
?Cuz when the trumpets blowin?, 24 elders surround the throne
Only 144,000 gon get home
Only 144,000 gon get home
Only 144,000 gon get it, baby
I've lived and I've learned
I have taken and I've earned
I have laughed, I've cried
I have failed and I have tried
Sunshine, pouring rain
Found joy through all my pain
I just wanna be happy with being me
Let me voice my concern
So many of my fellow brothers have given themselves a title
That their actions didn't earn
Our ignorance is in the same breath as our innocence
Subconsciously, seeking to find
An impressionable mind to convince
I've finally come to the realization
Why black people in the worse place
?Cuz it's hard to correct yourself when you don't know
Who you are in the first place , so I try to find the clue in you
But evidently, white folks know more black history than we do
Why're we bein' lied to?
I ain't know our history was purposely hidden
Damn, somethin' in me wanna know who I am
So I began my search, my journey started in church
It gave my heartache relief when I started to understand belief
Hustlin? was like a gift spent my share of time in the streets
Taught me survival from this evil I'm just gonna have to deal with
And I felt like a fool when I tried to learn it in school
It almost seemed like a rehearsal when the only
Science and math are universal
Takin? elder advice, read the Bible, the Koran
Searched scrolls from the Hebrew Israelites
Hold on, this ain't right, Jesus wasn't white
Some leads were granted with insight
And it's all in the plan, but it took me some time to overstand
He still created with the imperfection of man
So, with followin' I disagree
By no means have I forgotten or forgiven
What's been done to me but
I do know the devil ain't no white man, the devil's a spiritual mind
That's color blind, there's evil white folk and evil niggas
You gon surely find there's no positivity without negativity
But one side you gonna have to choose
Any chance to speak I refuse to misuse
So how can you call yourself God
When you let a worldly possession
Become an obsession and the way you write your rhymes
And can't follow your lesson
If a seed's sown, you make sure it's known
You make sure it's grown
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
Well, I've lived and I've learned
I've taken and I've earned
I have laughed, I have cried
I failed and I have tried
Sunshine, pourin? rain
I found joy through my pain

Common:
What, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo
Yo, yo yo yo, yo, yo, yo, yo
Check it, yo
You say a one for the trouble, two for the time
Come on y'all, let's rock that, uh
(I can feel the funk)(x4)
Check it
I come to grips with mics
I come to grips that a lot of mic users is dikes
I come to grips with the likes of Fred Hampton
Cold, so I'm lampin, with no need for spotlight
When I got light like an intersection, you talk
But you came to my town with protection
Election year, had the block hot
I scream quot;fuck the world quot; for having a baby girl sorta cock block
I write rhymes like I come from the windy city
With my crew, I click like simply, stand midi with reality
Casually, I walk through these war games
Some claim say but then they take on whore names
If that's the way your sex drives, stay in your lane
If you're a man, I can't tell like if the door rang now
Chorus:
Now, to the ladies in the house when you come in the place
It ain't a bunch of niggaz all up in your face
The music is thumpin and you're feelin the bass
What you wanna do girl(wanna shout)
To the brothas when you come in a jam, it ain't a bunch of niggaz
It ain't high tech and ain't got free liquor
You jackin his name and stick to make you jones get thicker
What you wanna do man(let go)
Yo, check it
Some niggaz be on the mic, sounding like dikes
Allow me to get on and bust like Spike(uh)
Lee, I'm in the majors with no rotation
Through stations of bullshit, I see through like a pager
In the age of Aquarius, various things
Is gonna carry us in intellect and what have you
Street astrologists interpret point stars and half moons
Then end up on garages or walls in bathrooms
Every black moon, a rap tune move me
The rap sun, I rain more than Rudy, that unruly shit is played
It don't stop
It's time to get it, get it made
I got my mind made up like Foxy Brown's face
I know how the underground tastes
I want a crib from the ground up, rooms spin at a round pace
Get down based on true story, through Corey, came close to the teachers
Colder as the Iceman, posted before it start wrinklin
Linkin with cats, who don't react to change in the years
Fulfill prophesies in rooms full of emptiness, now
Chorus:
I can feel the funk(x8)
Yo, check it, check it
I came through the corridor, with the aura
Raw Chicago mora, scope the horror
Read between the lines and know the border
Some pop wines for juice, I wait in the water
Waitin for you Big Willie niggaz to have a show at The Crib
We gon get with your glamour, long as we know where it is
Tell you ain't a player by your sweater doused with wack feather
The Crib got the gangsta playa shit patent like black leather
I rap better than you, you, or maybe him
But I am like a tree and every lyric is a timb
Spilled brews and greasy foods got my car smelly
Some be so high, they believe they fly like R. Kelly
But then they fall off, dusted niggaz is gettin sawed off
They fall soft, my mental lift is for me to haul off
I kick ass
Chorus:
(scratching)
I can feel the funk(x16)(makes me wanna shout, wanna shout)(x4)
(scratching)Wanna shout

[Common (with Badu singing in background)]
Yeah.. wanna feel the vi-ah-hi-hibe
Wanna feel the vibe, wanna feel the vi-ibe!
Uhhh.. wanna, what Yeah
Wanna, what Uhh, yeah (come on)
Every-bod', c'mon, uhh
Yo, yo.. (all night long)
[Common]
Durin divine hours, I use mind power to refine
flour/flower girls, and make em feel like black pearls
Get they minds off acryllic nails and the rap world
It's a lot you can find in the lost black girl
Made signs built in lodges, we be in garages
Discussin who we boned and who God is
Pro-black like Craig Hodges with my dashikis in the cleaners
I kick it for the Chevy ridin head to backstreet leaners
[Erykah Badu (with Common)]
Allllll.. (uhh) niiiiiight.. (yea yea, what) [HAH]
Allllll.. [HUH, UHH] niiiiiight.. (whatcha say now Bee, what)
Allllll.. (yeah, yeah yeah) niiiiiight.. [AOW! Aoww-owwww]
(to freak it with the) Allllll.. (now let me get a piece of this)
(let me get a piece Bee) niiiiiight..
[Common]
Check it, check it
I was born underwater with three dollars and a cocktail
Tryin to make the Garden of Eden, out of Auckdale and Rockwell
Lock'd in this Grid like a Tupac tale
While her-on rock smells make the cops tail
My third eye is my rail, on this L of thought
With afrocentric stamps I'm mailin thoughts
to my Gods held in court
I dwell where rebellion's taught, and emotions seldom walk
I try to Walk Like an Egyptian, but Hieroglyphics fail to talk
I guess the hustlin is the unspoken Gospel
Love that I'm an apostle, feel the holy spirit of Chicago
E Bottom, here's the bottle
I think I, need a cup of a tea, because I'm novel
(come on bay-bayyy) Bust it
[Erykah Badu]
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you
Alllllll night looooong
Allllllll (come on bay-bayyy)
All night long.. all night long..
All night long.. on and on and on and onnnn (come on bay-bayyy)
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you (all night long)
Alllllll night looooong (all night long)
Allllllll (on and on and on and onnnn) [HAH, UH-HUH]
Iahhhhh (all night long) jus' wanna rock you (all night long)
Alllllll night looooong (all night long)
{what yo-yo, yo-yo yo-yo check it, check it}
On and on and on and onnnn
[Common]
A portrait of the Artist, formerly known as Sense
The brain-wash, with my vocal tones I rinses
Opportunity and the beat knocks
Women, give me rhythm like beatbox, but it's the year
of completion, I want a Queen to complete Rash'
who's flavored from stacks, to Reeboks
Send blessings to the family of Ice Mike
Shit like that, don't help me write right, but I got site/sight
like a destruction worker, when it's time to build
Get off like Sam Jack' and it's +Time to Kill+
In perseverence I'ma find a meal, and provoke
My Gramps used to trick off big papers at the Riverboat
It go..
[Erykah Badu (with Common)]
Allllll.. niiiiiight.. all night
Allllll.. niiiiiight.. you got it goin all night
Allllll.. niiiiiight.. y'know, y'know it all night
Allllll.. niiiiiight.. oahahhhoahhohhhhhh (yea, yeah)
[Erykah Badu]
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you (one more time)
Alllllll night looooong, oahhhhohhh (ebb in feelings)
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you (I ain't sleeping)
Alllllll night looooong (all night long)
On and on and on and onnnn
[Common]
Check it
I walk downtown to tempos and never lose the beat
Some people got ignorance confused with bein street
on the, street of desire my body and soul meet
Arguin over thick broads and meals with no meat
Had the cold feet for a second
Mega-niggaz in my box throwin suggestions
Had me checkin myself and double checkin, I popped the +Resurrection+
In the mirror I only heard my reflection
Let me hold mics, while you hold dicks and CD collections
And at MusicLand and Coop's, we can make connections
I meditate with confidence, to not chomp on cents
Outspoken like 30's but yet I guard my lips
Writin niggaz with stripes, I hold posture with
Poppin shit to fat broads, wearin os-trich
Givin em voicemail, tracks are like County
To them I voice-jail/gel, if you believe in Heaven
why is the choice Hell Why is this choice Hell
Why is this choice Hell
[Erykah Badu]
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you
Alllllll night looooong, oahhhhohhh (keep goin)
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you (keep goin, keep goin, keep on)
(and don't you give up) Alllllll night looooong (ah keep on, ah keep on)
Ooahhhoahhhhh (ah keep on, ah keep.. ah don't you give up)
Iahhhhh (all night long) jus' wanna rock you (all night long)
Alllllll night looooong (if you want it you can have it lay upon my rest)
On and on and on and onnnnnnnnnn (keep it goin baby)
(if you want it you can have it lay upon my rest)
Iahhhhh jus' wanna rock you (all night long)
Alllllll night looooong (if you want it you can have it lay upon my rest)
(all night long) On and on and on and onnnnnnnn
Alllllll (if you want it you can have it lay upon my rest) niiiiiiiight
Alllllll (and if you want it you can have it lay upon my rest) niiiiiiight
Alllllll niiiiiiiiight
Alllllll niiiiiiiiight
Alllllll niiiiiiiiight
Alllllll (don't stop now) niiiiiiiiight (no no no, no, uh-uh)
Alllllll (you bet' not stop) niiiiiiiiight
Alllllll niiiiiiiiight
Yeahhhhhh.. Common Sense, and Baduuuu

One wa-wa One, One Two, One Two
One wa-wa One, One Two, One Two
One tigga One, One Two, One Two
(Dug Infinite)
Dug Inf on production, my man Com for the discussion
Check it
(Common)
One day, I was tryin to be myself
The same day this thug say, quot;You gotta come hard quot;
Nigga, times is hard, I'm tryin hard to make it
It ain't hard to tell, it's hard for me to fake it
Plus, it's hard to be me, it's hard to stop drinkin
I guess it's hard for you hard niggaz to start thinkin
Pussy MC's stinkin so I can't get hard
Some, become MC's cause it's hard to get a job
Hard for you to trust people, you don't trust in God
Even harder to be the Gods we created to be
This Western way of life ain't native to me
Put one nigga in your Pulp Fiction that related to me
I hate it that we, the only race that call our women hoes
Niggaz, be too hard to say quot;ho quot; at the shows
I rose... like a florist to bring the flavor like a Taurus
Might not have the murderous verse, but I stay hard to the chorus
Took this girl to work, she say I ain't have a real job
Like that dick you had last night, baby, I work real hard
Simple motherfuckers tellin me hard is criminal
Niggaz you thought was hard, you pourin out your liquor for
Years ago, I thought I was hard, in high school fightin
Now, I'm the hardest man working in show business
Handle your business or shut the fuck up
(Dug Infinite) It's just one two many niggaz got cars and no land
(Common) One two many niggaz with cash and no plan
(Dug Infinite) One two many niggaz that's tryin to MC
(Common) That's one two many niggaz comin up to me
(both) That's one two many niggaz
Just one two many niggaz (2X)
(both) That's one two many niggaz
Just one two many niggaz
(Chuck D) quot;One, two quot;
Forever, I ain't gon' be rappin
Shit'll happen to me, I gotta let niggaz know
This mark asked me do I know his cousin Jimbo
Nigga, I don't even know myself
You want me to get you in
Jack, I'm trying to get through the do' myself
Opportunity knocked, but he ain't call 'fore he came
Yeah, I got a name, but only twenty dollars to it
Next album you gon' blow, up my ass, you done blew it before
Being in my video, what's that gonna do for your life
Get you some pussy You should be gettin rump off GP
Quit that you look like you say I seen you on TV
I be readin niggaz but readin be makin me sleepy (Hey!)
So strong am I, A Hundred Styles and Runnin
Niggaz stuck on one and them-a ran by
Claimin they fly but they stand-by
I come truer than a dream, and youse a damn lie
With that anti-rap, complainin about this and about that
Sounding bitch like, that ain't gonna make a nigga get right
I'm number one
(Dug Infinite) One two many niggaz tryin to tell me bout they theory
(Common) One two many niggaz that ain't tryin to hear me
(Dug Infinite) One two many niggaz doin shows that don't happen
(Common) One two many niggaz life depend on rappin
(both) That's one two many niggaz
Just one two many niggaz (2X)
(both) That's one two many niggaz
Just one two many niggaz
(Chuck D) quot;One, two quot;
(Dug Infinite) One two many niggaz can't find they niche
(Common) One two many niggaz wanna be my bitch *echoed*
Nigga, one two many niggaz (repeat to fade)

[Vinia Mojica]
*Singing in Spanish*
[Common]
What what, we do this time
Rock rock....
Yes, let this music travel through you
Talk about feelings, yeah yo
Yo wassup world
Yo what's happening
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been, time travelin *echoes*
Time travelin *echoes*
Yo, I was a piano player in my last lifetime
Now I write rhymes, sip white wine and let my light shine
Out the dark space, with the world on my mind like Scarface
though my sex drive like a car chase
More than a uhh, it's the piece of mind I chase
Stakes are high, like my uncle is
We both got problems, he never confronted his
Under the bridge I wrote, some shit to stay afloat
And paint a picture, raw like the first coat
Send my old man a note to keep his phone on
My little cuz'll know cheap tricks are homegrown
Travel to a place sweeter than home, listenin to Nina Simone
Repeat this psalm, to the sky I'm keepin my palms
Facin the east, actions macin the beast
Embracin the streets, my god caught a case cuz he beat
His lady down, it's two-thou
That ain't the way we lay it down
Souls get, found and lost at the roads they cross
Many paid dues, but few knew the costs
I ran through the Moss like Randy
Touchindown wit God, close friends, and family
Recognize the voice in the wilderness
Com Sense, '92 and I'm still in this
Time travelin, took my time in hand
My rhyme learn and plan
Jealousy, money and pride can burn a man
Some walk but never learn to stand
Still, afraid to expand what they feel
I'm dealin wit, wakes, marriages
ATM's, Ericsson's
Loud niggas that whisper carelessness
If we livin in Revelation
Why should the people of the sun have to run
Come to Esau in a year, he'll have freedom
He ask why I hadn't been to see him
Really, I ain't have a good reason
He said, quot;Rah, give back what you receivin quot;
In a race against time, I was caught
In the same game as you, but long live the sport
It's time travelin
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been
Time travelin *fades out* time travelin....
Time travelin *echoes*
Time travelin *echoes*
Yeah, yo wassup world, yo what's happening
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been
Time travelin *echoes*

Ha, yeah, yeah
Uhh, yeah, yeah, play at your own risk
Act like you know bitch I'm on some grown shit
Ha, yeah, yeah, play at your own risk
Act like you know bitch I'm on some grown shit
It's the Thelonious, super microphonist
You know us, this rap shit we 'bout to own it
You know it, these Mini-Me's tryin to clone us
I got a bonus for the bitch that run up on us
I got a bonus for your bitch that run up on us
It's the Thelonious, super microphonist
Uhh, no time to sleep cuz if you sleep you don't eat
Gotta hold heat, just to make ends meet
Niggas livin on the street while other niggas feast
Aight wit you it aint aight wit me
Right, gotta make money all my life
Gotta stay fuckin bitches many types
Yeah you know what I'm talkin 'bout
Yup, stay turnin these bitches out
Dick em down also dick em out
Throw somethin down whenever my dick's out
They know me so they restructure and reroute
They know me from Washington to down south
All the way to London to my nigga Common house
Right, it's like a game we never play out, out, out, out...
Nigga no doubt, nigga get live or get knocked the fuck out
Word up, just be about what you about dogg
Knowhatimsayin, just play at your own risk
Act like you know bitch I'm on some grown shit
It's the Thelonious, super microphonist
You know us, this rap shit we 'bout to own it
You know it, cuz you can feel it in your throat
Say it
I'm 'bout to let my mind float
(Com, say it)
Get your third eye poked
Fuck game, I assemble dope...
Ness, a nigga that's fresh as the 'fess
Studied this rap shit, no need to mic test
You can feel it in your chest
Your B I, feel it in her breasts
Plus you, rhyme like a nigga wit his nipples pierced
We lick off lyrics in the streets and real niggas hear us
Dreamin when I wrote this, box me if I go too wild
Still doin this shit like dude in wild style
Invitin wack niggas to dinner
I quot;Trick Daddy quot; emcees and I don't know, quot;Nann Nigga quot;
Who can take it where I take it
You better goin to God like Mase did
Leavin crowds complacent
I move em above clouds whether on some surf and turf shit
Or thug style you can feel it in your body
Yeah y'all you can feel it in your body
Like if a 12 gauge shottie shell hit your body
You don't want no one to find your ass a hobby
Carbon copy, niggas tryin to clone us
You know us, Thelonious, super microphone
You know this, rap shit we 'bout to own it dun, for real
Ay, it's like a ritual
You been invited let the mortal body stimulate the place
With the grace, nevertheless, I stress
Let the music put a smile on your face
As for the ritual, when it comes to spiritual excellence
You know I always leave you with the taste
I know you like it hard to the core
That's what you ask for, you achin for the best
Hurtin like a sore in that ass, like a ritual
Conversation with the most high makes me wanna cry
I wonder why, you wanna get to paradise
But that itty bitty part of you don't wanna die
So pay attention to my word, cuz it's the truth
Meditation ease the mind, and brings the youth
It's like a verse you could never read out of a book
Droppin the line in your mind like a fish hook
Word is birth, yo I do it till the break of day
Pay attention to your art, never go astray
Word is bond
Yo we do it and we don't quit
Sucka nigga you don't want it, it's Thelonious
Ownin this rap shit, super microphonist, and we known to spit
I spit fire like Esther on Sanford and Son did
I'm raw dude, more juice than Sunkiss
You want this, so MJ kept sayin the rhyme flawless
Shit fly like MJ in his prime, quot;Off The Wall quot; wit mines
I'm grabbin my balls when I rhyme, nine nines bustin plus
Ball all the time, now stay on your mind like great sex
You aint on my mind I'm thinkin 'bout paychecks
Niggas large like an Adex Avirex jacket
Yo the gods they bust like latex sex packets
Emcees they don't rhyme and ball, they lyin' to y'all
They dyin' to ball, the rhyme we do all the time
We do all the fine bitches they fall in lines
Me and my mans is somethin like the Source Sports
We gettin money a long time and y'all short
My niggas bounce and full rise and y'alls fall
You funny doo, cuz really you think you can do me
When you roll a 500 that's really a 320
Should of let somebody else hook it
Numbers look crooked like King Kong shook it
I'm from where niggas bang gats when they celebrate
That's how they play, don't let it be a holiday
Thelonious niggas, if you testin us we get you laid back
Show you the definition of a pay back

Uhh..
[Common]
It's the questions (what..) it's the questions boy
It's the questions (What) it's the questions c'mon
The questions (WHAT) it's the questions boy
It's the questions (hah) it's the questions yeah
Talkin bout the questions, it's the questions y'all
It's the questions (what) it's the questions, dig it
The questions (why) it's the questions boy
It's the questions (huh) that's what it's all about
Yo, yo..
What is an emcee if the wall ain't got no back
(I don't know, yo, he must be kinda wack)
What is paper to a nigga if the nigga don't stack
(Yo, why the hell you askin me that)
Why do these girls, look so good in the summer
(I don't know, I'm just sayin this shit)
If you got ta-dat-ta-dat-tap for your lady wouldja wanna
(Hmmm.. yeah, right)
Cause you answer the phone quot;peace quot; do that mean that you not a freak
(Hell no! That's right)
Cause you recognize me-e-e-e-e, yo, I got to speak
(Why can't you speak What you big a star now)
Why you got-ta, act like, nigga, all the time
(Even on SUNDAY's you should..)
Is a nigga yo' complexion, is it all in your mind
(It's all your mind..)
What's it called y'all
It's the questions (WHAT) it's the questions boy
It's the questions (What) it's the questions, yeah!
The questions (uhh) it's the questions y'all
It's the questions (WHAT) it's the questions c'mon
The questions, it's the questions boy
It's the questions (ahh, uh ahh) it's the questions, yeah
The questions (yes) it's the questions boy
It's the questions - that's what it's all about
Yo, if I'm a intellectual-al, I can't be sexual
(I don't know, you wanna be sexual)
If I want to uhh tah uhh does that mean I lack respect for you
(I don't know you tell me..)
Youse a grown man, why fuck that young girl, are you lustin
(I might look twenty but I'm 15 - slow down girl)
If you got paper like that, then why you still hustlin
(Why you still hustlin C'mon!)
Now you know yo' stomach too big, to be wearin a shirt like that
(Look at your stomach - ewww it's sloppy)
So why, you want, to go and do that
[Mos Def]
Why ya why ya why ya why ya why ya wanna why ya wanna
Why ya wanna go and do that love huh
Yo why your girl gi-giddy when my name come up
{*female giggling*}
How come the industry build careers that don't last
(Uh-huh, that's right, ask him)
How come niggaz don't know but they front and don't ask
(Mmmmhmmm) Man I don't know, I don't know
[Common]
It's the questions (WHAT) it's the questions girl
It's the questions (What) it's the questions c'mon
The questions (WHAT) it's the questions Com
It's the questions (hah) it's the questions yeah
Yo we talkin bout the questions, it's the questions girl
It's the questions (the who, the where, the when, the why)
It's the questions, c'mon!!
The questions.. the questions y'all (yo we shoutin it out)
It's the questions - that's what it's all about
[Mos Def]
Yo, why they say never say never, when they know that ain't right
(What)
Cause to never say never you done said never twice
(They scrubs, that's why - yeah that's twice)
Why do I need I.D. to get I.D.
(I don't know, beats me.. beats me)
If I had I.D. I wouldn't need I.D.
(Hahahahah, that's right - that's true)
Why do these fine ghetto women got so much ass
(Why'd you talkin about our ass though C'mon now)
Why did Dr. J shave his beard and mustache
(Like this.. and like this)
How you got high expectations but got no patience
(C'mon, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know)
How come this joint named quot;The Questions quot; is so John Blazin'
(Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh) Man I don't know, I don't know
[Common + Mos Def]
It's the questions (what..) it's the questions boy
It's the questions, it's just my questions black
Some questions - it's the questions y'all
It's the questions (what) it's the questions, yo
Talkin bout the questions, it's the questions girl
It's the questions (what) it's the questions, c'mon
The questions (which) and we're shoutin it out
It's the questions (huh) that's what it's all about, yo
{*continues to fade with ad libs..*}

Yeah..
Doo-doo-doo, mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm..
Doo-doo-d-doo, diggy-doo YO..
I never knew a luh, luh-luh, a love like this
Gotta be somethin for me to write this
Queen, I ain't seen you in a minute
Wrote this letter, and finally decide to send it
Signed sealed delivered for us to grow together
Love has no limit, let's spend it slow forever
I know your heart is weathered by what studs did to you
I ain't gon' assault em cause I probably did it too
Because of you, feelings I handle with care
Some niggaz recognize the light but they can't handle the glare
You know I ain't the type to walk around with matchin shirts
If relationship is effort I will match your work
I wanna be the one to make you happiest, it hurts you the most
They say the end is near, it's important that we close..
.. to the most, high
Regardless of what happen on him let's rely
There are times.. when you'll need someone..
I will be by your side..
There is a light, that shines,
special for you, and me..
Yo, yo, check it
It's important, we communicate
and tune the fate of this union, to the right pitch
I never call you my bitch or even my boo
There's so much in a name and so much more in you
Few understand the union of woman and man
And sex and a tingle is where they assume that it land
But that's fly by night for you and the sky I write
For in these cold Chi night's moon, you my light
If heaven had a height, you would be that tall
Ghetto to coffee shop, through you I see that all
Let's stick to understandin and we won't fall
For better or worse times, I hope to me you call
So I pray everyday more than anything
friends will stay as we begin to lay
this foundation for a family - love ain't simple
Why can't it be anything worth having you work at annually
Granted we known each other for some time
It don't take a whole day to recognize sunshine
There are times.. when you'll need someone..
I will be by your side, oh darling
There is a light, that shines,
special for you, and me..
Yeah.. yo, yo, check it
It's kinda fresh you listen to more than hip-hop
and I can catch you in the mix from beauty to thrift shop
Plus you ship hop when it's time to, thinkin you fresh
Suggestin beats I should rhyme to
At times when I'm lost I try to find you
You know to give me space when it's time to
My heart's dictionary defines you, it's love and happiness
Truthfully it's hard tryin to practice abstinence
The time we committed love it was real good
Had to be for me to arrive and it still feel good
I know the sex ain't gon' keep you, but as my equal
it's how I must treat you
As my reflection in light I'ma lead you
And whatever's right, I'ma feed you
Digga-da, digga-da, digga-da, digga-digga-da-da
Yo I tell you the rest when I see you, peace
There are times.. when you'll need someone..
I will be by your side..
There is a light, that shines,
special for you, and me..
(I'll) take my chances.. before they pass..
.. pass me by, oh darling..
You need to look at the other side..

The revolution will not be televised
The revolution is here
Yeah, it's Common Sense, with DJ Premier
We gonna help y'all see clear
It's real hip-hop music, from the soul, y'all
Yeah, check it, yo
The perseverence of a rebel I drop heavier levels
It's unseen or heard, a king with words
Can't knock the hustle, but I've seen street dreams deferred
Dark spots in my mind where the scene occured
Some say I'm too deep, I'm in too deep to sleep
Through me, Muhammed will forever speak
Greet brothers with handshakes in ghetto landscapes
Where a man is determined by how much a man make
Cop Cognacs and spit old raps with young cats
with cigarettes in their ear, niggerish they appear
Under the Fubu is a guru, that's untapped
Want to be in the rap race but ain't ran one lap
Ran so far from the streets that you can't come back
You tripping with nowhere to unpack, forgot that
Chorus: (Scratched by DJ Premier with variations):
"This is rap for real, something you feel"
"And you know, yes you know"
"Rap for the black people"
"Heeeeyyyy, heeeeeyyyy"
In front of two-inch glass and Arabs I order fries
Inspiration when I write, I see my daughter's eyes
I'm the truth, across the table from corporate lies
Immortilized by the realness I bring to it
If revolution had a movie I'd be theme music
My music, you either fight, fuck, or dream to it
My life is one big rhyme, I try to scheme through it
Through my shell, never knew what the divine would bring to it
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want millions
More than money saved, I wanna save children
Dealing with alcoholism and afrocentricity
A complex man drawn off of simplicity
Reality is frisking me
This industry will make you lose intensity
The Common Sense in me remembers the basement
I'm Morpheus in this hip-hop Matrix, exposing fake shit
Chorus
Somedays I take the L to gel with the real world
Got on at 87th, stopped by this little girl
She recited raps, I forgot where they was from
In 'em, she was saying how she made brothers cum
I start thinking, how many souls hip-hop has affected
How many dead folks this art resurrected
How many nations this culture connected
Who am I to judge one's perspective?
Though some of that shit y'all pop true it, I ain't relating
If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hating
I just want to innovate and stimulate minds
Travel the world and penetrate the times
Escape through rhythms in search of peace and wisdom
Raps are smoke signals letting the streets know I'm with 'em
For now I appreciate this moment in time
Ball players and actors be knowing my rhymes, it's like

God bless...
[D'Angelo]
hmmmmm..., doo doooo, doo doooo, yeah..., yeah..., oooh
Know I love my baby, My baby loves me
Layin in some heaven, need a little company
Let's go into a heaven, time to get some Geto Heaven
Geto...
[Verse 1]
Searchin for a love, throughout the ghetto
Young girls is thick, righteousness is narrow
I got my third, I want the sparrow
Want my peoples straight and rock sweet apparrel
The mother of my child, we not together
Baby it's your back, I got forever
As the weather, talks to us
Him rockin the Holy Spirit walks through us
The blunted eyes of the youth search for a guide
A thug is a lost man in disguise
The rise and fall, of a nation, even when the buildings tumble
I still stand tall, I walk through the valley, wit a life preserver
Feelin at times, that I might just murder
Yo but that aint what I was sent for
I want folks to say his life it meant more
Than ?any ca, any ba ca? any broad
He found Geto Heaven in himself and God
[D'Angelo]
Geto Heaven...
Standin in some Geto Heaven
Geto Heaven...
Standin in some Geto Heaven
Geto...
[Verse 2]
Love, your happiness don't begin wit a man
Strong woman, why should you depend on a man
I understand you want a man that's resourceful
If he pay your bills, he feel like he bought you
Talkin to a friend, about what love is
Her man didn't love her, cuz he didn't love his
Hugged her from afar, said what I felt
You never find a man, till you find yourself
Time helps mistakes, you can learn from
Cuz one man fucked up men you shouldn't turn from
You want a certain type of guy, gotta reach a certain point too
At the destination, a king will annoint you
Goin through the storm, many bodies stay warm
That relationship died, for you to be born, you worth more
Than anything you could cop in a store
For you to grow he had to go so what you stoppin him for
Not even I could ignore bein alone it's hard
Find heaven in yourself and God
[D'Angelo]
I know I love my baby
My baby loves me
I'm layin in some heaven, need a little company, yeah
It's twenty four seven, time to get some Geto Heaven
Time to get some Geto Heaven
Geto Heaven, Geto Heaven
It's time to get some Geto Heaven
Time to get some Geto Heaven, ohhhhhh...
[Verse 3]
This music is so much bigger than me
As far as happy, yo it's like a trigger to me
Dealin with crab rappers, and groupie broads
Record execs, at times it do be hard
But to choose words, and be heard across waters
Doin something you like to support daughters
Keepin your guys who collectin court orders
Conveyin messages that the ancestors brought us
Thought of things to say to become the end thing for the day
Somehow, that didn't seem the way for me to make it
Music is a gift that is sacred
I hope you didn't use it hopin you could grow to it
Whether servin or a surgeon, you gon go through it
Can't imagine goin through it, without soul music
It's like Donnie Hath' helped me see Lonnie's path
On my behalf, let's take whole steps to Imhotep
And show depth, as we make people nod
Find heaven in this music and God
Find heaven in this music and God
Find heaven in this music and God
[D'Angelo]
Geto Heaven
Geto Heaven
Geto Heaven, yeah, yeah
Geto Heaven, my baby
Geto Heaven, my baby
Geto Heaven, my baby
Geto Heaven, my baby

[Common]
Yo.. I don't know what was on y'all niggaz birds(?)
to go up to the boat - and start robbin old folks
Now see you done messed with the wrong old lady
You done went wild; yo, check it..
There was a Hardy Boy mystery I tried to solve again
Dude that broke in my crib - it wasn't involvin him
Four in the mornin, my phone ringin
I'm thinkin, "Who da fuck is this," on the other line screamin
Told em, "Keep(?) down," but they was breathin hard
It was my grandmother tellin me that she had been robbed
I told her hold (hold) tight (tight), I'd be right over
Freezin but this situation made the night colder
Knew this was the night (that what?) that she played poker
with some friends in a club at the boat gettin bub'
Said she seen these thugs on the boat for a while (uhh)
Not gamblin but every now and then they'd smile
Then BLAOW! They had(?) Mag's
and told everybody, "Put your shit in the bag"
Made people strip naked, quicker than a Luke record (what?)
Had the place took in a minute and some seconds
Asked her how many of it was em? (How many of it was em?)
Said she couldn't remember
She was spooked and buzzin, couldn't describe em
cause it happened too fast (what?) said they looked like me
with they pants hangin off they ass
Got her some water - and begin to think
How these niggaz take her wig, her bracelet and her mink?
Somebody round the crib know the deal (uhh)
Whoever did it better have Blue Shield for real
cause yo, it's the big payback..
{*cuts n scratches*, Com ad-libs}
[Common]
Later that day I went to the 'shop, to see what was up
Them niggaz probably knew somethin plus I needed a cut
Walked in they was playin Jigga (jihh-gga..)
Discussin how Da Brat titties done got bigger
These niggaz next to me, was talkin bout the heist
Whoever did it even got Jordan for his ice
Said that it was done so precise the cops ain't know nut-nin
Had to use all my might not to ask no questions
Put down the magazine, went to the pop machine
Noticin these cats, had the Bling Bling
They wouldn't be talkin if they did it; it could be they team
A week ago neither one of these niggaz had a ring
This Hype(?) came in, sellin CD's; said the BD's
was braggin bout robbery they had done
By now, I'm thinkin bout my gun if I see gramps bracelet
I'ma play racist (and what?) and make niggaz run
It's the big payback..
{*cuts n scratches*, Com ad-libs}
[Common]
My imagination roamed as I got in the chair
Thinkin - when shit went down, I was I was there
Fuckin with fam' - who you are, I don't care
Have your guys pourin liquor witch'ya name in they swear
These chicks claim they was there, knew the niggaz who done it
Said it was Smoke and them from the Wild 100's
Eight million stories got me runnin in place, it's gettin tricky
(like who?) like dude, that do drum'n'bass
There was a air in the place, that made me suspicious
Normally, they'd be talkin like bitches
My barber cut me with a quickness (what?)
Asked him where he got the new bracelet;
he said it was his sister's - I knew then
What made it official, he gave me my change
The money clip had gramp's initials (c'mon)
As I, whooped his ass up, six niggaz masked up
Pulled up in a Cadillac truck {*gunfire*}
[police scanner]
.. three-alarm fire ?? and a possible homicide
The building is entitled "The Ultimate Barbershop"
There are six unidentified bodies in the building
They are all presumed dead
I repeat they are all presumed dead
However there are no suspects
I repeat the subjects are at large
we might need some backup..
Inform O'Malley that we need backup, over..
The skit definitely needs more ?? added to it
plus a new writer for the script, thank you..

[Common]
Yeah baby boy
In the place (for you and yours) to be
Da uh da uh, we got the uh ya'll
We bout to rock ya'll, we got the uh baby...
Yo yo yo check it
Excite-ting, enlight-ning, invite-ting
I'm writin shit that I feel
Raps are Black Steel In the Hour of commotion, the motion of Com
Is like that of a ocean, devotion cuz I'm
The Earth, Wind, and Fire of hip hop
By Rakim and Short I been inspired
My shit knocks environ---ments
of cats wit seventeen's tint, time is money
The mind is funny, how it's spent on gettin it
It's sittin wit descendants of Abraham
Who say the jam is quot;Money, Cash, Hoes quot;
I went from bashful to asshole to international
Lover-self, word to the mother on my last record cover it's felt
Now deal wit it
Chorus: Bilal
I wanna get into it
Let's do this
I wanna see you move it
So move it
So let's just get into it
Let's do this
Can you feel the music
The music oh ah, can you feel the music, the music
[Common]
Yo check it yo
In this never-ending battle to please
Niggas, magazine writers, MC's
Who request hot shit, I freeze
And tell em where I was rose, we always said cold
Hold your Horses and ya Carriages, this never-went-gold nigga
Rocks shows care-less
You not gon' respect self, at least respect the heritage
Affect the lives, the spread of wealth and the merit is
I realize what I portray day to day, I gotta carry this
And beats, rhymes and life is where the marriage is
Had Dreams of Fuckin R amp;B broads, it came true
Journalist I wreck, shared the same view
Picked up a fallen angel on the path that I MC
Familiar voice, come to find out the angel was me
Some say quot;You changin, Rashid quot;
Times are, we still close
I rhyme far, away away away
From what you accustomed to hearin everyday, uh-ah
You know the dope-choppin, gun-poppin, homies dyin
I'm amongst it, save the war stories for Private Ryan, INI
Chorus
[Common]
Yo check it yo
Women cry, children laugh, men dance
I refuse to lose self and try to win fans over
Weight on my shoulder fluctuates like Oprah's
My refrigerator poetry's magnetic like ultra
You couldn't hang if you was a poster
Posin like a bitch for exposure
It's rumors of gay MC's, just don't come around me wit it
You still rockin hickies, don't let me find out he did it
Got My Eyes on the Tiger, Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the thighs of Mary J. Blige, imagin on how good the cat must be
Stop eatin meat, lost weight, but I still rap husky
My verse depth is that of a baby's first step
Or the old lady who died and the nurse wept
I flow like cursive writing, invitin you and yours to my openess
Shows allow me to cop Range/range like a vocalist
But man does not live on bread alone
What good is a Range/range when it's time to head home
Chorus 2x
[Common] *during chorus on the second time*
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac
We be that, we be that
Afrodisiac, disiac yeah

Chorus: Bilal, Jill Scott
Alright.....Okay [4X']
Alright......We'll make it funky for you now
[Common]
I'm a child of the ahh - The 87 ahh
From the streets - Get on a beat and go ahh
I could break it down like whatever ya ahh
On some K-R-S be here forever type unh
You-you-you-you know you shouldn't rhyme like unh
Let them pussy niggas get in your mind like unh
Baby boy you could do it take your time do it....
If you get the chance
To be a man in a b-boy stance and advanced from the go
I'll trace outer space with a unh
The baby-sitter of styles - I've traveled miles with
bitches and....I've traveled miles with.....
I've traveled miles with bitches and brew the ritual
of the real unh
Your platinum but real unh's don't feel you
You sampled real unh's and then filtered
I'm built to last - at last I'm free
The Roots and SV be the family tree
SV and the Roots be the family tree
The Roots and SV and the tree is unh
Come on
Chorus;
As long as it's funky....alright..okay [yeah]
As long as it's funky...alright
As long as it's funky...alright...okay
As long as it's funky...funky for you now
I style for the ohhh - wild for the ohhh
Baby girl let's go half on a child for the ohhh
Lick shot's pop lock and blaow for the oohh
Like Ra-I'll move a crowd for the ohhh
You talkin' loud but ain't sayin' ohhh
Trickin' paper on a unh... Captain Save-a-ohhh
I've never been.. the type of nigga..
to take.. a broad to the courts
As a shorty I was always into sports
Now I talk to drums and walk in slums and thoughts that's ohhh
Instinct to hustle-divided by the struggle
Plus a couple of scuffle's and up to high shuffle
Even when it sound muffled..
I bust through.. narrow gates..
with king-sized thoughts that's sparrow shaped
Before I came up I had to elevate
Let a nigga move where he wanna move up to
You don't like how I'm livin... well fuck ohhh
I stuck to what I was on... a star is born on a cusp
Many angel's fell to the dust
Leavin' me to trust... only a ohhh
Leavin' me to trust y'all only a ohhh
Leavin' me to trust in a - ahh ohhh ohhh ohhh
ohhh
Yo
Chorus: repeat 4X
As long as it's funky [yeah]
alright..okay
Let your.. imagination.. dance to the..
Dance to the.. dance to the hey
Like nobody's watchin in a b-boy stance to the hey
I'm funky like Africans in France to the hey
Yo hey.. kick in the bass you..
Chasin paper like a bitch in a race
Spit on or death, I still ain't picked up the ace
The hundred.. styles I run with thick in the race
So let's ohhh.. yeah unh hunh
Chorus

[Common]
Cold-blooded, cold-blooded, hard-core
Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
For you and your-your, for you and your
You got the C to the, huh - cold-blooded
Ain't it - huh, c'mon - hard-core
We take it hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh-er
Yo, yo
My little daughter, started, nursery school
Brother Com, gotta make our move through
the stylist(?) and violence with vibrance
The sign of times with rhyme shit is timeless
The mind is a terrible thing to spill
Rap life's like a dream that seems for real
A nigga wake up, superstar, with no acres
after, travellin the world to see paper's just paper
Streets take ya, back and forth like a shaker
I'm a slave to the rhythm's breakin off
I get the job done - but some days I wanna take off
D be like, "We ain't got no time for that!"
?uestlove said, "We ain't got no time for that!"
My old bird like, "We ain't got no time for that!"
So I rhyme when my back hurts
Play the numbers from my grandmother like Kraftwerk
I rock the patchwork fast I'm in to win but then begin to sin
we're in to win with Hen's and Heineken's
Beast for each and greet the meek with speech
to seek and peak cause Pete, shit gets deep
I fuh-fuh-freak, styles that come out
at night, when most cats pull the gun out
Go on and on and, to the break of when the
sound run out, run out, r-run out
C uhh, yeah
Cold-blooded (c'mon) cold-blooded, hard-core
(hit em with the) Rough and rugged (c'mon) rugged and raw
(hey) for you and yours, for you and yours
You got the C, uhh - cold-blooded (yeah)
cold-blooded (c'mon) hard-core
(ain't it funky) Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
for you and yours, for you and yours
(Yo, yo I-I think I wanna taste these horns
I want you to taste these horns, c'mon now)
C, the cold-blooded (uh) cold-blooded (yeah) hard-core
(ain't it) Rough and rugged (uh) rugged and raw
(yeah baby that's what I'm talkin about
c'mon, give em, give us a little more)
for you and yours, for you and yours
C to the, cold-blooded (na, na-nasty) cold-blooded, hard-core
(c'mon) Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
(Yo, aight let let me get a little taste of this here)
for you and yours, for you and yours..
[Common]
The simps, please uhh uhh uhh uhh
These studs mention me, uhh uhh uhh uhh
As a, intense MC, sent to be the reign
on the industry I came
With penitentiary talk, Coke and a Hennesey walk
My imagery talks, metaphors and similes stalk
Time for war, my artillery caulks the hardest nigga
I'm killin 'em soft
Dealin with golf, gettin blowed on the course
I be dissin magazines, but then buy The Source
Can't explain why the force, is with me
Known to bring a rapper down - like Bobby did Whitney
Sophisticated sissies strut like this is Beat Street in backpacks
Braggin how they don't eat meat and abstract
I backsmack em with they skateboard, flee the crime scene
with a rhyme scheme to escape frauds
Make broads become queens, run things like a rasta sprinter
The way you want the game I rub off like Henner
I remain like a tattoo with natural raps
Copy like a fax that's y'all actual facts
Battle raps is where it began, I'ma end it wherever I land
I done thought of, a master plan, it goes
C to the, cold-blooded (yeah, c'mon)
cold-blooded, (ya know) hard-core
(ain't it) Rough and rugged, (c'mon) rugged and raw
for you and yours, for you and yours
You got the C to the, cold-blooded
cold-blooded, hard-core
Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
for you and yours, for you and yours
You got the C to the, cold-blooded (yeah, hey)
cold-blooded (na-nasty, yo yo) hard-core
Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
(ain't it, ain't it) for you and yours, for you and yours
You got the C to the, cold-blooded
cold-blooded, (c'mon) hard-core
Rough and rugged, rugged and raw
for you and yours, for you and yours..

(Common)
In the Spirit of God.
In the Spirit of the Ancestors.
In the Spirit of the Black Panthers.
In the Spirit of Assata Shakur.
We make this movement towards freedom
for all those who have been oppressed, and all those in the struggle.
Yeah. yo, check it-
There were lights and sirens, gunshots firin
Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent
Seemed like a bad dream, she laid in a blood puddle
Blood bubbled in her chest, cold air brushed against open flesh
No room to rest, pain consumed each breath
Shot twice wit her hands up
Police questioned but shot before she answered
One Panther lost his life, the other ran for his
Scandalous the police were as they kicked and beat her
Comprehension she was beyond, tryna hold on
to life. She thought she'd live with no arm
that's what it felt like, got to the hospital, eyes held tight
They moved her room to room-she could tell by the light
Handcuffed tight to the bed, through her skin it bit
Put guns to her head, every word she got hit
quot;Who shot the trooper quot; they asked her
Put mace in her eyes, threatened to blast her
Her mind raced till things got still
Opened her eyes, realized she's next to her best friend who got killed
She got chills, they told her: that's where she would be next
Hurt mixed wit anger-survival was a reflex
They lied and denied visits from her lawyer
But she was buildin as they tried to destroy her
If it wasn't for this german nurse they woulda served her worse
I read this sister's story, knew that it deserved a verse
I wonder what would happen if that woulda been me
All this shit so we could be free, so dig it, y'all.
(Cee-lo vocals)
I'm thinkin' of Assata, yes.
Listen to my Love, Assata, yes.
Your Power and Pride is beautiful.
May God bless your Soul.
(Common)
It seemed like the middle of the night when the law awakened her
Walkie-talkies cracklin, I see 'em when they takin her
Though she kinda knew,
What made the ride peaceful was the trees and the sky was blue
Arrived to Middlesex Prison about six inna morning
Uneasy as they pushed her to the second floor in
a cell, one cot, no window, facing hell.
Put in the basement of a prison wit all males
And the smell of misery, seatless toilets and centipedes
She'd exercise, (paint,) and begin to read
Two years inna hole. Her soul grew weak
Away from people so long she forgot how to speak
She discovered frredom is a unspoken sound
And a wall is a wall and can be broken down
Found peace in the Panthers she went on trial with
One of the brothers she had a child with
The foulness they would feed her, hopin she's lose her seed
Held tight, knowing the fight would live through this seed
In need of a doctor, from her stomach she's bleed
Out of this situation a girl was conceived
Separated from her, left to mother the Revolution
And lactated to attack hate
Cause federal and state was built for a Black fate
Her emptiness was filled with beatings and court dates
They fabricated cases, hoping one would stick
And said she robbed places that didn't exist
In the midst of threats on her life and being caged with Aryan whites
Through dark halls of hate she carried the light
I wonder what would happen if that woulda been me
All of this shit so we could be free.
Yeah, I often wonder what would happen if that woulda been me
All of this shit so we could be free, so dig it, people-
(Cee-Lo)
I'm thinkin' of Assata, yeah.
Listen to my Love, Assata, yeah.
Your Power and Pride, so Beautiful...
May God bless your Soul.
Oooh.
(Common)
Yo
From North Carolina her grandmother would bring
news that she had had a dream
Her dreams always meant what they needed them to mean
What made them real was the action in between
She dreamt that Assata was free in they old house in Queens
The fact that they always came true was the thing
Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldna done
Medical evidence shown she couldna shot the gun
It's time for her to see the sun from the other side
Time for her daughter to be by her mother's side
Time for this Beautiful Woman to become soft again
Time for her to breathe, and not be told how or when
She untangled the chains and escaped the pain
How she broke out of prison I could never explain
And even to this day they try to get to her
but she's free with political asylum in Cuba.
(Cee-Lo vocals)
I'm thinkin' of Assata, yeah.
Listen to my Love, Assata, yeah.
We're molded from the same mud, Assata.
We share the same Blood, Assata, yeah.
Your Power and Pride, so Beautiful...
May God bless your Soul.
Your Power and Pride, so Beautiful...
May God bless your Soul.
Oooh.
(Assata)
Freedom! You askin me about freedom. Askin me about freedom
I'll be honest with you. I know a whole more about what freedom isn't
than about what it is, cause I've never been free.
I can only share my vision with you of the future, about what freedom is.
Uhh, the way I see it, freedom is-- is the right to grow, is the right to
blossom.
Freedom is -is the right to be yourself, to be who you are,
to be who you wanna be, to do what you wanna do. (fade out)

[Common talking]
Yea,Yea,Yea
You know, they call me a pimp, and you know what that mean
I'm a Person that's Making Profit. See I pimp internationally
I'm nationally recognized, locally accepted
I pimp with the truth, that's the only method
[Common]
Seen her on Madison where Vice Lords be Travelin
And Chevy windows be rattlin
and badder than any other broads that I've seen in these parts
Her body language spoke like a smart remark, eyebrows arched
Thick lips, blond wig, nice tits, ass the size that I dig
Asked her the name, one way to approach her
See she had game, she needed me to coach her
Expose her to some paper, freedom and culture
The way a righteous pimp is supposed to
[MC Lyte]
As he came closer in his eyes I seen fortune
I ain't having it like abortion
Walking with this stick holding his tip
Looked like a Black Panther that was trying to pimp
It was cold as shit, I'm waitin on my ride
Act like I didn't see him I tried
[Common]
Motion denied (pause)
I felt the vibe like Roy Ayers
She was used to seeing pimps in furs and gators
Told her I'm an innovator, a gentlemen of leisure
That's in tuned with nature, hold Common's hand
I'm a take you to a pimps promise land
Where no man can break ya, break ya, break ya
Chorus: Bilal (singing)
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers,
customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers,
customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
[Common]
{hey girl, come on over here, check it out)
Make your next move your best move, choose me
[MC Lyte]
How I look working for a nigga in a cuffe'
If I was on a track you couldn't produce me
With them shits on your wrist looking goofy
[Common]
(yea ok)
I pimp without a pause, for the cause, I'm a rebel
You been on the streets I'm trying to take you to another level
You used to the same game, cats saying the same thang
Nigga you gone ho underground or ho mainstream
[MC Lyte]
Nigga you must not know of me
I'm the mack here
Ought to have you ho for me (Common: get real now)
Pimp yo punk ass
Have you write me poetry
I'm from a land called cash
You too slow for me
[Common]
You know why
I'm thinking bigger than Bagets
Birds in slick cars
Or have you on the corner trickin in strip bars
If you become mine the world would be ours
Respect the game, and universal laws
[MC Lyte]
What, I oughta pimp slap your ass and make you fall against the wall
(Common: try it)
Why you in the game if you ain't even trying to ball
I know pimpin ain't easy but damn you barely surviving
We can't ride together cause you ain't driving
(Common: oh it's like that)
Chorus
[Common]
(this, this, this really how I look at it check it)
You and I together is like Ashford and Simpson
Picture us elbow to elbow at the hustler's convention
[MC Lyte]
Think I'm gone risk my ass then give you the cash (Common: yep)
That shit is the past
I got my own stable (Common: where at)
I oughta pierce your navel and put you on the track
Matter of fact I been looking for a ho that's abstract
[Common]
Girl you getting beside yourself
I'm trying to guide you
Help you see inside yourself
I pimp with vision, I'm a help you see the light
Have you covering your body and have you eating right
[MC Lyte]
(is that right)
I'm pimp ho's, pimp pens, (Common: Say what)
Pimp rhythms, pimp flows,
Pimp men (Common: and pimp what)
Pimp systems
Got stores called big pimpin (Common: Where)
Down South
In Texas I ran the best ho house
[Common]
(So)
I pimp from Brazil to um, Tokyo
Have Japanese broads sayin 'choushi wa dou' (MC Lyte: Yea right)
Bring'em back to the states to turn dates from Europe
Made the dirtiest of hoes seem purer
[MC Lyte]
(HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha)
(Common: Why you laughin)
I'm laughin cause you funny
I'm make bitch niggaz like you have my money
I get six hundred off yo' skinny ass weekly
You'll get all them righteous hoes in that dashiki
[Common]
Yo, what ever happened to loyalty
Don't you want to become royalty
On the streets selling ass and oils for me
But you on this ho-asis and really I can't reach you
Fuckyou then I'm about to be a preacher
[Common talking and Bilal Singing Background]
Well there you have it ya'll
The story of pimps and hoes ya'll know how it goes
It's been the oldest profession
The whole thing is like a lesson
Ain't no second guessin
Pimps ya'll, hustlers
All that good shit
Yea, yea 2000 and forever
It'll be here
Uh, uh aiight cool

After bein' 25, you know, just trying to survive in the world
Bout to have a little boy or baby girl. who knows?
Anyway, just when you start gettin that little age and experience to
You start thinkin about stuff...tryin to make the right moves
So bust it out, this is what i was thinkin, check it
Yo, the education of the lon-chicka-lonnie lynn
Began, began with time
Bein my bloodline is one with the divine
In time brotha, you will discover the light
Some say that god is black and the devil's white
Well, the devil is wrong and god is what's right
I fight, with myself in the ring of doubt and fear
The rain ain't gone, but i can still see clear
As a child, given religion with no answer to why
Just told believe in jesus cuz for me he did die
Curiosity killed the catechism
Understanding and wisdom became the rhythm that i played to
And became a slave to master self
A rich man is one with knowledge, happiness and his health
My mind had dealt with the books of zen, tao the lessons
Koran and the bible, to me they all vital
And got truth within 'em, gotta read them boys
You just can't skim 'em, different branches of belief
But one root that stem 'em, but people of the venom try to trim 'em
And use religion as an emblem
When it should be a natural way of life
Who am i or they to say to whom you pray ain't right
That's who got you doin right and got you this far
Whether you say "in jesus name" or hum do allah
Long as you know it's a bein' that's supreme to you
You let that show towards others in the things you do
Cuz when the trumpets blowin, 24 elders surround the throne
Only 144,000 gon get home
Only 144,000 gon get home
Only 144,000 gon get it baby
Chorus cee-lo:
I've lived and i've learned
I have taken and i've earned
I have laughed, i've cried
I have failed and i have tried
Sunshine, pouring rain
Found joy through all my pain
I just wanna be happy with being me
Cee-lo:
Let me voice my concern
So many of my fellow brothers have given themselves a title
That their actions didn't earn
Our ignorance is in the same breath as our innocence
Subconciously, seeking to find an impressionable mind to convince
I've finally come to the realization why black people in the worse
Place
Cuz it's hard to correct yourself when you don't know
Who you are in the first place
So i try to find the clue in you
But evidently, white folks know more black history than we do
Why're we bein' lied to? i ain't know our history was purposely hidden
Damn, somethin' in me wanna know who i am
So i began my search, my journey started in church
It gave my heartache relief when i started to understand belief
Hustlin was like a gift spent my share of time in the streets
Taught me survival from this evil i'm just gonna have to deal with
And i felt like a fool when i tried to learn it in school
It almost seemed like a rehearsal when the only
Science and math are universal
Takin elder advice, read the bible, the koran
Searched scrolls from the hebrew israelites
Hold on, this ain't right, jesus wasn't white
Some leads were granted with insight
And it's all in the plan, but it took me some time to overstand
He still created with the imperfection of man
So, with followin' i disagree
By no means have i forgotten or forgiven what's been done to me but
I do know the devil ain't no white man, the devil's a spiritual mind
That's color blind, there's evil white folk and evil niggas
You gon surely find there's no positivity without negativity
But one side you gonna have to choose
Any chance to speak i refuse to misuse
So how can you call yourself god when you let a worldly possession
Become an obsession and the way you write your rhymes and
Can't follow your lesson
If a seed's sown, you make sure it's known, you make sure it's grown
If you god, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you god, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you god, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
Well, i've lived and i've learned
I've taken and i've earned
I have laughed, i have cried
I failed and i have tried
Sunshine, pourin rain
I found joy through my pain
Just wanna be happy...bein me

Okay, it's the emcee extraordinaire Talib Kweli
Chillin' on Soundbombing 3 with my people's
From the East, Cypha Soundz, from West, Mr. Choc
This is how we do it, I got y'all back, y'all got mine
Let's do this, no more music motherfuckers
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yo, fly in it
Blue skies the limit, the skies infinite
It reflect in the eyes of those who try to send spies in it
Capture the sun if they could, but they go blind by it
Look in the sky and I see Africa's eyes in it
The land is dry like the cry infinite
The tear we shed grow to fruit til' the eye replenish
The industry wanna try to give my rhyme a sentence
Behind bars with my rhymes diminished, they tryna end us
But all them clowns do is give my mind a senate
To watch my people's enemy die in my presence
Fly away on the highest adventure out on the line
And enter the gate of Zion, need to decide who sent em'
I went through the jungle
(Yeah)
Stalking like a black panther, rap's answer to that cancer
Choking the life out the hood
They won't let a man emancipate his people
This refreshing like the spray of the bay in Puerto Rico
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
All the things you desire
Earth, wind, water, fire
These elements hammer nice together
See, you can find it there
Find it there
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yo, I came into this world as the naked truth
A little baby girl trying to make it through
Through this earth, wind, fire and water
That I'm someone's daughter, cadence of divine order
Sorta sent to let the people know their times spent
It's precious and we can't keep our minds bent
On just the pleasures of sex, drugs, wine, bread
In essence, we one with the environment
Though I've been here, less than a year
Being so close to God, I guess I haven't learned the fear
When I heard nature telling me, time to come home
Told my mind this is the path for you to walk, not to run on
Understand the night to reach a higher day
Follow yourself so you can fly away
(Fly away)
Fly away dawg, fly away dawg, fly away dawg, fly away dawg
You are feeling the stress
But in life you're truly blessed
Go for nothing less
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Yelling, yelling, yelling away
Going, going, going away
And fly away
Go for nothing less
Go for nothing less

For the world world world
My name is Common, No I.D
[Verse 1]
Ferrari testers, Armani dressers
Exquisite thick bitches that body bless us
Rest assured, we getting festive in Miami now
Told my nigga 'Ye I'm about to win the Grammys now
Getting Johnny Cash old white folks know me now
Standing close to the mic like I'm Kobe now
We celebrate the (?), they hate because we got love
It's the pop life, a lot of faces pop up
Known to tear the club and the block up
Going through the airport with more lie than an opera
New crooks who move books like Harry Potter
Get cleaners to get it cleaner
A legend like John, Lennon, I'm a dreamer
Tried to fuck the world she only let me finger
Mind trips to Medina to visit the redeemer
A hero, I'll drop out like Hiroshima
(?) with two broads (?)
Still opening roads for (?)
I'm a dreamer
[Hook]
It's for the world world world world world
Dream on
[Verse 2]
We take, uh, we make, uh, paper
And build skyscrapers
Walking on water, building my faith up
Niggas with no heart, I'm the pace maker
Get the beat from No I, feel the pulse of the Chi
Survival of the fit with hope in they eye
Taking notes from the sky to fly above understanding
They notes from the most high, so I gotta land them
Career ain't random, make anthems, streets chant them
Rock rolls like a phantom
Mad hoes like they throwing tantrums
I tell them I need space like Richard Branson
Dancing, with (?) and stars getting full at bars
And then pass out like a pamphlet
Never taking Grants for granted
It's Common, I'm high above standard
Fly nigga, keep my feet planted
To rock the planet, I don't stop for panic
Maybe I'm a hopeless hip-hop romantic
I'm a dreamer
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
He introduced me, I stepped to the podium
Said peace, gave thanks to the holy one
Put my water up, thought about my daughter for a second
The youth, the living resurrection
Reflections of the sun glaring through the window
Now the audience staring at my mental
Feeling like the world, the world is at my fingers
'Bout to speak to an auditorium full of dreamers
Kinda took me back to when I first had a dream
To be like the king that sang Billie Jean
Now it's gold records, and I'm on silver screens
At the mountaintop, you still gotta dream
To the dreamers
[Bridge]
If I dream you're here
And you dream I'm there
We'll be (?)
You should just come here
If I wake you up
Only difference is
You can live the dream
Just believe in it
[Maya Angelou]
Once you find your shoulders dropping
And your speech gets slow and hazy
You better change your way of being
Before you found your brain got lazy
You can build a better future when you join the winning team
If you desire a bright tomorrow, you must build a brighter dream
Dare to let your dreams reach beyond you
Know that history holds more than it seems
We are here alive today because our ancestors dared to dream
From Africa they lay in the (?) of slave ships
And stood half naked on auction blocks
From eastern-Europe they crowded in vessels overloaded with immigrants
And were mis-named on Ellis island
From South America and Mexico, from Asia, they labored in sweat shops
From all over the world, they came to America
Many shivering in rags, and still they dared to dream
Let us dream for today and for tomorrow

This is a U A rhyme, dedicate to the canine
Tc ha, ch, tc hk, C'mere boy, I said it's playtime
It's time to play with the mind of a slimming
I don't wanna be a freak but it's the dog in me
I don't pretend to be the open door roses type
I open the door for myself and I close it right in your face
Now you wanna taste my food, what?
You got your own food, get a attitude
You get left, call the ref if you think it's foul
I ain't tryin' to hear that, so have a Coke and a smile
'Cause after awhile, I'ma wanna get buck wild
And now months later, I'ma say it ain't my child
I'm sterile girl, we ain't never did nothin'
'Cause only you and I know that the Common Sense is bluffin'
Little Miss Muffett, that's how the ball bounces
Sorry you gotta bounce the ball eight pounds and two ounces
That's how I'm livin', just like a Rottweiler
When I was a shorty, I was a lot wilder
But then I got milder, and settled down with a harem
And when I can't bear 'em, I share 'em
You see it's like no, pass it off, pass pass the puss
I ain't a nerd but we've got Bush
So cut the bush brat and let's move it like a U-Haul
Forget the grindin' shit, I ain't tryin' to get the blue ball
Brap bump me child, I'm speakin' upon the nitty gritty
I'm a dog here kitty, kitty
Zippidy, doo, dah, a zippidy, zippidy day
Unzip your zipper baby and come my way
I'm Jack the Ripper, na, nah not Jack Tripper
'Cause three is not company when your other two friends are thicker
So come one friend, come two friend, come all
United we stand, divide your legs so I can fall in your bowl of cherries
Kerrie is so very thick thicker than the Dick, Tom and Harry
Tom and Jerry what? A Woody Woodpecker
You need body work, I work that body, I'm a body wrecker
Inter sector, I'm the nectar plus the plum
I manage to take advantage, 'cause some of these hoes are so dumb
If you got some, just an unseen BIT of game
Then it's safe to say it's that bet you can get a dame
I shoot, aim the same game, yo obedient ally
Tell 'em that I get the drawers come off immediately
Here comes a nut slut and we can do the Beat Street strut
And be that I'm a mutt so what?
No but if's or maybe baby, look who's talkin' to
It's true when I'm drunk I might bone anything that's walkin'
Down the street, watchin' ladies
Nobody's watchin' you, because you got a baby
I ain't tryin' to be a stepfather so I don't bother
Word to mommy dearest, I look farther
Down the road, to a road not taken
I'm tired of all these same bitches, I need to take care
A new flower, so Joe can take a shower
And get wet, and then jet like ah, 7, 47
I tell the girls my number 7-7-7, 93, 11
Then I'm steppin', so when they call me, you'll hear
"Is Common there?", uh-uh, sorry
You got the wrong number, if you wonder I'm the lumberjack
Choppin' down the cherry tree and never comin' back
It's like that and it'll be like that

I express like an interstate
Hyper when I ventilate
My rap pieces penetrate and infiltrate your mental state
Just to reiterate
That I innovate
Bonin' broads when they men estruate
I spend a great time with the rhyme
More than I did any female
I derailed your train of thought
Because your brain was caught
On some other man's thinking
Now your third eye is blinking
My rhymes be kicking
Like a brother's breath be stinking
I get funky for sure while your 'sniff' unsure
If you got beef, chief, then let that shit unthaw
This track was a broad
I'd be bonin' the shit out of it
Bang, bang, bang then see what I can get out of her
Probably some scratch clothes and some J's
I got six thousand ways to rhyme, choose one
I stand out like a nigga on a hockey team
I got goals and I can like a pop machine
I come clean
Like a fiend in Chi, I'm down with rehab
My stutter styles crazy
'Cause that's right, we bad, we bad
Prior to Richard I was that crazy nigga
'Cause I kick ass
And when I wreck other rappers be like Whiplash!
It's like I come, I come to the party in a B-boy stance
I rock on the mic and make the gils want to dance
It's like I come I come to the party in a b-boy stance
I rock on the mic and make the gils want to dance
Me without a lyric, is like a nigga without a beeper
I'm a blow this shit out 'cuz I'm the joint like reefer
If Barry White was in the mob
I still would be deeper
'Cause I had lyrics back when I used to run with Keyvin
MC's step to me, butt-ass naked like "What's up?"
I said, "You know you done fucked up
Now I'm sayin', "You know you done fucked up"
Everybody that here be say, I'm Jams like the NBA
'Cause I'm on fire
If I was a Michelan I wouldn't tire
It's funny how time flies
Well, I'm as fly as time
I don't believe in role models but if I do then I'm mine
I make brothers say, "True"
They be you and be like fiction
I want 'spect and dead presidents like Richard Nixon
I'm a coach not a player
Not a gay M.C., I'm straighter
My style is similar to AIDS
You can F with it now
But catch you later
You can't touch this 'cuz this is what I'm feelin' bro
I'm the man, you need me, I'll be on the fifth flo'
Just chillin'
Even if it's played out it's not the word to play so peace

Yeah
Yo...let me, let me, let me, let me tell you why - why
This nigga...why we dedicated this song to this kind of nigga
Cuz number one, duke is drivin' in the motherfuckin' projects
With a - with a Sebring, and with - with a rag off
Y'na'mean? Y-you not ballin' like that play-boy
Straight up, then the bitch you got playin' shotgun
Like, I used to serve that bitch, c'mon
Really really good, I mean and you gotta shirt and tie
You wack as nigga..
[Common]
Wack niggas...I don't even like to be around 'em
Give 'em dap or pound 'em
See 'em out they houndin' dawg
Singin' they got tracks for me to get down on
Singin' they hot when that shit don't even sound warm
Nigga I'm nasty, my style is sound porn
The graphic exposin' wack asses
I emcee as free as 'Ol Dirty Bastard
You think you Catholic tryin' to appeal to the masses
The Cassius Clay of rap today
Rock a beard like Castaway
You couldn't be dope for even half a day
We keep it hot like its after May
Smoke a nigga then I pass to K
[Kanye West]
The pastor say we goin' to mass today
We have to pray, these niggas is wack 'n' eh
I have to say, since Pac passed away
Most these niggas don't even deserve a track from me
First of all let's get rid of them Louis Vuitton boots
And get yo tall ass out that C Class coupe
Y'see the whiskAY had them girls feelin' friskAY
You was wit mAY (me) she said "Who's the sissAY?"
And even if they did wanna get bizzAY
Freaky like MissAY and roll the weed up
You would roll three blunts and fuck up three blunts
Motherfucka you a fuck up of free lunch, dawg
Just keep it right thurr like ChingAY
Yo girl don't like me how long has shee been gAY
Spanish girls tell ya "No hable ingle"
And everbody wanna run to me for they singlAY (single)
It's funny how these wack niggas need my help
Wasn't around when I couldn't feed myself
Dawg, if I was you I wouldn't feel myself
Dawg, if I was you I'd kill myself
[HOOK - Kanye West (Singing Voice)]
(Wack nigga) Wake up in the morning dawg, and you a
(Wack nigga) I'd kill myself if I was that
(Wack nigga) Everything you wear and rock, is just
(Wack nigga) Even if you flossin' rocks you still
(Wack nigga) You can't do it dawg you's a
(Wack nigga) Bitin' ass, bitch ass, trick ass
(Wack nigga) Even your daughter says "My daddy's a - "
(Wack nigga - You wack nigga!)
[Consequence]
You know you wack when ya dawgs tell you
That's how you know ya flow is weak
Cuz you only got them there to 'Say Yes' like Floetry
The clique that I oversee ain't impressed by ya poetry
You're the place you're supposed to be
You ain't ain't comin' close to me
It ain't that you underrated
It's more thatn you're under dated
And mediocre at best is all the hoes you've ever dated
For all your guest appearances
You couldn't get the clearances
For them it's just a check they don't respect you as a lyricist
Look at what ya lyrics is, Murder, Death, Kill
But you never shot nothin', never have, never will
Better add on to ya skills before you join this round robin
Of super emcees that'll add to ya problems
[Talib Kweli]
In the beginnin', God created man in his own image
I'm 'bout to tell you how the story gon' finish
Kweli handle his business niggas don't forget it
Cuz a wiseman can shoose to get ignorant with it
Na'mean - you all can get it I'm conisdered the nicest
The way I spit it give these niggas all identity crisis
All day talkin' that shit like you hold a gat, right?
The trip you on must be short cuz you pack light - act right
You got it twisted tellin' niggas that you pack heat
You ain't gunning now you runnin' like an athlete
You ballas need to quit rhymin' like Allen Ive
Start speakin' New ?Wopian? and followin' Malachi
Oh, anything would rhyme, you need to sell drugs for real
Instead of on the radio, you'd be dead or in jail
All these thug niggas wanna rap
And all these rap niggas wanna thug
And all ya'll fuckin' the game up
It's time to change up, my lyrics rip ya frame up
Askin' if I'm nice like fuckin' with a chick
Who don't give head - that's a no-brainer
Niggas back bangers you don't even know the names of
I'ma bout to meet my quota you about to meet ya Saviour
You wack nigga, you about to get shot
Fuck with Talib Kweli, that's how you get got
Not that I'm wylin' or even promote violence
It's just you're fuckin' up my high, can a nigga smoke in silence?!

Aiyo, all they wanna do is dance
That's all they wanna do
Uh, uh, get it, get, get it
(What?)
Get, get it
(What?)
This is that automatic
I stay fresh like I'm wrapped in plastic
P goes spastic, C galactic
South side boy, we Cadillac it
Charismatic, Asiatic
I hustle for mathematics
Cameras, action, changed the status
Actor tappin yo' favorite actress
Gucci rockin', coochies poppin'
Movie watchin', booties droppin'
Body movin', showin', provin'
Stylin' and bein' fly
(C'mon)
I touch the masses like a Catholic
Expensive rap shit, my future's backlit
Interact with the cat who macks and stacks
My vernac' attracts, y'all react, so let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang, da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, dang
Some pop, some lock, some move robotic
Like cash money I stay in pocket
U.M.C. r-r-r-rock, don't stop it
Chicks exotic, mix Hypnotic
Superhero role boy, I'm bionic
You a fad on some lumma-lumma supersonic
Girl, you 'bout it, you can strip like comic
And trance to melodic technotronic
Beats knockin', seats droppin'
Seeds poppin', streets rockin'
Freakin', shakin', money makin'
Stylin' and bein' fly
I'm the one the ladies-ladies chose to
Strip and pose to, take off their clothes to
Toast to, the one that go coast to coast to
Mr. Global, the focal, let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, dang
Get, get it, get, get it, get, get it
I am a renegade
I never been afraid
Fresh and I'm gettin' paid
The future future of this age
From the Chi, so I talk this way
Twist the hay and the Grand Marnier
Rock the fly shit like every day
To the top and I'm on my way, let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy

Aiyo, all they wanna do is dance
That's all they wanna do
Uh, uh, get it, get, get it
(What?)
Get, get it
(What?)
This is that automatic
I stay fresh like I'm wrapped in plastic
P goes spastic, C galactic
South side boy, we Cadillac it
Charismatic, Asiatic
I hustle for mathematics
Cameras, action, changed the status
Actor tappin yo' favorite actress
Gucci rockin', coochies poppin'
Movie watchin', booties droppin'
Body movin', showin', provin'
Stylin' and bein' fly
(C'mon)
I touch the masses like a Catholic
Expensive rap shit, my future's backlit
Interact with the cat who macks and stacks
My vernac' attracts, y'all react, so let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang, da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, dang
Some pop, some lock, some move robotic
Like cash money I stay in pocket
U.M.C. r-r-r-rock, don't stop it
Chicks exotic, mix Hypnotic
Superhero role boy, I'm bionic
You a fad on some lumma-lumma supersonic
Girl, you 'bout it, you can strip like comic
And trance to melodic technotronic
Beats knockin', seats droppin'
Seeds poppin', streets rockin'
Freakin', shakin', money makin'
Stylin' and bein' fly
I'm the one the ladies-ladies chose to
Strip and pose to, take off their clothes to
Toast to, the one that go coast to coast to
Mr. Global, the focal, let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, dang
Get, get it, get, get it, get, get it
I am a renegade
I never been afraid
Fresh and I'm gettin' paid
The future future of this age
From the Chi, so I talk this way
Twist the hay and the Grand Marnier
Rock the fly shit like every day
To the top and I'm on my way, let's go, uh
This is that new shit, keep 'em standing in line
That Universal Mind Control, now move yo' behind
Uh, you know you like it, it's calling yo' name
Nigga, this is that new shit and it don't feel the same
It's got that dang da-da-dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Dang, diggy, dang, d-dang-a-dang, dang
Bop, diggy, bop, d-dang, d-dang, diggy, diggy

[Foreign Content]
What, what, we do this time, rock
Yes, let this music travel through you
Talk about feelings, yeah yo
Yo wassup world? Yo what's happening?
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been, time travelin', time travelin'
Yo, I was a piano player in my last lifetime
Now I write rhymes, sip white wine
And let my light shine out the dark space
With the world on my mind like Scarface
Though my sex drive like a car chase
More than a uhh, it's the piece of mind I chase
Stakes are high, like my uncle is
We both got problems, he never confronted his
Under the bridge I wrote, some shit to stay afloat
And paint a picture, raw like the first coat
Send my old man a note to keep his phone on
My little 'cuz'll know cheap tricks are homegrown
Travel to a place sweeter than home
Listenin' to Nina Simone, repeat this Psalm
Said the sky I'm keepin' my palms facin' the east
Actions macin' the beast, embracin' the streets
My God caught a case 'cuz he beat
His lady down, it's two-thou
That ain't the way we lay it down
Souls get found and lost at the roads they cross
Many paid dues, but few knew the costs
I ran through the Moss like Randy
Touchin' down wit God, close friends, and family
Recognize the voice in the wilderness
Com Sense, '92 and I'm still in this, time travelin'
Took my time in hand my rhyme learn and plan
Jealousy, money and pride can burn a man
Some walk but never learn to stand
Still, afraid to expand what they feel
I'm dealin' wit, wakes, marriages
ATM's, Ericsson's
Loud niggas that whisper carelessness
If we livin' in Revelation
Why should the people of the sun have to run?
Come to Esau in a year, he'll have freedom
He ask why I hadn't been to see him
Really, I ain't have a good reason
He said, "Rah, give back what you receivin'"
In a race against time, I was caught
In the same game as you, but long live the sport, it's time travelin'
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been time travelin', time travelin'
Time travelin', time travelin'
Yeah, yo wassup world? Yo what's happening?
It's the C-double-O and I'm back again
Take this back and then, tell a friend
Spaces and places you been time travelin', time travelin'

Ha, yeah, yeah
Uhh, yeah, yeah, play at your own risk
Act like you know, I'm on some grown
Ha, yeah, yeah, play at your own risk
Act like you know, I'm on some grown
It's the thelonious, super microphonist
You know us, this rap we 'bout to own it
You know it, these minimes try to clone us
I got a bonus for the that run up on us
I got a bonus for your that run up on us
It's the thelonious, super microphonist
Uhh, no time to sleep 'cuz if you sleep you don't eat
Gotta hold heat, just to make ends meet
Livin' on the street while other feast
Aight wit you it ain't aight wit me
Right, gotta make money all my life
Gotta stay, many types
Yeah you know what I'm talkin' 'bout
Yup, stay turnin' these out, down also, 'em out
Throw somethin' down whenever my out
They know me so they restructure and reroute
They know me from Washington to down South
All the way to London to my common house
Right, it's like a game we never play out, out, out, out
No doubt, get live or get knocked the out
Word up, just be about what you about dogg
Knowhatimsayin', just play at your own risk
Act like you know I'm on some grown
It's the thelonious, super microphonist
You know us, this rap we 'bout to own it
You know it, 'cuz you can feel it in your throat, say it
I'm 'bout to let my mind float, say it
Get your third eye poked, game, I assemble dope
Ness, a that's fresh as the 'fess
Studied this rap, no need to mic test
You can feel it in your chest
Your B I, feel it in her
Plus you, rhyme like a wit his pierced
We lick off lyrics in the streets and real hear us
Dreamin' when I wrote this, box me if I go too wild
Still doin' this like dude in wild style
Invitin' Wack to dinner, I "Trick Daddy" Emcees and I don't know, "Nann"
Who can take it where I take it, you better go into God like Mase did
Leavin' crowds complacent
I move 'em above clouds whether on some surface the earth
Or thug style you can feel it in your body
Yeah, y'all you can feel it in your body
Like if a 12 gauge shottie shell hit your body
You don't want no one to find your a hobby
Carbon copy, tryin' to clone us
You know us, thelonious, super microphone
You know this, rap we 'bout to own it dun, for real
Ay, it's like a ritual
You been invited let the motoebike stimulate the place
With the grace, nevertheless, I stress
Let the music put a smile on your face
As for the ritual, when it comes to spiritual excellence
You know I always leave you with the taste
I know you like it hard to the core
That's what you ask for you aimin' for the best
Hurtin' like a in that like a ritual
Conversation with the most high makes me wanna cry
I wonder why, you wanna get to paradise
But that itty bitty part of you don't wanna die
So pay attention to my word, 'cuz it's the truth
Meditation ease the mind, and brings the youth
It's like a verse you could never read out of a book
Darken the line and your mind like a fish hook
Word is birth, yo I do it till the break of day
Pay attention to your art, never go astray
Word is bond
Yo, we do it and we don't quit
Sucka, you don't want it, it's Thelonious
Ownin' this rap, super microphonist, and we known to spit
I spit fire like Esther on Sanford and son did
I'm raw dude, more juice than Sunkiss
You want this, so MJ kept sayin' the rhyme flawless
Fly like MJ in his prime, "Off The Wall" wit mines
I'm grabbin' my when I rhyme, nine nines bustin' plus
Ball all the time, now stay on your mind like great sex
You ain't on my mind I'm thinkin' 'bout paychecks
Large like an Adex Avirex jacket
Yo the Gods they bust like Latex sex packets
Emcees they don't rhyme and ball, they lyin' to y'all
They dyin' to ball, the rhyme we do all the time
We do all the fine they fall in lines
Me and my mans is somethin' like the source sports
We gettin' money a long time and y'all short
My bounce and full rise and y'alls fall
You funny doo, 'cuz really you think you can do me
When you roll a 500 that's really a 320
Should of let somebody else hook it
Numbers look crooked like King Kong shook it
I'm from where Bang Gats when they celebrate
That's how they play, don't let it be a holiday
Thelonious, if you testin' us we get you laid back

My eyes watch God from a place
Where times is hard, hard times we embrace
Everybody want a yard, cuz a yard means space
Being broke is odd and leaves an odd taste
In the mouth of the metropolitan
The hustle is hollarin'
Beautiful minds grind, grind for the dollarin'
Whether dice scholarin' or white collarin'
We all taught hustle to prophet like Solomon
The young play corners, Sean Jean modelin'
They get it from they momma, black music is fatherin'
Blue and whites flash lights like parliment
In court non-whites, wishin' they had Cocharan
Tell your guy and them, yo the blocks hot again
Aunties walking to liquor stores in moccasains
My guy got a gig, on the side he barberin'
Married a foreign chick so she could get a green card up in the hustle
Just put it in your back and hustle
The paper's stacked so hustle
Gon'! - Gon' get it and get me that
Gon'! - Gon' get it and get me that
Just move, and shake, and grind and hustle
It's on your mind so hustle
Gon'! - Gon' get it and get me that
Gon'! - Gon' get it and get me that
First to the third, I'm close to the curb
Toast to the bird, now I'm posted to serve
Heard is a verb when you pour dirt on the floor
Bill collecters and the roaches working your nerves
It's a ghetto truck for a ghetto boy
To get in them ghetto streets and get him a ghetto toys
So he can come so just work murder rate is increasin'
I don't give a fuck long as my coke is decent
And my rims blind the whole damn precinct
Everytime you see a head in my lap you know she sinked
I know I'm dead in this trap, that's not how we think
Fifty shells all around on the ground, can't catch a weak blink
Five went through me, two stayed in me to do my duty
Only thing that subdued me
Two weeks, same corner, new freaks
New geese, all white AND 1's new sneaks
"Can't knock the hustle!" "The Hustle!" "I'm in"
"Im in" "I'm in too deep" "deep to sleep!" "Can't knock the hustle!"
"The hustle!" "Caught up in the hustle!" "I'm gettin' high"
"Can't knock the hustle!" "The Hustle!" "I'm in"
"Im in" "I'm in too deep" "deep to sleep!" "Can't knock the hustle!"
"The hustle!" "Gotta hustle up!" "I got to have it, have it...have it"
Some rhyme, some throw shows, some sow clothes
Some hobo at the junction inbetween cars
Some enter in functions inbetween stars
Some teach, some preach saying they seen God
Some put they money up, against me odds
Flippin' real estate yo, stocks and bonds
Dreams of rollin El Derado's bumpin' El DeBarge
Whatever the dreams, stay on ya deem the world is ours, its the hustle
"Gotta hustle up!" "Stay hustlin'!"
"Gotta hustle up!" "Stay hustlin'!"
"Gotta hustle up!" "Stay hustlin'!"
"Gotta hus-" "hustle up!"

"It's only right that I address this..."
"Gotta be in it to win it..."
"I never come lame type killin in the game..."
"Now... get busy..."
"It's only right that I address this..."
"Gotta be in it to win it...."
"I never come lame type killin in the game..."
"Hot music..."
Raised by game where niggas ain't phased by fame
Come to the crib, get banged, they take your chain.
Stay in your lane, Brokeback ain't the way of the game
My brainstorm is like I stay in the rain
My favorite was Kane, now I'm dope with weight in the game
You was hot but can't stay in the flame
Ghetto pain and windows crack, the fist is like a symbol for black
Can tell the real by how the real interact
In the middle of whack my soul sticks to a track
Kickback records get kicked to the back
I want big cribs and my man Ronnie to get his
Child in a good school and know what her gift is
It's global warming, the world is shifting
Watching Sweet Sixteen, Bitchin-ass rich kids
You don't know it like you gotta go the distance
Whether yoga or doja, we all get lifted in the Game
I never kissed the ass of the masses, I'm the black molasses
Thick and I lasted past these rat bastards
They try to box me in like Cassius Clay
Hey I'm like Muhammad when he fasted
Opposing the fascist, make cuts and got gashes
Scratches over third eyelashes
Punchlines are like jab hits to rappers
Whose careers now ashes it's too many slashes
In his name, came in the game these gun-clappers
From weak lines to clothing lines to an actress
I seen em dashing smash hits
I yell run nigga run while I cook up classics
The weak hearted, become Babylon puppets
Making it hard for real hustlas
Touch the sky now and then, with a lady friend
Give thanks to the most that's how the day begins in the game.
I just wanna be like Akeelah, an achiever
from the streets of the Chi where some get high for leisure
Selling weed out of cleaners
From rocks to barber shops and beemers
Chicks with blond weaves and strong legs like Serena
The demeanor of the Ghetto, to never stay settled
Aldermen and corrupt men play Pharaoh
GOOD bring business to the hood like heralds
Find your own, walking by themself in the street
The young die of cancer, I stop eating meat
Greet the gods on 87th street like peace
Even though it's war to G, got em facing the east
The game ain't tasting as sweet
Cats flow is still, and they complacent with beats
My radio station is deep, so eff em

[John legend - Hook]
I believe in the light that shines and will never die
Oh I believe the fire burns, we stay alive
They will talk about us
Like they talked about the kings before us
They will talk about us
[Common - Verse 1]
These are the words of a believer, achiever, leader of the globe
Feeding souls of those in need
I bleed the blood of the struggle
Walking over troubled puddles
Hustles in my chest, no hustle no progress
Extremities of life and it's process
Birth of a son, death of another
With love I can rest both mothers
And told 'em, who's in control is the one thats above us
I walk where money talks and love stutters
Body language of a nation going through changes
The young become dangerous, pain gets spent into anger
Anger gets sent through the chamber
It's tough when your own look like strangers
We are the sons of gangsters and stone rangers
If he could how would Ernie Barnes paint us
Look at the picture, hard not to blame us
But time forgives and the Chi where the young die often
Do they end up in a coffin because we haven't taught them?
Is it what we talking we really aint walking
Dudes, hustlers pay, how much did it cost 'em?
Find myself on the same corner that we lost 'em
Real talking, in they ear like a walkman
Thoughts spin around the corner to the World
When I see them, I see my baby girl
Believe
[John legend - Hook]
I believe in the light that shines and will never die
Oh I believe the fire burns, we stay alive
They will talk about us
Like they talked about the kings before us
They will talk about us
[Common - Verse 2]
The lord lives among us
The young uns hunger become a means to get it
By any means necessary, under pressure
Children feeling lesser, with the steel up on the dresser
Killin' will aggressors, destiny's children
Survivors, soldiers, in front of buildings they eyes look older
Hard to see blessings in the violent culture
Face against weapons, sirens, holsters
That aint the way that Langston Hughes wrote us
Soul controllers on the shoulders of Moses and Noah
We go from being oppressors to Oprah
Cultivated to overcome ever since we came overseas
Today and the way that you can see we determined
Solar keeps burning, shawty's know to keep learning
Lesson's in our life, but life stripes that we earning
Took raps advice that Christ is returning
Like a thief in the night, I write the beacons of light
For those of us in dark alleys and parched valleys
Street kids spark rallies of the conscience conquerors of a contest
That seems beyond us, even through the unseen, I know that God watches
From one King's dream he was able to Barack us
The prophets, nothing can stop us
Believe
[John legend - Hook]
I believe in the light that shines and will never die
Oh I believe the fire burns, we stay alive
They will talk about us
Like they talked about the kings before us
They will talk about us
I know I know I know our dreams won't turn to dust
They will talk about us
I know I know I know our dreams won't turn to dust
They will talk about us
I know I know I know our dreams won't turn to dust

Marks I erase like racism, I'm as large as a bigot
Groove is my escapism when I'm bubbly I just kick it
What I need from you is understanding that I'm standing
On my own two, down with my own crew
Toe cancer, I'm bad to the bone too, I'm prone to snap off
When I'm off that Cognac, I can't hold back like a masseuse
I get loose like a screw turned from left right to tight
When it's time for some action, I get Red's, "Tonight's Da Night"
An eye for an eye, a life for his wife
Dissected, I'm on some hi-tech shit computers want to bite
Your style is Pascal, mine is Basic and just instinct
I'm with the fam and ran scams, me and Murray got up on big links
And if knowledge is the key, goddammit I'm the locksmith
Started a missionary way on my life, the mic I rust like bostage
I switch styles like a channel with controls that are remote
Engage in a page and with words I elope
Walking down the aisles with styles I freak the viles
Anti-Nazi when I rocks like a Z-28
At any rate, brothers gain interest because I loaned them microphones
They couldn't house the shit so they had to rent to own
It's like that, coming from the go rapper
I wanna bone Jada Pinkett and that hoe Patra
So keep on and you don't, now come on
Ah keep on and you don't
Sometime when I'm alone in my room I stare at the wall
And in the back of my mind I hear a wack-ass rhyme
And I catch Alz-rhymers, then forget it, I get charged
Like a nigga in position with the stolen card the credit
Fuck flipping the script, the rap scene I'm trying to edit
My mellows call me, "Never", they be like, "Never's going to get it"
Never's too much, I'm much too, I do justice to poetics
That's why cats be like, "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"
Other studs come through to see what I am up to
They be on the dick of crew that be giving us sweet and buying us fruit
Like Kareem I got the hook up, brothers look out because they look
Rest in peace to 'Heavena', washing tons of rappers like Booker
Tee told me, "You gotta get out of the crib, get into the world"
How you going to come off with the style that's through?
It's like that, keep on, ha ha
It's like that, keep on
My foundation is in black block of niggas that rock they hat cock
I'm real like a fight with my rap, rappers I slap box
Back I got my rap, now get your glock out the black face
Got tall flavor with fat taste, the rat race is a rat race
Just 'cause you got Adidas with the fat laces
And the fro don't make you hip-hop, tou sorry excuse for funk rap
Why is there so many cranks trying to rhyme, yo funk that
The real shit's starting to come back
The go is where I'm from and where I'm at, jack
I started eating cat when I was 10
Before dinner I was getting big dog like Glen Robinson
I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind
But comes a time when you gotta get off of that booty
The facts of life I didn't learn from watching Tootie
But living in the big city
But I still like Tootie cause she got big titties
My style is steep, I write rhymes on the incline
Splat guts plus fat nuts and lay up like a crib line
I'm slamming, jamming on the one

Now let's start the show show
Step out of the cold cold
We come from the 'Go, 'Go
To the top of the globe globe
The pimps and the hoes hoes
The Folks and the Stones Stones
Whoever you ride fo', we back for some mo'
Get back to the show show, you know
Uhh, uhh
Ladies and gentlemen the C-O-double-M-O-N
Synonym for fresh, truth is the emb-lem
Hardcore since I was next door to Clem and them
Cold as the winter when fake niggaz was shiverin
Shakin in they Timberlands, you was played as Bennigans
Hot for a minute, now you just a "remember him"
I been a +Master+ since P was No Limit-in
Stick a sayin, no gimmick and no mimickin
Q infinitin down old blocks are bendin in
Yellin (Fuck Tha Police) like Ren and them
Pelican brief these niggaz on who I be
Before the paper and the fame niggaz knew Rashid
Noble like Dru Ali - many have come
but few have been chose to be a true MC
You sing along wit it, inside you knowin it's wack
Young who? I don't need a openin act
Let, let, le-le-le-le-le-let's go
It's a festival in hip-hop; we do it non-stop
Pop your bottles, Chicago niggaz do it in staccato
Choppin notes for my homies, fuck a motto
And Farragamo shoes givin dudes the model
Think fast, drive slow, survival is the throttle
Your live show is hollow, shoulda kept it local
Rappin over vocals, soundin soft as JoJo
With twelve monkeys on stage it's hard to see who's a gorilla
You was better as a drug dealer
Feel the passion of this B-boy ration-al
Half of it is what you say, and half is style
Guess it's time for you to stop cashin now
It's over folks, tell your guys to put the glasses down
Masters now, verses touch the youth like a Catholic priest
Performances keep me stackin the sheets
"And you say Chi-City, let's go Chicago!"
"Yo, y'all can make more noise than that!"
"Get live y'all, get live y'all, ah-get live y'all
Ah-get live y'all, ay y'all can get louder than that

Come on Come on Come on Come one
Come on girl lets Goooo
(Kanye West)
Hey baby (Chorus)
Am I crazy
Or was u giving me the eye (the eye)
You said maybe (yea)
Well you crazy
Because I know I’m too fly
I already know im too fly (too fly) X3
Yeah I know what cha like.
(Common)
Right now I’m off the wine (wine)
we can take our time (time)
So much I want to punch feel the bump when we grind
My uh in is ya body
My uh is in ya mind
Check my dictionary
That ass is so defined
It slippery when its wet girl
I can read the signs
I knocked and I knocked (uh) can I come inside
I knocked and I knocked girl can I come inside
I feel like its home when I’m in between ya thighs
It’s the joy, and the pain, and the bites and the brain
What make it feel so good
That type of stuff u cant explain
I do what I do to do to make it rain
U got the invite tonight
And I’m so glad ya came
Cuz you the type of dame to be game and yell
Mic check like the way I begin my show
Girl I come from chi-ca-so in I go
Turn around its about to be a TKO
(Chorus)
Some call me COM (COM)
Some call me the red (RED)
U can call me daddy, I’ma put ya to bed
An appetite for seduction
And it gotta be fed
Your sexual eruption got ya hitting ya head
On the board
And knock and screaming, oh lord
We exchange like students cuz I study abroad
And listen to ya body and low key partyin’
And I keep pushing and pushing
you pump the volume up
We the type to make lovin and we up
We take a ride down south cuz u need to re-up
Girl u call me big bank like I was saving it up
I’m the doctor I can hold it till my patients is up
I make, I make I make you hot baby
I know I know I know yo spot baby
When we do it like we don’t want it to end
Its 3 PM we gon do it again.
(Chorus)
(X 2)
Come on girl lets go
To distant lands unknown
We can fly on air
If love is everywhere,
For you and me

How can I say this? Fuck it - I'm the Greatest.
I am the A-list for all these great debaters.
A lot a y'all nah nah, forgot na, who I am.
The '87 nigga used to rah rah in the jam.
-Aw Yeah. We put them things in the air.
When I drop a single, it's really like a pair
of Air -Jordan's, important to the culture.
If you aint true to it - callate la boca.
Get my drink on like a coaster,
Post up on the wall that Mike used to live off
Hip Hop master, Clinton-I'mma get my shit off.
Rollin' in a Maserati Gran with the lid off.
I b'dall like a mobster -
Live nigga this is my encore, encore ,encore...
[Intro]
You know they be asking 'bout Common, where he at?
I'm doing what I do, hip hop, thats what I do
Yeah
[Common - Verse 1]
How can I say this? Fuck it - I'm the Greatest
I am the A-list for all these great debaters
A lot a y'all nah nah, forgot na, who I am
The '87 nigga used to rah rah in the jam
-Aw Yeah. We put them things in the air
When I drop a single, it's really like a pair
of Air -Jordan's, important to the culture
If you aint true to it - callate la boca
Get my drink on like a coaster,
Post up on the wall that Mike used to live off
Hip Hop master, Clinton-I'mma get my shit off
Rollin' in a Maserati Gran with the lid off
I b'dall like a mobster -
Live nigga this is my encore, encore ,encore...
I rhyme for the commoners
My name's synonymous with prominence
I'm to hip hop what Obama is to politics
Common is...
Yeah, man, y'all niggas man, you soft mutha
Yeah my man, muthafucker
Then come around my crib
You know where I'm from
Some hoes ass niggas
Singing all around here man, la la la
You aint no muthafuckin' Frank Sinatra
Uh, lil bitch
Yeah, this the raw right here
This the raw right here nigga
Sweet muthafucka
Sweet ass bitch muthafucka
[Common - Verse 2]
Wa da da da, ba dada dada day
The C-O double-M O-N, I'm not playin'
Da da man at work, I made my own lane
I'm the franchise so I rock my own chain
No I. said give 'em that 80′s cocaine
Somethin' raw, somethin' pure so I stayed in that vein
The hero that he know, that he cold
like winters below in the Geo, wipe ya feet off in the Regal
I'm king, observe the throne and the dream
I have it, supreme like mathematics
Yeah, I rep the fresh air for you asthmatic rap addicts
Pro black magic, this is semi-automatic
Rap we won't jam in traffic
The game need direction, I'm here to map it
Uh, some people say that they be missing creativity
But when it come to hip hop, it begins and ends with me
Sweet
[Outro]
You know-You know that, you should know where I come from
You should know who I am nigga
Where did you go...You should never wanna go against me
You know man, you too soft for that man
I be seeing you man, I see it in your eyes man
You aint the type of nigga that can go against me
You get in my presence you gon' feel like a little hoe
You aint a man yet nigga, you tryna be somebody else
Man, be yourself man, you come around my crib, you get your shit took
Huh, wherever you go, you probably be overseas in Europe and get yo shit took
You's a hoe, you know you sweet
Aint nothing you can do man, people see that man
Broads be seeing you sweet
Done wit' you muh, it's over for you

Ohhh, ohhhh...
I wanna get closerrrrrr to you, baby...
Ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh...
Ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh...
You have come so far
You've got so far to go (Yeah)
Say it again!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go (Yeah)
OHHHHHHHHHHH!
Ugh, ugh!
Sweetheart, you know that you most
Important, at least on the West Coast (Huh!)
I'm just trippin', it's somethin' about your throat
You think different and understand how I float
Got cribs on both Coasts
But, I'm a Chicago-getter
You (Get Down), but you ain't a (Golddigger)
You got the soul with the figure to match
Your girlfriend said, "Yo, that dude is a catch!"
Creative with the gifts, plus he hit it from the back! (Ugh!)
And places we ain't supposed to
We make the music - baby, you on the vocals
International lover, I never stay local
Go to places that you never been
Beautiful outside, even better when it's in
You have arrived, girl - you can come again!
C'mon!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
Say it again!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
OHHHHHHHHHHH!
You sexy, I know brothers try to spit to you
But, I'm the only one that can get to you
Lifting you, my drive is shifting you
I opened you free, it's like a gift to you
I truly am thickly and thankful
And as long I'm in your town, I'mma stay
(Faithful) (Heh!)
You know I can't escape you
No matter how far, you're still my star
You was there when the marks tried to steal my car
Snappin' with me, that's just how real you are
Sophisticated woman, you understand a man
You don't call all the time just to see where I am
Put a "G" in your hand, make sure you're livin' alright
Makin' love is me and I'mma give it all night
Turn over in the morning, make it warmer and better
Long as we can be, we can come together
C'mon!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
I don't believe you heard me, baby!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
Go on, go on then!
Go on - go on, girl!
Go on, go on - go on, baby!
Go on, baby!
Go on, girl!
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
You know what I mean, baby!
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
You have come so far
You've got so far to go
You have come so far

Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, ooh, you look, aah
You're the type a thing that I came here for
What's your name? I can't hear y'all
Will it be alright if I called you Sugar?
You can call me Smoky, I'll be the bear
The smell is sexy, it's all in the air
What you got, girl, that's so unfair?
I like the way you move so keep it right there
Or you can do what's you wanna do
I'm just glad I am a funk with you
But I don't mind be again butt high
'Cause I'm a touch you where the sun don't shine
Got my hand on my money while you on the ground
And do with you 'cause you so fine
And when you're wine, it's ginger wine
Get all my finen and we can clime
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, she used to dance at magic city
The other girls couldn't be half as pretty
You look so sexy when you grab them
Ooh, oh, yes
Sugar, good Lord, you'd been blessed
If this is a sin I must confess
The way you dress is like birthless
I guess you don't mind been in undress
I like your way, it's going down
Hips are moving all around
Round and round, upside down
A once was lost but now I'm found
Sweetheart that you get me another round
Sweat in like you loosing pounds
Touch the ground, make a sounds
Sugar, ooh, sugar, you wear the crown
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
All the dances sugar
Make me want a do ya
The way you move and shake it
I, I on the dance floor
Wanna touch and feel ya
We can get familiar
The way you movin' shakin'
Make me want you some more
Ooh, you makin' my nature rise
We can do more than fantasize
Let's do the do, me and you
We can, ou, ou, ou and wub-dewu
Your fezike brings out my freak
I like the way your body speaks
I want some of you, everyday of a week
Sugar, sugar you ain't nothing sweet, uh
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Girl, you're been touch by the forces of the nature
I'm just tryin' to motivate ya
Electricity is definitely there
I got shot when I touch your hair
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex
Sex 4 sugar, sugar 4 sex

I stagger in the gathering possessed by a patter-in
That be scattering, over the globe will my vocals be traveling
Unraveling my abdomen it's slime that's babbling
Grammatics that are masculine
I grab them in, verbally badgering broads
I wish that Madeline, was back on Video LP
I went against all odds and got a even-steven
Proceed to read and not believing everything I'm reading
But my brain was bleeding, needing, feeding and exercise
I didn't seek the best of buys, it's a lie to textualize
I analyze where I rest my eyes
And chastise the best of guys with punchlines
I'm Nestle, when it's Crunch-Time
For your mind like one time
If poetry was pussy I'd be sunshine
'Cause I deliver like the Sun-Times
Confined in once-mines on dumb rhymes I combine
I'm hype like I'm unsigned, my diet I unswine
Eating beef sometimes I try to cut back on that shit
This rap shit is truly outta control
My style is too developed to be arrested
It's the freestyle, so now it's out on parole
They tried to hold my soul in a holding cell so I would sell
I bonded with a break and had enough to make bail
A misdemeanor fell on his knee for the jury
I asked no for his ID and the judge thought there was two of me
Motion for a recess to retest my fingerprints
They relinquished since 'cause I was guilty in a sense
I ride the rhythm like a Schwinn bike when in dim light
I use insight to enlight devices hit the skin tight
Words of wisdom wail from my windpipe
Imaginations in flight
I send light like Ben's kite I've been bright
Get open like on gym nights and in fights I send rights
Don't hook with skins my friends like
I spend nights up in dykes
In spite I've been indicted as a freak of all trades
I got it made, I bathe in baselines, rinse in riffs, dry in drums
Come from a tribe of bums, hooked on Negro and mums
Had to halt with the, malt liquor
'Cause off the malt liquor I fought niggaz
Now my speech is lost quicker
Cruising South side streets with no heat and no sticker
U Ak got my back and we don't get no thicker
U Ak got my back and we don't get no thicker
U Ak got my back and we don't now check it
I'm a hoe but not a hoe nigga
Ain't scared of no nigga
But it's my turn to go I gotta go

Oh oh oh oh oh...oh oh oh oh
Sock it to me now
[Common:] They say money make a man strange
Is it money or we dont understand change
Money should be real we campaign If we shoe then just keep your thang thang
Maintain who we are as the gang chains
Everybody wanna star its the same game
I didn't travel this far to do the same thang
It's the trip not the real i was mainstream
Thats whats up
[Mya:] Try to make it real compared to what?
Try to make it reeeeeeal
[Man talks:.....]
[Mya:] oh
[Common:] The real can't be bought
But so taught
And told the boy tryed to keep the records off the sole
On the road to the riches he lost control
By the eye of the needle, I was often told
Disrespect for nothin is far from gold
In your actions all is told
[Mya:] ohh
[Common:] your in the game
You gootta have ball control
You see fame is all a road
New lights actions
Car when the camera snappin
Pop like is it another plan for passion
Are we really real or are we acting
Right through the fake smiles and mask
And rassionalize
[Mya:] Try to make it real compared to what?
[Common:] Some my people keep rockin on

la la la la la
la la la la la
[verse 1]
bow! bow!
i came through the door with the raw martin margiela superstar status
everything stellar, with some bad bitches and some ex-drug sellers
niggas already jealous, we in this joint like bob marley and the wailers
she already wanna pick, bitch don't be so over zealous
go to the bar to get around like a propeller
the bar maid's name is stella
i'm so appalled like mccartney, would you record me
am i really mad? hardly, i'm here to party
one of y'all to give me body like lati-fah
niggas in the corner smoking that ree-fa
seen a girl she had bottom like a speak-er
wanna put some hands on her like a preach-er
hmmmm! well let me take my time
she ordered bacardi, getting twisted in the limelight
seen that ass cause i got hindsight
she was lit shining bright in a fit that was tight
'bout to get that invite to a night over egypt

Hey C.S. man, umm
Yeah, since you don't wanna gimme a dollar for no beer, umm
Why don't you gimme a lyrical shout out on your album junior?
C'mon man, gimme somethin' man!
Common! Ah-heh!
Let's make a deal, pickle I'm pitchin' penny dimes and nickels
You couldn't sell a sticker, on the tape you're DJ tickles
I jiggle and juggle the rhymes like
I was to keep you suckers all waiting
My tub, I rub-a-dub it with my rubber duck I play
With those quack MC's, someone's been sittin' in my chair
And I'ma wash that crank right outta my hair
Shampoo but I'm down with the Nubian Nut, Joe and go for self
You're buggin' buddy doin' somebody nosin' don't know yourself
Peace to Sef and Jeff, Tae, ?Deesy, dirty and Don Tanean??
Haste makes waste
So with the case is how my day begins
Hot in quarter Vader shops the sports day market pelo
I'm think of my pap, the doctor slapped me in the hospital with a G-O
Word is bond when I was born and I took a breath
I never rhyme with busted rhymes and even the blind knew I was def
Respect to Chico, ?Waller Al Kadee Roscoe Kalidjusome?
Poo-da, ba ba, Luther, the Baby B-Boyz always into some
Time for get me drunk, ?Stu and more my cousin Adulay?
Fuck the bitches who dissed us and the hoes
Who wouldn't give rash a play
I'ma play and which way until I get my new props
Peace to Ricki love the rockin' shot to all the beer spots
The marks we used to stick up, the posse gets much thicker
To those who I forgot yo, I'ma blame it on the liquor
That's my nigga list to those who I missed

Yo you sent out the signal right?
And this is what happened
The voice of Hip Hop got heard
Never comprimised this is how we put it down c'mon
Throughout my thuglife I've seen the ???
Like ??? fight over the role of dice
Flashing whole lights when killas on a hiest
So contight, get poltergiest over the bowl of Christ
Who pulled the slice from cats aiming gats who showed the hiest
Told you right she be the one that come and hold your mic
Then aim it at the whole vice squad just like ???
Rollin like every prototype was dolomight
One man recall his ice inside his gun hand he holds for life
This for the ones with holes in they graves
Waitin for they piece when the law misbehave
I say we off ??? watch 'em walk the beat
Like you can't cross streets make them all retreat
(now) Judges and the jury be a little to appointed
Making us defendants when we supossed to be the plantiffs
Laugh now cause soon the thrill stops
Heads get it on and start to kill cops
I'm sober but the pull me over
What i do yo? (what we do yo?)
Poe-poe go i'm drivin to slow (cool yo)
I torin' them explorin them (damn)
For them that's why i'm ignoring them (uh-oh)
Bring like king skip
Before they bring this to some Rodeny King shit
Forget them fools
Now make no sudden moves
They reachin for they tools (let's move)
You buggin dude
Kirk you ran the stop, word them pigs frontin
Yo tell like you tell 'em cousin we ain't did nothin
All they see is three blacks in a jeep with seats back
Lookin for ??? packs how the blood dog can eat that
They thirstin for a reason to blast you can't beat that
Gats and a badge to match you can beat that so bounce 'em
My people unite and let's all get down
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
Do it right ya'll, keep it tight ya'll, do it right ya'll, just do it
Blood on they hands, blood on my mans
Destroying the fam
More souljers die, another mother cries
Anthony Buyers, ??? ???, Diallo
Let it keep happenin and theirs more to follow
It's even deeper then that penal shot in the back
Forever we fight and cus but the world still adjust
So many bullets just to stop one man
Is that the plan,
To leave us all dead in the street
I'm an opponent of violence
To many of my guys have to condome it in silence
Law takes lives and can only do violence
And with night sticks i write quick
Hopin that
I might hit somebody in the heart
Like an arrow with her eyes on a sparrow
Yo i feel my peoples pain all in my bone marrow
I'm tellin Pharoahe to let my folks go
Ma's been singin to law like they background vocals
Local, state, federal cops have been payed properly
To protect the property
How can i just stand by and watch a man die for nothin and not react
The way we spit on this track is how we bustin back
Yo i pimp slap 5-0
Get behind them and make the marks drive slow
Yo, you wanna know how to improve on the quality life?
Try respectin it step into my zone and maifest a check in it
Cops they transport me from Long island to Medina
with they fucked up demeanor
Dreamin of stickin it to me like Abner Louima
Pharoahe slash El-Hajj Malik Shabazz
with plans of retaliations of they coward ass
God please allow me to preach for 'em
A voiceless man through a spirit i speek for him
Step to city hall if a dove flew for Diallo
with a vision of cops inside the Public Enemy logo
All that scheming and plotting
The young absorb like cotton does
Ecspeacially in my city where the boys steady rockin in
You would thought 5-0 would cut it all short
But they play the biggest part in the art of living arms
In our land cops guns clap more then hands
As if we don't deserve what they hear to preserve
We just tryin to do it right in these worlds that we rappin in
While they trying to fill us all up with more lead then zepilin
My people unite and let's all get down
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
My people unite and let's all get down
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
My people unite and let's all get down
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light
One aim, One voice, One fight
My people unite, hop up and do it right
We gotta have what? love peace and understandin
One god, One love, One light

With my guy in the box chevy
He got a job, used to move rock steady
Windows shaking when the bass drop heavy
Nigga driving like he the black Tom Petty
All fast, extra tender on the glass
Way past the limit when we was pass (?)
(Woop-woop) We heard sirens
Swear I never liked police better than the firemen
Here they come harassing us (?)
Maybe cause the car looking like a tepee
Easy easy easy, they approached us
Hand by their holsters, close to their toasters
Us against them man, that's the culture
Try to look sober before they get close to
The window, hoping that the wind blow
The smell away, (?), don't need a fel-uh-nay
Asking my guy for his license
Damn fam, you ain't got a license?
At least for the weed he got a license
They shining the light right through my iris
Got us out the car, put us on the curb
Going through the car looking for the herb
Must've found something because he acting all awry
Found a pound stashed in the laundry
Then they started asking whose was it
Split us up so they can ask more questions
Am I the buyer? Am I the supplier?
Am I rich? Do I have many buyers?
Once they realized that they couldn't move an inch us
That's when they divide and try to Willie Lynch us
Said that my guy said it was my shit
Oh I'mma fall for that (?) shit?
C'mon man I'm from a Chi environment
Exercise my right to stay silent
Smoking Bob Marley but I ain't gonna well out

Yeah baby boy
In the place (for you and yours) to be
Da uh da uh, we got the uh ya'll
We bout to rock ya'll, we got the uh baby
Yo yo yo check it
Excite-ting, enlight-ning, invite-ting
I'm writin shit that I feel
Raps are Black Steel In the Hour of commotion, the motion of Com
Is like that of a ocean, devotion 'cause I'm
The Earth, Wind, and Fire of hip hop
By Rakim and Short I been inspired
My shit knocks environ---ments
Of cats wit seventeen's tint, time is money
The mind is funny, how it's spent on gettin it
It's sittin wit descendants of Abraham
Who say the jam is "Money, Cash, Hoes"
I went from bashful to asshole to international
Lover-self, word to the mother on my last record cover it's felt
Now deal wit it
I wanna get into it
Let's do this
I wanna see you move it
So move it
So let's just get into it
Let's do this
Can you feel the music?
The music oh ah, can you feel the music, the music
Yo check it yo
In this never-ending battle to please
Niggas, magazine writers, MC's
Who request hot shit, I freeze
And tell em where I was rose, we always said cold
Hold your Horses and ya Carriages, this never-went-gold nigga
Rocks shows care-less
You not gon' respect self, at least respect the heritage
Affect the lives, the spread of wealth and the merit is
I realize what I portray day to day, I gotta carry this
And beats, rhymes and life is where the marriage is
Had Dreams of Fuckin RandB broads, it came true
Journalist I wreck, shared the same view
Picked up a fallen angel on the path that I MC
Familiar voice, come to find out the angel was me
Some say "You changin, Rashid"
Times are, we still close
I rhyme far, away away away
From what you accustomed to hearin everyday, uh-ah
You know the dope-choppin, gun-poppin, homies dyin
I'm amongst it, save the war stories for Private Ryan, INI
I wanna get into it
Let's do this
I wanna see you move it
So move it
So let's just get into it
Let's do this
Can you feel the music?
The music oh ah, can you feel the music, the music
Yo check it yo
Women cry, children laugh, men dance
I refuse to lose self and try to win fans over
Weight on my shoulder fluctuates like Oprah's
My refrigerator poetry's magnetic like ultra
You couldn't hang if you was a poster
Posin like a bitch for exposure
It's rumors of gay MC's, just don't come around me wit it
You still rockin hickies, don't let me find out he did it
Got My Eyes on the Tiger, Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the thighs of Mary J. Blige, imagin on how good the cat must be
Stop eatin meat, lost weight, but I still rap husky
My verse depth is that of a baby's first step
Or the old lady who died and the nurse wept
I flow like cursive writing, invitin you and yours to my openess
Shows allow me to cop Range/range like a vocalist
But man does not live on bread alone
What good is a Range/range when it's time to head home?
I wanna get into it
Let's do this
I wanna see you move it
So move it
So let's just get into it
Let's do this
Can you feel the music?
The music oh ah, can you feel the music, the music
I wanna get into it
Let's do this
I wanna see you move it
So move it
So let's just get into it
Let's do this
Can you feel the music?

Gotta watch out for them critters
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
I was born in Chicago, raised on Planet Rock
Talking zsa zsa zsa zsa
Catch knock my tape like beats, I'm fresh as fruits
(Uh)
You pussy MC, it's you I rebuke, repent
You burn up, you got me bit, I'm coming as ebit
Got on big hoes at Freak nit, frequently your telling me
Won and worn your rockets
So he ain't put no scratch in my pocket
Yo heard, with my head I cock it
And rock it like that brother in Colors
'Cuz I want y'all to live, my crew is 2 Live, we sneakin' to the rear
But I can't get us all in free, it's just another case of that 2 dollar MC
(What?)
I rock the same clothes 3 days straight to you
They wrinkled but to my they straight
Now I'm straight, are you straight? I'm straight as long as I got beer
I thought about it Jack, and now I'm out of here
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
I need me some new socks, I need me some new drawers
I draws attention like a letter to a sargent
Theres a few good MC's the wack, I'm giving code red
Slim say I got nobody but when they see me at the party
They be like, "Go 'head, go 'head"
'Cuz I got's the cuts like Bobby, rappers are dick heads
Choppin' they demo, I do it like Big Red
My office hours are from 9 to 5
While you avoid the party I make it live
The fellas nod and the chicks dance
While I'm coolin' in my jumpers and my big pants
I'm as dope as PCP, MC's see me and start having flashbacks
I don't flash scratch, I gotta watch my back
Now a days blacks don't know how to act
Besides Larry Fishburn, Charles Jug and Wesly Snipes
Marks wanna test me because I test the mics
I check 'em like sound, and like loose I'm down
Plus I done got better since soul by the pound, I maintain
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh
Don't stop the rock
I fall fresh apon the spirit, with the lyric that's overwhelming
And house more hoes then Spell man
Worse unwelcome like James Johnston
My brains sponsoring speech on the mic, I'm like a Jackson
Rappers I'm fondling, they try to settle out of court
But I, could never be bought, what type of rebel eats pork?
I'll take the cat and never get caught, you wack together we fought
'Cuz I can't see my melons boxing if he's not boxin' with 'em
I don't care who started it, I'm gonna be apart of it
Regardless of the odds of how hard
It's been many times we was outnumbered and we still got with them
I got rhythm from some boogers and some foxes
But if I becomes a 10 then some brothers all some gin
And I got juice, and this niggas scared
I'll F your head up, like the L.A.
For when I flow for cash I got for broke like Mel for Moore
Why should a male with a B8 get more then me?
When Rashid got an MC degree and a doctrine in rockin' shit
I go to docs to get a fish wish with cheese
I don't mix with MC's 'cuz I just don't like the mother [unverified]
But I'm still maintaining
Maintain the rock
I get the party live, Common Sense will get the party live, huh

Geto heaven, heaven
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven
Time we get some geto heaven
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven, heaven
Geto
Searchin' for love, throughout the ghetto
Young girls thick, righteousness's narrow
I got my third eye on the sparrow
Want my peoples straight and rock sweet apparel
The mother of my child, we not together
Baby it?s the back, I got forever
The weather talks to us, him rock
The holy spirit walks through us
Blunted eyes of the youth search for a guide
A thug is a lost man in disguise
To rise and fall of a nation
Even when the buildings tumble, I still stand tall
I walk through the valley wit a life preserver
Feelin' at times, that I might just murder
Yo that ain?t what I was sent for
I want folks to say his life it meant more
Than any car, any rock, or any broad
He found geto heaven in himself and God
He found geto heaven in himself and God
He found geto heaven in himself and God
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven
Geto heaven
Time we get some geto heaven
Geto
Love, your happiness don?t begin wit a man
Strong woman, why should you depend on a man?
I understand you want a man that?s resourceful
If he pay your bills, he feel like he bought you
Talkin' to a friend, about what love is
Her man didn?t love her, 'cuz he didn?t love his
Hugged her from afar, said what I felt
Never find a man, till you find yourself
Time helps mistakes, you can learn from
One man F'd up men you shouldn?t turn from
You want a certain type of guy, gotta reach a certain point too
At the destination, a king will annoint you
Goin' through the storm, many bodies stay warm
That relationship died, for you to be born, you're worth more
Than anything you could cop in a store
For you to grow he had to go so what you stoppin' him for
Not even I could ignore bein alone it?s hard
Find heaven in yourself and God
Find heaven in yourself and God, girl
Find heaven in yourself and God
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven
Geto heaven
Time we get some geto heaven
Geto
This music is so much bigger than me
As far as happy, it?s like a trigger to me
Dealin' with crab rappers, groupie broads
Record execs at times it do be hard
To choose words, be heard across waters
Doin' something you like to support daughters
Keepin' your guys who collectin' court orders
Conveyin' messages the ancestor brought us
Thought of things to say to become the end thing for the day
Somehow, that didn?t seem the way for me to make it
Music is a gift that is sacred
I hope you didn?t use it hopin' you could grow to it
Whether servin' or a surgeon, you gon go through it
Can?t imagine goin' through it, without soul music
It?s like Donnie half helped me see Lonnie?s fath
On my behalf, let?s take whole steps to a ho tep?
And show depth, as we make people nod
Find heaven in this music and God, yeah
Find heaven in this music and God, y'all
Find heaven in this music and God
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven
Geto heaven
Time we get some geto heaven
Geto heaven
Time we get some geto heaven
Geto heaven
Need a little geto heaven
Geto heaven

Yeah, yeah
How beautiful love can be
On the streets love is hard to see
It's a place I got to be
Loving you is loving me
How beautiful love can be
On the streets love is hard to see
Gotta reach that frequency
Loving you is loving me
Yeah, you know what love is
Even found it on the ground where the thugs live
My man had to dig deep to find his
Couldn't sleep 'cause on the real he had five kids
Live nig's, real niggaz express and taste it
At crap games, black dames and big faces
Cases in court, fam' showin' love and support
You and your baby's mom thought that love was a sport
As men we were taught to hold it in
That's why we don't know how 'til we're older men
If love is a place I'ma go again
At least now, now I know to go within
At time it can take ya for a spin
Heartbreak hotel then you're home again
I've seen love make a nigga soul pretend
Like a story that he don't want to end
It's all love where we come from
In the hood love we was told to run from
That same hood where the guns sung
We holla love, hopin' it would come one
Crack got so many lives undone
From lack of love many hide some run
I knew this girl with a son who dreamt of actin' in plays
Demonstration with her man had her trapped in a maze
Tryin' to find herself again, much of that she'd have gave
Love can free us, to it some of us react as a slave
Funny, we love 'em more when they're relaxed in a grave
Wonder if a thug is raw, is he actin' afraid?
Everybody loves sun, why do I attract shade?
Heard of the love of money, but compassion it pays
Talk about it with my youth so she'd understand
What it is to be loved by a man
Some say that I'm a dreamer 'cause I talk about it often
Seen the hardest nigga soften wit' his homie in a coffin
We walk and stand in, fall in it
With the right companion we all in it
Mary sang a song about it, having broad limits
In the game of life, it's the scrimage
Reminiscing on letters I wrote in my small days
A letter to the people, love always

The rhyme I pick up, trick up, and like hiccup
(Hiccup)
This is a good place for a stickup
So throw your hands in the air and say, "Hell yeah"
I can beat Mike Tyson, plus I'm Fresh-er than the Prince of Bel Air
And I Blossom, in color is how I'm living
See some pretend to be afraid of me but they're my Public Ene-ma
Picture this, like a cinema, I'm winnin' a contest
I knew you was a loser when you bought your girl's prom dress
I'm just, another one of the nigs, take a swig
I can sing, brothers'll work it out without a gig
The gold mud in my blood, I'm a stud smokin' blunts
Not a fuddy dud if rhymes were pecks, I'd be Woody Wood
They're after pestly hoes and that's the hoes I sex and don't collects
Rockin' a Rolex, preferrin' sex instead of Soloflex
But I pump skill, to build what I can build and still feel good
The baddest hoes be sayin', "Ooh you're real good"
Fella a city dweller, it's poison salmonella
Auntie's name is Stella, style as deaf as Helen Keller
Nail a flammer with the Hammer for comin' incorrect
Not with his grammar or bad mamma jama similar to Bruce Banner
So don't get me angry, or maybe you won't like me
Kid just in the nick, I kick more ass than Bruce Lee's Nike's did
Just in the nick, I kick on the geek stick, flick a Bic
Dick a chick, Slick-er than Rick around the clock
I tock to the tic tac toe, rip up my rhyme my mic's my lasso
Shit, I got rhymes comin' out my asshole
I'm in a pole position, sole position
You're in no position to be dissin'
It's a rainbow coalition, I'm kissin' ass goodbye
Rockaby, here's your lullaby
Like Georgie Puddin' Pie but baby baby don't cry
Feed 'em, I heat 'em and eat 'em if I don't need 'em
Then I leave 'em as leftovers, packin' the weak MC's
Into [unverified] septober [unverified]
'Til I was older, I couldn't hold a rhyme folder
Now I dare ya to try and knock this mic off my shoulder
If I'm sober I won't hold a skunk, but when I'm drunk
I might let her bunk in my bed, heads be sayin' I'm a hunk
Like a duck, I'm slammin' ham MC's, MC's I'm servin'
Makin' the people jump like my man, Julius Erving!
Those deserving props are gonna get theirs
Grip, there's something on your lip, oh that's my dick hairs
I'm the biggedy biggedy bear ya scrub cub with a demo tape
Tryin' to catch me, catch your breath before you hyperventilate
For air you're gaspin', your best bet is to take an Aspirin
I bash it, crash it, now you know, so stop askin'
'Cause when you ask, you make an ass of you and only you
See, just in the nick, I kick the funky shit

I breathe deep
Like an old man in a deep sleep
Or an Indian peace pipe
Identity be
The beginning, the end, the first, the last
Breathe into infinity
A verse that lasts
Got a chick in the south that be cursin' fast
When it was she tried a nigga nurse it last (?)
The hunger of a homeless
Microphones
Played the game - it got a bonus
Man is the plan
The master like Tiger
So much is the drive
I am the definition of a rider
Daughter's name means survivor
From a tribe-a
Colliders
Just one word can't describe her
A scribe of the streets
And a good life that we all wanna reach
I'm hotter than a beach
Flow is so deep
Even underwater
I can inhale to bring the world in order
*scratches*

Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Yo, talk about paying the ultimate price
Hurricane been incarcerated all of his life
Started out at like twelve
Trapped in a belly of hell
Grew into a man inside of a cell
Yo, anger just swell up
At a early age that develop
Hot head and now it ain't shit y'all could tell him
They said he's on a road to become a felon
But instead he swung blows that'll spilt your melon
He did his thing and was the king of the ring, undisputed
Started making noise but they tried to mute it
They put him through it
For him to make the system look stupid,
They rather look you in the face and shoot it
And leave your spot looted
Or leave your whole life blank futured and caught
When you scream at it and do it
With sweat leaking from the outline of your soluid
Don't understand the point that you at
Or how the hell you came to it?
Flashback to images of that night, out in Patterson
They pulled him over heading home from a gathering
And when they told him the charge it kind of baffled him
Murder in the first for the champ, we on that again?
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
*overtop of sung chorus*
Forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could y'all stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
You tell me that you know the pain
Yo, imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could ya'll stand the weather?
You built for that weather?
Yo, know what'm saying?
Know what'm saying?
You gotta fight for what you believe in
Nobody knows the troubles seen
This flick left me wondering
'What can become of kings and young kids?'
Summer dream deferred, incident occured, freedom blurred
A freedom that would only be retrieved again in words, later on
The cops, y'all know what they be on
A nigga's life is like a field that they play upon, away and gone from
Natural lifer, a soul he had to fight,
Learn it himself, sleep days, stay up half the night
Amongst dead man walking, he got afterlife exercising,
Developing his knack to write
Never leaving his cell, in this world he trapped himself
What he loved on the outside world, detached himself
You know the cards Blacks get dealt by the system
He drew a picture of freedom with many dimensions
This picture proved to be bigger than Black and White
A young soul named Lesra brought him back to life
It's amazing to a man what a book could do
And how certain books seem to look for you
This is the story of a champion's fall and rise
The story left me wiping my eyes
Peace Ru
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
Yo, yo, forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could y'all stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
You tell me that you know the pain
Yo, imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever and ever yo, locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Yo, yo i can't even explain the pain
Just imagine if your life was like a hurricane
Yes, I am the inescapable, the irresistable,
The unnegotiable, the unchallenged
I am time
I scroll in measurements, control the elements,
I hold the evidence, I tell the story
I am time
I know no prejudice, I bare no sentiments
For wealth or settlement, I move forward
I am time
You can't recover me, conceal or smuggle me,
Retreat or run from me, crawl up or under me,
You can't do much for me besides serve
Me well and have good dividends returned to you
Or attempt to kill me off and have me murder you
Many have wasted me but now they are facing me,
Treated me unfaithfully and now endure me painfully
Plaintively, I wait to see what history will shape to be,
Who's hearts will never die inside the sake of me
Angel's scribe the page for me,
Keep a full account of all the names for me
And make a special mark for Hurricane who (?) patiently
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
Yo, yo, a Hurricane forever,
Imagine your locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
I can't even explain the pain
Imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine your locked down forever and ever, ever
Could you hold it together?
Yo, can't explain the pain with words, know'm saying?
Just imagine if your life was like a hurricane
The clouds clashed and the heaven's gave birth to star
God placed it in a man on the day he was born
Convicted minutes after, a true natural disaster
Framed for manslaughter, the Hurricane Carter rising
From out the south water, like torrential rains
In the ring no opponent escaped unscathed
You can't believe the world we live in's injust
All I see is more proof, there's no place for us
They had my man Carter locked in a cage, like an animal
Drive him to the point where the mind work mechanical
Or works by remote control
It was done to all of us, they tapped directly into our soul
Either it's sing-sing, or it's bars around your mind
There's no where to run, no where to hide
In a six-by-six a guilty man cries
For repentance and lost is what innocence is
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
Your locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
I can't even explain the pain, know'm saying?
Your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine behind bars forever
Could you stand the weather?
You built for that? Is you cut for that?
Don't be telling me that you know the pain
Your life was like a hurricane, yo
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind

Whatup bitch? I'm Peavey Wheatstraw
And you don't stop with the Heidi, Heidi Hoe
Hi hoe or bye hoe if you're lookin' for a sucker
I'm just another motherfucker
Pucker your lips do flipslike Mary Lou
Just because I fucked you doesn't mean that I'ma marry you
Bury you I will do after I bill you
Kill you hoe 'cause your shit smells like mildew
Pe ew think you need some soap and a rag
Or better yet black, flag, you scallywag
Tag, I didn't mean to diss dis hoe butt
But you need to stay such, do not touch
Much disrespect goes out to you
And your parents, too, for havin' you
Haven't you been introduced to a douche
I guess you said fuck footloose and got pussyloose
No juice, you shoulda dried up, like a prune a
Mister mechanic this place needs a tune up
For the pink Cadillac 'cause it's block is off
And have more use, than a public park
For recreation, givin' up the body is a hobby
I'm tellin' Santa Claus you been naughty sing it
Hoe, hoe, hoe, Merry Christmas
Aiyyo JuJu, I just had to diss dis
Heidi, Heidi Hoe, huh, the Heidi Hoe
All the niggaz know, yo the Heidi Hoe, c'mon
The Heidi Hoe, hah the Heidi Hoe
All the niggaz know, that you're a Heidi Hoe
Now bring it back brotha
Eni meeny meeny meeny meeny meeny miney moe
Careful to catch a tiger, after you catch a tiger
You can catch a hoe, there's your hoe, kiss a hoe, fuck a hoe
Diss a hoe, I'm Peavey Wheatstraw from the Southside of Chicago
Hablo ingles? I don't know espanol Joe
I can go the line plus a hundred like Flo Jo
Homo's a nono, so faggots, stay solo
I roll my dick so it holds just like a Rolo
Total recall, yeah, I see y'all
I see you, I see you're a freak too, so peek a boo
I'm prickin' you whether or not, took you out that's work see
So get your skirt see, and bitch, dirty
Curtsey, dosey-do out the do' slut
This is what I come on, so slut you better grow up
Slow up, you forgot your earrings here take em
Salami beef and ham with the asalaam alaikum
Like that hoe, that hoe, that hoe, that hoe
Dabba da dat, it's like that hoe
Sittin' on the dock of the bay, I say hoe
Say hoe? Hoe do you know, do you know?
Bo knows this hoe blows much, much dick
An undercover trick, a toe a tac a tic
Naked at, frick a frat, plus her puddy wat
C'mere K K K K K K, yo c'mere you little puddy cat
What, your booty black is so indespicable
You squaw pie, tack haired, motherfuckin' jiggaboo
You can suck a dick or two or three or four or mo' here
But first get colon eye birds off your forehead
My nigga Coe said, that you're an around the way girl
You're fuckin' everybody around the way
And then all around the world
And you still can't find yo' fate
But you had a couple of babies
I mean her butt's like gravy
The lady is a tramp snake hoe yo
And all of that fuck her sixty nine
You get the eighty six and don't call me back
Your black ass bunion' there's a party

Phone rang, screen said caller ID said blocked
But for some reason I decided to answer it
On the other end was a French accent
He told me we needed to rap quick
Cause he had did some bad shit
And would be gone for years, spending these last two days
With his momma and his kids
When he spoke I wasn't trying to hear it ,cause
I knew he was a real good person
And this didn't seem like it was in his spirit
He couldn't believe as much as I couldn't, what he done
He said now its time for him to turn himself in
No longer could he run, from life, from God
Start thinkin', why is doing right is so hard
I got back to him when we was in London discussin' the new testament
And how our lives related to it, and how we could make the best of it
My voice became destined, so I asked him why you gotta go
He said you know turn to Matthew twenty-four
He said no one knows the hour, nor do they know the day
But the kingdom is near, don't let anything lead you to stray
As long as God is with you, everything will be okay
So right about then, we decided to pray
Just lyin' back makin' the smoke disperse a ray
Deep into clouds
It's makin' things appear to me so clearly
Deep in the clouds
Just lyin' back makin' the smoke disperse a ray
Deep in the clouds
It's makin' things appear to me so clearly
Deep into clouds
Your time
Is a terrible to waste
For it's
Not one of the possessions that you can bring to space - yeah, it don't matter
Its a challenge
But the chance of seeing, is quite a dream to chase - yes it is
I hope
I remind God of him when he sees my face
He gon see it
The feeling just keeps on lifting me higher
And its ever flowing it's, ever flowing
When every thing, puts a smile on my face
And I recognize the strong goal
But I keep on going, I keep on going
I keep on going on
Hey mighty love
Watching over me
A smile, brilliant
All over, constantly
Warm, comforting
Perfect, like nothing
No hate, no confusion, no strain
Simply peace, simply
Simply, simply, simply
No fear! Heaven is to me
No fear of destruction
Understanding who he is
His name is Christ
Heaven, heaven is to me
Wisdom, understanding, knowledge
Streets of gold and pearly gates
Halos wings all dressed in white
Angels sing and cymbals glare
No one's rich no one's poor
People dreaming they live free
Making love while they in love
Wonderful dream wake me when you're home
Heaven, heaven is being pops
Heaven is spending the day with your grandchildren
Listenin' to they voices when and they laughing and play
And then at the end of the day we hug we kiss and slowly they walk away
And then suddenly they turn and rush back to me and hug me round the knees

Yeah, one two
Yeah, where my nigga Jay Dee?
Where ya at? (Yeah!)
(Oooh, you say you got guns, then bring that shit) what?
(You say you got ones, then bring that shit
Cause you need a lot more ones and guns for this) what?
(To get my man see we bout to spit some) HOT SHIT
Yeah, one two
Bout to spit that, HOT SHIT
Huh whoo! Yeah
Turn it down nigga, HOT SHIT
Yeah (oooh)
Messenger in the Metropolis+Apocalypse+ here and +Now+
Niggaz know the ledge, so they don't come near the style
I appear in clouds on some heaven to earth shit
Fake niggaz drown the deeper the verse gets
Deep as a skinny girl's cunt - I surface with the purpose
To let y'all niggaz know the demo
Voice is a instrument that's monumental
You couldn't fuck with the style if you was a nympho
Raised in the temple of Chi, taught to look into the eye
I identify with dobbs and weaves, and niggaz makin moves
That bob and weave, and niggaz with jobs on the side sell weed
I feed off the hunger that a bum or abandoned child gets
Freaky, like Marv Albert, in outfits, by Chaka Givens
I lecture how I got God but don't got religion
Got a clip for these niggaz on the net, sellin my shit
Let's just say you Ramone and I'm Spit
In a habitat of Cadillacs and battle raps
And people that travel at the speed of need
Never agree with the ways of the world
Cats say anything - like they say to they girl
How you bringin it when you sit indian style?
Niggaz know me as Com it's time hear me go wild
With HOT SHIT, yeah
HOT SHIT, yeah, one two
Came to bring it boy
(You say you got guns, then bring that shit
You say you got ones, then bring that shit
Cause you need a lot more ones and guns for this) what?
(To get my man see we bout to spit some) HOT SHIT
What? No doubt HOT SHIT
Old men see visions young men dream dreams
I rock the planet - recognize - I'm the C.R.E.A.M
Com Rules Everything and everything is
How yo' man pullin yo' weight - he ain't carryin his
Scary the biz is like 'The Blair Witch Project'
Experiment in rooms on some bare bitch project
State senators, life twirls, most sell out
- Like a dread with a white girl
You want me to cypher with you and the Gods?
I just did a show - I'm pursuin these broads
Everyone I ain't tryin to fuck
Wanna feel female presence and conversation a touch
You'll get split like a date that's dutch scuffed and scraped up
Taped up for tryin to say what - ever you was about to say
You rap like a nigga that's about to spray
Get a mouth shot, for openin your mouth to say
Feel my heat in the night - it leaves you without the day
What I write is a passage for niggaz to travel through
Before defeatin me - Joe, you better battle you
I tap into my own zone like it's my home phone
Turn the cell off and let my dome roam
Shame I gotta do white labels to keep my life stable
I write fatal bringin niggaz to life
A wise man came in the thick of the night
He said BRING THAT SHIT when you pick up the mic
I said, 'What shit?'
He said HOT SHIT, hot shit, hot shit
(You say you got guns, then bring that shit) uhhh
(You say you got ones, then bring that shit
Cause you need a lot more ones and guns for this) uhh
(Me and my man, see we known to spit this) HOT SHIT
Hot shit, yeah, yeah, uhh
What we spit Jay? (Throw it down nigga)
HOT SHIT, uh, yeah, uh, c'mon, yeah (keep it goin)
HOT SHIT
HOT SHIT
HOT SHIT yeah, boy (keep it goin)
HOT SHIT out

[hook]
so we made it to this ? down the road
and we picked up lots of chicks and pots of gold
how i made it out with my soul
[verse 1]
ashtrays and cigarretes, last days, indigenous people
these are adventures of young black millionaires
i am the voice of the meek and underprivileged
the smell of success, i want y'all to get a whiff of this
on the move like black slaves through the wilderness
i write it, and still get invited to white christmases
when i was born, three wise men came to visit us
one a hustler, one a king, one a prisoner
they cracked the bottle then started giving gifts
you from chicago, we want you to deliver this
show the walking dead who the truly living is
separate the fake from who the real reals is
hot tub time machine, back to the sybaris
hats from liquor stores to avoid syphilis
frivolous spending, drunk nights with storybook endings
i guess it's my addiction to women
i was in france, hennessey blending
writing my own scripts like i'm tennessee williams
now it's new beginnings like a born again christian
on the mic, victorious, story is redemption
[bridge]
i'm sitting at the top, i'm not alone
i'm standing here with my soul
[verse 2]
feed our souls with two fish and five loaves
teach a man to cook it for survival
my dad said it rained on my arrival
now a storm of the brain make these guys drive slow
like i was 5-0, but my creed's apollo
on the rock and roll with the coldest live show
for those before i came, i'm made the song cry for 'em
lyrical gymnast, you set the bar low
this is that kilimanjaro, like twitter you can follow
it may be hard to read like hieroglyphics
written on the walls of cairo, check my youth revival
truth inside flow, i stand like em did with dido
crashed parties, any live yo
is libel to get banged like things that rival tribal slang
from the, killed the game and watched it die slow
ali mc, i fight for more than the title
your idol

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing you could do
(Straight up)
There's nothing you could do
(Not a boy says)
There's nothing you could do
(I want to know why you want tot play with it)
There's nothing you could do
They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game
A heart full of glory and a fist of pain
A couple of battle scars but shit's the same
Are you not entertained?
So all the onlookers and the bystanders
Wait till intermission, run buy your camera
Record the moment 'cause it'll be platinum
And you could say you seen
Common rock the stadium with Gladiator
I was told by a wise old to come from the heart
Though I might've did The Light, I don't run from the dark
The dark knight to spark mics and start fights
The warrior archetype like Kimbo Slice
It's strength in the beard, am I loved or feared?
A beast amongst boys like Paul I'm revered
Vroof, vroof, vroof, vroof, vroof, vroof
Well, like Jacob Jewel, I keep clientele
You frail on the mic like you might break a nail
I might smoke a joint but I won't take the L
I knew a fat girl who broke the scale
Still touched down 'cause I was off Artell
Had dreams of breaking Mike Vick out of jail
Took the underground rail to the end that failed
I rebel, NYSL, here to leave a trail like Nelson Mandela
There's nothing you could do
(Man, why you want to go against me?)
There's nothing you could do
(You sing where I fall)
There's nothing you could do
(You sing what I do)
There's nothing you could do
They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game
A heart full of glory and a fist of pain
A couple of battle scars but shit's the same
Are you not entertained?
So all the onlookers and the bystanders
Wait till intermission, run buy your camera
Record the moment 'cause it'll be platinum
And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium
My words is the sword, my skill is the shield
My life is the style, I stay dressed to kill
A legend like Will Smith with the steel
I could save the world when shit get for real
Skinny George Foreman, all in your grill
My rhyme style is blind, it's all in the feel
Touch it and watch the blood fall with the steel
The weak raps you wrote you could call that your will
My drive, vroom, is how I stay the livest
Your guys got you gassed, my flow is a hybrid
Crashed I survived it, gashes over eyelids
You easy to take out 'cause you hot garbage
I'm amped like wattage, the truth nigga honest
Any moment opponents drop out like college
Kneel and pay homage to the rap Ziggy Stardust
Stadium hands in the air fists balled up
There's nothing you could do
(You know what it is)
There's nothing you could do
(The boys rock)
There's nothing you could do
(So who next?)
There's nothing you could do
They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game
A heart full of glory and a fist of pain
A couple of battle scars but shit's the same
Are you not entertained?
So all the onlookers and the bystanders
Wait till intermission, run buy your camera
Record the moment 'cause it'll be platinum
And you could say you seen
Common rock the stadium, the gladiator
Feet in the dirt, blood on the shirt
Scars over bars, symbols of the work
Tight clothes the armor, center of the drama
Defeat your whole army like this is Sparta
So don't violate or you'll get violated
Some of you model bitches is so overrated
Don't mean to underrate it but damn it, I made it
In the water I waded, on the corner I painted
Draw blood like we related
MCs get de-decapitated
Syncopated is the style that I fight with, write with
Mr. Excitement, change your face up
Like a white chick then light shit
Up like a dread with the herbs
Get sex in the city and head in the burbs
These are the words of a radical
The crowd applaud, I'm bowed, I'm proud to be the gladiator
There's nothing you could do
(How could you even question this?)
There's nothing you could do
(Now you know)
There's nothing you could do
(The future)
There's nothing you could do
They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game
A heart full of glory and a fist of pain
A couple of battle scars but shit's the same
Are you not entertained?
So all the onlookers and the bystanders
Wait till intermission, run buy your camera
Record the moment 'cause it'll be platinum
And you could say you seen

Ghetto to ghetto, backyard to yard
We tear it up y'all, bless the mic with the gods (come on)
Precious metals round our necks and arms (yea)
We tear it up y'all, bless the mic with the gods
Ghetto to ghetto, backyard to yard
We tear it up y'all, bless the mic with the gods (come on)
Precious metals round our necks and arms (yea)
We tear it up y'all, bless the mic with the gods
(Hook: Anthony Hamilton)
Whatever in your heart is where you want to be
My hood is the ghetto
Even when you look
Its never what you see
My hood is the ghetto
I've been down before up is just a reach
Cause my hood is the ghetto
Catch a second wind
Then begin again
My hood is the ghetto
(Verse 1: Common)
Black magic in the hood, its tragic but understood
Crack addicts, crack windows, crack wood
Even whats bad becomes good, status becomes stood
Upon the pedestal welcome to the ghetto show
Federal buildings, pissy hallways filled with children pushing children
Fiends lips peeling, shit seems real and
What's real is the estate of mind that we're in
The situation feels great
My man peels weight, so he can fill plates
You might get love but you still feel hate
Through and chain plates, we communicate
Chicago to brooklyn nigga real ones do relate
(Verse 2: Talib Kweli)
If lyrics sold then truth be told
I'll probably be just as rich and famous as jay-z
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like common sense
Next best thing I do a record with common sense
Cause its the music, its blues, its jazz, its acoustics
Soul, rock and roll the hip hop we be producing yea
It's the gear, it's the flare, it's the stare
Nowadays they'll shot you where they used to shoot the fair
Remember the lost soldiers, pour a beer, shoot the air
We got our own elected officials, no matter who the mayor
I know you know what I'm talking about
From New York to the South, take off your shoes when you walk in the house
(Hook)
(Verse 3: Talib Kweli)
I grew up where they're playing skele in the parking lot
And sell paintings of Aaliyah, BIG and Pac up in the barbershop
Buildings too big so you don't really see the stars a lot
But rapping, drinking, and going to prison you see them bars a lot
I feel the spirit in the dark and hear it in my heart
And always keep my ears to the block till I dearly depart
Hip hop is really the art
We have to express the part of ourselves that make us want to martyr ourselves
It ain't harder to tell when somebody stick you up and put the hammer to you
They want them dead presidents like Stickman and Mutulu
With a gun to your jaw, these kids don't run anymore
Kicks is a hundred or more
(Verse 4: Common)
A man in front of the store, begging for money and mercy
I told him say a prayer under his breath, he cursed me
Niggaz is thirsty, I heard it's a drought
Up early, serving from their grandmother's house
Sometime the ghetto feels desolate, yo the eyes of the hood yo is desperate
Effected by the deficit, times and lessons get hard
Either get by or get god, but but you try to get by
It's like the block keep blocking
You try to make moves, its like the car just keep stopping
We shorties in the court, need cochran yea
I tell them why the weed seeds popping, in the game you need options
No time for feet watching, me and kwe keep rocking for the ghetto

[Hook]
Ghetto dreams
Ghetto ghetto dreams
Ghetto niggas' dreams
Ghetto ghetto dreams
Ghetto niggas' dreams
Ghetto dreams
Ghetto niggas' dreams
From the hood
[Verse 1: Common]
I want a bitch that look good and cook good
Cinderella fancy, but she still look hood
Butt naked in the kitchen flipping pancakes
Plus she tricking from the dough that her man makes
We got our own handshake
Her titties ain't fake
F-cking in the car cause we just can't wait to get home
Early in the morn' getting stoned
Pretty with her eyes low, runny by Bible
The type of bitch that BIG said he would die for
Is the type that I would rather stay alive for
Tatts on her back, looking all tribal
She know shoes like she know survival
Well put together, she weathers the storm
Seen her brother die so forever she's strong
Hear Beyonce's song and she gotta perform
Whether f-cking or fighting: we getting it on!
[Hook]
[Verse 2: Common]
I don't even say shit, she can feel it
I toss the realest, sold nails acrylic
Ass is a weapon and it's hard to conceal it
Baby in one arm, the other is a skillet
Frying chicken, macaroni
Raise on the?
Ghetto press, she's my apolonni like
Tony, Montana
Reminded me of mio ma or my mama
Knowing the drama like she know when to joke
Steal a nigga's squares, not wanting me to smoke
I poke my head out of Benzes
My beats is the streets and I know who my friends is
In this love for the money, power and clothes
My ghetto housewife watch reality shows
She might get to snapping if the canvas aint closed
When the cameras snap snapping, she's ready to pose
[Hook]
[Verse 3: Nas]
I notice all my flaws when it comes to writing rhymes
Subject matter be changing too quickly at times
So I keep it strictly 'bout dimes and stick to the story
Call me a pro in the p-ssy category
Had explicit experiences I shouldn't mention
For me, getting women turn from sport to addiction
Powerful women playing the roles of submission
Lawyers on leashes
Congress women inflicting pain onto my game
Warned that I'm sadistic
They liked it, they diked it, devices twisted
Til I get a nice chick, to get me on some nice shit
Crib raising kids, slap a door behind a white fist
But I'm still single, looking for Cleopatra
African Queen, yo look at me, I'm a bachelor
Y'all niggas in trouble, keeping girls behind closed doors
Cross your fingers, be happy I haven't chose yours
She loves glamour bought Vera Wang sandals
Valentino bags is my etiquette
My man is half hood half class
Photographers cameras caught us out there
The spotlight, I hope she can handle
She can join me, red carpet at my next non-profit
Event having sponsored by some alcohol product
Jumping out a Bentley with some fresh red bottoms
You live the dream with me when you are just in the projects

Electric! Wire! Hustle! Flower!
Blood and magic dripping from me
True thugs and addicts I grip an entry
Enter this game with tricks and envy
I forget game to remain an emcee
Rooms in this mind that's still empty, only fufilled through prophecy
You stoppin me, you see I'm tryin to catch this plane
You must be slow nigga, catch your brain
It's fresh, but it is some stress and pain
Got hos?, Ho nigga respect the game
I talked to cab drivers about the fast lane
And Islam, masters and shakras? and beyond
Think about the hustle and somehow I see by
But what led it to the concrete, BS be strong
You was at your hardest when you didn't even try
Live like a bitch, to bitch you gonna die
Electric! Wire! Hustle! Flower!
Mercury and retrograde, I'm trying to get niggas in the ghetto paid
While they watch pornos and Escalades, away from floats and the dope in sex parades
Somebody screamin in my mind, I'm tryin to find if it's me
Or voices on the master, they desgin to be free
Same revolt, can't be found on TV, or radio, its livin in me
Hey lady, that smoke is bothering me
If I put it in your eye, ashes you would cry
All this rap talk is blowing my high
I just came to chill and build with my guy
I try to walk but I stumble off the humble path
This story of a pimp stick that became a staff
You got it, you gotta know where to aim the Mag
Art and oppinions are made to clash
Electric! Wire! Hustle! Flower!
Out of body hard to explain, like the pyramids and gods I remain
I know pain, like Kurt Cobain, or ain't I playin hurt the whole game
Dig it to the Earth's brain for worst gain
Focused like young blood on his first chain
I used to write shit to please niggas
Now I write shit to freeze niggas
Whether iced out, or American Pie sliced out
I sit in the room with the lights out
Whether diced out, or with their hair spliced out
I sit alone in the room with the lights out screamin

You know, Slick, why do he wanna come crib
Acting like he know how the brothers live?
We have to let 'em know
We have to let 'em know
Heeeeere we go
Behold a pair of white horses on the Death Wish course
Been watching MTV, reading articles in The Source
Lost on the other side of the river
Where death approaches the livest nigga
I wonder why this wigga
Would even come around my tilt
With grandmothers cry, uncles get high, and cats get pealed
My guys will deal with him, he got no rhythm
So let the steel hit him, we speaking jail diction
Hoe work and day oppression
Turn up the bass and let the system thump
So my neighbors won't hear the sparks as the lead gets pumped
Its a pre-(?) agreement in the cement jungle
Kill each other over money and white boys for fun
[Female Singer]
Don't come my way
Hawks feel the day
Things don't change, oh no
Don't you come my way
Come my way
See the day, oh no
[Slick Rick]
Little family so a junky living act as
Started smoking crack to fill the void within my black ass
1999, rolling as some broke cat
These white kids asking questions
About where to buy some coke at
Kinda shock a dude, Ruler turn a sucker to
Show 'em where these cats at, maybe earn a rock or two
Retarded, not knowing the kid hardest trife
Kill 'em, asswipes, I'll have a new start in my life
Till the drug lord knock upon their (?)
Disprespected, "Washed up rapper, what the fuck you want?"
The often asked, I could see others laugh
I got my man he wanna a buy a half a ki off your ass
Scolding 'em, sleeping and sold on 'em
Gimme the cash,
Let me flash it through this peephole on 'em (Check it out)
He got hyped quick, pursued in the tight crib
Emptied on their asses, including the white kids
[Female Singer]
Don't come my way
Hawks feel the day
Things don't change, oh no
Don't you come my way
Come my way
See the day, oh no
[Common]
Yo, How'd dude go cop a brick when he ain't got the loot
Ricky D, get the heat and 'Treat 'Em Like a Prostitute"
This wigga gots no heart from his Iowa start
[Slick Rick]
And a Section 8 cat, he don't want any part
I put two in there, ruin their, pursuing their souvenir
Nigga, what the fuck is that white behind DOING here?
Won't you say you wanted to slug 'em
"If your not here for the cable or the (?) ya BUGGIN"
[Common]
Lights flooded the scene, there was blood and si-reens
(sirens)
The cops shot the brother, I still hear him scream
Black mans reality, white mans bad dream
Familiar scene from the Ickeys to the Brady Green
Its pissy hallways, broke elevators always (ya know)
Ain't no place for our children to play
I try to go out in the summer and be feeling the day
These broke and stupid niggas, yo they still in the way
[Slick Rick]
One of the mightiest slang, and plus the night is young
I got long term money draining ideas from
Since they far, I'll find your brown sweetheart
Just being white your like golden goose around these parts
Hey retard, better hurry in, my name is Father Marion
I'll hold that American Express card your carrying
Put your nose up, don't, shut up, provoking and woke up
First where do you live, how much money your folks got?
[Female Singer]
Don't come my way
Hawks feel the day
Things don't change, oh no
Don't you come my way
Come my way
See the day, oh no
Don't come my way
Hawks feel the day
Things don't change, oh no
Don't you come my way
Come my way
See the day, oh no
[Common]
We let the rhythm go
Common Sense will 'em hit where I hit 'em
Common Sense will spin 'em check it out
I guess I did 'em where they should to be done
Ain't nothing new about the wonder rap son
Closed styles like captions yo it's time for some action
Man, I get bread, niggas get me sled
When I come up off their head, it was said
For that, yo, it's like this
Common Sense'll strike this, mic this
Just like some punchlines
How niggas follow me like one time
Everybody love me like the sunshine
Combine, ain't that you never knew of
Niggas say one but I've got two loves

Yo Troy, I'ma come on the rhythm
With a little bit of communism
Yeah, hah
So check it out, yeah
Chick-a chick-a I'm, chick-a chick-a on
Chick-a chick-a my, my, own shit
Like an entrepreneur that stepped in maneur
Man, I'm newer than a Jack, I went up the hill with Jill
And Jack Jill's big bootay
We did the booty up, I told the bitch
She betta have my money or step to the AMG
You know Com Sense, oh yeah, him be
That nigga that be making all the bid-by-by-bye sounds
But since then, Common calm down
I'm on some calm shit, watch Com get complicated
Simple motherfuckers say the way that Com communicated
Was too complex, I got a complex not to complain
On my brain no complain and so will my community
And I prefer compliments
So I complement at an angle of ninety degrees
It's the nineties and music got known for grease
I got a sense of direction and a compass
Come passed MC's with no compassion
Though I heard the screams of
But I ain't shy, so why shall I comfort
Commiserate at the fort with Jeff, I'm so ill
But I chilled in my compartment with no company and no meals
Now Com can get the panty, but I want my own company
And Com is on a mission not to work for commission
It's a common market and it's so much competition
But to me, competition is none
To my comp I'm a ton, I get amped like Watts in a riot
My compact disc is a commodity, so buy it
Instead of competing with Pete
Com compromised, Com made a promise
Not to commercialize, but compound the soul

[verse 1]
we were from different cities on the same block
grew up in different circles in the same spot
like raindrops we fall in love giving our all
showing her ring off like a player at the ball
i recall the walls that i had up
attracted to women for things that didn't matter
ka-clow boom pop! sound of my heart when it drop
the night that i met her, it might be forever
i hear people saying that they like us together
i ain't afraid to gamble when life is getting better
with you, i admit i had issues
like ebony, your essence, your pedigree, your presence
it's more than clothes can say for you
when i shop i gotta spend more than a day for you
i pray for you and us, that we imbue through lust
and accrue the trust, let's shake off the dust from the cloth
[hook]
oh you're worried about when people stop and stare
that's just a tear on those beautiful clothes you wear
cut from the same, cloth you just want to wear
but that's just a tear because girl i can get you fresh
la la la la, la la la la
[verse 2]
this is tailor-made love, fit like a snug
anything we can bear so let's have some cubs
you were there when my cuz passed away
not only does love, but life hatches day
i appreciate the hugs and the days i breed with you
strong seeds i can see with you, the good word i read with you
looking at things that we've been through
things that seem simple
i know when to go hard and when to be gentle
sentimental laughs and expressions
let's stay in the present, no time for second guessing
you said it's this cloth that makes you feel naked
the truth we address it, that's so unexpected
yeah that's the thread that helps us move ahead
your hunger for affection will always be fed
thank god we never sped and let love take it's course
because what's inside of us, no need to outsource
the cloth
[hook]
[verse 3]
hey lover we can cover each other
through the coldest nights, tight never smother
it's two things that seems to hold us together
god is our tailor and forever
it's two things that seems to hold us together
god is our tailor and forever
it's two things that seems to hold us together
god is our tailor and forever
it's the cloth

I'm the river that flow through the hood
Through the woods, through the birds, through the mud
Through the bricks over the curves, to the forest reserve
Got with four acres in the forest and worst
Planted [Incomprehensible] for the young seeds to know
Trees is blowin', we see change in the wind
This is new day and I gotta take it in
See a black man run, we need him to win
Young eyes search, search for a better tomorrow
Let belief lead the way and the angels follow
Open doors for the hopeful to go through
'Cause I was chosen and I'm supposed to
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
I spoke like a child, I wrote like a child
I always smile, let my mind float like a child
Wishin' I was smart as these kids are now
All grown up still wishin' I'm a child again
Church song reminded me to stay grateful
A [Incomprehensible] reminded me to stay playful
Day's go by, my life all high
I leave all my walks so the fight don't die
And me, I found a purpose why I MC
Inspire a young world to be greater than me
I fall awake and I dream a song
So the little shortys will sing along
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
Welcome children, welcome me
Your sentiments is felt in me
I see the future and the walking path
Don't let these fool take you off your path
Laugh if you need to, smile if you need to
Life is a trip ride long and proceed to
Try to believe to, do what you wanna do
Remember you're kings and queens and still humble to
Life isn't fun and you don't need to look back again
Victory can be claimed while you still battling
Travel on with the food I provide you
To awaken the voice that's inside you
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
I know a change gonna come
The race begun, we're almost there, oh yeah
Change is inevitable, you can't stop it
Change is happening in everybody's life
Change is like the furious hurricane that you can't stop
What is change? Change is Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi
Shakespeare, Tupac Shakur, Barack Obama
And you can't forget Common

[hook]
everybody home, ain't nobody gone
and i got all my niggas around
it feel good, don't it? getting hood on it
and i got all my niggas around
i got a couple minutes in town
a couple hundred bitches around
so baby gonna get us a round
cause i got all my niggas around
celebrate
[verse 1]
we partying, yeah got body in
exotic broads lobbying, spanish, somalian
fly, we live it 'til we die
we living in the night, toast looking in her eye
on our paper 'til we get it like dubai
chi niggas stand up, plastic cups
girls with the drastic butts, that ask for bucks
it don't stop here
bottles of veuve pop here
and we gonna get around like 2pac's here
celebrate like it's new year
some bomb rocks coming, type nuclear
yeah, it's so ridiculo
lit the medicinal, passed it give-and-go
backwards liquor store
celebrate
[hook]
[verse 2]
in my paul smith like an alcoholic
my guys i used to hoop with, is now who i ball with
this raw bitch came in looking flawless
tonight she'll be giving conscious, headlights!
beaming from the beemer that her momma bought her
i got to act right for her like i'm an author
look where drama brought us, look where karma brought us
married to the game, like usher we was caught up
now we got some r&b; broads we can call up
you niggas come around keep the wall up
smoke blowing out thinking of tomorrow and the simple things
hustlas from the go, how far we done came
celebrate
[hook]
[verse 3]
ah, another night, we love the night
for the life, getting bugged tonight
wait 'til i get my money right
told you it's gonna be on like the benzes that we lean on
put my team on, get our heat on
ah, i knew her when she strip, her name was chardonnay
my niggas move work even on a holiday
we come from porches and alleyways
i'm the big ticket, don't need no one to validate
you celebrate
[bridge]
we ain't gotta wait
it's a toast to you and me
bills aint so bad, celebrate that
party in the yard 'til the lights come on
ain't nobody crying
we've come so far, been climbing
know the clouds they passed us by
c'mon and raise your glass up high

I got so much trouble on my mind
So I take time, out my day to pray and I say
Now I lay me down to sleep
Hopin' that I keep my soul, peep
I'm gettin' old and it's a cold, cold world
And I ain't even got a bomber
Livin' with my momma
It's the same routine
Keep my room clean
I'm lookin' to do some new things
But ain't shit to do, I'm twenty-two, catch
In the prime of my life, I have no time for a wife
I funnel through the tunnel
Disgruntled, tryin' to find me some light
In the rim of darkness
Aiight you sing, I may not be the darkest
Brotha but I was always told
To act my age and not my color
Knowin' that my color was that of the original
So now I sing the new negro spiritual
It goes get up stand up, etc.
It's like how can you understand the pain
When you never had to stand under the rain
When it rains it pours and it's about to come down hard
Thank God, I found you
As I walk down the road of existence
I get resistance from all angles
I tangle for cash, hopin' it'll last
'Til the end of the week but all I eat is fast food
And you know how junk food goes right through ya
So I return to the Arab and on the way back
I stop and the liquor store, grab me a six pack
Knowin' that once I'm done with that I'll be back
To get some more, once I get started I don't wanna stop
And I can't turn around, brew, I can't turn it down
Ironically I turn it up, my liver I burn it up
(Fat line)
It's my life, I live it up, the cup I gotta give it up
One day, I'm cruisin' down a one way street
And I done passed fun day, three blocks ago
It itself life is an obstacle
As I maneuver through the manure I try to be responsible
I want a job but I ain't lookin', how come
I ain't tryin' to degrade myself bein' nobody's Calvin
But I'm a couch bum, what makes it bad I had incentive
But I disintegrated to a state that's stagnated
I procrastinated, I can't recall a day
Without bein' intoxicated or blowed
Ain't dealin' with a full deck and any day I could fold
What makes it bad, I wasn't dealt that bad a hand
And I had a plan but things didn't go through
The way they were supposed to
Thank God, I found you
It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder
How I keep from goin' under, I ponder
And try to keep my concentration in this idiotic nation
They say become I doctor but I don't have the patience
Adjacent to that situation, I want an occupation that I'm into
'Cause yet if I begin to live to my potential
I went to school for fourteen years
And my best teacher was experience
I reminisce and wish
I could go back in time to eighty-nine
When there was just sunshine
But now it's like I'm gettin' older
To so much strain and stress
I don't think I'll ever be happy until I rest
In peace of mind and find who I am

Aston Martin king
Luther with dreams
The young Denzel
The way I move through scenes
I'm like a preacher than once was a fiend
A story of change that came with wings
Pretty as the skyline
The sky is my ally
Son of the Mo so from up high I shine
Suited in Prada stay mellow like lala
Young fresh with dollars
Ladies go gaga
I'm the coom lada
Top of the class
Black Wall Street so my stock'll never crash
Giving what I ask
Pure religion and cash
For the windows that open I'm raising my glass
Daylight beams
Nightlife schemes
This is my inception
I'm writing my dreams
A mortal view of a star
Doing what I'm born to do
I see the blue skies

These
Are words of a believer
Achiever
LEAder
Of the globe
Free
The souls
Of those
In need.
I bleed
The blood
Of the struggle
Walking over troubled
Puddles
The hustler's
In my chest
No hustling
No progress
Extremities of life in this process
The birth of a son, the death of ANOther
With LOVE I caress both mothers
And told
Them, “Who’s in control,
It's the one that’s above us”
I walk bread, money talks, and love stutters
Body language
Of a nation
Going through changes
The young become dangerous
Pain is
Mended into anger
Anger
Gets sent through the chamber
It’s tough when your own look like strangers
We are the sons of gangsters
And stone rangers
If you could have an early March, rang us
Look at the picture, it’s hard not to blame us
We’re trying
...? in the Chi
Where the young die
Often
Do they end up in a coffin
Because we haven’t taught them?
Is it what we’re talking?
We really ain’t walking
Huge hustler's faith, how much did it cost him?
By myself on the same corner that we lost him
Real talking
In their ear like a Walkman
My thought's been around the corner, to the world
So when I see Him, I see my baby girl
The Lord
Lives among us
The younger's
Hunger
Becomes a
Means to get it, by any ways nece-
Ssary under
pressure
Children
FEELin'
Lesser
With the STEEL upon the dresser
Kill
at Will
Aggressors
Destiny's children
Survivors
Soldiers
In front of buildings
Their EYES look older
It's hard to see blessings
In a VIOlent culture
Faced against weapons
SIRENS, holsters
That ain't the way that Langston
Hughes wrote us
Soul control us
On the shoulders
Of Moses
And Noah
We go from being Precious to Oprah
Culti-
Vated to over-
Come ever since we came over-
Seas the day
In a way
That you can see it
He de-
Termined
The SOLAR keeps burning
Shorty's KNOW TA keep learning
Lessons in our life
Are like
Stripes
That we earning
I took Grant's advice
That Christ is returning
Like a the thief in the night
I write for beacons of light
For those of us in dark alleys
In parched valleys
Street hits spark rallies
Of the CONscious
CONquerors
Of a CONtest
That seems
Beyond us
Even through the unseen
I know that God watches
From one King's
Dream
He was able to Barack us
One King's
Dream
He was able to Barack us
One King's
Dream
He was able to Barack us

"Baby I'm Selfish"
Common feat. Kanye West
[Chorus: Common]
I'm callin' (baby i'm selfish)
Out to (I want you to myself I can't help it)
All my (baby i'm selfish)
Your my ladies and
I can't (baby i'm selfish)
Let you (I want you to myself I can't help it)
Be with (yeah), no one (yeah)
But me baby
[Verse 1: Common]
To all my thick chicks down in Texas
All the way to New Orleans where the girls cook catfish
And in L.A. every chicks an actress.
Hollywood statis with the shaded glasses
To Detroit, yeah the place that I rest
Where the ladies got asses and la la #@*!
And Hot'lanta yall is one of the best
Where they speak southern slang and smoke lases
And New York women are way too fresh
Too much on ya mind let me ease that stress
I wish you all were mine it's so selfish
Maybe i'm feelin' myself too much I guess.
To my ladies all across the globe
In small towns that I don't even know
To all local and international codes
Whether you see me in streets or catch me at shows
[Chorus]
[Verse 2: Kanye West]
And don't be tryna come around my girl
Actin' like Mr. Friendly
And steal the spot light like Mr. Bently
I spotted her like soil Mckenzie
And for them fake boobies I paid them bengiez
Get your own ??
I got Paris, he got Nickie
He tried to get him a clone
He said "Yeah, you know you got extra hoes."
And everything you do is extra cold
From the Polo fleece, to the Jesus piece
I got family in high places like Jesus niece
Can I please say my peace
If you fresh to death and i'm deceased
And this one here is a heat rock
Spit like the beat-box
The way the beat rock
New version of Pete Rock
Before that Benz I got CL love
I switch my girls around like 3LW
I'm callin'
[Chorus]
[Verse 3: Common]
What up Pam, how ya lil' man doin' in New Jersey
Last I heard he caught the flu and you was worried
Hope he feels better and thanks Jonetta from Cleveland
For that good head in your Jetta, better believe it
Shanise, you my peace from Compton
Before i'm off the plane make sure you cop some trees to spark up
Daniel ATL, got them pictures in the mail
You sent it with a kiss and you ceiled it with Chanel
You look good in that one showing off your body
Had a Beverly Hills mami that would buy me Cardi
Take you to after parties her name was Kari
And it sucks that we didn't keep in touch i'm sorry
But, hey Kim hows Mineapolis
You so pretty hate to ?? your ass for silly classes
Cuz I love you girlz, though you ain't mine
I wish my arms was long enough to hug you all at the same time

Though the times are getting wicked I'm older
I got a chip on my shoulder
True players always maintaing, I'm different I told ya
Don't want to be just a commodity
I'm smarter G
This is my life, and my soul not just a job to me
It's the truest part of me
Fans now mobbing me
Fake friends acting like I just won the lottery
Back then I guess it was hard to see
The real paradox
What an artist see
It's like that saying
Be careful what you pray for you might get it
Of course it's all about winning and money but how far will we let it
Taken 'em, the holy game can make 'em, then instantaneously break 'em
Rain one day sunshine the next
Haters try and stop my flow sometimes I'm vexed
What's next accounted by the press
Mad stress on my chest
Of course I know that I'm blessed but here's the test
On "Any Given Sunday" I got to play my best
Sacrifice don't give up the fight,
everything will be all right on any given Sunday
The harder they come the hard, yeah the harder they must fall
Depends on you if you win or lose,
you know you got to pay some dues so that you can live on Monday
Strive to achieve and die for what you believe
On the battlefields left abandoned
One man standing
To me the ball was handed
Taken shots and left stranded,
No defensive they tackle me
Every blow brings back a memory
Learning lessons from my injury
It's killing me
Cause at first they wasn't feeling me
Never given a chance to show my true ability
Too many pressures trying to play me out
Put me positions that's sure to lay me out
No doubt
Sacrifice don't give up the fight,
everything will be all right on any given Sunday
Guru: The harder they come the hard, yeah the harder they must fall
Depends on you if you win or lose,
you know you got to pay some dues so that you can live on Monday
Strive to achieve and die in for what you believe
Playing on a field of hard times
These struggles are like the yardlines that I gain from
Nowhere is where I came from
From day one, I knew the game and how to play run
But never knew the price of fame would weigh tons
Now I learn from self when pain comes
And walk when they say run
Fame can be as painful as
Death of patron
Young black, gifted
But I'm rapped in myself
Broke many tackles but I'm trapped in myself
See what happens with wealth
At times you can lose yourself
During the sunniest of days many superstars fell
From cotton to football fields
You know how they play brothers
As long as we play well they love us
I know that on Any Given Sunday
This can be taken from me
But it all comes down to is money
I know that on Any Given Sunday
This can be taken from me
But it all comes down to is money y'all
Sacrifice don't give up the fight,
everything will be all right on Any Given Sunday
Guru: The harder they come the hard, yeah the harder they must fall
Depends on you if you win or lose,
you got to pay some dues so that you can live on Monday

I'm gonna take you to the tip top babyx3
everybody i'd like to announce
throw your hands up when we in the house
yeah this is hip-hop baby
i'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
and tell your girl that the tickets is out
and we gonna do this till they kicken us out
caz this is hip hop baby
I'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
live from the south side this one
hide your gun
representen shaw town to the fullest
raps are bullets
see those rappers they be dunken
when comm be bucken in the kitchen f**ken
on the sink got my momma a mink
common is the link
thought the game was extinct
lady
them jeans is a slim shady
brought them back from the 80's
now let's make some babies
freestyle paid off
so link in pavement
now we can push more whips then slavery
how they taim me in this rap shit
my roots is deep
you heard the bitch in you
yeah i know what's beef
let it cook
and i pop like grease
you thirsty niggers can't shot my feast
i still love her she be needing a dick
when it comes to hip hop it's just me and my bitch
everybody i'd like to announce
throw your hands up when we in the house
yeah this is hip-hop baby
i'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
and tell your girl that the tickets is out
and we gonna do this till they kicken us out
caz this is hip hop baby
I'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
pharell
lady
your like what da f**k the is the whether
my name crossed my rose
so quickly i bought another
sorry mr. william moved out the building
spot to the top 50 ft was the silliam
slow down son your killing them
well funding it it was not
she reveals remonist and give me chills
when puff was with biggy
this I cheat on every niggy
like a cop deportion drove through a city
now all the little bitty’s don’t argue the pretty
I was a magician as marazo made a missin
My dick is like a blow pop baby
And if get’s stiff get some botax baby
A show out baby now show me you gonna act right
And I’ll be cuddling backwards like a track bite
She don’t’ know the casio cost 100
It’s been two years since I’ve done it now all the rappers want it
What?
everybody i'd like to announce
throw your hands up when we in the house
yeah this is hip-hop baby
i'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
and tell your girl that the tickets is out
and we gonna do this till they kicken us out
caz this is hip hop baby
I'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
As I sit back relax with Chicago on my back
Unzip the backpack pull out a 50 yap
I’ll probably go to jail but nahh that ain’t me
I style crazy
A net like jay z
The black co jac
I get money and want more stacks
The rap photographer the way the flow stacks
Brah’s say are you a philosopher?
Yeah yeah I’ll philosopha on top of ya
everybody i'd like to announce
throw your hands up when we in the house
yeah this is hip-hop baby
i'm gonna take you to the tip top baby
and tell your girl that the tickets is out
and we gonna do this till they kicken us out
caz this is hip hop baby

Yea,Yea,Yea
You know, they call me a pimp, and you know what that mean
I'm a Person that's Making Profit. See I pimp internationally
I'm nationally recognized, locally accepted
I pimp with the truth, that's the only method
Seen her on Madison where Vice Lords be Travelin
And Chevy windows be rattlin
And badder than any other broads that I've seen in these parts
Her body language spoke like a smart remark, eyebrows arched
Thick lips, blond wig, nice tits, ass the size that I dig
Asked her the name, one way to approach her
See she had game, she needed me to coach her
Expose her to some paper, freedom and culture
The way a righteous pimp is supposed to
As he came closer in his eyes I seen fortune
I ain't having it like abortion
Walking with this stick holding his tip
Looked like a Black Panther that was trying to pimp
It was cold as shit, I'm waitin on my ride
Act like I didn't see him I tried
Motion denied (pause)
I felt the vibe like Roy Ayers
She was used to seeing pimps in furs and gators
Told her I'm an innovator, a gentlemen of leisure
That's in tuned with nature, hold Common's hand
I'm a take you to a pimps promise land
Where no man can break ya, break ya, break ya
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers
Customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers
Customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
{Hey girl, come on over here, check it out)
Make your next move your best move, choose me
How I look working for a nigga in a cuffe'
If I was on a track you couldn't produce me
With them shits on your wrist looking goofy
(Yea ok)
I pimp without a pause, for the cause, I'm a rebel
You been on the streets I'm trying to take you to another level
You used to the same game, cats saying the same thang
Nigga you gone ho underground or ho mainstream
Nigga you must not know of me
I'm the mack here
Ought to have you ho for me (Common get real now)
Pimp yo punk ass
Have you write me poetry
I'm from a land called cash
You too slow for me
You know why?
I'm thinking bigger than Bagets
Birds in slick cars
Or have you on the corner trickin in strip bars
If you become mine the world would be ours
Respect the game, and universal laws
What, I oughta pimp slap your ass and make you fall against the wall
(Common try it)
Why you in the game if you ain't even trying to ball
I know pimpin ain't easy but damn you barely surviving
We can't ride together cause you ain't driving
(Common oh it's like that)
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers
Customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
Pimps, ho's, hustlers, plans, dealers
Customers, and bodies stuck in it, Oh my god
(This, this, this really how I look at it check it)
You and I together is like Ashford and Simpson
Picture us elbow to elbow at the hustler's convention
Think I'm gone risk my ass then give you the cash (Common yep)
That shit is the past
I got my own stable (Common where at)
I oughta pierce your navel and put you on the track
Matter of fact I been looking for a ho that's abstract
Girl you getting beside yourself
I'm trying to guide you
Help you see inside yourself
I pimp with vision, I'm a help you see the light
Have you covering your body and have you eating right
(Is that right)
I'm pimp ho's, pimp pens, (Common Say what)
Pimp rhythms, pimp flows
Pimp men (Common and pimp what)
Pimp systems
Got stores called big pimpin (Common Where)
Down South
In Texas I ran the best ho house
Common
(So)
I pimp from Brazil to um, Tokyo
Have Japanese broads sayin 'choushi wa dou' (MC Lyte Yea right)
Bring'em back to the states to turn dates from Europe
Made the dirtiest of hoes seem purer
(HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha)
(Common Why you laughin)
I'm laughin cause you funny
I'm make bitch niggaz like you have my money
I get six hundred off yo skinny ass weekly
You'll get all the right tolls in that dashiki
Yo, what ever happened to loyalty
Don't you want to become royalty
On the streets selling ass and oils for me
But you on this ho-asis and really I can't reach you
Fuckyou then I'm about to be a preacher
Well there you have it ya'll
The story of pimps and hoes ya'll know how it goes
It's been the oldest profession
The whole thing is like a lesson
Ain't no second guessin
Pimps ya'll, hustlers
All that good shit
Yea, yea 2000 and forever
It'll be here

Yeah, yo, yo, yo yo, yo, yo
Yo, a touch of jazz y'all, yeah, yeah
[Unverified] y'all, yo they got us on the run, like
8 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(I don't know)
Pressure is mountin'
Oh baby now, how we gonna get through?
(I, don't, know)
Can't go left, can't go right
(Uh uh, uh uh)
Don't know, how we made it through the night
(C'mon c'mon c'mon)
7 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(Do it, do it)
It was once said by Black Thought that "Things fall apart"
Knew I shouldn't have been messin' with dude's girl from start
But I pimp from the heart, the art of it made it interestin'
Plus me and sister blend before we got intimate
Friend or no friend, my man caught wind
This chick is payin' me, it'll either cost me or cost him
Told her she shoulda lost him a while ago
(When?)
'Cause dude'll drink a pile of Mo' and defile her yo
I ain't here to start on this nigga, for me to wreck his broad
You could tell what I thought of this nigga
Nickname was Smoke, don't know if that was cause of cigarettes
(Or what?)
Or guns he tote, he called shots on the deck
So I wasn't tryin' to call his bluff, by his persona
You could see, he think he tough
If that wasn't enough, old girl had his son
This is Wild like the West I'm like Jesse on the run, uhh
6 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(I don't know)
Pressure is mountin
Oh baby now, how we gon' get through?
(I, don't, know)
Can't go left and can't go right and
(Uh uh, uh uh)
Don't know, how we made it through the night
(Yo, we got)
5 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(Do it, do it)
I understand that time is runnin' out, I'm thinkin' of town-skippin'
Got a Chevy but the alternator be trippin'
I'm hittin' rum straight, thinkin' of a route to truncate
The streets is watchin', out is one way I put myself in his Nike's
His position is, "Aight man, somebody bonin' my lady"
Probably snap like Rod-man
My plan was to meet at this bar called the Tiki
(When?)
'Round four, when she was comin' she would beep me
I sat deep in the corner, drinkin' zombies, becomin' one by now
Wonderin' if my style would support her and her child
Out the corner of my eye saw this stud I recognized
(Who?)
One of Smoke's guys, to stay out of sight I tried
Told Jill Scott to meet we coulda picked a better spot
On some nobody's supposed to be here, shit like Deborah Cox
Looked at my watch, shit I don't even got a watch
Felt for my glock, dammit I don't even got a glock, yo
4 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(I don't know)
Pressure is mountin'
Oh baby now, how we gon' get through?
(I, don't, know)
Can't go left and can't go right and
(Uh uh, uh uh)
Don't know, how we made it through the night
(C'mon c'mon)
3 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(Do it, do it)
Pressure puh-pressure what? The pressure's cookin'
It ain't good lookin', like a black promoter I'm talkin' bookin'
Not that I'm spooked of dude, I could whup him
But he was on the horn informin' the rest of them hoodlums
(Aight)
Usually I wouldn't fight over a woman, old girl had a sun-shine
was messed up, on Smoke's payroll was one-time
My pager went off, it read one line, "Come get me
From Halsted", I'm thinkin' this is monkey bar, shit
Went to the phone quick, called her, her line was busy
(What happened?)
Situation number nine, got my mind dizzy
Wondered if this plan was designed to get me
I've been drinkin' too strong to be thinkin' too long
Like 40 goin' North I'm doin' 50, headed for the spot
Askin' God to be with me, and lately
She has been actin' shifty
(But what?)
But then it hit me, it hit me
(Hit me, hit me)
It hit me, it hit me
(Hit me)
2 minutes to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(I don't know)
Pressure is mountin'
Oh baby now, how we gonna get through?
(Yo, I said I, don't, know)
Can't go left and can't go right and
(Uh uh, nope)
Don't know, how we made it through the night
(Yo, we got)
1 minute to sunrise
Oh baby now, what are we gonna do?
(One one, one ha?)
1 minute, one, one
(We got, we got)
1 minute, one, one
(Ahh shit, we got)
1 minute, one, one
(What we got girl?)
1 minute, now, now
(Baby, com sense on the run)
1 minute, one
(Com sense on the run)
1 minute
(Just got on the run, just got on the run)
Com sense on the run, com sense on the run
Just got on the run, just got on the run
They got us on the run like, they got us on the run
They got us on the yo, they got us on the run
Uhh, yo, they got us on the run
They got us on the yo, they got us on the run

"Still gettin mine, in the" "ONE" "NINE" "NINE" "NINE"
*sample cut and played in background*
[Talib Kweli]
Yo, just relax, take it easy slow down
I had this, I had this friend of mine
Who just, you know, he was movin too fast, yaknawimsayin?
I told him to slow down, he said the sun don't chill
I said, I said still, I said still, you gotta
Just appreciate life, sit back, don't let it fly right past you
No matter what go on I'm still gettin mine
No matter the year, no matter the place, no matter the time
[Common]
Check it, it's like I'm fightin for freedom, writin for freedom
These record company niggas I don't like when I see em
My ancestors, when I'm writin I see em, and talk wit em
Hopin in the promise land I can walk wit em
Shitted on, so many rappers it's like I'm in the stall wit em
Molest concepts, start rhythm, paid dues, bought wisdom
As legends fall my godmother answer heaven's call
Preachers' daughters get fucked in the reverand's hall
MC's reckless ?I ball? why y'all wanna go and do that?
Must've thought I was solo, the name just ain't the U-Ac
No mo', still together
Like in the ghetto photo wit one nigga in the chair
Holdin liquor in despair, gang signs in the air
I shine in spaces where time is just a glare
Hold the mic like a memory
Niggas say I'm nice wit metaphors but these are similes
Street ministry, my poetry's a penitentiary, track is visitation
Sentences is life, I'm like chief up in this demonstration
Still...
"Still gettin mine, in the" "ONE" "NINE" "NINE" "NINE"
*sample cut and played in background 4X*
[Sadat X]*in background during sample*
Check it out, everyday ha yeah
This how we gon' do it for y'all
Common Sense, Sadat X puttin something in your ear
Something for you to grab
For the whole world, yaknowimsayin, but it ain't free
It's a fee, check it out
You squirm wit this coughin, whippin cough
Six days of madness and you might throw me off
On this great ball of stress that they call the earth
I'ma show y'all in rhyme just how much shit I been through
And all the place I went to, always played the low
It's like a competition, this mission here I'm tellin you
Slip up and rhyme-ass niggas here is fellin you
Crash courses, slow down you can't learn that quick
'cause I'm the dead eye, wit the red eye, from Chi to L-I
I thought y'all knew, every year I grew, I'm still growin
And in a year or two I hope my girl'll be showin
A male seed, praise God I name him Moses
I lead people I want him to, that's why I chose this
Now is the glass half-full or half-empty
Common, why they tempt me?
The king of the simply, bore in mic
I always stay on top 'cause I give niggas what they like
I know y'all hate that why I feel I owe y'all everyday
If y'all hear it a thousand times, it's gon' be the same way
The 'Dat-Father, go farther, why bother
Now I'm a peaceful man, I don't want no stress
You know I'm still...
"Still gettin mine, in the" "ONE" "NINE" "NINE" "NINE"
*sample cut and played in background 3X*
[Common]
Yo yo, some get Range Rovers, some religion change-over
Angel on my main shoulder tellin me remain sober
Token nigga, game's over ain't no payola in freestyle
In battles, I'm warring/Warren like a G-Child
Searchin for the child in me, this style in me
This release is like the piece that's now in me
They tried to 'sassinate me god, like Martin on the bal-cony
Lyrically I put a hit on em, 'cause I'm the style-Nitty
Catch a flick at the Liquid Kitty
Tryin to get a chick to kick it wit me till the tilt
Told her my Chamber's like Wilt
Built wit her for a sec, let her know I had respect
Less than a hour she was givin me neck, yo I'm still gettin mine...
"Still gettin mine, in the" "ONE" "NINE" "NINE" "NINE"

Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
[Black Thought]
Yo, talk about paying the ultimate price
Hurricane been incarcerated all of his life
Started out at like twelve
Trapped in a belly of hell
Grew into a man inside of a cell
Yo, anger just swell up
At a early age that develop
Hot head and now it ain't shit y'all could tell him
They said he's on a road to become a felon
But instead he swung blows that'll spilt your melon
He did his thing and was the king of the ring, undisputed
Started making noise but they tried to mute it
They put him through it
For him to make the system look stupid, [yo]
They rather look you in the face and shoot it
And leave your spot looted [or what]
Or leave your whole life blank futured and caught
When you scream at it and do it
With sweat leaking from the outline of your soluid
Don't understand the point that you at
Or how the hell you came to it?
Flashback to images of that night, out in Patterson
They pulled him over heading home from a gathering
And when they told him the charge it kind of baffled him
Murder in the first for the champ, we on that again?
Chorus
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
[Black Thought]
*overtop of sung chorus*
Forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could y'all stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
You tell me that you know the pain
Yo, imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could ya'll stand the weather?
You built for that weather?
Yo, know what'm saying?
Know what'm saying?
[Common]
You gotta fight for what you believe in
Nobody knows the troubles seen
This flick left me wondering
'What can become of kings and young kids?'
Summer dream deferred, incident occured, freedom blurred
A freedom that would only be retrieved again in words, later on
The cops, y'all know what they be on
A nigga's life is like a field that they play upon, away and gone from
Natural lifer, a soul he had to fight,
Learn it himself, sleep days, stay up half the night
Amongst dead man walking, he got afterlife exercising,
Developing his knack to write
Never leaving his cell, in this world he trapped himself
What he loved on the outside world, detached himself
You know the cards Blacks get dealt by the system
He drew a picture of freedom with many dimensions
This picture proved to be bigger than Black and White
A young soul named Lesra brought him back to life
It's amazing to a man what a book could do
And how certain books seem to look for you
This is the story of a champion's fall and rise
The story left me wiping my eyes
Peace Ru
Chorus
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
[Black Thought]
*overtop of sung chorus*
Yo, yo, forever, imagine your locked down forever
Could y'all stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
You tell me that you know the pain
Yo, imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever and ever yo, locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Yo, yo i can't even explain the pain
Just imagine if your life was like a hurricane
[Mos Def]
Yes, I am the inescapable, the irresistable,
The unnegotiable, the unchallenged [who dat?]
I am time
I scroll in measurements, control the elements,
I hold the evidence, I tell the story [say what?]
I am time
I know no prejudice, I bare no sentiments
For wealth or settlement, I move forward [who you?]
I am time
You can't recover me, conceal or smuggle me,
Retreat or run from me, crawl up or under me,
You can't do much for me besides serve
Me well and have good dividends returned to you
Or attempt to kill me off and have me murder you
Many have wasted me but now they are facing me,
Treated me unfaithfully and now endure me painfully
Plaintively, I wait to see what history will shape to be,
Who's hearts will never die inside the sake of me
Angel's scribe the page for me,
Keep a full account of all the names for me
And make a special mark for Hurricane who (?) patiently
Chorus
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
[Black Thought]
*overtop of sung chorus*
Yo, yo, a Hurricane forever,
Imagine your locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
I can't even explain the pain
Imagine if your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine your locked down forever and ever, ever
Could you hold it together?
Yo, can't explain the pain with words, know'm saying?
Just imagine if your life was like a hurricane
[Verse 4]
The clouds clashed and the heaven's gave birth to star
God placed it in a man on the day he was born
Convicted minutes after, a true natural disaster
Framed for manslaughter, the Hurricane Carter rising
From out the south water, like torrential rains
In the ring no opponent escaped unscathed
You can't believe the world we live in's injust
All I see is more proof, there's no place for us
They had my man Carter locked in a cage, like an animal
Drive him to the point where the mind work mechanical
Or works by remote control
It was done to all of us, they tapped directly into our soul
Either it's sing-sing, or it's bars around your mind
There's no where to run, no where to hide
In a six-by-six a guilty man cries
For repentance and lost is what innocence is
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Chorus
Hurricane
Accuse a Hurricane
Ain't change a damned shame
It's life for Hurricane, Hurricane
[Black Thought]
*overtop of sung chorus*
Your locked down forever
Could you stand the weather?
Could you hold it together?
I can't even explain the pain, know'm saying?
Your life was like a hurricane, a hurricane
Forever, imagine behind bars forever
Could you stand the weather?
You built for that? Is you cut for that?
Don't be telling me that you know the pain
Your life was like a hurricane, yo
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the bilnd
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind
Same story, same target, different time
Cyclical reaction from the prisoners of the blind
Trying to fight time, it's a battle of the mind
Waiting for redemption, surviving in a bind

[hook]
if your eyes are the window to your soul
open eyes when you're cold
if your dreams keep you warm in night
baby just keep 'em closed
if your eyes are the window
i can sneak in at night
in your eyes i can see your soul
staring back into mine
[verse 1]
she was a beautiful rose
from the concrete and heat she grows
in the dark room her life was exposed
her picture of men, we walk on all fours
heart opened and heart closed
every now and then she sparkles
you can tell she was hurt by the words that she chose
i'm thinking like lauryn, a rose is still a rose
even when the door close, there grows a new one
i told her it's some good men, she asked me if i knew one
her daddy left a hole because she never really knew him
ok sometimes from commitment, we do them
rocking lou vuitton, said she focused on the christian
i'm speaking to her trying to enhance her vision
but not to be married with kids she was wishing
shhh, 'til your soul just listen
[hook]
[verse 2]
she said daddy take me ice-skating
looking at the rear-view, life's waiting for her
gotta be there to support her
can't really wait for a court order
she got the type of aura that's fun and vibrant
a lot of love inside, got to help guide it
daddy will protect it, god will provide it
we all will be there so your soul ain't divided
man, how quick she grows
looking like her momma but she got my toes
i suppose it's the age that she really really need me
a lot of girls without, they become needy
"c'mon dad, i'm too old for the back seat
can you come and get me, are you coming to my track meet?"
as she begins the race of life and love i told her

Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe...
I heard a white man's yes
Is a black maybe
I was delivered in this world
As a crack baby
Hard for me to pay attention
And I act crazy
Gotta get over from the tip
I watch the fat lady sing a song
On how we guerillas in warfare
And I'm the kingest kong
They say we dreamin wrong
Them same strips that them older cats lingered on
Now the walgreens is gone
Hope is killed fiends are born
We leanin on a wall that ain't that ain't stable
Its hard to turn on the hood that made you
To leave We afraid to the same streets that raised you
Can aid you. What other black births came suit
the rage up in harlem and the southside
Brothers is starving with there mouth wide open
Floating across state got the workout plans so they can move weight
The fate of the black man, woman, and child maybe
He had game since he used to hoop at chattum
Neither the ghetto nor defenders could trap him
The stones had his back and they'd pat him
He was living a life they couldn't fathom
Colleges getting at him with all type of scholarships
Even if he went they knew he'd leave college quick
For the pros the one from the hood that was chose
The black rose that grew in the jungle
But humble stud still had rumble in his blood
Women all around giving him trouble love
You know the love when you up they down
Cause you wrap a ball they round
Your win is their crown
Dudes in the circle he known for years
Shared beers and cheers but chose different careers
when paper and fame came they ain't know how to react
Them same studs shot him in the back
Now that's black...maybe
When we talk about black maybe
We talk about situations
Of people of color and because you are that color
You endure obstacles and opposition
And not all the time from...from other nationalities
Sometimes it come from your own kind
Or maybe even your own mind
You get judged..you get laughed at..you get looked at wrong
You get sighted for not being strong
The struggle of just being you
The struggle of just being us..black maybe

They say "What's happenin'?"
We say the facts and if, they lie...
We comin' back for them
They might say... but they don't know!
(They say, They say...)
They don't knowwwww
They say a nigga lost his mind
But in the scheme of things I never lost a rhyme
The thin line between love and hatred
I'm the black pill in the Matrix, the saturated life
They say life is what you make it
So I wait quick on a spaceship so I can take it
As high as the stakes get when paper get low
I be tellin Derick, "Tell Kara get us a show"
Little Com, I make righteous bitches get low
The richest man aint necessarily the nigga wit dough
They say "You ripped" "Wow..." Yea, that's what they say
My niggaz couldn't tell it was me, like Jamie in Ray
Paintin a day, wit focused crime, broads, and good wine
They say "Dope is sour so it's homework and hood crimes"
I stood mine, for forever and a day so goodbye
They never could say - tell 'em, J
Ahh... The sweet taste of victory
Go head and breath it in like antihistamine
I know they sayin "Damn, Yay snapped wit this beat!"
Fuck you expect? I've got a history
Groupie love now, gotta be them wheels!
Haters back down, gotta be that steel!
I know they cant wait till ya outta ya deal!
Look how they did D'Angelo ask em how do it feel!
My best friends worry bout me
Cause they know when you famous/fame-ass
And you had made cash the media aims at us and you be up so high
if you ever fall off, it feel like a plane crash
But God don't ever give me nothin I cant handle
So please don't ever give me records I cant sample
So I could vacate where it aint no channels
but it's quite ok for a gangsta to wear sandals
They say because of the fame and stardom
I'm somewhere in between the church and insane asylum
I guess it's messin with my health then
And this verse so crazy when I finish
I'm just gon check myself in - again
"Uh!" (hey!)
They say "Dude think he righteous"
I write just to free minds, from Stoney to Rikers
Amongst the lifeless, in a world crazy as Mike is
On my paper, whether its weed or Isis
They say "life is a game," so I play hard
Writin for my life cause I'm scared of a day job
They say "Sef kept the hood together"
I tell the young, "We can't play the hood forever"
Play my cards right, they say I went to left
They showed me strange love, like I was Mr. F
Played chess in this game of, pawns and knights
Now I claim "King" like Don, or Frank White
They say my life is comparable to Christ's
The way I sacrificed, and resurrected, twice
They say "The crochet pants and the sweater was wack"

Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder, louder
louder, louder, Yeah
Yeah, it's for the People
This is street ra-dio, for unsung heroes
Ridin in they regal, tryin to stay legal
My daughter found Nemo, I found the new primo
Yeah you know how we do, we do it for the people
And the struggles of the brothas and the folks
With lovers under dope, experiment to discover hopes
Scuffle for notes, the rougher I wrote, times were harder
Went from rocky starter to a voice of a martyr
Why white folks focus on dogs and yoga
While people on the low end tryin to ball and get over
Lyrics are like liquor for the fallen soldiers
From the bounce to the ounce, its all our culture
Everyday we hustlin, tryna get them custom rims
Law we ain't trustin them, thick broads we lust in them
Sick and tired of bunchin it, I look on the bus at them
When I see them struggling, I think how I'm touchin them
The People
The day, has come
Now we, are one
Just take, your time
And then, you'll find
This is street ra-dio, for unsung heroes
Ridin in they regal, tryin to stay legal
My daughter found Nemo, I found the new primo
Yeah you know how we do, we do it for the people
The people said that I was sharp on TV
At the Grammy's, though they tried to India.Arie me
Got back stage, and I bumped into Stevie
He said no matter what, the people gone see me
Can't leave rap alone the streets need me
Hunger in they eyes, is what seems to feed me
Inside peace mixed with beast seem to breed me
Nobody believe, until I believe me
Now I'm on the rise doin business with my guys
Visions realize, music affected lives
A gift from the skies, to be recognize
I'm keeping my eyes on the people, that's the prize
This is street ra-dio, for unsung heroes
Ridin in they regal, tryin to stay legal
My daughter found Nemo, I found the new primo
Yeah you know how we do, we do it for the people
From Englewood to a single hood in Botswana
I see the I in We my nigga, yours is my drama
Standin in front of the judge with no honor
Barack stick, knight the people like Obama
The karma of the streets is needs and takes
Sometimes we find peace in beats and breaks
Put the bang in the back so the seats can shake
Rebel Cadillac music for the people sake

I walked in the crib, got 2 kids,
and my baby momma late (uh oh, uh oh, uh oh).
So I had to did what I had to did,
'cause I had to give (do-ough, do-ough, do-ough).
I'm up all night gettin' my money right,
until the blue and whites (popo, popo, popo).
Now the money coming slow, but at least a ***** know
slow motion better than (no-oh, no-oh, no-oh)
You love to hear the story, again and again
about these young brothers from the city of wind.
Like juice and gin in the city we blend
amongst the hustle, titties and skin, fifties and rims.
Y'all know the spreewells
and trucks that's detailed,
heartless females that wanna ride in 'em
felt the southside in them with raw hides and denim,
bent minds collide with them.
A system that tries victims, we livin' in.
My man in the fast lane pivotin',
on the block ******* sellin' like m & m,
on the block get jump off like Kim 'n 'em,
on the block is how you can feel it in your skin-nin-nin.
Shorties get the game with no instructions of asemblin',
odds right it seems like the fight is dim in him.
Call my man cuzin like I'm kin to him,
he tryin' to stay straight, the streets is bendin' him.
(Yo) I walked in the crib, got 2 kids,
and my baby momma late (uh oh, uh oh, uh oh).
So I had to did what I had to did,
'cause I had to give (do-ough, do-ough, do-ough).
(Yo) I'm up all night gettin' my money right,
until the blue and whites (popo, popo, popo).
Now the money coming slow, but at least a ***** know
slow motion better than (no-oh, no-oh, no-oh)
It's all good in the hood like rats and gyms,
fullbacks and tims, blacks and rims.
Whether on ball courts,
attires are ball shorts,
we never fall short.
With us it's all force like air ones.
Some wave some air guns,
the day of the fair ones it's over fo'.
Cats is colder than four below, wha'sup?
I go toe to toe
wondering if it's for the art or for the dough.
Though I know to grow a ***** gotta learn to let go,
though I know the dough I gotta bring back to the ghetto.
Aeros or Tarot cards pointin' to the grind,
po' livin' and mo' prisons pointin' to my mind.
Shine the light up!
Clench my fists tight and holdin' it right up.
Freedom fight in dark gear for the years to get brighter.
Situations, the jaws get tighter,
my man trying to get his way to higher
(Yo..yo..yo) I walked in the crib, got 2 kids,
and my baby momma late (uh oh, uh oh, uh oh).
So I had to did what I had to did,
'cause I had to give (do-ough, do-ough, do-ough).
I'm up all night gettin' my money right,
until the blue and whites (popo, popo, popo).
Now the money coming slow, but at least a ***** know
slow motion better than (no-oh, no-oh, no-oh)
Yo.. hey yo I, I know I could make it right
if I can just swallow my pride,
but I can't run away or put my gun away.
You can't front on me!
I, no I can't let it ride..
no no not tonight,
no I can't run away or put my gun away.

Memories on corners with the fours & the moors
Walk to the store for the rose talking straightforward to
Got uncles that smoke it some put blow up they nose
To cope with they lows the wind is cold & it blows
In they socks & they souls holding they rolls
Corners leave souls opened & closed hoping for more
With nowhere to go rolling in droves
They shoot the wrong way cause they ain't knowing they goal
The streets ain't safe cause they ain't knowing he code
By the fours I was told either focus or fold
Got cousins with flows hope they open some doors
So we can cop clothes & roll in a Rolls
Now I roll in a "Olds" with windows that don't roll
Down the roads where cars get broke in & stole
These are the stories told by Stony & Cottage Grove
The world is cold the block is hot as a stove
On the corners
I wish I could give ya this feeling
I wish I could give ya this feeling
On the corners, robbing, killing, dying
Just to make a living (huh)
We underrated, we educated
The corner was our time when times stood still
And gators and snakes gangs and yellow and pink
And colored blue profiles glorifying that
Streetlights & deepnights cats trying to eat right
Riding no seat bikes with work to feed hypes
So they can keep sweet Nikes they head & they feet right
Desires of streetlife cars & weed types
It's hard to breath nights days are thief like
The beast roam the streets the police is Greeklike
Game at it's peak we speak & believe hype
Bang in the streets hats cocked left or deep right
Its steep life coming up where sheeplike
Rappers & hoopers we strive to be like
G's with 3 stripes seeds that need light
Cheese & weaves tight needs & thieves strike
The corner where struggle & greed fight
We write songs about wrong cause it's hard to see right
Look to the sky hoping it will bleed light
Reality's and I heard that she bites
The corner
The corner was our magic, our music, our politics
Fires raised as tribal dancers and
war cries that broke out on different corners
Power to the people, black power, black is beautiful
Black church services, murderers, Arabs serving burger its
Cats with gold permanents move they bags as herbalist
The dirt isn't just fertile its people working & earning this
The curb-getters go where the cash flow & the current is
It's so hot that burn to live the furnace is
Where the money move & the determined live
We talk play lotto & buy german beers
It's so black packed with action that's affirmative
The corners
The corner was our Rock of Gibraltar, our Stonehenge
Our Taj Mahal, our monument,
Our testimonial to freedom, to peace and to love

She walk into the court her knees buckle
Saying for a man to survive he needn't hustle
Seen and been through struggle her whole life
Made a transition from being his ho to his wife
Stifling, the night upend the ATF bust in
Her daddy was a hustla so she love them
Looked at the jury how can they judge him, she screamed
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify
Fear in her chest her face in tears, had her mans back he was facing years
In her name though the place was his
They trying to take everything except the kids
But years she been through stumbling fights
While he trying to hustle that white
Up all night wondering if hes alive
Seeing him tried she bubbled inside and screamed
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify
The judge called for order the court reporter makin her words shorter
His lawyer sat next to him, she could see how the trial was affecting him
It hurt for her eyes to connect with him, using her lies for protecting him
They arrested him for murder, and gun possession
As they read back her confession she screamed
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify
The court awaited as the foreman got the verdict from the bailiff
Emotional outbursts tears and smeared makeup
He stated, he was guilty on all charges
She's shaking like she took it the hardest
A spin artist, she brought her face up laughing
That's when the prosecutor realized what happened
All that speaking her mind testifying and crying
When this bitch did the crime- the queenpin...
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a, you accuse
Please let me testify, please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a, you accuse

Let's do it now, it's me and you
Close my eyes Erotica, I'm seein' you
Listen to me wishin' I could be with you
To share my love and ecstasy with you
Are you alone? Is your shorty sleep?
Hold on. That's okay, ignore the beep
For you, my love is immortal deep
You are my queen but I can't ignore the freak
Let's let our bodies talk and our auras speak
Hold on, gotta get the toiletries
As our waters reach distances unheard of
I'm in the room nestled sweet and I observe love
Only for you, I ask God to show me the truth
What he showed me was you
Wherever I go, my soul leads to you
Days gone, nights lonely for you
Erotica - Wet dreams are on my mind
Erotica - Can I come in your mind?
Erotica - Oh yes, our love must shine
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica-ca-ca - Wish on star 69
Erotica-ca-ca
Wish on star 69, erotica...
So much I wish you were here with me now
My bad, I just hit redial
I want you to come and never leave now
Is your mind and your right hand free now?
Our love-reach deep down inside of it
As the candle burns
where desire's lit
Makin' love knows no distance or environment
When we (ahh), feel the most high in it
I feel you touchin' me and I begin to rise from it
Your love is stuck in me
Our minds are so alive and thick
Picture my hands on your waist
As I stare in your face
Your mouth half open
Your love I can taste
Embracin' you
Life: I let go
Gotta switch phones 'cause this one is ghetto
Another level of love we create when we take it to
And when it's made, Erotica, it's made for you
Erotica - Wet dreams are on my mind
Erotica - Can I come in your mind?
Erotica - Oh yes, our love must shine
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica-ca-ca - Wish on star 69
Erotica-ca-ca
Slave to your loneliness
"Slave to your loneliness..."
Inside of loneliness
"Inside this (alt we bear)"
With love of loneliness
"With thoughts of loneliness"
Enslaved by loneliness
I want you to come
Inside your mind
And find a place
Nasty and kind
This is where
our desires grind
And where they peak
Is most divine
A place and time
I hope we reach together
You are my queen
And freak forever
I feel you in-side my stomach
My body shakes...
Erotica - Wet dreams are on my mind
Erotica - Can I come in your mind?
Erotica - Oh yes, our love must shine
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica - Wish on star 69
Erotica-ca-ca - Wish on star 69

I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left
I'm talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man Yusef
Through death through conception
New breath and resurrection
For moms, new steps in her direction
In the right way
Told inside is where the fight lay
And everything a nigga do may not be what he might say
Chicago nights stay, stay on the mind
But I write many lives and lay on these lines
Wave the signs of the times
Many say the grind's on the mind
Shorties blunted-eyed and everyone wonderin' where I'm
Bush pushing lies, killers immortalized
We got arms but won't reach for the skies
Waiting for the Lord to rise
I look into my daughter's eyes
And realize that I'ma learn through her
The Messiah, might even return through her
If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her
Furs and a Benz, gramps wantin 'em
Demons and old friends, pops they hauntin' him
The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun
When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones
Walk like warriors, we were never told to run
Explored the world to return to where my soul begun
Never looking back or too far in front of me
The present is a gift

Yeah, for the world!
Keep going so you can(yo you can rock on)
We keep going so you can (yo you can rock on)
We keep going so you can (yo you can rock on)
We keep going
Nigga breath can tell by how you rap you don't believe
Ain't hungry no mo' so off me you feed
I hustle at a speed between greed and need
On the streets where intuition and weed are breed
Shoot the gift and viff, at the myths uplift
My rhyme the clip its like the boom bip to tip(q)
In gangways where cats that rhyme the same way
Spending nites over Egypt to learn a brave day
Paint a picture of the ghetto like JJ
You the Ray J Of this rap world
I travel the globe with a black girl name Becky
Grand like Auto Theft 3
Style so developed the law cant arrest me
You walk with blood on your shirt
Like Jesse Jackson trying to test the reaction of the people
See thru trying to out act Don Cheadle
I speak to original Hebrew s you know how we do
And bleed thru the needle with truth
That needs no preview to proof its in the people
And how they react still in the business of smacking
Rappers is wack you had a dope track I guess opposites
attract my mind state is black
Black like bernie mack no cowards soul power in the words we rap
Picks with fist, thick grease, dark nipples
My guy buy ice I search for the dark crystal
Racing for paper these broads is starter pistols
I spit thru gang wars and strange doors
Out the sky flames pour the beats claims war
I see niggaz with flags who they waving them for?
I'm the nigga that you put the chain on the door for
The nigga that you started changing the laws for
Orator of hard-core and more
My raps the portal for the blue collar
Than made a hit and came up on a few dollars
I'd rather listen to silence then you holla
Borrowed your persona from the late that made dear mama
My realness is my armor that I wear up in this boy
For truth your a decoy
Common Sense is like the future of the Bee-boy
I fall down and get up like Don McClerken
Hit puss and listen to it whistle while I'm trerkin
Break it down like herb
The nympho of info I'm fucking what you heard
You ain't ready for war your stuck in the reserves
I mastered my high so I'm bucking at the birds
I been wanted to fly so now I do it with the words
For those in the fast-lane I show you how to merge
Get your own you see its like home grown herb black economics

[pops]
yeah, yeah, bring it on
uh huh, with the ya ya, yeah
just sitting around kicking it a little bit
i thought we would record something tonight
and i do want to dedicate it to two very outstanding people
i live the spirit of
gentlemen crispus attucks and mr. marcus garvey
thank you so much
the believer
if i were a believer, i believe i would believe in the beginning
everybody's beginning
mine, that my very first ancestors were front row and present
when god stepped to the mic
i believe from the creation of the garden of eden
the separation of the tribes
our long marches across the desert
being (?) kids
for instincts born in caves of ice
all, each and every one, the souls of one god
granted earthly existence to allow each to earn
the blessing of transcending, time-traveling throughout the universe
with the blessings and well-wishes of my fathers, prophets of my own
no search, no steer no mysteries
we inherit the power to turn nightmares into dreams
for those of us who come from less than (?) circumstances
dreams, good dreams, sweet dreams, dreams come true
truthful dreams, truthful dreams become life
life becomes belief, belief becomes live!
live the life you believe
the american dream, the black american dream, the universal dream
for the sake of the unwritten laws of humanity, i believe in god
i believe in my ancestors, i believe in my offsprings
i believe in dr. savior, i believe we must stop (?) mention each other
i believe in the truth, truth

Hey , hey, hey, hey,
Hey, who dat? Hey, who dat?
Hey, who dat? Check it, what
Hey sucka nigga, whoever you are(x2)
Hey sucka nigga, hey sucka nigga
Whoever you are, whoever you are
Common:
Fuck waitin under my skin, the situation is scrapin
Somewhat like the girl X-ratin
It's hard to be patient with no VCR or PlayStation
Knowing your Rockports, somebody may be lacin
Make me wanna leave the city when I can't take a vacation
Without somebody breakin in my demonstration
For some South side information, I search the Nigga-net
It certain things about this I ain't figure yet
Dirt, the guy who stayed with me and had a set of keys
Because his job had been stopped smokin weed
Thursdays is off days, he usually watch his seed
For him to have done it, a babysitter and a car he would need
The stripper broad, my TV and couch, she couldn't carry it
Unless some nigga helped and that's who she'll get buried with
She was vegeterian and she wouldn't have cooked chicken
I confronted her with it, to her story, she was stickin
The plot thickens, as we drove in search of this hype
Who I ain't know by name, but I knew by bike
Chances of him breakin in, chillin and eatin
Are about as slim as he is
Though I knew where he lived
In his house with three kids, one I was cool with
As we roll, I told the guy, turn on the music
Just as I thought I closed in on one suspect
The nigga who did it popped the tape in the deck
(Excerpt from a movie)
Just tell me why. Don't lie to me man, just tell me why
It's the money, alright?
Just tell me why
It's the fuckin money, alright?
(fighting)
Reynoldo, shoot that piece of shit
Q-Tip:
Know what I'm sayin. Word up

[hook]
i remember, i remember the days
[verse 1]
i remember she sit there with her thickness
never played a game but i heard about them sisters
a wise mister said love is gunna get ya
but that ain't what i read in the scriptures, god be with us
it was hard for me to take down the benches
i was tripping, i even called her sister
how could someone you could talk to, each and every day
that you 'bout to marry, be on their merry way
i'm singing through the pain like i was mary j
cause we break up to make up like mary kay
rumors leaving tumors on my heart now
we fell in love huh just to fall apart now
i get your calls and i try to disregard now
what was easy for us now is hard now
huh? who do it better, we used to move together
now we not together, is this our new forever?
[hook]
i remember, i remember, i remember
(it happens to the best, so i love and i lost)
i remember, i remember, i remember
[verse 2]
hell nah, i'm waiting on your call
told you be i'll be back, had to break down some walls
issues that i had, some say it comes from not seeing my dad, keep moving on
hard for me to stay away and stay in touch
girl, my heart is broke and i need a crutch
thought i was okay but nights that i stayed up
ass got me layed up, girl i never gave up
on you and us, i tried to take it day by day, and whew its tough
i know your young and you gotta live your life ma
i thought it was the right time for me to wife ya
i must confess, i miss the days of you laying on my chest
so confusing losing love, i'm saying god bless
who do it better, we used to move together
now we not together, is this our new forever?

"Like they used to say" *repeated in background*
[Common]
We dealin wit some very critical and crucial times
Some of the most critical and crucial times I've ever seen
I wrote Stoney Island on my guy
He was tryin me about the S-I-E experience
Tried to tell him about the C-S-E experience, you know?
Yo I'm the rap profession, I go the session
Study MC's like a god do lessons
Mic testin in the rain, I brainstorm
You feelin me out nigga? We got the same form
I drop heavy in spots you scared to put your weight
There's only so much ice you can skate on
Shit cats right for you, you say wrong
No time to debate on, who's your pop and who's not
Or who shot Big and Tupac
Or who this stud fuckin or how much this crew got
That's hoe shit
That ain't me or the type of niggas I roll wit
I Cold Get Dumb, like a brother in prison
Who hasn't had a chance to hold his son
Sacrificin like Abe did his oldest son
Tryin to hold my come, I think of raps
Seen the BDP cover and I start thinkin back to
* "Silly Hoes" sample* say what? "Like they used to say"
"Kool G Rap and Polo, back again" [Kool G Rap]
Yeah "Like they used to say"
* "Ain't No Half-Steppin" sample* yeah "Like they used to say"
(Dig it, like they used to say) *Biz Markie sample* "Like they used to say"
[Common]
I walk through triple darkness wit a childproof lighter
All your homeboys'll bite us, so what's up wit that?
Your producer pumped the track
Told him, "Naw, I can't fuck wit that"
Nice way of sayin "Big, bring a rougher track"
My ball in my ear said "Enough of that humble rap"
Now every single you drop I'ma double that
Jigga-jigga Joe cut the record down to
My sound surround you like racism, you feel it all around you
I go into a soundproof booth and change flows
Track the strange hoes wit headwraps and Bangols
Hip-hop is gettin strangled by this Puff Combs syndrome
Niggas Been Around The World actin like they never been home
I ain't hatin cuz I can only love niggas
It's just outta the game, I wanna sub niggas
I be dub figure rusty to adjust the in-dustry
And speak up, like when my homey's musty
Here we go yeah * "Roxanne Roxanne" sample* yeah, dig it
"Like they used to say"
"You don't want it" [T-La Rock] "Like they used to say"
"F-R-E-S-H" [Fresh 3 MC's] "Like they used to say"
"My Adidas, walk through concrete doors and broke" [Run-DMC]
"Like they used to say"
[Common]
Yo *repeating "zen zen zen zen" for about 20 sec.*
"Like they used to say" 3x
Yo yo check it
Appreciate the art that came through Puerto Ricans and Blacks
Speakin the facts, the sound is much deeper than wax
Dug Inf, Luke Lumberjack I'm keepin the axe
Layin on passed out nights wakin up reekin wit raps
Geek like the Fat Boys ?produce the feeb? in fat
In shows I get more hoes/holes than a seam in the matt
Raps develop like film (so what?) so call me Instant Common
This business of pimps and hoes, I stick out like Bishop Juan
Talk to my nigga Ron about openin shops
Holdin up cops, I'm from the 'Go, it don't stop
Contract ain't show enough options, it's time to pop guns
It's gon' be some Shook, Lost and popped Ones
Askin How Come like Wyclef, they'll be Gone before November (yeah)
Name'll be in sentences wit the word "remember"
Wrote a letter to '88, let's get back, love me tender
The letter came back three days later, return to sender
Damn!
"Like they used to say"
"Hot damn hoe here we go again" [MC Lyte] "Like they used to say"
"I want it like that, I got it like that, I have it like that" [Kool Keith]
"Like they used to say"
"You gots to chill" [PMD] "Like they used to say"
"Boyz in the hood are always hard" [Eazy E] "Like they used to say"
"One for all and all" [Brand Nubian] "Like they used to say"
"Zoom zoom zoom, zoom zoom zoom zoo zoom" [MC E-Z]
"Like they used to say"
"I get money, money I got" [Milk-D] "Like they used to say"
"Plug one, plug two" [De La Soul] "Like they used to say"
"For all the pioneers, I'm goin way back" [Just-Ice] "Like they used to say"
"I think that's about as far back as we can go" [Just-Ice]
"Like they used to say" 3x
"Yo what happened to the beats" [Eric B.]
"Like they used to say"

Envisioning the hereafter, listenin to Steve Wonder
On a Quest for Love like the Proceed drummer
I strike like lightning and don't need thunder
Inhale imagination and breathe wonder
That's your lady, I used to run up in her and G weed from her
It's a cold world and niggaz need summer
At times my going forward seems like retreat
As I rewrite rhyme after rhyme and throw away beats
Growing into my britches, outgrowing the streets
There's a thin line between war and peace, whores and jeeps
Ignore MCs like beeps, scribblin freedom on pages
My third eye is like pink eye, seemin contagious
Redeemin the ancients with ageless rhyme jargon
I feel Mexican, hip hop is my garden
Don't give a fuck where you chartin, certain shit I can't honor
It ain't that you sellin, it's your karma
Rappers I monitor like a chaperone, you large and haven't grown
Poetically perform fly-bys, another rapper gone
The stage becomes a catacomb, I rap like a mummy
Not for the money, I could have sampled Diana Ross a long time ago
My mind of flow is like motor key 20
Youngblood said he had dimes, I prayed that he see twenty
Hollerin at the brothers, either you gon be a thug or a man
Flip drugs and get land, I can see my man Rashad
As he described how the bucks hit him
And said slugs was still stuck in him, when it rained, it fucked wit him
This bucket interrupt wisdom and asked when my album was comin
I said it's here

Once the love was strong
Now it's long, long gone
Cause the pain, pain now as a storm
I would make, growing old
Cause I want you, cause I want you
I want you, I want you
I've been thinking bout, I've been thinking bout
I've been thinking bout you lately
Thoughts take me to when we were close
Addicted to your love, feel I need another dose
I know it's a feeling that should be long gone
Things seem to come up when I hear our song
Golden brown girl, it seemed so long
Since I heard your voice, where did the king go wrong?
Emotions that, that they linger on
I guess cause I never knew a love so strong
So many hot girls I need your warm
The taste of your mouth girl I need your warm
Good food and love I need your warm
This here was made before we were born
A dreamer so I'm a keep dreaming on
It's kind of like 'The Breakup' with Jen and Vince Vaughn
Once the love was strong
Now it's long, long gone
Cause the pain, pain now as a scorn
I remained all alone
Cause I want you, cause I want you
I want you, I want you
Cause I want you, cause I want you
I want you, I want you
They say you don't know, know, know what you got
Till what u got is gone
Yeah I write such and such, yo a lot but the feelings not as strong
We were like 2 birds that were able to fly
I try to pick the right words to say to the sky
Some days I would try but wasn't able to cry
I never been good at saying goodbye
I take a deep breath when the times is hard
When I reminisce over you, my God
I spent many years trying to be the heartthrob
I guess it's only right that I got my heart robbed
The scent of a room that reminds me of you
A hint of perfume it reminds me of you
Take a look at the moon it reminds me of you
Hope the stars and the gods align me and you
We do what we do and we do what we live
I love this way cause I got it as a kid
With so much to give from it, I never hid
The love that I wrote on the mirror it got smeared
My friends say it was a change for the better
But I say, girl you changed my forever
Relationships they can be as strange as the weather
Rain or sun we can sing this together
Cause I want you, cause I want you
I want you, I want you
Cause I want you, cause I want you

[Common]
Yeah! Hah! Yeah, we got, come on
Y'all cats know the abstract nigga with the attitude
Pass the booze, and let's build on it
I'm rolling in a Cadillac with the grill fronted
I ain't even smoke no mo' but I feel blunted
Yo I'm tokin on the freedom
Stepping to the A.M., cats be tokin in the P.M.
Tell the players I'm the G.M.
Told my team let me get my plays straight, I'ma feed them
They need me like I need them
See the streets is bleedin
Had to meet with my mind and ? to be defined and
Stay on my climb
I'm grind - ing, 'til I get blue balls
Everyday, same shit new star
Don't make me act like where I come from because he grew tall
There's a place that to run from it if you neu - tral
Hustlers and vogues, customers and smokes
I kiss the sky feeling high off the stuff that I wrote
[Chorus] (x2)
I want to ride in my car, smoke my weed
Keep my head high, let the chrome spin
I got the right to feel hood
I got the right to feel high
I got the right to feel hood
I got the right to feel high
[Common]
I'm the only cat in hip hop that can go into a thrift shop
Connect, get up to the ghetto and get props
If you gonna get that kick-a-box
Make sure that ? not
If you gonna get that glock don't be scared to big shot
Hip Hop is changin, y'all want me to stay the same?
Sorta like Barkley on how I see the game
I recognize game like a scout
Ayo, I'm bound to wreck your lady as I turn your lady out
I ain't about that
Messing with no other man's women
Because of jealousy then a man go under
Understand a man and his mental
Listening to Joan Mitchell
With the fan and the window
Can it be so simple then?
I rock Rockports, you rock Timberlands
I want a Rover, but I'm thinking long range
I ain't switch over, I just made my own lane
[Chorus]
[Common]
Like a pimp to a hoe I connect to the track
I feel it in my neck and my back
A thug came to me, said it changed his life
Said the love of his life, he used to bang to the light
I'm trying to do better
I ain't claiming Mister Right
I'm a grown man, I'm too old to fist-fight
I stay on point like trick dice
Tweeking like the sound man who need to switch mike
Sounding bitch like
I know the block is hot, but we just can't get ice
When our children's children sit nice?
I sing the song to make the fiend's strong
King Kong ain't got shit on me
I train days to rip emcees, I'm peaking
But I still gotta get that cheese
You on some monkey ball damn chimpanzees
Mobbin through the Chi-Town to feel the breeze yo

Yo, yo, check it
Unattached and calm, sundaes and pills I palm
with intentions to make it to the league
Intrigued by two-letter cars, SE's and GS'ses
On the court niggaz I leave like messages
Plagued by this ball-player exorcist
It's sort of foul how the world be reffin us
Kenny is our Moses in this five-on-five Exodus
For the game of life, full courts ain't preppin us
Schools want me, but the ghost of Manigault haunts me
Plus they wanna crib me, way out in the country
I'm city like street lights and some games that be fights
Never worked on my left so it's hard to be right
Either rich poor or Mike is who I wanna be like
Story of many black males that I refuse to rewrite
Yo, brothers opinions is Bias-ed, like Len
that I'll end up like Ben, Wilson, still some pretend to be friends
Beneath the grin I see the ?gin spoke up and assure a?
More so than my soul, my jump shot is purer
People play juror, I witness the fall of legends
Once was the joint now they restin got a God given present
My gallant talent is like a magic
trick turned by a chick with a bad habit
Opportunity to move I grab it
Me and my moms have static, now I wreak Hennesey and havoc
Man to man talks with Kenny, send me to a zone
Been on my own for so long, my vocal tone's grown
Competition gets blown like speakers
when I cross her like Jesus out of bleachers, broads and beepers
Yeah I boogey it's all good, but it could be better
Want to stay eighteen forever
But now I stay on point like Rod in this Strickland
If Brooklyn courts was the canvas, then I would be the big man
From thoughts that pennies bring, I assemble teams like the Kenny Kings
Think fast over breaks, dialect I'm dribbling
Remembering, night posters of Moses and the Supreme Court
Realizing, that rap and life are team sports
I follow deep thoughts
Moves never perceived thought lyrical Johnny Cochran
cause of the way I free thought
The system make a nigga think to make it that he need sports
or either to the tip he gotta resort
my seed'll be taught to start his own
In the, George Carter zone
Don't wanna be a dope MC living in his momma's home
Or speaking to my fans in a starving artist tone
Unknown zones I roam with mind architechter

(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go
Uh, on the count of three everybody run back to your fantasy, now
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go
And on the count of three everybody run back to your fantasy, now
(Go) She was a bad (uh), the type at the club niggaz would grab her
(Go) Fantasized when I had her, in the bathroom sweatin' with her ass up
(Go) The body of a dancer, we had chemistry cuz she was a Cancer
Thought forever it would last for, but forever move faster, so I had to
(Go) Still I gotta pause when I think about her in dem draws
(Go) And a ooh baby she liked it raw and like rain when she came it poured
(Go) And like a car that I can't afford I would want it then want some more
The positions our frames explored let me know she was secure, back for more I wanna
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go
Uh, on the count of three everybody run back to your fantasy, now
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go
And on the count of three everybody run back to your fantasy, now
(Go) Freaky like the daughter of a pastor, said I was bait for her to master
(Go) Little red corvette now she was faster, wet dreams Le'maire cream the bathroom
(Go) We made love and then laughter, and anyway I wanted I could have her
Said there were some girls that did attract her, a new chapter she was after so I said let's
(Go) To a place that you wanna be, uh get what you want from her and me uh
(Go) Free love I wanna see uh, hot sex in the third degree uh
(Go) You gettin' served while servin' me uh, dirty words encourage me to
Rock steady and sturdily on, you turnin' me no turnin' back the further we
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go
Uh, on the count of three everybody run back to your fantasy, now
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go and on the count of three
(Go) go, go, go, go, go, go

How did you know I've been waiting for this time to come?
And though it tastes like forever it may not stay long
Everywhere is summer, everywhere is summer
Everywhere is summer, everywhere is summer
A shaman since before my birth
And I came down to rock the earth
My mission condition
I give you, you listen
I'm syncing in time in parallel
In binary, no third return
I'm planning intention
With all the redemption
How did you know I've been waiting for this time to come?
And though it tastes like forever it may not stay long
Everywhere is summer, everywhere is summer
Everywhere is summer, everywhere is summer
No pop, no pop, no pop, no pop
We gon' do this thang till the sky just drop
Lock in to ya mind away we rock
In a rocket is the eighty seventh astronaut
Top of the soul, dove and I got in a hole
At the moment they were sayin' it was outa control
Strap in to your mind, why eyes see some recline
You'll see in time your season to shine
When the stadium is dark, MCs are defined
Get ready, on your mark, put your feet on the line
The race is on to space beyond
You gon' get there by doin' what you want
Sometimes the most famous feel all alone
So we drift to a place that we call our home
I was known as being spaced and outta my dome
Now I know, it's all I've known
How did you know I've been waiting for this time to come?
And though it tastes like forever it may not stay long
Everywhere is summer, everywhere is summer

(feat. Lily Allen)
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
No it's not a mystery, it's everything
She was the type to watch Oprah and the Today Show
Be on the treadmill, uh, like OK Go
Had a body, A body that you can't pay fo'
That mean she had some Ds on her but they wasn't fake though
Had a drive for a drive for Rodeo
She spent pesos on those Lebeaus
Spin class at the gym, strip tease on a pole
She was so obsessed with her body and clothes
To every party she goes, tryin hard to be chose
They say it's hard for a pimp but extra hard for these (hoes)
Readin Us and People Mag, tryna get the scoop
Chasin a actor for a Bentley Coupe
She been through the ball player from the Clippers, then came the pumps
All thinkin she number one where she was just a jumpoff
Doin all she can for a man and a baby
Drivin herself crazy like the astronaut lady
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
No it's not a mystery, it's everything
He had paper since we was in we was in high school
Pop was a doc, mom taught at my school
Lock with the rocks, in his ears he kept jewels
One of the Diddy types, da D-D-Dame Dash dudes
Pushed a Maserati Sport, readin the Robb Report
Wanted to be Mike but he was never live at sports
Since golf is in he was on the drivin course
To live the rap life is what he was strivin for
Spendin cash at the bar to get credit
Drinkin Chaundon just because Big said it
They say Ye is but dude was big headed
Rocked the fur in the summer so somebody'd pet it
He had a fetish for shoes that's athletic
Pathetic on his MySpace page half nekkid
It's a shame what they do for fame and to be respected
Joe, you coulda got it if you never woulda stressed it
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
No it's not a mystery, it's everything
They was one of them couples, people said they were the it
Unbreakable, like Bobby and Whit
Or Ryan and Reese, or Kimora and Russ
Relationships can be dead but look live to us
I guess we all been through it where we try too much
Losin yourself and you're lyin and stuff
Wishin for the diamond cuffs, in search of a ring
Where love is not a mystery it's everything
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild
I gotta see what's up before it gets me down
No it's not a mystery, it's everything
Gets me down
Gets me down
Gets me down
Gets me down
Gets me down
Gets me

Ah keep on, chcka chcka chcka (Repeat 6x)
Mo'fucker move back, I pursue rap at the pace of a New Jack
Miscellaneous numbers and shoes stack grooves
Rap I deliver for the hungry and underprivileged
Something different from these hollow and grunting niggas
This is business strictly, step to my business is risky
'Specially when you as bitch as Missy
Back to back LP's that sound the same, I surround the game
With a four-pounded brainstorm
To make niggas dance in the rain, scared to take a chance in the game
Used to breakdance, it's a shame
What money do to a nigga brain
If he lose his soul what did a nigga gain?
"Doin' it, doin' it, I am doin' it"
"C O double M O to the N" (cut and scratched 4x)
My train of thought is that of a hustler, or a nigga with his shirt off
Trying to get his work off to customers
I rap with a chip on my shoulder, squeezing Coronas
See shirts that say "We gotta get over"
That juggy shit is over, the war is on
I on;y want to be a soldier, I'm holding on, to a culture
Focused like Gordon Parks when it's sorta dark
For niggas that's flooded with ice, my thought's the ark
Performing warming arts with some shit for the heart
Don't fuck with radio, ignoring the charts
I could give a FUCK what you made in a year, nigga, you wack
A soft nigga on a hard track, in this new rap
Generation I "X" cats like a Muslim
He fell off cause I pushed him
Let his Bently and his weak crew be his cushion
I catch him on the streets, in front of the bodyguards and rush him
"Doin' it, doin' it, I am doin' it"
"C O double M O to the N" (cut and scratched 4x)
You wasn't saying you was a thug before Pac came
Ten years ago you had a high top trying to be like Kane
Then Snoop released and it became a G thang
Claim sets, your city ain't got gangs
Niggas hate you, they ain't paying you no attention
In a circle of faggots, your name is mentioned
With six degrees, I separate MC's, from a business man that's good
>From a nigga that was raised or just lived in the hood
>From what a nigga says to what's understood
Keep my shit tight like them boys in "The Wood"
Dick is always hard like the "Boyz in the Hood"
Peace to Dug Inf, No I, Sean Lett, the whole Chi
At the crib some cats give me the cold eye
I'm a bitch slap the next one
Let him know the world is my section for taking
You got to reduce aggression
"Doin' it, doin' it, I am doin' it"

[Common]
Yeah, I act like heroin, I prepare lines
For those who never knew about the flow up on this
Common Sense, evolution right up on the mix
The revolution will not be televised
This is what I do, I tell the guys
I never tell no lies, I'm the truth
Sittin' across the table from corporate lies
I said that in the sixth sense
Yo I go on and on like a run-on sentence
Common Sense is searchin' for repentance
From a lot of wach brothers
It's like this, I used to love her
I remember the brother who had his mother on the record cover
The last album, one day it made sense
Common Sense is comin' like ths for the present
What can I do when I see these pretty ladies
If I see one good enough Im stab like Jay-Z
Ah man I gotta chill with that
That ain't what went down, Common Sense sense sounds around
Come on now gotta chill
You can't tell that I'm down with K-Mell
Or flip it, you know how we gel
Common leader, check it out Common Sense will feed ya
A little bit of rhymes, people know the times
I'm rhymin' great, my album's comin' on the 28th of March
Y'all, it's like that baby what
[Talking]
Yeah, he's still in there, he's still in there
I wanna hear something written
OK, OK, OK check it
[Common]
Women cry, children laugh, men dance
I refuse to lose self tryin' to win fans over
Weight on my should fluctuates like Oprah
My refridgerator poetry magnetic like Ultra
You couldn't hang if you was a poster
[Talking]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Alright, what's next on the mic
[Common]
Yo bust it, Denzi, Benz jeep, ten freaks behind em'
M P's and rhymin' M 3's and dimin'
Empty ya nine if you attempting to rob them stars
While they getin' money from Mr. Long Island
Give me that paper dog, I gotta have it
Might lift a pocket so money is automatic
We the fourth of carats
And you still lookin' sort of savage
It's a whole lot of money out there you aught to grab it
Alright, rippin' on the mic