[Intro: Talib Kweli, Mos Def, & (sample: Della Reese announcer)]
("Hello, everybody! Recordin' live from somewhere...")
Looooord... Lord have mercy
Black Star
All nice and decent crew
This is timeless! C'mon!
Follow me now, we say
Say, Hi-Tek, yes, you're rulin' Hip-Hop
Put your hands up! C'mon, c'mon!
Say, J. Rawls, yes, you're rulin' Hip-Hop
Put your hands up, everybody
Redefinition, say, you're rulin' Hip-Hop
Put your hands up, c'mon
Say, Black Star, come to rock it non—
[Verse 1: Mos Def]
Yo, from the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate
The whole and not the half of it, forecast and aftermath of it
Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit
Me and Kweli close like Bethlehem and Nazareth
After this, you be pressin' rewind on top your master disk
Shinin' like an asterisk, for all those that be gatherin'
Connectin' like a roundhouse, from the townhouse to the tenements
'Cause all my Brooklyn residents roll with heavy regiments
Don't believe? Hear the evidence — where Brooklyn?! (WHOA!)
See that? 'Bout to take it all, kid, believe that
From where they sell they tree at, to where the police react
Talib Kweli, e-Kweli-ty, yo, tell 'em where we be at
[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
Brooklyn, New York City, where they paint murals of Biggie
In cash we trust, 'cause this ghetto fabulous life look pretty
What a pity — blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense
Tree scents is dominant, can't be covered with incense
My presence felt; my name is Kweli from the Eternal Reflection
People thinkin' "MC" is shorthand for mis-conception
Let me meditate, set it straight
Came to the conclusion that most of these cats is featherweight
Let me demonstrate:
Walkin' the streets is like battlin' – be careful with your body
You must know karate, and think your soul is bulletproof like Sade
Stop actin' like a bitch already, be a visionary
And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituaries
Third-grade teacher readin' and talkin' about, "I knew he'd amount to nothin'"
Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type" – who'd have thought they was frontin'?
Talkin' Loud like you on RCA
Get carted away with body parts and trays
What a way to start your day yo, it's like...
[Hook: Mos Def]
One, two, three (C'mon!)
Mos Def and Talib Kweli
We came to rock it on to the tip-top (C'mon!)
Best alliance in hip-hop! Y-O!
I said one, two, three
It's kinda dangerous to be a MC (C'mon!)
They shot 2Pac and Biggie
Too much violence in hip-hop, Y-O!
[Verse 3: Mos Def]
I said Manhattan keep on makin' it (Blap!)
Brooklyn keep on takin' it (Blap!)
So relax, we're takin' it back, Red Hook where we're livin' at
Plenty cats be strugglin', not hustlin' and bubblin'
It ain't about production, then, what is we discussin'?
When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows
Strivin' for perfection ever since I was a snot-nose
Colossal! True, original b-boy apostle
Standin' on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo
[Verse 4: Talib Kweli]
You think you the shit? Somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
It could be your crew or clique
Or some random kid you smoked buddha with
Consider me the entity within the industry
Without a history of spittin' the epitome of stupidity
Livin' my life, expressin' my liberty, it gotta be done properly
My name is in the middle of equality
People follow me, and other cats, they hear him flow
And assume I'm the real one with the lyrics like I'm Cyrano
[Verse 5: Mos Def]
Still sippin' wishing well water imported from Pluto
Three-hundred-and-sixty milliliters for all the believers
In miles or kilometers, most cats cannot precede us
In the jungle with the leaders — we them lions, you the cheetahs
Our cypher will complete us as we come through your receivers
You can play us and repeat us, and then take us home and read us
(Line for line!) Good Jesus! Mos Def and Kweli just
Make a pussy freeze up — think it over, ease up!
[Hook: Mos Def]
One, two, three (Come on)
Mos Def and Talib Kweli
We came to rock it on to the tip-top (Come on)
Best alliance in Hip-Hop! Y-O!
I said – one, two, three
It's kinda dangerous to be an MC
They shot 2Pac and Biggie
Hold your head when the beat drop, Y-O!
