I said Manhattan keep on makin' it, Brooklyn keep on takin' it
In cash, we trust 'cause it's ghetto fabulous, life look pretty
It's kinda dangerous to be a emcee
A Cypher will complete us, if we come through your receivers
Just make a pussy freeze up, thinkin' of it ease up
Line for line, good Jesus, Mos Def an' Kweli
Let me meditate, set it straight, came to the conclusion
Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type
Stop actin' like a bitch already, be a visionary
Walkin' the streets is like battlin', be careful with your body
'Cause all my Brooklyn residents, [Incomprehensible] heavy regiments
Without a history of spittin' the epitome, of stupidity
Don't believe, here the evidence, where Brooklyn, see that?
Bound to take it all kid, believe that
We came to rock it on to the tip top
I said one, two, three
So relax we're takin' it back, Redhook, where we're livin' at
My presence felt, my name is Kweli from the Eternal Reflection
It ain't about production an' what else we discussin'?
They shot Tupac an' Biggie
In the jungle with the leaders, we the lions, you the cheetahs
You can play us an' repeat us an' then take us home an' read us
It's kinda dangerous to be a emcee
Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit
People thinkin' MC is short hand for 'Mis Conception'
Who'd have thought they was frontin'?"
From where they sellin' tree at, to where the police be at
Mos Def an' Talib Kweli
An' maybe you can see your name in the column of obituary
With body parts an' trays, what a way to start your day, yo, it's like
Connectin' like a round house, from the townhouse to the tenements
Say, "J. Rawls, yes, you're rulin' hip hop"
Plenty cats be strugglin' not hustlin' an' bubblin'
Three hundred an' sixty milliliters for all our believers
People follow me an' other cats, they hear him flow
Standin' on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo
My name is in the middle of E.Kwelity
We came to rock it on to the tip top
Yo, from the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate
The whole an' not the half of it, vocals an' not the math of it
What a pity, blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense
You must know Karate or think your soul is 'Bulletproof' like Sade
An' assume I'm the real one with lyrics like I'm Cyrano
You think you the shit, somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
Say, "Black Star, come to rock it"
Shinin' like an asterisk, for all those that be gatherin'
After this you be pressin' rewind on top your master disk
They shot Tupac an' Biggie
Or some random kid you smoked Buddha with
Say, "Hi-Tek, yes, you're rulin' hip hop"
Tree scents is dominant, can't be covered with incense
Colossal, true original B. Boy apostle
Third rate teacher readin' an' talkin about, "I knew he'd amount to nothin'"
Too much violence in hip hop, why oh
Brooklyn, New York City where they paint murals of Biggie
Best alliance in hip hop, why oh
Talkin' loud like you in R.C.A, get carted away
Mos Def an' Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli, E.Kwelity, yo' tell them where we be at
Me an' Kweli close like Bethlehem an' Nazareth
When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows
Consider me the entity within the industry
Still sippin', wishin' well, water imported from Pluto
I said one, two, three
It could be your crew or click
Lord, Lord have mercy
One, two, three
All nice an' peace an' true, follow me now, we say
In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot proceed us
Livin' my life, expressin' my liberty, it gotta be done properly
Strivin' for perfection ever since I was a snot nosed
Best alliance in hip hop, why oh
One, two, three
That most of these cats is featherweight, let me demonstrate
Redefinition, say, "You're rulin' hip hop"
