What's On Your Mind? lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
I seen her in the subway, on my way to Brooklyn
Hello, good looking, is this seat tooken
On the A-train, picking at her brain
I couldn't get her number, I couldn't get her name
I said I still like your style of fashion
But I hate your hostile, 'itty attitude wit a passion
Is it because brothers like to hawk alot
Is it because your sign don't talk alot
She turned away, no play, I said ok
You don't really look good, I hope you have a bad day
Sat back, relaxed though the ride was tight
I was thinking of the rhymes I wrote last night
Next stop was mine, a familar scene
I was meeting my friend, killer Ben in Ft Green
Where the girls are real, they tell ya how they feel
If you're soft, you're soft, or if you're hard like steel
See i don't bend and I won't rust
And I don't break and I won't bust
Stomped up the street and did I hear a treat?
Hard high heels tappin' on the concrete
I took a peek, it was the girl from the train behind me
Did she live in the area, was she trying to find me?
Hm, I didn't wanna play myself out
I played it off, stopped and I bought a Guiness Stout
Now was she shy, she didn't walk by
She came in the store then she even said hi
Curiosity- at a high velocity
Maybe possibly she had the hots for me
i said if we're playing games then we're gonna play mine
I'm a lay the rules 'cause it ain't much time
If you hide your feelings, and they hard to find,
I wanna know what's on your mind
[CHORUS]
About a week went by and I called her, "Hello"
I said yo, can I speak to, um, she said no
Hey yo, I know I didn't call, I didn't wanna stress you
Go out my way to impress you, press to undress you
See I wanna get to know you so I can show you
What a strong relationship can grow to
But you gotta trust me and you're gonna love me
Squeeze the phone and hug me, use your mind to rub me
Now how does it feel when my mental, massage ya temple
Telephone's hot from the vibes that I sent you
Now tell me your inner thoughts and deepest emotions
Next you see ectacy's explosions
Now I'm coming to see you to spend some time
I'm a romantic warrior but is it a crime
And if you hide your feelings and they hard to find...
I wanna know what's on your mind
I wanna know what's on your mind
Now it's been months and it's smooth and lovely
I'm in your head so you'll be thinking of me
So we met in Queens and went to Valley Streams
And, uh, couldn't remember the movie we just seen
But it's Wednesday, take the train uptown
How do the 125th street sound
Amateur night, Showtime at the Apollo
Probably be watching Bill Cosby tomorrow
Then after that get into it, I mean intimate
Every word is an instrument
Making sounds and tones and songs and moans
My lips so close to your ear, it's like headphones
You smile, you said you never know what the day will bring
It's always a new song to sing
The next day I went back to the her rest
Knocked on the door, intentions: finesse
She let me in and had nothing but a neglige on
Smelling like Liz Claiborne
I sat down and got comfortable and watched the Huxtables
She sat next to me and said what's up wit you
I got the feeling for sexual healing
A mental healing ; how you feeling
She caught the effect and said she feel the same
Could you massage my intellect and stop the pain
Desire's yearning, the fire's burning
You hot 'cause it's alot you're learning
Now I'm ready to explore you inner world
It's take a long time cuz I'm just beginning, girl...
Take it easy, cut off the TV
Cut off the lights, use your mind to see me,
Use your physical form if I'm hard to find
'Cause now I know what's on your mind...
'Cause now I know what's on your mind...
Teach The Children lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
No more time to pass time 'cause these are the last rhymes,
'Cause we're living in the last times...
They wanna go to war, more wars to come
But most of us fight more wars than one
Discrimination in the racial nation
While they destroy our strong foundation
Nature's balance is way off balance
They tip the scale, now it's no more silence
The hole in the ozone layer is outta control
But they wanna fight for more oil and gold
Unemployment, I got laid off
The streets is the last resorts to get paid off
For more, more mint, no doe for rent
I gotta shed blood to make a red cent
Maybe I should ask the president
Somebody give me the president
But he don't want to hear it, it's out of the question
'Cause in my section it's worse than recession
So I go to a rich neighborhood and play Robin Hood
Take from the bad and give to the good
First I go to Bensonhurst, steal a Benz, snatch a purse
Pick up my friends, that's when it gets worse
'Cause I need government and they need government
Alot of mint spent, now I gotta pay rent
Who makes the most dead presidents in the projects
You're gonna get robbed and wrecked
I parked up the block to plot on a kid that made a knot
Let's get him for all he got
I approached him slow like I was a basehead
Put the fo-fifth to his face and said
You see those kids over there wit the hoods
Walk to them real slow and give them the goods
First the gun and the doe and crush the jumbos
One false move and no one knows
'Cause I got a silencer to hush the bust
And I'm in a rush, so hush the fuss
Plus the poison you fed will no longer spread
You good as dead, I'm a fill your head wit lead
That's when I pushed him into his building
To murder him ...but I remember the children...
[chorus:]
We gotta teach the children everyday, keep a song
Show them the light, teach them right from wrong
Make some sense so they can carry on
Teach the children
We gotta teach the children so that they can sing along
Understand the words in this song
Can't be done when we're gone, so..."
Teach the children ,save the nation
I see the destruction, the situation
They're corrupt, and their time's up soon
But they'll blow it up and prepare life on the moon
Sounds like Total Recall
But who gotta spaceship, you get it, we fall
So hope for the best and expect the worst
The end is near and it's U-N-I verse...
The one's that interfere wit nature
Labeled you limited and underrate ya,
His plans over rule when he separates ya
Now it's U-N-I verse, the one that hates ya
So we gotta let them know, we're hip to the script
Change the skit, or we're about to flip
'Cause we want access to happiness
Livin' the good life and much success
Equal opportunity
Self awareness and unity
Education, the kids need a sculpture
Teach them the abacus and their culture...
And that'll help stop the robbing, raping and killing
Poison neighborhoods are illing
But they import more keys from across seas
A drug disease hits the streets wit ease
So keep on building.... 'cause we gotta keep building
Till the answers are filled in
And make sure you don't stop till then...
And if you do, remember the children!
Pass The Hand Grenade lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Pass the hand grenade
It's gonna blow 'cause I took out the pin
Detach the detonator, data send
Programmed wit protons, eqipped wit predicates
Electrons and elements just fit
Your pronoun hits the ground and that's that
Hit the floor like a meteor so get back
Commas, punctuation marks separate, it sparks
Follow the course in to avoid getting sharked
More volts than a lightning bolt: handle with care!
I'm far from fragile, warfare won't tear
I'm armed and dangerous, trained for combat
Let off rounds and they won't just bomb back
Explosions I made to invade your parade-
your weak beats' decay 'till they can't get played!
Wrong elements in the mic, they get sprayed
Pass the hand grenade
After the stage gets warm, I heat it up
The crowd gets charged, I speed it up
They couldn't get warm, gimme a cut
The rhyme gets good, so eat it up
Food for thought until your thoughts is sore,
Fill up a colosseum, I can serve them all
Bake another plate, and cook it far from raw
And if your overweight, then here's some more....
'Cause every dish I make tastes great and
Plus filling, If I sold a third of my rhymes, I make a killing,
Get the salt and pepper from the maid
Get the blood off the blade, pass the hand grenade
If you try this, your response is tonsilitis,
I'm leaving authors and writers with arthritis;
You got the slightest ideas, I got the brightest
Here's the lightest, so clear, it's out of sight, it's
Darkness, from the darkness, came the light
The night is the time for Ra to recite it.
Educated, but complicated style
For all the biters, I'm shutting rappers up like Midas
I got the force of a Turbo Porsche
You get lost in the sauce and then thrown off course
You can't destroy the decoys so detour!
No sense of direction, so what'cha speed for?
You wouldn't of never made it, how many styles have I created?
So many rhymes I bust, ya frustrated,
Then the mic will self sestruct, you'll get sprayed!
Pass the hand grenade [x3]
Casualties Of War lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Casualties of War!
Casualties of war; as I approach the barricade
Where's the enemy? Who do I invade?
Bullets of Teflon, bulletproof vest rip
Tear ya outta ya frame with a bag full of clips
Cause I got a family that waits for my return
To get back home is my main concern
I'ma get back to New York in one piece
but I'm bent in the sand that is hot as the city streets
Sky lights up like fireworks blind me
Bullets, whistlin over my head remind me...
President Bush said attack
Flashback to Nam, I might not make it back
Missile hits the area, screams wake me up
from a war of dreams, heat up the M-16
Basic training, trained for torture
Take no prisoners, and I just caught ya
Addicted to murder, send more bodybags
They can't identify em, leave the nametags
I get a rush when I see blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! [x4]
Day divides the night and night divides the day
It's all hard work and no play
More than combat, it's far beyond that
Cause I got a kill or be killed kind of attack
Area's mapped out, there'll be no, Stratego
Me and my platoon make a boom wherever we go
But what are we here for? Who's on the other side of the wall?
Somebody give the President a call
But I hear warfare scream through the air
Back to the battlegrounds, it's war they declare
A Desert Storm: let's see who reigns supreme
Something like Monopoly: a government scheme
Go to the Army, be all you can be
Another dead soldier? Hell no, not me
So I start letting off ammunition in every direction
Allah is my only protection
But wait a minute, Saddam Hussein prays the same
and this is Asia, from where I came
I'm on the wrong side, so change the target
Shooting at the general; and where's the sergeant?
Blame it on John Hardy Hawkins for bringing me to America
Now it's mass hysteria
I get a rush when I see blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! [x4]
The war is over, for now at least
Just because they lost it don't mean it's peace
It's a long way home, it's a lot to think about
Whole generation, left in doubt
Innocent families killed in the midst
It'll be more dead people after this
So I'm glad to be alive and walkin
Half of my platoon came home in coffins
Except the general, buried in the Storm
in bits and pieces no need to look for em
I played it slick and got away with it
Rigged it up so they would think they did it
Now I'm home on reserves and you can bet
when THEY call, I'm going AWOL
Cause it ain't no way I'm going back to war
when I don't know who or what I'm fighting for
So I wait for terrorists to attack
Every time a truck backfires I fire back
I look for shelter when a plane is over me
Remember Pearl Harbor? New York could be over, G
Kamikaze, strapped with bombs
No peace in the East, they want revenge for Saddam
Did I hear gunshots, or thunder?
No time to wonder, somebody's going under
Put on my fatigues and my camoflouge
Take control, cause I'm in charge
When I snapped out of it, it was blood, dead bodies on the floor
CASUALTIES OF WAR! [x4]
Rest Assured lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Double oh seven is back..
Double oh seven is back..
Double oh seven is back..
[Rakim]
I don't stress my day cause it's best to parlay
I guess you could say I've been away
I wake up slow when I'm hot but I destruct the plant
and fourteen hands comb New York for fans
They make waves as they wiggle in my waterbed
Pull back the leather covers and silk bedspread
A mornin massage turnin into a real rough rubdown
so I figured I'll lay around
They keep me wet with a juice called Tahiti
It make the room steamy, so soon they couldn't see me
They know more than calisthetics as they worked up a sweat
It wasn't even ten o'clock yet
Scrub down, then I get moist, they never treat me mean
They sweetly keep me squeaky clean
I chill as they filled the jacuzzi
I said, "I'm tight from a real long flight, could you soothe me
Support my thoughts, cause I got a lot of writing to do"
They said, "Cool," and just enjoyed the view
It ain't hard cause it's miles from the sidewalk
I'm overlookin every borough in New York
The entire, Empire, State to concentrate
for every rhyme I make
So at exactly noon they played my favorite tune
And just before they all cleared the room
they said, "We're glad you're home from tour, now we feel secure
We wish you didn't have to leave no more"
But they wanna go to war, they even tried to shoot up the door
Double oh seven is back..
Rest assured
Double oh seven is back..
Feel secure
Double oh seven is back..
I'm fillin up the page when I'm steppin on stage
Got the people in a rage with they hands in the air
Fellas sayin HOE, everybody yellin GO
Fly ladies in the house all screamin "awww yeah"
That's how they react when I attack the mic
In fact it's like a stack of dynamite, powerful and bright
Girls love to squeeze me real tight
Double oh seven is back..
Ra has returned, to romance em, better than Johnny Handsome
When I was young, women said, "Damn son"
Ain't nuthin change but the year and I'm still here
C'mere dear and let me whisper in your ear
Hug my words so I can taste your lips
I set up hips like domino chips
but I don't let em hit the floor
And if you got sore, then feel secure
Where's the pain, is it the spot you set us in
Almost magic, better than medicine
Take one of these and put your mind at ease
I get more work than a lot of M.D.'s
If I'm hawkin New York, or out on tour
I express the raw dialect and explore
But don't get fooled by metaphor
Double oh seven is back
Rest assured
Feel secure
Rest assured
Rest assured
Yo, feel secure
The Punisher lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Kill him again!
Try to identufy the man in front of ya
But it ain't the role, the gear, or the money, the
swift intellectionist with pleny, ya
bite, if it's dark I'll spark every one of ya,
I throw a mic in the crowd, it's a question,
I got the answer..it includes directions:
"Go manufacture a mask, show me after
a glass of a master that has to make musical massacre..."
Attack your wack 'till it's handicapped,
you'll never hold the mic again, try to hand it back,
cuz every rapper that comes, I cut off his thumbs,
put a record to his neck, if he swallows it hums!
Slice from ear to ear-so 'till can hear better,
Before he bleed to death, here, hear every letter!
and you can see quick and thick the blood can get
if you try to change the style or the subject;
as I get deep in the rhyme I'm becomin' a
emcee murderer...before I'm done, I'm a
prepare the chamber, the torture's comin' up,
Trip through the mind, at the end you'll find it's
the punisher....
Kill 'em again!
I hold the mic as hostage, emcees are ransome,
rhymes'll punish 'em cuz they don't undertsand 'em,
I heat up his brain, then explain then I hand him
a redhot microphone...that's how I planned 'em,
rhymes call information(?), unite midnught(?),
like a platoon putting bullet wounds in the mic,
if ya curse me, it ain't no mercy,
give him a autopsy, killed by a verse of me,
I took a kid and cut off his eyelid,
kill him slow so he could see what I did,
and if he don't understand what I said,
I'm pushing his eyeballs way to the back of his head
so he can see what he's getting into,
a part of the mind that he never been through,
a journey is coming cuz ya getting sent to
a place harder to find but it's all in the mental,
I ran a brainscan to locate his game plan,
when I'm through with his brain he ain't the same, man!
did he lose his mind or lost in his mind,
but this ain't the lost and found because ya can't find
your foundation; coasting, your mind is
drifting, in slow motion..frozen,
looks like another murder at the Mardi Gras, B!
Too late to send out a search party,
once ya out of ya head then ya can't get back,
I give 'em a map, but he still get trapped, so
prepare the chamber, the torture's coming up,
trip through the mind, at the end you'll find it's The Punisher....
Kill 'em again!
Dangerous rhymes (are) performed like surgery,
Cuts so deep you'll be bleeding burgundy,
My intellect wrecks and disconnects your cerebral cortex,
your cerebellum is next!
Your conscience becomes sub-conscious,
soon your response is nonsense....
the last words are blurred...mumbled then slurred,
then your verbs are no longer heard,
you get your lung fried so good you're tongue-tied,
he couldn't swing or hang so he hung 'till he died,
reincarnate him...and kill him again...again and again...again and again...
I leave him in the mausoleum so you can see him,
I got a dead-MC'ing museum,
when I create 'em, I cremate 'em and complicate 'em,
you can't save 'em...there's no ultamatum,
mic's lay around full of ashes, with the victim's name in slashes,
got a long list and I'm a get every one of ya...
Beware of The Punisher!
Then I'm a kill 'em again!
Wake 'em up...kill 'em again!
Relax With Pep lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Relax with pep
My styles will move
I'm calm but deadly, heat up but cool
I'm rough as a right hook but still look smooth
Even when I'm unseen, I show and prove
Women, I give 'em pain and still soothe
As I 'll put you down ?(when them)?, hard to put up wit
Swell up like helium but I can make you fit
I'm taking what I want and make you wanna give it here
Provoking you to flaunt, you get the idea
Got it, gone, my schedule is packed
My day is lay back 'cause I'm ahead of all that
Then I can relax 'cause I'm before my time
I hand you a manual before the rhymes
So you can catch up and keep up and move right alone
The day is kind of off but I can get it on
I'm taking it step by step and when the night is in depth
It's cool 'cause I'm relax wit pep
Relax wit pep
Relax wit pep
I inchant a riot wit a quiet storm
Is it the way I parlay or the knowledge being born
All praise due to the magnificient, most high and magnificient
From him, I was sent wit intent to invent
New ways for better displays, for better days
No more crimes, I got rhymes and it pays
I'm prepared to take mine and get mine
And I can protect mine even wit a rhyme or a nine
A silent rage but ?(I'm amplified)?
Rhymes multiply, it's hard to provoke when I
Put a mode in effect, the episode's correct
Reload and you don't know code to respect
I get swift and change a rule, adapt the master
But still remainable, rap gets faster
Reacts and projects and tracks and it get
To the max, it's in depth, it attacks but it's relax wit pep
Relax wit pep
Relax wit pep, relax wit pep
Check one, them I'm a check another one, two
The R's brand new so you can view a view
I got equisite, exhibit, explizzit
Is it a whiz kid or kid quiz it, well is it
Relax, I'll track out, lap the halpf stepper
Here come the right one baby and Dr. Pepper
So check the wreck up scale rhymes overload
Blow up and explode, abrupt and reload the code
You can't pinpoint a low cape, the rape
Or evaluate the up to date, skate
Up front, laid back, coming off on track
Girls want some of this because I'm all of that
Sweat the concept as the ?(epps)? in depth
As the track is kept, you can't intercept the step
React and projects and it tracks and it gets
To the max and in depth, it attacks but it's relax wit pep
Relax wit pep
Relax wit pep, it's relax wit pep
Keep The Beat lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
She asked could I keep the beat
So here's the beat, everytime it pounds, you get weak
Comfy, imbedded like a pillow, bouncin wit an echo
My voice is moist, and plus mellow
I got it going on, you're gonna wanna come
Skins is the drum, (I) said I'm the drummer, give the drummer some
And we'll see if you can hang wit Ra
Hm, let's see if you can Shangri-La
Easy ...like Tina Marie I play it slick
Like Rick James, I'm the fire in your desire's flames;
I heat up your temperature, keep the tempo raw
When you start to smoke, rest assured
I start to think 'cause you're a singer like Anita
High pitched like a tweeter, deep beats start to beat her
Much harder than love taps, my rap's above that
I get girls where I want wit a maze full of lovetraps
But I don't want to fall in love
I stand in love, good balanced wit a plan to shove
Accapella as we start to speak
Heart to heart and cheek to cheek then I complete the beat
[Chorus]
Tempo's moving and I'm hoping it'll never fade away...
The beat is grooving, words are soothing and please tell me that you're here
to stay
In the morning and I'm hoping the morning come again
Hold me close and give me another dose and
keep the beat don't ever let it end
She said, ah, so far, you didn't miss a beat yet
Pop in another cassette, then I'm in to wreck
I'll give you a beat you never had before,
I had to explore and came up wit more
Deep trunk kicks wit a brick for a drum stick
You know the song, don't hum along, come quick
You lay like Sade, it feels like paradise
At the top of the pyramid, we review new heights
The scenery of Egypt, you and me as we get
So deep in the groove, when you move, you get seasick
You seen enough, close your eyes and relax
Move wit the tracks and stay tuned for the sax
The instrumental, enters your mental..
Tense but gentle and, sentimental,
Accapella as we start to speak
Heart to heart and cheek to cheek then I complete the beat
[Chorus]
She wanted the extended version
So I kept splurging and add more words in;
Strong: the emotion, notions move and
the poetry's smoking, potions soothing,
There goes the moon, I'm far from done,
Rise like the sun, here comes the sun
And I won't stop 'till it sets and then
Rewind the cassettes and I'm a play it again;
But this time it's instrumental at a faster tempo
All I wanna hear is "Yea Rakim, Go"!
I work overtime on your body and mind
'Cause I'm incline to do both combined
My job is never done but done well
Horizontal or parallel
Accapella as we start to speak
Heart to heart and cheek to cheek then I complete the beat
[Chorus]
What's Going On? lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
What's going on?
What's happening, it's been so long, what's going on
And what's going wrong? The good old days are gone
You forgot your plot and your plans as a young man
You invented a scam even you don't understand
You rig the enigma, can't figure it out
You change the route, now you're in doubt
You use to cut class, smoked grass, still passed,
Figured you was all that but that ain't last;
The times is harder, the drugs is heavier
You say whatever, the more, the merrier;
Smoke chokes your dreams and blurs your scenes,
Now a young man fiend change his plan to schemes;
No more good times, no more time,
Too far to find, you're almost blind,
You can't see what spot that the trap is in...
(Hey bra!)What's happening!
You had it mapped out, your plans get torn,
You stayed up for days and now your dreams are gone
You said you quit, stated your word is bond
(Hey bro) what's going on?
What's going on?
My neighborhood don't look so good
I'll find a way out.. yeah, I would if I could,
But the government is doing a project...
so I live in the projects;
Where we fight for elbow room to the doom,
Try to live long but you die too soon,
I might not be alive to see 25,
Taught at ten to make money and strive;
I sold tapes at school and made some ends
Met alot of skins and even made some friends,
Cool, 'cause now I got a crew to run wit,
Break a couple of rules, have crazy fun wit;
But every now and then, they give my knuckle game a test,
But I won't fess, I just get rid of the stress!
And then shake hands like a man,
'Cause it's a family thing, only the crew would understand!
But you had a one on one fight wit drugs,
When we ain't cool no more, we buss slugs,
Clip after clip, until one of us is gone...
(Hey bra!) what's going on?
Yo, what's going on?
The crime rate in New York State elevate,
A city filled wit hate, more deaths accumulate,
Drug wars daily, alot of blood spilt,
Kids on the playground shot down and kilt!
Nobody wants to live on the 1st floor no more...
'Cause stray bullets explore!
We're killing ourselves off slowly but surely,
And at the end of the year, I'm sure many more'll be
Rubbed out in a quest for clout
The rest'll be drugged out, this is bugged out!
Half of the projects is dead or locked up,
Kids getting kidnapped and then found chopped up.
Human abortion create distortions...
And that's just a portion, you know that we're lost when
Babies are addicted to drugs when they are born....!
(Hey bra!) what's going on? [x3]
Know The Ledge (Juice) lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Sip the juice cuz I got enough to go around,
And the thought takes place uptown
I grew up on the sidewalk where I learned street talk,
And then taught to hawk New York-
I go to Queens for queens to get the crew from Brooklyn,
Make money in Manhattan and never been tooken,
Go Uptown and the Bronx to boogie down,
Get strong on the Island, recoupe, and lay around.
Time to bulid my juice back up-
Props back up, suckers get smacked up
Don't doubt the clout, you know what I'm about
Knocking niggaz off, knocking niggaz out
Shaking em up, waking em up
Raking em up, breaking em up...
Standing on shaky grounds too close to the edge
Let's see if I know the ledge
Corners' trifling 'cause shorty's here
I get cock-d liffin' forty's of beer;
Here's a sip for the crew that's deceased,
If I get revenge, then they rest in peace.
Somebody's got to suffer, I just might spare one-
And give a brother a fair one!
Stay alert and on "p's".
And I do work with these- like Hercules,
Switch to southpaw, split your right jaw
'Cause I don't like y'all, I'm hype when night fall.
Smooth but I move like an army
Bulletproof down in case brothers try to bomb me,
Putting brothers to rest like Elliot ness
'Cause I don't like stress
Streets ain't a place for innocent bystanders to stand
Nutting's gonna stop the plan
I'll chill like Pacino, kill like DeNiro
Black Gambino, die like a hero
Living on shaky grounds too close to the edge
Let's see if I know the ledge!
Shells lay around on the battleground
Dead bodies are found throughout the town.
Tried to put shame in my game to make a name, I'm a
Put it on a bullet, put it in your brain.
Rip the block like a buckshot,
Who cares where it goes, just keep the casket closed,
No remorse when a life is lost
I paid my dues- paid the cost!
...And my pockets are still fat,
Wherever I'm at, I get the welcome mat.
Even if my crew steep with one deep
I attract attention, people like to peep
So come say hi to the badguy
Don't say goodbye, I don't plan to die!
'Cause I get loose and I got troops
And crazy juice!
In control of many like Ayatollah Khomeini
Hang out wit Smith and Wesson, don't try to play me.
I'm at war alot, like Anwar Sadat..
But no warning shot, my gun is warm alot.
When I cook beef, the smoke will never clear,
Areas in fear but this here's a fear!
Living life too close to the edge
Hoping that I know the ledge....
A brand new morn, no time to yawn
Shower's on, power's on
Late for school, I catch the train
Girls sip "Cristal" and whisper my name
I push up like an exercise,
Check the intellect and inspect the thighs
Select the best one, pull her to the side
Keep her occupied for the rest of the ride
Read my resume she's know I'm 'ready cool
Just meet me after school,
We can moan and groan until your mom come home ,
And you be calling me Al "dope" Capone.
Sweatin' me, she didn't want to let me loose-
Come get me, that's if you want to sip the juice
Cause the streets await me, so I take my gun off safety
Cause alot of niggaz hate me
Coming out of the building, they set me up
Sprayed wit automatics, they wet me up
In a puddle of blood, I lay close to the edge
I guess I didn't know the ledge.....
Don't Sweat The Technique lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Don't sweat the Technique [x2]
Let's trace the hints and check the file
Let see who bit to detect the style
I flip the script so they can't get foul.
At least not now, it'll take a while
I change the pace to complete the beat
I drop the bass,'till mc's get weak.
For every word they trace, it's a scar they keep...
'Cause when I speak, they freak
To sweat the technique
I made my debut in '86
Wit a melody and a president's mix
And now I stay on target and refuse to miss
And I still make hits
wit' beats, parties, clubs, in the cars and jeeps
My underground sound vibrates the streets
MC's wanna beef then I play for keeps
When they sweat the technique
Don't Sweat the Technique
They wanna know how many rhymes have I ripped in rep., but
Researchers never found all the pieces yet
Scientists try to solve the context
Philosophers are wondering what's next
Pieces are took to last who observe them
They couldn't absorb them, they didn't deserve them
My ideas are only for the audience's ears
For my opponents, it might take years
Pencils and pens, are swords
Letters put together form a key to chords
I'm also a sculpture, born with structure
Because of my culture, I'm a rip and destruct the
Difficult styles that'll be for the technology
Complete sights and new heights after I get deep
You don't have to speak just seek
And peep the technique
But don't sweat the technique
I speak indiscreet cause talk is cheap
Then I get deep and the weak then complete their
Pull with a seat, never weak or obsolete
They never grow old techniques become antiques
Better then something brand new 'cause it's radiant
And the wild style'll have much more volume
Classical too intelligent to be radical
Masterful, never irrelevant: mathematical
Here's some soothing souvenirs for all the years
They fought, and sought, the thoughts and ideas
It's cool when you freak to the beat
But don't sweat the technique
Don't sweat the technique [x2]
Kick Along lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Kick along [x3]
If you like it accapella; soul clap will be sweet,
Almost complete.
Feel the impact when it hit the street
But uh, it sound thicker when I kick it wit a beat
See I can let it speak for itself
But every now and then, I need a little help
Guess who, to the rescue ? Comp!
Ripping up comp, I step and then stomp
A spark scam'll skin the land like it's a Timberland
Prepare the stage for Rakim to stand
Then I pick a song, grab the mic, click it on
Time to get it on, kick along
See if you can move to the words I speak
Pick up on a rhythm (kickin' wit da beat)
My menta-llect gets warm, feed into your physical form
You can't keep calm
Get fit to the skit, try to hop on-
Get up to the trick as I flip the script
You're feeling rust like a thrust of an arrow, plus,
You're looking through the eye of a barrel, Bus!
Emergency! Take him to the operating room,
Put him on the floor, let his heart feel the boom
React to the wrath of a brand new song
Then kick along
Kick along [x5]
A kick is a hip wit hop
A pep wit step like the floor is hot
I project alot so you can use every kick you got
But don't forget, don't kick when I stop
I'm something like Simon says
As I'm pumping hype rhymes in your heads
The mic's a remote control and I'm pointing it at cha
When I push buttons, you're gonna have ta
Break straight to the floor
'Cause I'm a make more
Each one's composed in the shows
And each one flows, how long, nobody knows
And whoever try to take 'em, I'm a break 'em
Drag it out of him, dehydrate 'em
The beat makes the beat in your heart accelerate
Your pulse is a drumroll, it's too late to wait
A pen'll send adrendaline to ten
If then begin to blend the smooth that's sent;
That's to prevent you from getting asthma
you try to keep up, because, the cut has ya
Blood pressure to the point, never stops a drop
Putting stain in the veins in the brain, ya blood clots!
Too quick to pause it, you almost lost it
So kick along to you're all exhausted
And look what my data made! my power'll never fade
I keep it energetic, or hype as Gatorade...
Now kick it wit a beat
C'mon, kick along
Kick along [x3]
They can't wait to kick steps to this
So I make a skit just for kicks
Syncopated, pausing though,
Innovated 'cause the flow
Melodic and melodramatic styles occur,
Like a choreographer, my mind's a photographer
Making music visible for the individual
That gets visual
What I manifest you express on the dance floor
Pants get torn when the jam is on
'Cause I kick rhymes until the rhymes kick back
It's hard to kick that, where did'cha get that
Here's the concept, part of you're concert
Expect the expert to perfect and do work.
Don't stop the song 'til I'm gone
keep getting it on, kick it off with the horns
Kick along
Kick along [x2]
Kick it wit a beat
Let The Rhythm Hit Em lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
I'm the arsenal
I got artillery, lyrics of ammo
Rounds of rhythm
Then I'm 'a give 'em piano
Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin' to ricochet
ready to aim at the brain
~Now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin'
Felt like a rifle
Massage 'n' melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an Uzi
Nothin' can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don't lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While I'm lettin' this fifi get wit me
You steppin' with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin' at me
Beats and bullets pass me
None on target
They want the R hit
But wtch the god get
Quicker, the tongue is the trigger
'Cause I'm real fast
Let off some rhythm at 'em
Let 'em feel the blast
Penetrate at a crazy rate
This ain't no .38
Hit 'em at point blank range
And watch 'em radiate
Runnin' out of ammunition
I'm done wit' em
You ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em
I push a power that's punishable
Better be a prisoner
The hit man is the
Brother wit' charisma
Showing you that I have
Powerful paragraphs
Followers will become leaders
But without a path
Ya mentally paralyzed
Crippled ya third eye
Rhymes are blurred
Then it occurred that you heard I
Reduced the friction with crucifixion
Let loose the mix then
Boost the piston
Eric hit 'em with' some of that
Cut like a lumberjack
And me gettin' hit back
It won't be none of that
I'm untouchable
You see me in 3-D
When I let the rhythm hit another M.C.
Lyrics made of lead
Enters your head
Then eruptions of a mass production
Will spread when
Music is louder
Full of gunpower
Microphone machinery
When I see a crowd of
Party people pumpin'
Their fist like this
Ya hide in the back
Thinkin' that I might miss
But the R is accurate
Plus I'm packed up with
Educated punch lines that
I have to hit
Whatever I aim at
I line 'em up
Ya body is weak, feel with pain
That time is up
You been hit with somethin'
Different, isn't it?
Rakim is gonna radiate and nothing's equivalent
Nothin' can harm me
Why try to bar me
You couldn't come around THE RA with aN army
You'll get wrecked by the architect
So respect 'em
I disconnect 'em, soon as I inject 'em
With radiation
Put 'em by the basement
Bust his chest open
Bash his face in
Let it split 'im
Since he brought his main man wit' 'im
He ask me how I did 'im
I let the rhythm hit 'im
Let it hit 'im
Dance floor's dangerous
Packed in like a briefcase
Rhyth with ral rough rhyme
Beats with deep bass
Girls with tight pants
Maybe they might dance
Tonight if the Rs on the mike
There's a slight chance
The crowd is crucial
M.C.'s grounds are neutral
Now that you're here let me introduce you
Get ready
I'm hard read like graffiti but steady
Science I drop is real heavy
Radiant energy, that'll be the penalty
Touch the third rail on the pain of remedy
The prescription's one every hour
Now it's a HABIT
Ya need another hit from the freestyle fanatic
Attention: follow directions real close
Keep out of reach of children
Beware of overdose
Too many milligram
NO ONE made a iller jam
My rhyme is the rhythm of thoughts
That kill a man
Ideas for the ear to fear
Might split 'im
He'll never forget 'im
He'll rest in peace wit' 'em
At least when he left he'll know what hit 'im
The last breath of the words of death
Was the rhythm
Now throw you hands in the air and yo, go
Rakim will do the rest of this slow
If I speed they know you'll blow the hell up
If I slow up, THEY'LL catch up, hell no
Wicked as I kicked it
Don't need to remix it
'Cause I prefixed it
Reversed and switched it
To perform to perfection
Section for section
Rhymes keep connectin'
Ya guessin' what's next an'
Blood pressure rises, ya damn near lost it
Ya hit the ground burnin' and woke up frostbit'
'Cause when I explained ya can't complain for pain
Travel through the brain hit a vein
Then remain, let it radiate
Vibes will vibrate
Why did you violate
Now I'm 'a have to let the style brak
Moans now the tone is ingrown
After this here's thrown, gimme another microphone
Before I get that fifi I met
Whisper I wanna reach her intellect
Kiss her 'cause I wanna give her the most respect
So I shine and let the write reflect
Hold 'er, mold 'er, make 'er feel older
Lay her on my shoulder
Everything I told her
Makes her feel secure whenever I'm wit' 'er
And you know how I did 'er
Me and the rhythm hit 'er
No Omega lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
No Omega
I'm the Alpha, with no Omega
Beginning without the, end so play the
eye inside, no extended version
Next episode be smooth as a Persian
Rhyme everlastin, there'll be no part two
Knowledge is infinite, once I start to draw
a better picture for your third eye, if you're blind
You know with a mic, I'm a black Michaelangelo
I'm the brother whoSE ideas are colorful
Givin em insight, but givin em trouble to
comprehend cause they thoughts won't blend in
They're pretendin, while I'm extendin
You bite like a parasite, ? you attacks
But you won't strike, cause you ain't no match
You need more light cause yours got dim
Then you get sparked by the Lord Rakim
What's the matter G, check your battery
Go get charged up, then come battle me
You try hard and Die Hard, you ain't Eveready
When they check the pulse, you'll be Dead as
Freddie
SHOP AT SEARS for new ideas
Check your engine and ask your engineers
to equalize, try to disguise it
If that don't work yo, then MIDASIZE it
You need more power, better bring Battlecat
But this ain't Grayskull, and you ain't rippin jack
Don't drop the mic and jet for your tooley
("Bring it to me!")
We can go rhyme for rhyme til the mic stop the
workin
Then I'ma leave you behind the Iron Curtain
and you'll remain backstage
Your book is over, I ripped your last page
Changed the endin, at least you went out rappin
Now I'ma tell em what happened
I filled the mic with explosives, and lit it up
It was too heavy to hold, he couldn't pick it up
Pass the mic, let him try to get paid
He hit the stage, it went off like a hand grenade
Now scrape him off the floor and off my list
I ain't a soloist, I'm an arsonist
Sprayed up, he said he was gonna do what?
Played up, MC Grand but Pooh-Butt
Stole his lady, and drove her crazy
You asked me why - cause her man tried to play me
I sent her back a nervous wreck
and tried to put her back in check
My speciality is masterin the female species
I specialize in her, until she sees
where I come from, and why I came
I tame the train til she manifest my name
Fill her with life until she burst with energy
Then leave her restless, cause a lot of women be
tryin to drain us, and leave us stripped dry
Put holes in our pocket, but you ain't that fly
I clipped your wings and bring you down to Earth
and tell you what life is worth
It ain't rings and things that's materialistic
You wanna pip on, imperialist with
food for thought, cause I'm the shelter
I'll be your clothes, keep you warm and help ya
not to be hot to trot by a haunt
And why do y'all got to flaunt?
("You gotta use what you got
to get what you want")
Cool, I heat you up like a black mink coat
Hug your neck like a fat gold rope
Words I speak and my DJ's cuts will warm ya ears
like mink earmuffs
So Eric show em how fast your hand'sll go
so the people in the stands'll know
that you don't scratch your cuts in the grave
Moves in waves to my rhyme displays
Float, evoke, my tempo jets
Expressions express when you kick steps
Keep em, energetic, so let it
pound in your head til what I said is embedded
Don't forget it's copastetic, set it
Anywhere you want your poetry's pathetic
You gets.. no.. credit.. til you get it straight
Let's motivate
No intermissions cause it ain't commercial
If you wanna break then I'll reimburse you
I won't let go so my mic won't drop, cause
("I can't.. stop!")
Vocabs is endless, vocals exist
Rhyme goes on, so no one can stop this
Especially when I start to say the
rhymes with no omega
No omega
No omega
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") [scratched]
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") [scratched]
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!")
("I can't.. stop!") [fades]
In The Ghetto lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Planet Earth was my place of birth
Born to be the SOLE controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any a rhyme that I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets going, the going gets rough
When I start flowing, the mic might bust
The next state, I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes
'Cause times was hard on the Boulevard
So I vote God and never get scarred and gauled
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Looking over the edge but the R never fell
A trip to slip 'cause my Nikes got grip
Stand on my own two feet and come equip
Any stage I'm seen on, I'M LIKE A PHENOM
I stand alone and need nothing to lean on
Going for self wit a long way to go
So much to say but I still flow slow
I come correct and I won't look back
'Cause it ain't where you're from, it's where
you're at
Even the (ghetto)
I learn to relax in my room and escape from New York
And return through the womb of the world as a
thought
Thinking how hard it was to be born
BEING EQUIPPED wit no physical form
Millions OF CELLS wit one destination
To reach the best part, it's life creation
9 months later, a job well done
Make way, 'cause here I come
Since I made it this far, I can't stop now
There's a will and a way and I got THE know-how
To be all I can be and more
And see all there is to see before
I'M Called and go back to the essence
It's alot to learn so I study my lessons
I thought the ghetto was the worst that could
happen to me
I'm glad I listen when my father was rapping to me
'Cause back in the days, they lived in caves
ExileD from the original man, a straight way
Now that's what I call hard times
I rather be here to exercise the mind
Then I take a thought around the world twice
From knowledge NEWBORN back to knowledge precise
Across the desert, that's HOT AS THE ARABIAN
But they couldn't cave me in 'cause I'm the Asian
REaching for the city OF Mecca, visit Medina
Visions of Neffertiti then I seen a
Mind keeps traveling, I'll be back after I
Stop and think about the brothers and sisters in
Africa
Return the thought through the eye of a needle
For miles I thought and I just fought the people
Under the dark skies on a dark side
Not only there but right here's an apartheid
So now is the time for us to react
Take a trip through the mind and when you get back
Understand you're third eye seen all of that
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)
Even the (ghetto)
No more props, I want property
In every borough, nobody's stopping me
Because I'm thorough, rhymes are making real estate
for me to own
Wherever I bless a microphone
007 is back and relaxing
On POINT N' reactin' and ready for action
I'm so low key that you might not see me
Incognito and taking it easy
Quiet, it's kept on a hush hush
In front of a crowd, I get loud, there's a bumrush
Be calm, keep a low pro, and play the background
HOPIN' the wack rapper'LL put the mic back down
So rip it, break it in half, go head and slam it
'Cause when it's time to build, I'm a mechanic
I'm bonding and mending, attaching and blending
So many solos, there is no ending
People in my neighborhood, they know I'm good
From London to Hollywood, wherever I stood
Footprints remain on stage ever since
As I walk the street, I leave fossils and dents
When I had sex, I left my name on necks
My trademark was left throughout the projects
I used to get rich when I played celo
When I rolled 4, 5, 6, they go we know
So I collect my cash then slide
I got my back, my gun's on my side
It shouldn't have to be like that
I guess it ain't where you're from, it's where
you're at
Even the (ghetto)
I'm from the (ghetto)
Word up, peace
Step Back lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
See if you can step to this
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab"]
Now try to do this step ("Back to the lab")
and make sure the pace is kept
and this ain't as smooth as I'ma get
Nice and easy but hard to catch on to
Move with melodies, rhymes to respond to
The mic's in front of me, so you know it's gonna be
rough and rugged, plus I'm smooth as I wanna be
I'm somethin like sippin on Dom Perignon
So absorb the song, til the rhyme's all gone
My beats and speech original, you can't find these
Eighty-nine is mine, so is the nineties
Tellin you what you need to know and more
You're unsure? On tour, I explore
From street to street, to speak, from beat after beat
My cypher's complete, when I build with people I meet
So here's the info straight from the source in fact
Paid the cost to be the boss, STEP BACK
give me room to exercise the mind
Three-hundred and sixty degrees'll be fine
The weight of the world is what we hold
That's a six, followed by twenty-one zeroes
Six ?? sums is a lot of weight
My truth is the strength and my thought won't break
What it take, concentration, to rebuild our
nation but we got to have mind power
And we can make it work, because I know we can
And if somethin go wrong, make another plan
It's up to us, so strive and be wise and
when we reach the top, don't stop risin
And I'll keep comin up with more of
the most requested songs that you all love
Reach out and touch the mic, take control
Still gettin +Paid+ and I still got +Soul+
And the only thing I ever wanted you to follow was poetry
Mind takes X-rays, so listen closely
From the darkness came the light, clear out of a dark night
Now I'm here to spark the mic
Send out truth, for other groups and substitutes
with run-on rhymes and weak dubs and loops
They'd rather hear the arsonist, they insist
No need to reminisce, see if you can step to this
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab"]
Step back
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab"]
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab, without a mic to grab"]
So just step
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab"]
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab, without a mic.."]
Just step, the rhymes create energy
Charged up, by the cut, and it's sendin me
for a trip through the mind so I can locate
a laid back rap at a slow rate
It ain't hard at all, cause I invented it
As the days go on, you hear them with it
Brother bustin braincells, thinkin of a rap
with the same old style, we had enough of that
We all need somethin to step to
And don't forget to, cause I won't let you
dance without hopin that this come on next
And if it go off, the DJ can't flex
Cause here's the tempo, I'ma regulate the pace
Here's the step, go find some space
And what we gonna do is in unison, KICK
Shake your head, you're influenced with music
By now you're intoxicated, cause I prove I made it
the pep your step so soon you get rejuvenated
From side to side, you pause and clap
But if you came to rap.. (step back)
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab, without a mic to grab"]
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab, without a mic to grab"]
[Eric B. cuts up the phrase "Back to the lab"]
[continues to fade]
Run For Cover lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
[Gunshots and explosions]
[Scratching: Run DMC sample: "Run"]
Run for cover.
Here I go again, ready to flow again.
Better HOPE my mic don't blow again.
Warned by alarms when the mic gets warm.
Crowd'll get critical, can't keep calm.
Jet for the exit, why hang around?
Words that I found make the mic melt down.
If you stay, better cooperate, cuz I amputate,
and whoever don't break, I'm-a suffocate.
Leave 'em with asthma, you better pass the
mic to the massacre master who has the
power to build and destroy at the same time,
so track the wack at the right, and exact could
shine. [?]
Meant to beat overheat, but I won't stop,
so evacuate the spot when the mic's hot.
Switch it from one hand to another,
and that's a hint, my brother, run for cover.
Cuz I'm armed, my brain contains a bomb,
as if I escaped from Vietnam.
Some people label me lethal, lyrics I made then put
beats to.
Format, collapse your lungs twist your tongues,
you can't bump your gums off of none of the drums.
Words that I made'll create an iller scene,
Eric B. is the fly human being on the guillotine.
Hook 'em up to a respirator, cuz it's the Mista
Suffocator.
What I write is like shovin' a mic down your
windpipe.
Don't let him bitE rhymes Rakim write.
No mic-to-mouth resuscitation is neccessary;
no obituary, and NOTHING LEFT TO BURY.
As it strikes on the same mic twice and then,
cut it on, and I'm-a strike again.
I meditate off the breaks, till the place shakes,
then I make rain, hail, snow and earthquakes.
Speak the truth, tear the roof off the mother.
The stage is stompin' grounds -- run for cover.
[scratching]
Evacuate the building, danger, cuz I came to
explain the
strategy that'll be tragic automatically,
havin' me to cause another catastrophe.
All you gotta do is give Rakim the
microphone and the crowd'll yell "Timber."
Buildings collapsin', rappers gettin' trapped in,
areas closed off, no one gets back in.
So set up roadblocks, barrIcade the doors,
fade, put a detour sign on the stage.
Hold my microphone as evidence, the weapon I use
and been usin' ever since
the days in the park when, rap was an art then.
Plus I was dominant, determined and dark-skinned.
Makin' it hard to walk the streets at night
for those who talk the weak beats on the mic.
Whoever's livin' large better wear camouflage.
Prepare to be bumrushed when I yell charge.
Surround by sound of the beat-down another brother,
this is stompin' grounds, run for cover.
Wheels or foot, better not stay put.
Whole place shook till the mic's unhooked.
Then you've got seven minutes to vacate the
premises.
Lyrics'll echo soon as the break finishes.
Don't act wild, single file to the door.
No need for an encore, just clear the floor.
Cuz my mic's about to self destruct,
the stage'll blow up when my rhymes erupt.
So make sure the place is cleared out and abandoned,
cuz minutes from now it won't be standin'.
Then send out and A.P.B.: All Poets Beware of a
brother like me.
Now how many rhymes could your man manufacture?
How many bitin' MCs can I capture?
Trap rappers who try to run off at the mouth;
take over their route, play 'em out like a Cub
Scout.
So leave troopin' for MCs at war,
and if it's a battle let the crowd keep score.
Cuz me and the drummer make drama, and that's word
to mother...run for cover.
[scratching]
[instrumental]
Untouchables lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
This is poetry in motion
Try to catch on, stay close to the host
and MC's try to make the road rough but I'm coastin
Ladies hear the rhymes rub em on like lotion
Hit spots soothin, can't stop movin
Go ahead bust a sweat and you can bet I'm still coolin
When I detain it's a brainstorm
never the same form, every brain I rained on is warm
Takin a trip through Memory Lane to Melody
See if you could tell if these thoughts to fell MC's
could do you justice, but you can't touch this
Some kid just tried to bust this but he just missed
I'm universal and much more merciful
So versatile with the style it's reversable
I get away even if I say a curse or two
First, let me bust another verse for you
Your arms too short to box with Ra so quit
You don't want no kind of conflict
Or you'll get stripped as the rhyme is ripped
Pick up the pieces now ain't that peace yeah I'm hip
Everything I said flows since my intro
I plant a thought extend and then grow
Holdin my pen tightly it might be
Controversy at first when I write the
chords of research don't just take it for granted
When I'm gone my mind remains a planet
If I keep buildin, and teach the children
So when they read in between the lines it's filled in
I break to meditate, not a peep, concentrate
till I'm deep awake, but not asleep
At the same time risin and advertisin
what is true, keep advised and you can stay wise
and I'm untouchable
Comin over the bridge take a peak at the skyline
Cause that's how I shine not only when I rhyme
My culture's makin me stronger, mentally
Physically I'm powerful poetry now that could be
labelled as art placed in a museum
Style'll make scenery, now you see 'em
Exhibit a knowledge that's packed and filled with
nothin illiterate it's facts I build with
My mind's untouchable which means intangible
Contents never dense it's understandable
I study life so I can live it the right way
No time to hear what another brother might say
Why sell a capsule of crack I don't have to
I rhyme and sign million dollar contracts to
put message on records that's graced with hard bass
Smugglin microphones, this ain't Scarface
Whoever talked that talk, I wanna hawk
And don't try to Escape From New York
Cross a 110th Street lookin for a problem
It's Hell Up In Harlem, watch Ra solve em
I hear the music clear as I get near
the hundred and twenty fifth street Apollo Theater
Take a step back when I rap I step up to you...
I'm untouchable
Put on my thinking cap pump the track
Test your reflex relax but in contact
you fold and lose control so hold your partner closer
you're supposed to keep your composure
But you hear the drum said go then it gets so hype
it's like nitro opponents get petro
Remember the trademark left by the R
that's never soft or smooth it's comin off the hardest
in effect, you could die-tect the imposter
Takin my props, Rakim is still proper
I'm a prophet, you can't stop it, when I drop it
Everything I say, coincide with the topic
Thoughts bounce around till my skull is fractured
Inside my brain it's all manufactured
As we go deeper it's hard to find
Don't even think about it, cause you can't read my mind
It's clear so therefore you need a ear or inclined
in the mind with some kind of idea for
the style I'm advertisin what is true
Keep advised that you stay wise and the mind
is untouchable
Mahogany lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
[Verse One:]
Me and Eric B was coolin' at the Paladium
Seen a all-world covered girl, I said "Hey lady I'm
Sorry if You're in a rush - Don't let me hold ya up
Or interveen or interrupt, but. . .
You got the look - I wanna get to know ya better
I had to let her know - but yo, I didn't sweat her
'Cause if you woulda seen what I was seein'
Almost looked Korean, but European.
When she spoke, her accent was self-explanatory -
Even her body language told the story
Her name was Mahogony - twin's name was Ebony
I said "My name is Ra - and this is Eric B"
Since the music was loud, I said "let's take a walk,
So we could talk and see New York.
Show time doesn't start until one o'clock
And once I entered your mind I wouldn't wanna stop
Caressin' ya thoughts till we was thinkin' the same
Calm ya nerves, massage ya brain
Each mic is a mineral, poetry's protein
Verse is a vitamin - Affects like Codine
So tell me how you feel and I'll reveal
A pill that'll heal ya pain - 'cause I'm real
She musta OD'd 'cause she couldn't resist
She spoke slowly when she told me this, she said
[Chorus:]
Over Me, She's goin' crazy
She'll rub me on my chest and call me Mr. Sexy
She said she'd have my kids and help me make my next G
Tell me I ain't finesse Mahogony . . .
[Verse Two:]
So I prescribed her, something to revive
And surprise her, she's liver and much more wiser
Than the light I shine when my brain cells spark,
Come to me so we can glow in the dark
And soon, you can represent the moon
As long as I keep ya in tune
I'll tell ya who ya are and why ya here
Take it in stride 'cause it might take a year
It's funny - how time flies when ya havin' fun
We got close and it was almost one
She kissed me slow, but you know how far a kiss can go
F*ck around and miss the show
So I told her to hold that thought real tight
We can finish where we left off later on tonite
Back to the scene of the crime on time
As they introduced the 'Fiend of the Rhyme'
She stood with a birds-eye view of me
Thinkin' of later on of what she would do to me
The back of the room I could see her eyes gloom
Patient, but hopin' that the show was over soon
As the place was ripped in half, she made her way to the front row
So I said "let's go"
I packed my mic as they screamed for an encore
The speakers were blown, plus my mic was sore
Besides I got places to go, ladies to see
And she could tell me how crazy she was over me
We drove off - she said she liked the way that I performed
And couldn't wait to get 'soft and warm', I said,
"I've been watchin' you, watchin' me
Looks I received made it hard to MC
I can take a hint, so I knew that she
Wanted my "Agony Agony Ag-on-y" in her bod-y
Showed her some sights, then I took her to the Condo
She was pipin' hot, but I kept my calm So
She asked how come I don't smile
I said, "Everything's fine, but I'm in a New York state of mind!"
As we reached the kingdom, she said bring some
Champagne, she'll entertain then sing some
Sentimental, songs real gentle,
It hit the spot and you know where it went to
As we embraced I felt her heart pumpin'
I knew she was in the mood for somethin'
So I laid on my back and relaxed
It wasn't the Perignon that made her collaspe
Over me
[Chorus]
Keep 'em Eager To Listen lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
[Rakim]
Me and the rap's laid back
Nonchalant and relaxed in the track
Put together well, so it ain't hard to tell
Easy to recognize, so my records'll sell
On the microphone, well known with a low tone
Show and prove when the stage show is shown
All you hear is screams when I'm hit by the laser beams
Ladies fiend, rappers are choosin up teams
So who could beat up, just before we meet up
Before I kick a rhyme, I kick my feet up
to let you know, everything's under control
Under surveillance, takin over your soul
So let me handle this, gettin scandalous
All my jams are hits, never plan to miss
Crowd is captured, released at my permission
Peep em, as I, keep em eager to listen
[Rakim]
Opponents are found paralyzed from the mic down
Left with a little sight ears still hear the sound
Try to clear your mind but it's still there
Give him about a year, then give him a wheelchair
I damage and deteriorate, til your brain dead
No huss cuss what I discuss'll bust his head
Here's some hearin aids when your eardrums fail
You get scars, so you could read it in braille
Close your third eye, then I do body work
And I keep the same procedure til somebody's hurt
My DJ'll sew up cuts like an M.D.
And I still move crowds like an M.C.
Entertain and tear you out of your frame
Leave you in a puddle of blood, then let it rain
Then I get deep, so try to withstand
on my level to think, or sink like quicksand
He couldn't hang, so I cut the rope short
Watchin em fall, cause they need more support
This is the way that I done, all of my competition
Peep em, as I, keep em eager to listen
Keep em eager to listen
[Rakim]
The performance I give em is, somethin like a hypnotism
Swingin back and forth, til you can keep the rhythm
At the tone of my voice, you will become
eager to listen dance in a trance til you see the
R on stage, no cheers, all ears
All three of your eyes on me, so it appears
just like you thought it would be, but even better
Live and direct on stage, instead of the
radio or video or studio rehearsin
I'm at my best in the flesh in person
The main attraction, center of attention
The crowd'll go crazy, soon as I mention
it's time to communicate, so let's conversate
I get my point across, when you respond I make sense
So now we could continue the mission
As I, keep em eager to listen
As I, keep em eager to listen
[Rakim]
I used to always say one day
I'll play in the NBA cause I'll slay
opponents well, and also excel
as a black quarterback in the NFL
I throw to score so I can hear the crowd roar
Keep em, out of they seats and on the floor
And when I win, it'll pump my adrenaline
My record is undefeated, and I'll win again
I'll never lose or hear boos from the audience
cause they participate, and applaud me since
I bring em what they want to hear
And they'll fill up the atmopshere
with people that came to party, and have a good time
So when I'm gone, I'm sure, you understood the rhyme
Because I promise to accomplish the mission
Cause I, keep em eager to listen
Set 'Em Straight lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
[Rakim]
I came to set em straight, and let em know
Whoever's holdin the best, just let him go
Cause here's the inside scoop on the fiend
They wanna know why I'm seldom seen
Cause who needs the TV screens and magazines
or shootin through the city in fly limousines
There's one thing I don't like, it's the spotlight
.. cause I already got light
They be like, "Yo we had a get together last week
and we know everyone was there except the Black Sheik"
Because my schedule is tight, I gotta write
I'm deep in the archives, and keepin em hyped
It's been a long time, since you heard a strong rhyme
None of these are weak so when you bite on mine
we can trace the hits and then name that style
MC'sll be out of a job for a while
I reposess your indentification
So hand in your application
Put your mic on strike until you're unemployed
Contract is up and I'm stampin it void
Your selection ain't that selective
So I'ma put you in your proper perspective
On the dancefloor, and doin the SHAKE
Ready to let em brake, set em straight
[Rakim]
Somebody said I set em up and pulled the plug on em
But instead I let em go on so I could bug on em
Go 'head and flow, cause I close the show
Swing a song for the ladies and rhyme real slow
For instance.. once I commence..
.. the crowd is convinced
So now you know who to put your money on
Hurry up, before your money's gone
Cause I'm the most common denominator
Orchestrate a rhyme much greater
I'm like a world almanac, so tell the media
Givin em information like encyclopedia
So bring a dictionary, so you can look it up
so you know what I mean, when I hook it up
No misconceptions although I complicate
but this concept'll set em straight
They even said that I was locked in jail
So now I guess I'm out on bail?
The only Island I was on was the Strong one
And if I did my bid, it'll be a long one
Cause if I sold weight, I'd be upstate
in the penile, waitin for a brake
Cause sellin drugs is for handicaps
I got too many skills besides bustin rough raps
If I go to jail, it won't be for sellin ki's
It'll be for muderin MC's
The beat'll take over your heart, then I start
to cut em in half, cause rhymes are razor sharp
Secure the exits, all MC's remain
Cause we got a crowd to entertain
And I know, when I go, I'll flow dangerous
Brain'sll bust, what you tryin to explain to us?
You got lost, and couldn't go on
Came up short, so here's one to grow on
Elevate off a high IQ
In time, you'll find I'm true
Cause once I start on a piece of art
from sun to moon and light to dark I build the Ark
Now you can float off the rhymes I wrote
I'm sure that we'll hit shore without a boat
You could bring a battleship and still get shipwrecked
Attacked with a torpedo, what did you expect?
Driftin up the creek, without a beat or a paddle
Castaway on a raft and stand fragile
Rescue your crowd, which ain't a hard job
Me and my knowledge put together, I'm a lifeguard
Dealin with actual facts it sold out fat
here and now, but I go so far back
to bring you up to date, so we can elevate
It's no time to wait, or anticipate
Cause I'm never late, I'm gonna motivate
So I can let em brake, and set em straight
Let The Rhythm Hit 'em (12" Vocal Version Remix) lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
Let the rhythm hit 'em
I'm the arsenal
I got artillery, lyrics of ammo
Rounds of rhythm
Then I'm 'a give 'em piano
Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin' to ricochet
ready to aim at the brain
~Now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin'
Felt like a rifle
Massage 'n' melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an Uzi
Nothin' can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don't lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While I'm lettin' this fifi get wit me
You steppin' with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin' at me
Beats and bullets pass me
None on target
They want the R hit
But wtch the god get
Quicker, the tongue is the trigger
'Cause I'm real fast
Let off some rhythm at 'em
Let 'em feel the blast
Penetrate at a crazy rate
This ain't no .38
Hit 'em at point blank range
And watch 'em radiate
Runnin' out of ammunition
I'm done wit' em
You ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em
I push a power that's punishable
Better be a prisoner
The hit man is the
Brother wit' charisma
Showing you that I have
Powerful paragraphs
Followers will become leaders
But without a path
Ya mentally paralyzed
Crippled ya third eye
Rhymes are blurred
Then it occurred that you heard I
Reduced the friction with crucifixion
Let loose the mix then
Boost the piston
Eric hit 'em with' some of that
Cut like a lumberjack
And me gettin' hit back
It won't be none of that
I'm untouchable
You see me in 3-D
When I let the rhythm hit another M.C.
Lyrics made of lead
Enters your head
Then eruptions of a mass production
Will spread when
Music is louder
Full of gunpower
Microphone machinery
When I see a crowd of
Party people pumpin'
Their fist like this
Ya hide in the back
Thinkin' that I might miss
But the R is accurate
Plus I'm packed up with
Educated punch lines that
I have to hit
Whatever I aim at
I line 'em up
Ya body is weak, feel with pain
That time is up
You been hit with somethin'
Different, isn't it?
Rakim is gonna radiate and nothing's equivalent
Nothin' can harm me
Why try to bar me
You couldn't come around to rob with a army
You'll get wrecked by the architect
So respect 'em
I disconnect 'em, soon as I inject 'em
With radiation
Put 'em by the basement
Bust his chest open
Bash his face in
Let it split 'im
Since he brought his main man wit' 'im
He ask me how I did 'im
I let the rhythm hit 'im
Let it hit 'im
Dance floor's dangerous
Packed in like a briefcase
Rhyth with ral rough rhyme
Beats with deep bass
Girls with tight pants
Maybe they might dance
Tonight if the Rs on the mike
There's a slight chance
The crowd is crucial
M.C.'s grounds are neutral
Now that you're here let me introduce you
Get ready
I'm hard read like graffiti but steady
Science I drop is real heavy
Radiant energy, that'll be the penalty
Touch the third rail on the pain of remedy
The prescription's one every hour
Now it's a havoc
If ya need another hit from the freestyle fanatic
Attention: follow directions real close
Keep out of reach of children
Beware of overdose
Too many milligram
But what made a iller jam
My rhyme is the rhythm of thoughts
That kill a man
I deas for the ear to fear
Might split 'im
He'll never forget 'im
He'll rest in peace wit' 'em
At least when he left he'll know what hit 'im
The last breath of the words of death
Was the rhythm
Now throw you hands in the air and yo, go
Rakim will do the rest of this slow
If I speed they know you'll blow the hell up
If I slow up, catch up, hell no
Wicked as I kecked it
Don't need to remix it
'Cause I prefixed it
Reversed and switched it
To perform to perfection
Section for section
Rhymes keep connectin'
Ya guessin' what's next an'
Blood pressure rise as ya damn near lost it
Ya hit the ground burnin' and woke up frostbitten
'Cause when I explained ya can't complain for pain
Travel through the brain hit a vein
Then remain, let it radiate
Vibes will vibrate
Why did you violate
Now I'm 'a have to let the style brak
Moans now the tone is ingrown
After this here's thrown, gimme another microphone
Before I get that fifi I met
Whisper I wanna reach her intellect
Kiss her 'cause I wanna give her the most respect
So I shine and let the write reflect
Hold 'er, mold 'er, make 'er feel older
Lay her on my shoulder
Everything I told her
Makes her feel secure whenever I'm wit' 'er
And you know how I did 'er
Me and the rhythm hit 'er
Follow The Leader lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim
[Verse One:]
Follow me into a solo
Get in the flow - and you can picture like a photo
Music mixed mellow maintains to make
Melodies for MC's motivates the breaks
I'm everlastin, I can go on for days and days
With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays
I can take a phrase that's rarely heard, FLIP IT
Now it's a daily word
I can get iller than 'Nam, a killin bomb
But no alarm - Rakim will remain calm
Self-esteem make me super superb and supreme
But for a microphone still I fiend
This was a tape I wasn't supposed to break
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate
I want to see who can keep followin and swallowin
Takin the making, bitin it and borrowin
Brothers tried and others died to get the formula
But I'ma let ya sweat - you still ain't warm
You a step away from frozen, stiff as if ya posin
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen
So follow me and were ya thinkin' you were first?
Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the Universe
What could ya say as the Earth gets further and further away
Planets are small as balls of clay
Astray into the Milky Way - world's outasight
Far as the eye can see - not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As ya stare in the darkness, ya knowledge is took!
So keep starin soon ya suddenly see a star
You better follow it cause it's the R
This is a lesson if ya guessin and if ya borrowin
Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin
The Leader
[Verse Two:]
This is a lifetime mission, vision of prison
Aight listen
In this journey you're the journal I'm the journalist
Am I Eternal? Or an eternalist?
I'm about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep ya movin cause the crowd said so
Dance - cuts rip ya pants
Eric B on the blades, bleedin to death - call the ambulance
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone murderin' MC's
Let's quote a rhyme from a record I wrote
(follow the leader) Yeah - dope
Cause everytime I stop it seems ya stuck
Soon as ya try to step off ya self-destruct
I came to overcome before I'm gone
By showin and provin and lettin knowledge be born
Then after that I'll live forever - you disagree?
You say never? Then follow me!
From century to century you'll remember me
In history - not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
From the cradle to the grave, but remember
You're not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that
But we couldn't see it because our mind was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, reveal my name
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous
It can't be mixed, diluted; it can't be changed or switched
Here's a lesson if ya guessing and borrowing
Hurry hurry, step right up and keep following
The leader
[Verse Three:]
A furified freestyle, lyrics of fury
My third eye makes me shine like jewelry
You're just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid
I'll be here when it fade to watch you flip like a renegade
I can't wait to break and eliminate
On every traitor or snake - so stay awake
and follow and follow, because the tempo's a trail
The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail
I'm Rakim the Fiend of a Microphone
I'm not HIM, so leave my mic alone
Soon as the beat is felt, I'm ready to go
So fasten your seatbelt, cause I'm about to flow
No need to speed slow down to let the leader lead
Word to daddy, indeed!
The R's a rollin stone, so I'm rollin
Directions is told, then the rhymes are stolen
Stop buggin', a brother said, dig em, I never dug 'em
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug 'em
into danger zone, he should arrange his own
Face it, it's basic, erase it, change ya tone
There's one R in the alphabet
It's a one-letter word and it's about to get
More complex from one rhyme to the next
Eric B be easy on the flex
I've been from state to state, followers tailgate
Keep comin but you came too late, but I'll wait
So back up, regroup, get a grip, come equipped
You're the next contestant - clap ya hands, you won a trip!
The price is right - don't make a deal too soon
How many notes could you name this tune?
Follow the Leader is the title, theme, task
Now ya know, you don't have to ask
Rap is Rhythm And Poetry, cuts create sound effects
You might catch up if you follow the records E. wrecks
Until then keep eatin and swallowin
You better take a deep breath and keep followin
The leader.
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