Rakim Album

[interviewer, possibly Harry Allen]
What are you giving them back?

[Rakim]
Umm, I think what I'm givin them back man is umm...
what they been waitin for yaknahmean? Umm...

SKILLS

What, uhh, yo
Just when things seemed the same, and the whole scene is lame
I come and reign with the unexplained for the brains 'til things change
They strain to sling slang, I'm trained to bring game
History that I arranged been regained by King James
Go to practice, with tactics, when the track hits, theatrics
Women that look like actress the status of Cleopatra's
Stacks of mathematics took the ?ego-a-geatics?
As I find out, what the facts is, for geographic
No time to sip Mo's with hostess, never mind what the total gross is
I rip shows, stay focused, and split cheese, with soldiers
While you hit trees and coast I spit flows that be ferocious
And with these explosives, I split seas for Moses
Shine permanently only my mind's concernin me
Fire burns in me eternally time's eternity
Followers turn on me they'll be in a mental infirmary
Determinely advance technology better than Germany
Since the first days you know of, till the last days is over
I was always the flow-er, I made waves for Noah
From a compound, to the anatomy, to the breakdown of a atom
Some of my rap patterns, still surround Saturn
From the ancient hieroglyphics, to graffiti painted pictures
I study I know the scriptures but nowaday ain't it vicious
Date back I go beyond, check the holy Qu'ran
To speeches at the autobahn, now we get our party on
So being benificent, I bless em with dialogue
They expectin the next testament, by the God
I roam through battlezones with chrome for chaperone
Blast beat with saxophones one of the baddest rappers known
Every country city and borough, sidestreet and ghetto
Isle and alley and meadow, theories thorough enough to echo
When it was one mass of land, with one nash' of man
And the whole mass was ran under one master plan
Since the world's metamorphis, and the plan is kept in orbit
Turntables we spin awkward but needles never skip off it
Rhythms we expressin similar to our ancestors
It'll answer your questions if you understand the message
From the days of the slave choppers, to the new age of prophets
As heavy as hip-hop is I'm always ready to drop it
From the mind which is one of Allah's best designs
And mines'll stand the test of time, when I rhyme

The 18th Letter, the prophecy professor
I stay clever, long as the planet stay together
Bring up praise from Mecca, make a phrase for the better
In new days to remember, always and forever
[x2]

The R baby

It feel good, ya knahmean?
To uhh, come back and and get embraced
That's that's like the best part y'know?
Bein bein gone for a while y'know
Walk through the streets
'Yo Ra yo when you comin out, you gotta come out'
this and that
Y'know, so y'know I always want to come back
Had little setbacks, but umm
To comeback and get embraced man, that's the best part

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"

[Rakim]
Follow procedures, the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this - I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim"

[Rakim]
When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[Rakim]
When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb
Like, 3-D in 'Nam, vivid like CD-Rom
Info kept like "internet.com"
My note-book's my bond like the Holy Qu'ran
Since I came in the door, said it before
But no I ain't down with Eric B. no more
At night the open mic be invitin me to rhyme
So yo I'm online, it's been a long time

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[extended scratch] "It's been a long time.."
[extended scratch] "It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

Remember that?

Turn the beat up, I get lost in the mind come across
the rhyme kick my feet up, then I find myself in time
I was on a train, destination Marley Marl's domain
I entertained things'll never be the same
DJ's are conveyed if the label OK it
Teddy Ted and Special K was the first ones to play it
On the radio, with the crazy flow
I pay dues until it pays me dough to do a show
When I'm at the helm I cover the whole realm
In control and leave your soul overwhelmed
Another influence of beats and instruments
make it intricate and elements are tense
When you was playin Pac Man it was the jams I packed
Peeps would swarm when I was perform in, black I'm all that
Back before they turned hip-hop to rap
It always a place to party at, remember that?

I remember the spots that used to be hot
Just like the roof top, a place that only few can rock
on a wild ass block, yeah you find me there a lot
Until you hear gunshots, that's when the fun stops
Here come the cops, time to go home, get in order
Cause I'll be back in Manhattan if somethings happenin at the Latin Quarter
House of havoc when it came to fourteen carat
And if you had it yeah kids'd try to grab it
It's cool at the Red Parrot we was doin it there
I was the first one to rip it at the Union Square
Me and DJ Red Alert did work
A crazy concert, a lot of kids got hurt
I did encores at the Encore, they wanted more
I kicked a freestyle til I heard the crowd roar
Like the Funhouse, Bronx Center never endin black
Place to be was the Brooklyn Armory, remember that?

Remember that? [x3]

Open the door, let the crowds in, over twenty thousand
Wildin music's loud and microphone's growlin
Tickets are sold out, parties is packed and on tour
rippin basketball arenas back then
Even afterparties, posses of players and hotties
Everybody was Gotti, spreadin bucks like shotties
Spendin cash, to make a good time last
Thoughts that I had give me a blast of the past
Memories of unforgettable times on my mind
Dollar signs and melodies and incredible rhymes
The people I met, and the sets that got wrecked
All the mics I checked, most of all life's effects
And peace to all the people I grew up around
in the streets back when beats had a rougher sound
I used to be wild me and my crew sit back and we smile
Keep piles of pictures filed in case I go senile
Cause some things are just too good to be forgot
Like your neighborhood block or your favorite spot
Certain records always seem to make me reminisce
And when it hits, and then it clicks, remember this
My life flashed before me I'm there from the sounds
I hear pinpoint the year, it's perfectly clear
I like the way it went down and alla that, in fact
It mean a lot, cause you can't bring it back, remember that

Remember that? [x3]

[singing] Ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh...
[whistle]
[KRS-One] "Ghetto Music"
(here we go...)

[Mobb Deep] "Yo"
[The R] "And my name is Rakim..."
[x5]

Yo, the saga begins, my eyes is the photography lens
Properly push pens, and show quality gems
The horrors be grim, but yo maybe tomorrow we win
If we follow the trends and keep count of the dollars we spend
I want a mahogany Benz, I want lottery ends
I want property, friends, plus my hobby is skins
If I decide we in sin, then my prophesy ends
But the God'll begin, watchin my odyssey spin
in the place where war be, based on a true story
Territory was made for me to pursue glory
Blast alone masses in zones have to be sewn
Every capacity blown, I'm internationally known, yo

[Chorus A]
So all hail the honorable, microphone phenomenal
Persona is unbombable?, trust me son
I continue like a saga do, bringin you the drama to
allow you that the chronicle has just begun

[Chorus B]
[Mobb Deep] "The saga begins"
[Rakim] "The soul controller, Rakim"
[Mobb Deep] "Set it off... yo, the saga begins"
[Rakim] "Still say a rhyme after the next one"
[Rakim: x2 except 8th line is "You know that I'm the soloist"]

Yo, my never-ending epic, got the world spinning hectic
I quickly spread it, till the whole city's infected
Suspense that I supply intensify
Then commence as my daily events go by
You get involved in this, paragraphologist
Narratin novelist, market this, sound marvelous
I'm the star in this, which means the author's authentic
Most definite, every episode's a epidemic
So when you research, check it, here go the evidence
They represent with lyrical negligence for presidents
My science existed, without the fiction
Every inscription is a special edition

[Chorus A] [Chorus B]

Yo, the legacy lives, let em see what the pedigree is
Mega-thesis, blessin these kids with extra features
The depth's deep as, the deepest sea is
Telepathy increases melody gets speakers, telekinesis
Ideas appear as clear as, pictures in movie theaters
you hear it, devestating the way you ear it
So stay tuned for sequels, part two's and more
So soon you and your peoples can bumrush the store
The names have changed the game remain the same
How one came to reign on his claim to fame
No stoppin this I'm droppin this with hip-hop in this
And when the topic is topicless, then I'm writing the apocalypse

[Chorus A] [Chorus B]

[variations of Chorus B to fade]

Kind of glad I ain't come out in this y'know the last few years, y'know
But umm right now I think everybody want a change
Back to hip-hop and, knowhatI'msayin rhymes skills and
things of that nature, so timing man, timing is perfect
Plus this is ninety-seven, which is Born God, knahmean?
And I'm back, straight up

[Chuck D] "Once again back is the incredible"

Yeah, yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits, make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this, and cash in this
Mastered this, flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up, and play it loud
Hip-Hop's embedded, before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

[chorus]
I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

[chorus]

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

[chorus x2]
[Chuck D] "Once again, back is the incredible"
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
[Rakim] "Rakim Allah"
Till death do us part
[Chuck D] "Once again, back is the incredible"
It's on
[Rakim] "Rakim Allah"
[CD sample, Ra sample in sequence to 3:50]
[Chuck D:]
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..."

Rakim... Clark Kent bring it on

What you wanna say to make me stay awhile
What you wanna say to make me wanna stay
[x2]

Just me and my peeps we gettin buzzed, lookin for clubs
Misses with kisses and hugs, lookin for love
She gotta be nice with hers, even with cookin some grub
Once I'm in I meet her friends, then I'm hookin my thugs
We'll be blowin hundreds, always knowin where the fun is
Roadrunners findin more spots than Columbus
Pocket full of phone numbers from some of the world wonders
I take my time, and find where the right one is
Smooth as jazz but more than a half, ready for math
And on a steady path, like Betty Shabazz
And when I see the wiz I'ma step to my biz
And there she is, let's see if she pass the quiz
It's appropriate we go get soakin wet
Toast, we met, become close associates
The place is ours by now I can embrace your style
So much flavor I can taste your smile, stay awhile

Why don't you, stay a little while
Stayyayyayyy, stay a little while, child
Baby, why don't you, stay a little while
Stayyayyyayy, ayyyayyy, stay a little while, child
Baby, why don't you

We on the low matin, infiltratin, negotiatin
We both be makin moves and dough, M.O.'s relatin
She ain't takin I want it but yo I know she waitin
I throw the bait in, and before you know we datin
I want the format, to the doormat
Contacts fast, callbacks and all that
Your deepest ecstasy see you wear accesory
Your secret recipes to your bear necessities
She real exotic body feel like Lucile Roberts
Name brand closets, culturized products
Claws like a scorpion caught me in deeper
But juice sweeter, enough to buy a two seater
Every mile I plan to have your mind beguiled
Til it informs me more than you would normally allow
Raised more than an eyebrow with a flagrant style
By now I can taste your smile, stay awhile

[Chorus]

Sometimes it's hard to fight it and not let her see me get excited
But she know I like it, she know the deal like a psychic
Mind is haunted, because I always find her on it
She know what I want, where I want, when I want it
Blowin up my Motorola, daddy you comin over?
She on the sofa, holdin a remote controller
Candles burnin lower, favorite dish gettin colder
She hot as solar, cause I told her I wanna hold her
But her mission she sittin in one position like Yoda
A TV show is on to top it off she dead sober
Then I open the door up, and kiss her on the shoulder
She say I'm rollin, like Mr. Lover Lover
We had a hard day, ready to parlay
My thirsts they obey everything that God say
Okay let's play awhile and I'll embrace your style
So much flavor I can taste your smile, stay awhile

[Chorus: w/ variations to end]

[from the movie "Wildstyle"]
If you was born in New york City let me hear say "You know that"!
YOU KNOW THAT

[Rakim]
Aiyyo, once upon a rhyme where the scenery sets, you see stress
Streets a matter of life and death, no regrets
Life's a test, strife, wit special effects
Neighbourhood's full of reps, cities are projects
Where the young cadets get stripes from the vets
And comrades quest to be the next, to finess
Collect debts and select bets with death threats
Object - Chedder, better your total net
Where trends are set from ways to express the outfits
Friends get wet tryin' to make ends connect
Avenues to check, boulevards to sweat
The smell of gunsmoke more common than cigarettes
WE GOT clicks for wreck
WE LIKE Pits for pets
WE GOT Giants and Jets, the Knicks, Yanks and Mets
WE LIKE much respect and sex extra wet
And High-Tech dialect you ain't catch yet

(The Bronx
Ya out there?
No doubt
Brooklyn
ya out there)

[Rakim]
Aiyyo, we got blocks and glocks with
Big shots with big knots and big props
Yo this is where the bullshit stops
Where herbs get got, if you snitch you get shot
We get down and leave the town in a state of shock
WE GOT dangerous hang out spots and slick cops
Place called Riker's Island where kids get locked
A lotta gear to rock with blocks of clothes shops
Styles are top notch, this is the place to watch
So bust the box the radio station is hot
Ease your mind staring at skylines from rooftops
Flip scripts for chips, and new whips off the lot
Quick to call a shot, pollitic with thick plots
And the Garden of Eden against the sea that we got
to make sure the core of the Big Apple don't rot
Where seeings believing we be achieving a lot
Since disc jocks created hip hop, check it out!

(Queens - ya out there? no doubt
Manhattan - no doubt
New York city, Staten Island
New York, New York, Long Island
New York - ya out there?)

[Rakim]
Aiyyo, we got five bouroughs of ghettos
with many places to meet, you get lost in city streets
the city that never sleeps
Mecca ? Medina the population increase
The desert and the oasis, New York, the far east
With Gods and sheiks, pretty Amazons for weeks
Player dons that fleece the family's black sheep
Icons that teach that we all act unique
We got stats to reach so we all have to eat
A mass of peeps, with they own masterpiece
The crafts elite, we going past the beat
The latest technique no other place get as deep
Who parks release some of the worlds greatest athletes
DJ's and MC's and graffiti artistes
Who use walls and subway trains for marquees
We go back to b-boys, breakdancing, breakbeats
And it'll never cease and on that note, we say peace

Yeah... check it out... show me love

Promise you won't do me wrong (for sure)
If I turn you on (yeah)
Promise you'll stay all night long (on on)
Makin love til dawn

Yo, it's time to bring the day in, fresh out the crib sauteein
Around the way-in, swerve on, surveyin
That's when I saw her, the kind you wanna see more of
The sexy aura, it made it hard to ignore her
Expression her posession of property skyrocket
I'm investin in her presence and in time it profits
I take a acre for you, fertilize the soil
and make it boil, til it produce black oil
The Shorty sweet as, the flavor of forty divas
Photos and features, worth more than Mona Lisa's
It's lady lucious, tender touches my blood rushes
Smiles and blushes, on billboards and buses
And me, I'm just a bronze skinned calm gentleman
Slim fit and open arms mellow wit a Don's grin
Ghetto disciplined, could be your confidant beyond friend
It's one of Allah's men, Rakim, show me love

Promise you won't do me wrong (uh)
If I turn you on (go ahead, uh)
Promise you'll stay all night long (uh, yeah)
Makin love til dawn (turn me on love)
Promise you won't do me wrong (mmm)
If I turn you on (mmm, mmm, yeah)
Promise you'll stay all night long
So we can get it on (check it out)

I'm in effect mode, I keep the ep sewed
When you express your finesse to your dress code
Every step's a pose, you've been blessed and it shows
My interest grows, the effervesce explodes
Because this chick's, characteristics, mystic
Hips are thick, just a little bit of lipstick
Can't resist it, description Egyptian smile
Queen of the Nile, that means she dipped in style
She re-mind of Nefretiti, yes indeed-y
But it's hard to get it like hieroglyphic graffiti
Studied her exhibits and checked her colorful curves
Intellect with swerves I coulda wrecked my nerves
That's my word, diggin her enigma that exist
in a sister, carefully wrapped in her figure
We connect like a collision and hug, just to knowledge
her wisdom, speed up my metabolism, show me love

Promise you won't do me wrong
If I turn you on (uh, yeah)
Promise you'll stay all night long (YEAH)
Makin love til dawn (check it out)
Promise you won't do me wrong (go ahead, go ahead)
If I turn you on (yeah, yeah)
Promise you'll stay all night long
So we can get it on

Your M.O. is hard not to notice, so my motives
is to stay focused, body moves like aerobics
Attractions, vibes I caught came from your ways
and actions but mindframe hard to explain
No actin or mindgames, but thinkin of what can happen
is migraines, the x-rated though remains
We relaxin, and you naggin me for the agony
to your anatomy, by the fractions
Your measurements, the pleasure's in every inch of your temple
I travel twenty-three million miles of your mental
Chemistry, between you and me, in harmony
Causin angles to meet, like trigonometry
or pyramids, that's where your deepest, treasures are hid
Then it gets, odiferous, cause I know where it is
I mastered that, cause it's easy when you react
The all-natural aphrodisiac, show me love

Promise you won't do me wrong
If I turn you on (yeah)
Promise you'll stay all night long (go ahead, go ahead)
Making love til dawn (uh)
Promise you won't do me wrong (straight up)
If I turn you on (go ahead, uh)
Promise you'll stay all night long (yeah)
So we can get it on (show me love)
Promise you won't do me wrong
If I turn you on
Promise you'll stay all night long
Making love til dawn
Promise you won't do me wrong (uh, yeah)
If I turn you on (check it out, uh)
Promise you'll stay all night long (and you don't stop)
So we can get it on (uh)
Promise you won't do me wrong
If I turn you on
Promise you'll stay all night long
Making love til dawn...

So just knowin that people umm, compare me with with every hot kid that
come out and, y'know, the the expressions people give me when I see em
in the streets sometime y'know people be lookin at me like I'm a martian
like "Yo, it's the God" y'knowhatI'msayin? But that alone man keep keep
me lovin this man, lovin this

[Intro/Chorus:]

If you can see if you can solve the mystery
The answer revolves around your history
So carefully, I drop this degree
Scientifically, and realistically (Who is God?)

[Chorus]

In eternal blackness, in the midst of the darkest night
Proteins and minerals, exist within specks of light
Solids liquids and gases, and sparks of light within
infinite lengths and widths and depths and heights
No beginning or ending, the seven dimensions
Enough space for more than a million words and inventions
To travel through time within enough room to be the womb
of the most high's great mind which he will soon make shine
With intelligent elements in sight that he will gather
In the realms of relativity electricity struck matter
Energies explode he below to keep releasin
Atoms by the millions, til the numbers increasin
Til it was burnin he kept returnin itself to the source
The hotter his thoughts it gave the center more force
He gave birth to the sun which would follow his laws
All caused by his mental intercourse, who is God?

[Chorus]

He began to explain his craft, the master in the attic
He dealt with measurements his language, was mathematics
His theoretical wisdom of the numerical system
The complete number nine which means born or existed
He gave birth to all planets, inorganic, and organic
So you wouldn't take it for granted
They rotated they own distance around the sun
And fully submit to the existance of one
And each one was promised everlasting perfection
If each one keeps spinnin in the same direction
To the East, and each speak the motion of peace
and harmony, and each show devotion to teach
The universe is to come, the whole world must go according
Know your galaxies and mirages stars start fallin
So stay in your orbit maintain safe and sound
Like the planets each cipher remains perfectly round

[Chorus]

From unconciousness, to conciousness
By knowledging his wisdom his response is this
A understanding, which is the best part
He picked the third planet where new forms of life would start
He pursued show and prove every move in order
Back to the source he let off his resources in the water
Climb his climax, where the climate is at, high degrees
See he start to breathe deep in the darkest seas
And the plan is, to lay in the clays to form land
And expand, usin the same clays to born man
In his own image our origin begins in the East
Culture rise to breed, with the powers of peace
Deal in equality nature's policy is to be God
Build or destroy positively born life like Allah
And each one was given everlasting perfection
If each one keep living in the same direction
And life was life, and love was love
We went according by the laws of the world above
They showed us physically, we could reach infinity
But mentally, through the century we lost our identity
Life start and ending, we got trife and started sinning
Lost touch with the beginning now ciphers stop spinnin
And what was once easy became confused and hard
Which brings us back, to the mystic question, who is God?
Sixty-six trillion years since his face was shown
When the seventh angel appears, the mystery will be known
Check Revelations and Genesis, St. Luke and John
It even tells us we are Gods in the Holy Qu'ran
Wisdom Strength and Beauty, one of the meanings of God
G.O.D. you and me ?Gomars O Dubar?
Knowledge Wisdom Understanding Sun Moon and Star
Man Woman and Child, and so is Allah

[Chorus]

Bear witness to Allah, gave birth to all
For Allah was all, and therefore, life itself
And the universe gave birth to man
The universe was man, and man was the universe
And the universe was always existed
And existance was life
And life is Allah
And Allah had no beginning because he is, what always was
Rakim Allah, peace
Now who is God?

Yes yes y'all, check it out y'all [x2]

[Chorus: Rakim]

(Yo) I find a show, rhyme til it's time to go
I'm designed to blow, my mind's inclined to flow
Yo, my M.O., makin all kind of dough
From the info that Rakim show, y'know?

[Verse One: Rakim]

Yes yes y'all, I still fiend by any means
to flow, and I go through extremes don't intervene
My adventures show like a three dimensional screen
Cause I mention many things and I'm presentin many scenes
Guess I'm telegraphic, motions energentic
Better tell em forget it, cause I'm telekinetic
Crowds is screamin, I choke the mic and keep squeezin
Styles seemin like I used a thousand words without breathin
Bustin techs like Russian Roulette I doubt you win
Freestyles like hand grenades without the pin
Composin, then leave the mic full of corrosion
Don't test this, or best to expects this explosion
At shows I spit flows with seven deadly venoms
Killin syllables with poisonous synonyms in em
Ideas is blowin, mics is blowin
from what I'm showin, see it, I keep it goin when I'm flowin

[Chorus]

[Verse Two: Rakim]

When I'm flowin, theoretically speakin like a drummer
I take you through the streets to the parks in the summer
or illustrate, a time and place you never been in
and make you focus on the future after seein the beginning
And my style wilds, like Miles on the trumpet
Volume dial was kind of low, need to pump it
Up another notch turn the dial til it stops
More watts you got, more things to watch
Third eye's wide open, you're focused on the theory
Keep scopin til you hear me, words is spoken clearly
It's no smokescreens on the scenes that I'm showin
Man I keep it goin, damn I keep it flowin

[Chorus x2]

[Verse Three: Rakim]

Two pages cause panic, freestyles is frantic
Thoughts is organic, flow is aerodynamic
Mic is volcanic, rhymes spread across the planet
I send out the scribe now the vibes gigantic
Now, I'm internationally known, mental capacities blown
I hope your microphone's accident prone
Raw footage is shown, but only showin scenes of my own
Leavin your periphereal vision in a zone
But not the twilight, from the insight that I write
and recite, in my mic'll be bright, cause I like
the night glowin, it's out of sight when I'm showin
Man I keep it goin, damn I keep it flowin

[Chorus x2]

[Verse Four: Rakim]

Yo, accurate tactics "Make Em Clap to This"
When I "Move the Crowd", my "Rhythm" still don't miss
Breeze through melodies cause "It's Been A Long Time"
My "" is "Fury" and rappers hate to hear me rhyme
Every antidote that I quote, is "No Joke"
Nobody's smilin "In The Ghetto" from the notes I wrote
My high techniques wreck and disrepect beats
Have you "Follow-in The Leader" up and down the streets
So "Kick Along" as I rip a song with pull
As the rhyme goes on I get "Paid In Full"
It's Rakim, I'm indicatin rhymes for the showin
Check it out y'all, I keep it goin when I'm flowin

[Chorus x2]

Straight up, Rakim Allah the Fiend of the Microphone still flowin
You know? One love to ? comin through your livin room soon, straight up
?, one love
The whole tri-state, one love
Rakim Allah baby, y'know?
It's on, what, check it out y'all, check it out

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"

[Rakim]
Follow procedures, the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this - I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim"

[Rakim]
When I'm out proppin - either, hangin or shoppin
People see me stop and ask me when the album droppin
The wait is over, in-formation like a soldier
like I told ya, greater stronger, now that I'm older
I broke the, code of silence with overloads of talents
My only challenge, is not to explode in violence
I'm Asiatic, and blazin microphones a habit
At least once durin the course of a day, it's automatic
In ghetto apparel, mind of a Egyptian Pharoah
Far from shallow, thoughts travel like an arrow
Allah's monotony, so far they can't stop me
You know, Ra want property like Mumar Khadafi
More thoughts than Bibles, recital - taught disciples
A sawed off mic, so words scatter like a rifle
Thoughts that's trifle, I'm bustin these for you
Aiyyo, technical difficulties is through

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[Rakim]
When I float at night, I show em new heights, I go to write
They know I strike with new prototypes to blow the mic
Critics and biters, don't know where my source of light is
Still leave authors and writers with arthritis
Cursed kids like the Pyramids when they found the style
First to ever let a rhyme flow down the Nile
The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now
cause the crowd didn't hear the original in a while
So be alarmed, what you bout to see is the bomb
Like, 3-D in 'Nam, vivid like CD-Rom
Info kept like "internet.com"
My note-book's my bond like the Holy Qu'ran
Since I came in the door, said it before
But no I ain't down with Eric B. no more
At night the open mic be invitin me to rhyme
So yo I'm online, it's been a long time

[DJ Premier cuts early Eric B. & Rakim records]
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
".. Rakim, the microphone soloist"
"It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[extended scratch] "It's been a long time.."
[extended scratch] "It's been a long time.."
"It's been a long time.."

[Chuck D] "Once again back is the incredible"

Yeah, yeah
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin hits, make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizazz and jazz in this, and cash in this
Mastered this, flash this and make em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up, and play it loud
Hip-Hop's embedded, before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin hot
Hoping I open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar smokin ten dollar cigars
while I admire midas, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin track
Rockin jams by popular demand, I'm back

[chorus]
I control the crowd, you know I hold it down
When it drop you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world reknowned
And I rock New York City all year around

Check it out
It's on so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra style
from the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open fill it with somethin potent to go in
and take a toke then, mental planes start floatin
Hot science is smokin altitudes cause chokin
Product is hypnotic you're soakin and still smokin
Showin better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume is pumpin
I'ma move crowds to 2000

[chorus]

Yo, my rhymes and lyrics, find spirits like a seance
Since fat Cray-ons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam
I take advantage, until the crowd go bananas
What a rush I hear cuts then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread I inherited, many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
with knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin this
Some of the things I know, will be in your next Bible
When I die go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
with the great God from Egypt manifest was write rhymes
align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

[chorus x2]
[Chuck D] "Once again, back is the incredible"
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back, yaknahmean?
[Rakim] "Rakim Allah"
Till death do us part
[Chuck D] "Once again, back is the incredible"
It's on
[Rakim] "Rakim Allah"
[CD sample, Ra sample in sequence to 3:50]
[Chuck D:]
"Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible
The incredible...
Once again back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible..."

[interviewer, possibly Harry Allen]
What is, the one, main thing that you have
that you would want people to remember you by?
Or not one but the, those things that are dear to you
that you would, want to be remembered as

[Rakim]
I guess I guess it's my words man, yaknahmean?
Just my words, and, if people remember my words they'll remember me forever
Y'know? God by nature mind raised in Asia, y'know?
But umm... it's like y'know to live forever you you you gotta
set y'know, not not set trends but you gotta
apply yourself a certain way and you gotta do certain things y'know?
Maybe, maybe when I'm gone twenty years from now
Somebody might be tellin, tellin they little son
"Oh yo you think Shorty bad? Yo I 'member this cat way back
in like nineteen-ninety. Kid named Rakim, bananas."
YouknowhatI'msayin? If that can happen man, I'm aight man, y'know?
I got I got I got kids y'know? They gonna umm, finish this for
me anyway yknahmsayin so regardless, y'know the legacy lives
But umm as far as the masses just remember my words
Straight up

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of how many weak shows you slept through
Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you
Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss
The rhymes from the microphone soloist

And you sit by the radio
Hand on the dial, soon
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Dance wit the speaker till you hear it blow
Then plug in the headphone
'Cause here it go

It's a 4 letter word when it's heard, it control
Your body to dance, you got it soul
Dilects the tempo like a red alert
Reaches your reflex, so let it work
When this is playing you can't get stuck with
The steps so get set and I'm a still come up with

A gift to be swift follow the leader the rhyme will go
Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago
It can be done but only I can do it
For those that can dance and clap your hands to it
I start to think and then I sink into the paper like I was ink
When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines
I escape when I finish the rhyme, I got soul

You got it, you got it
You got it, you got it
I know you got soul

Picture a mic, the stage is empty
A beat like this might tempt me
To pose, show my rings and my fat gold chain
Grab the mic like I'm on Soul Train
But I'll wait 'cause I mastered this
Let the others go first so the brothers don't miss

Eric B. break the sticks, you got it
Rakim will begin when you make the mix
I'll experiment like a scientist
You wanna rhyme, you gotta sign my list
'Cause I'm a manifest and bless the mic I hold
You want it next then you gotta have soul

'Cause if you ain't got it, I'm a make an encore
Take the mic, make the people respond for
The R, 'cause that's the way it'll have to be
If you wanna get on after me
Think about it, wait, erase your rhyme
Forget it and don't waste your time
'Cause I'll be in the crowd if you ain't controlling it

Drop the mic, you shouldn't be holding it
This is how it should be done this style is identical to none
Some try to make it sound like this but you're getting me
So upset that I'm wet 'cause you're sweating me
I drip steam like a microphone fiend, eager to MC is my theme
I get hype when I hear a drum roll
Rakim is on the mic and you know I got soul

You got it, you got it
You got it, you got it

I got soul you got it that's why I came
To teach those who can't say my name
First of all, I'm the soloist, the soul controller
Rakim gets stronger as I get older
Constant elevation causes expansion
I write my rhyme while I cool in my mansion
Then put it on tape and in the city I test it
Then on the radio the R's requested

You listen to it, the concept might break you
'Cause almost anyone can relate to
Whoever's out of hand, I'm give him handles
Light 'em up, blow 'em out like candles
Or should I just let him melt?
Then give him a hand so they can see how it felt
I'm not bold just 'cuz I rock gold
Rakim is on the mic and you know I got soul

You got it, you got it
You got it, you got it

Now I'm a stop to see what you got
Get off the mic before I get too hot
I want to see which posse can dance the best
It should be easy 'cause the beat is fresh
Now if your from uptown, Brooklyn bound
The Bronx, Queens, or Long Island Sound

Even other states come right and exact
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Since you came here, you have to show and prove
And do that dance until it don't move
'Cause all you need is soul self-esteem will release
The rest is up to you, Rakim'll say peace

You got it, you got it
You got it, you got it
You got it, you got it
...

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow me into a solo
Get in the flow and you can picture like a photo
Music mixed mellow maintains to make
Melodies for M.C.'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 makin', 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

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

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' 'coz 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' M.C's
Let's quote a rhyme from a record I wrote
(Follow the leader)
Yeah, dope

'Coz 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

'Coz 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

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

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, 'coz 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

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader
Follow the leader

Follow the leader

Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnatize me no more
But it's bitin' me, fightin' me, invitin' me to rhyme
I can't hold it back, I'm lookin' for the line

Takin' off my coat, clearin' my throat
The rhyme will be kickin' it until I hit my last note
My mind'll range to find all kinds of ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build

But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one
And you know that I'm the soloist
So Eric B, make 'em clap to this

Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be actin' ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric B easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
'Cuz to me, MC means move the crowd

I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's comin' next from the flex of the wrist
Sayin' indeed that I precede 'cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix

If they can get some around until there's no rhymes left
I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death
But he's kickin' it because it ain't no half steppin'
The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in

Side, it needs eruptin' just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style of the same old rhyme
Because I'm better then the rest of them
Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap

Go get a girl and get soft and warm
Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand 'cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have I done lately

First you said all you want is love and affection
Let me be your angel and I'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of thin's
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up
I'm schemin' like I'm dreamin' on a couch wit my feet up
You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me

Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's comin' next from the flex of the wrist
Sayin' indeed that I precede 'cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix

Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim
Make 'em, make 'em clap to this

Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em clap to this
Make 'em clap to this

I was a fiend before I became a teen
I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream
Music orientated so when hiphop was originated
Fitted like pieces of puzzles, complicated
'Cuz I grabbed the mic and try to say, "Yes, y'all"
They tried to take it, and say that I'm too small
Cool, 'cuz I don't get upset
I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug, then I jet

Back to the lab without a mic to grab
So then I add all the rhymes I had
One after the other one, then I make another one
To dis the opposite then ask if the brother's done
I get a craving like I fiend for nicotine
But I don't need a cigarette, know what I mean?

I'm ragin', rippin' up the stage and
Don't it sound amazin', 'cause every rhyme is made and
Thought of, 'cuz it's sort of, an addiction, magnatized by the mixin'
Vocals, vocabulary, your verses, you're stuck in
The mic is aldraino, volcanoes eruptin'
Rhymes overflowin', gradually growin'

Everythin' is written in code, so it can coin cide
My thoughts to guide, 48 tracks to slide
The invincible, microphone fiend Rakim
Spread the word, 'cuz I'm in EFFECT
A smooth operator operatin' correctly

But back to the problem, I gotta habit
You can't stop it, silly rabbit
The prescription is a hypertone that's thorough when
I fiend for a microphone like herion
Soon as the bass kicks, I need a fix
Gimme a stage and a mic and a mix

And I'll put you in a mood or is it a state of
Unawareness? Beware, it's the re-animator
A menace to a microphone, a lethal weapon
An assasinator, if the people ain't steppin'
You see a part of me that you never seen
When I'm fiendin' for a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend

After 12, I'm worse that a Gremlin
Feed me Hiphop and I start tremblin'
The thrill of suspense is intense, your horrified
But this ain't the cinemas of "Tales From the Darkside"
By any means neccesary, this is what has to be done
Make way 'cuz here I come, my DJ cuts material, grand imperial
It's a must that I bust any mic you're hand to me
It's inherited, it's runs in the family
I wrote the rhyme that broke the bull's back
If that don't slow 'em up, I carry a full pack

Now, I don't want to have to let off, you should of kept off
You didn't keep the stage warm, step off
Ladies and Gentleman, you're about to see a pasttime hobby about to be
Take it to the maximum, I can't relax see, I'm
Hype as a hyperchrondriac 'cuz the rap be one hell of a antidote
Something you can't smoke more than dope
You're tryin' to move away but you can't, you're broke

More than cracked up, you should have backed up
For those who act up need to be more than smacked up
Any entertainer, I got a torture chamber
One on one and I'm the remainder
So close your eyes and hold your breath
And I'm a hit'cha wit the blow of death
Before you go, you'll remember you seen
The fiend of a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend
The microphone fiend

The mic
The microphone fiend
The mic
The microphone fiend
The mic
The microphone fiend
...

I ain't no joke, I use to let the mic smoke
Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke
When I'm gone, I wrote this song 'cuz I won't let
Nobody press up and mess up, to seen, I set

I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn
But think about it then you'll understand
I'm just a addict, addicted to music
Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it

Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up, convert it in a hip-hop form
Write a rhyme in graffiti, in every show you see me
In deep concentration 'cuz I'm no comedian

Jokers are wild, if you wanna be tame
I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
'Cuz you'll get fried in the end then you pretend to be

Competing, 'cuz I just put your mind on pause
And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours
I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stun
Remember me, the one you got your idea from

But soon you start to suffer but you only get rougher
When you start to stutter that's when you had enough of
Biting it, I make you choke, you can't provoke
You can't cope, you should have broke, 'cuz I ain't no joke

I got a question, it's serious as cancer
Who can keep the average dancer?
Hyper as a heart attack, nobody smilin'
'Cuz you're expressing the rhyme that I'm stylin'

This is what we all sit down to write
You can't make it so you take it home, break it and bite
Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits
Get the style down pat, then it's time to swit

Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours
Then you figure, you're ready for the neighborhood chores
The E M C E E, don't even try to be
When you come up to speak, don't even lie to me

You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate
Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me
So when you see me come up, freeze
Or you'll be one of those seven MC's

They think that I'm a new jack but only if they knew that
They who think wrong are they who can't do that
Style that I'm doin', they might ruin
Patterns of paragraphs based on you and

Your offbeat DJ, if anything he play
Sound familiar, I'll wait till E say
Play 'em, so I'ma have to dis and broke
You could get a smack for this, I ain't no joke

I hold the microphone like a grudge
B'll hold the record so the needle don't budge
I hold a conversation 'cuz when I invent
I nominated my DJ the president

When I'm, see I'll, people freestyle, goin' steadily
So pucker up and whistle my melody
But whatever you do, don't miss one
They'll be another rough rhyme after this one

Before you know it, you're followin' and fiendin'
Waiting for the punchline to get the meanin'
Like before, the morale of my story, I'm tellin'
Nobody beats the R so stop yellin'

Save it, put it in your pocket for later
'Cuz I'm moving the crowd and be a record fader
No interruptions and the mic is broke
When I'm gone, then you can joke

'Cuz everything is real on a serious tip
Keep playin' and I varies it quick
And take you for a walk through hell
Feed your dome then watch your eyeballs swell

Guide you out of triple stage darkness
When it get dark again then I'ma spark this microphone
'Cuz the heat is on, you see smoke
And I'm finish when the beat is gone, I'm no joke

I'm rated "R", this is a warning, you better void
Poets are paranoid, DJ's destroyed
'Cuz I came back to attack others in spite
Strike like lightnin', it's quite frightenin'

But don't be afraid in the dark, in a park
Not a scream or a cry, or a bark, more like a spark
You tremble like a alcoholic, muscles tighten up
What's that, lighten up, you see a sight but

Suddenly you feel like your in a horror flick
You grab your heart then wish for tomorrow quick
Music's the clue, when I come your warned
Apocalypse now, when I'm done, you're gone

Haven't you ever heard of a MC-murderer?
This is the death penalty and I'm servin' a
Death wish, so come on step to this
Hysterical idea for a lyrical professionist

Friday the thirteenth, walking down Elm Street
You come in my realm you get beat
This is off limits, so your visions are blurry
All you see is the meters at a volume pumping 'Lyrics of Fury'

It's a fearified freestyle

Terror in the styles, never error-files
Indeed I'm known, your exiled
For those that oppose to be level or next to this
I ain't a devil and this ain't the Exorcist

Worse than a nightmare, you don't have to sleep a wink
The pain's a migraine every time you think
Flashbacks interfere, you start to hear
The R A K I M in your ear

Then the beat is hysterical
That makes Eric go get a axe and chops the wack
Soon the lyrical format is superior faces of death remain
MC's decaying 'cuz they never stayed

The scene of a crime every night at the show
The fiend of a rhyme on the mic that you know
It's only one capable, breaks, the unbreakable
Melodies unmakable, pattern, unecscapable

A horn if want the style I posses
I bless the child, the earth, the Gods and bomb the rest
For those that envy a MC it can be hazardous to your health
So be friendly, a matter of life and death, just like a ethch-a-sketch

Shake till your clear, make it disappear, make the next
After the ceremony, let the rhyme rest in peace if not, my soul'll release
The scene is recreated, reincarnated, updated, I'm glad you made it
'Cuz your about to see a disastrous sight a performance never again
Performed on a mic, 'Lyrics of Fury'

A fearified freestyle

The "R" is in the house too much tension
Make sure the system's loud when I mention
Phrases that's fearsome you want to hear some sounds
That not only pounds but please your eardrums

I sit back and observe the whole scenery
Then nonchalantly tell you what it mean to me
Strictly business I'm quickly in this mood
And I don't care if the whole crowd's a witness

I'm a tear you apart but I'm a spare you a heart
Program into the speed of the rhyme, prepare to start
Rhythm's out of the radius, insane as the craziest
Musical madness MC ever made, see it's

Now an emergency, open-heart surgery
Open your mind, you will find every word'll be
Furier than ever, I remain the future
Battle's tempting whatever suits you

For words the sentence, there's no resemblance
You think you're ruffer, then suffer the consequences
I'm never dying terrifying results
I wake you with hundreds of thousands of volts

Mic-to-mouth resuscitation, rhythm with radiation
Novicane ease the pain it might save him
If not, Eric B's the judge, the crowd's the jury
How do I plead to homicide? 'Lyrics of Fury'

They're getting furier, a fearified freestyle

Turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar
I'm lettin' knowledge be born and my name's the R
A K I M, not like the rest of them, I'm not on a list
That's what I'm sayin', I drop science like a scientist

My melody's in a code, the very next episode
Has the mic often distortin', ready to explode
I keep the mic in Fahrenheit, freeze MC's and make 'em colder
The listener's system is kickin' like solar

As I memorize, advertise, like a poet
Keep you goin' when I'm flowin', smooth enough, you know it
But rough, that's why the middle of my story I tell E B
Nobody beats the R, check out my melody

Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody

So, what if I'm a microphone fiend, addicted soon as I sing
One of these for MC's so, they don't have to scream
I couldn't wait to take the mic, flow into it to test
Then let my melody play and then the record suggest

That I'm droppin' bombs but I stay peace and calm
Any MC that disagree with me, wave your arm
And I'll break, when I'm through breakin', I'll leave you broke
Drop the mic, when I'm finished and watch it smoke

So stand back, you wanna rap? All of that can wait
I won't push, I won't beat around the bush
I wanna break upon those who are not supposed to
You might try but you can't get close to

Because I'm number one, competition is none
I'm measured with the heat, that's made by sun
Whether playin' ball or bobbin' in the hall
I just writin' my name in graffiti, on the wall

You shouldn't have told me, you said you control me
So now a contest is what you owe me
Pull out your money, pull out your cut
Pull up a chair

My name is Rakim Allah and R & A stands for RA
Switch it around, but still comes out R
So easily will I, E M C E E
My repetition of words is 'Check out my melody'

Some bass and treble is moist, scratchin' and cuttin' a voice
And when it's mine, that's when the rhyme is always choice
I wouldn't have came, to set my name around the same weak shit
Puttin' blurs and slurs and words that don't fit

In a rhyme, why waste time on the microphone
I take this more serious than just a poem
Rockin' party to party, backyard to yard
Now tear it up, y'all and bless the mic for the Gods

Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody

The rhyme is rugged, at the same time sharp
I can swing off anything, even a string of a harp
Just turn it on and start rockin', mind no introduction
'Til I finish droppin' science, no interruption

When I approach, I exercise like a coach
Usin' a melody and add numerous notes
With the mic and the R A K I M
It's a task, like a match I will strike again

Rhymes are poetically kept and alphabetically stepped
Put in order to pursue with the momentum, except
I say one rhyme and I order a longer rhyme shorter
A pause but don't stop the tape recorder

Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody

Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody

I'm not a regular competitor, first rhyme editor
Melody arranger, poet, etcetera
Extra events, the grand finale like bonus
I am the man they call the Microphonist

With wisdom which means wise words bein' spoken
Too many at one time, watch the mic start smokin'
I came to express the rap I manifest
Stand in my way and I'll be the one words protest

MC's that wanna be dissed, they're gonna
Be dissed if they don't get from, in fronta
All they can go get is me, a glass of Moet
A hard time, sip your juice and watch a smooth poet

I take seven MC's, put 'em in a line
And add seven more brothas, who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take seven more before I go for mine
And that's twenty-one MC's, ate up at the same time

Easy does it, do it easy, that's what I'm doin'
No fessin', no messin' around, no chewin'
No robbin', no buyin', bitin', why bother
This slob'll stop tryin', fightin' to follow

My unusual style will confuse you a while
If I was water, I flow in the Nile
So many rhymes you won't have time to go for your's
Just because of a 'cause I have to pause

Right after tonight is when I prepare
To catch another sucka, duck MC out there
'Cause my strategy has to be tragedy, catastrophe
And after this you'll call me your majesty, my melody

Check out my melody
Yes, my melody
Check out my melody
Eric B
Check out my melody

Marley Marl, synthesized it, I memorize it
Eric B made a cut and advertised it
My melody's created for MC's in the place
Who try to listen 'cause I'm dissin' [Incomprehensible] face

Take off your necklace, you try to detect my pace?
Now you're [Incomprehensible] buggin' over [Incomprehensible] off my Rhyme like bass
The melody that I'm stylin', smooth as a violin
Rough enough to break New York from Long Island

My wisdom is swift, no matter if
My momentum is slow, MC's still stand stiff
I'm genuine like leather, don't try to be clever
MC's you'll beat the R, I'll say, "Oh never"

So Eric B, cut it easily
And check out my melody

Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody
Check out my melody

Sip the juice 'cause 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 token
Go Uptown and the Bronx to boogie down
Get strong on the Island, recoup and lay around

Time to build 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 a lot, like Anwar Sadat
But no warning shot, my gun is warm a lot

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 a lot 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

Standing by the speaker, suddenly I had this
Fever, was it me or either summer madness
'Cause I just can't stand around
So I get closer and the closer I get, the better it sound

My mind starts to activate, rhymes collaborate
'Cause when I heard the beat, I just had to make
Something from the top of my head
So I fell into the groove of the wax and I said

How could I move the crowd
First of all, ain't no mistakes allowed
Here's the instruction, put it together
It simple ain't it but quite clever

Some of you been trying to write rhymes for years
But weak ideas irritate my ears
Is this the best that you can make?
'Cause if not and you got more, I'll wait

But don't make me wait too long 'cause I'm a move on
The dance floor when they put something smooth on
So turn up the bass, it's better when it's loud
'Cause I like to move the crowd

Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd

Rock, rock, rock
Rock, rock, rock
Rock, rock, rock

Imagine me with the heat that's made by solar
It gets stronger every time I hold a
Microphone, check the tone to get started
The line for the microphone is departed

So leave it up to me, my DJ is mixing
Everyone is moving or eager to listen
Your hands in the air, your mouth, shut
'Cause I'm on the mic and Eric B is on the cut

For those that know me, indeed I like to flow
Especially when the music's going slow
It gives me a chance to let everybody know
It's time to bust out the Rakim show

I'm the intelligent wise on the mic I will rise
Right in front of your eyes 'cause I am a surprise
So I'ma let my knowledge be born to a perfection
All praise due to Allah and that's a blessing

With knowledge of self, there's nothing I can't solve
At 360 degrees, I revolve
This is actual fact, it's not an act, it's been proven
Indeed and I proceed to make the crowd keep moving

Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd, move the crowd

Move the crowd, move the crowd
Move the crowd

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 reload 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 watch 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 thirty-eight
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 gunpowder
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 'em
Since he brought his main man wit' 'em
He ask me how I did 'em
I let the rhythm hit 'em

Let it hit 'em

Dance floor's dangerous
Packed in like a briefcase
Rhythm with real 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

Ideas for the ear to fear
Might split 'em, he'll never forget 'em
He'll rest in peace wit' 'em

At least when he left he'll know what hit 'em
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 they'll blow the hell up
If I slow up, catch up, hell no

Wicked as I kicked it
Don't need to remix it
'Cause I prefixed it
Reversed and switched it

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 break
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 your intellect
Kiss her 'cause I wanna give her the most respect
So I shine and let my 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

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

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

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

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

Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto
Nobody smiling, ghetto

Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling

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 environment I can adapt when it gets worse

The rough gets goin' the goin' gets rough
When I start flowin' the mic might bust
The next state'll shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes

'Cause times is hard on the boulevard
So I bogaurd and never get scarred I'm God
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Lookin' over the edge but the R never fell

Or tripped or slipped 'cause my Nikes got grip
I stand on my own two feet and come equipped
Any stage I'm seen on the mic I fiend on
I stand alone and need nothin' to lean on

Goin' for self with 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 from it's where you at

Even the
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling

I learn to relax in my room and escape from New York
Came through the womb of the world as a thought
Thinkin' how hard it was to be born
Me being cream with no physical form

Millions of cells with one destination
To reach the best part that's life's creation
Nine months later a job well done
Make way 'cause here I come

Since I made it this far can't stop now
There's a will and a way and I got the know how
To be all there is to be and more
To see all there is to see before

I'm called to go back to the essence
It's a lot to learn so I studied my lessons
I thought the ghetto was the worst that could happen to me
I'm glad I listened when my father was rapping to me

'Cause back in the days they lived in caves
Exiled from the original man and strayed away
Now that's what I call hard times
I'd rather be here to exercise the mind

Then I take a thought around the world twice
From knowledge the form 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 Nefertiti then I seen her
Mind keeps travelin' 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 fought and I just fought the people
Under the darks 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 your third eye seen all of that
It ain't where you from it's where you at

Even the
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Even the
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell

Nobody smiling, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling
Ghetto, nobody smiling
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling

No more props I want property in every burrough
Nobody's stoppin' me because I'm thorough
Rhymes I make give me real estate for me to own
Where ever I bless a microphone

Double O seven is back and relaxin'
On point and reactin' and ready for action
I'm so low key that you might not see me
Incognito and takin' it easy
Ghetto

Quiet is kept on a hush hush
In front of a crowd I get loud as a bum rush
But calm keep a low pro and play the background
Hoping the wack rappers put the mic back down

So rip it break it in half go ahead and slam it
'Cause when it's time to build I'm a mechanic
I'm bondin' and mendin' attachin' and blendin'
So many solos there is no ending

People in my neighborhood they know I'm good
From London to Hollywood where ever I stood
Footprints remain on stage ever since
Sidewalks and streets 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 C-Lo
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 from it's where you at

Even the
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
I'm from the, ghetto
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Word up, peace
Nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Ghetto, nobody smiling

Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell
Nobody smiling
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Ghetto, nobody smiling, ghetto, nobody smiling
Ghetto, where you're [Incomprehensible] in hell

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 body bags
They can't identify 'em, leave the name tag
I get a rush when I see blood, dead bodies on the floor

Casualties of war
Casualties of war
Casualties of war
Casualties of war

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 could 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
Casualties of war
Casualties of war
Casualties of war

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 coffin

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 could 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 goin' under

Put on my fatigues and my camouflage
Take control 'cause I'm in charge
When I snapped out of it, it was blood, dead bodies on the floor

Casualties of war
Casualties of war
Casualties of war
Casualties of war

Kill him again

Try to identify the man in front of ya
But it ain't the role, the gear or the money, the
Swift intellectionist with plenty 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 ransom
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 midnight
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 brain scan 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 grass, 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 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 gain and again
I leave him in the mausoleum so you can see him

I got a dead M Cing 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

Yo Rakim, what's up?
Yo, I'm doing the knowledge, E., man I'm trying to get paid in full
Well, check this out, since Norby Walters is our agency, right?
True

Kara Lewis is our agent, word up
Zakia and 4th and Broadway is our record company, indeed
Okay, so who we rollin' with then? We rollin' with Rush
Of Rushtown Management

Check this out, since we talking over
This def beat right here that I put together
I wanna hear some of them def rhymes, you know what I'm sayin'?
And together, we can get paid in full

Thinkin' of a master plan
'Cuz ain't nuthin' but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin' up with lint

So I start my mission, leave my residence
Thinkin' how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did

I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin' funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin' move but the money
But now I learned to earn 'cuz I'm righteous
I feel great, so maybe I might just

Search for a nine to five, if I strive
Then maybe I'll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin' this
Feelin' out of place 'cuz, man, do I miss

A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish

'Cuz I don't like to dream about gettin' paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
So now to test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, 'cuz I'm paid in full

Rakim, check this out, yo
You go to your girl house and I'll go to mine
'Cause my girl is definitely mad
'Cause it took us too long to do this album

Yo, I hear what you're saying
So let's just pump the music up
And count our money

Yo, well check this out, yo Eli
Turn down the bass down
And let the beat just keep on rockin'

And we outta here
Yo, what happened to peace?
Peace