All nice and peace and true,
Say Hi- Tek yes you're ruling hip- hop
Say J. Rawls yes you're ruling
Redefinition say you're ruling hip- hop
Say Black Star come to rock it non
Yo, from the first to the last of it,
The whole and not the half of it,
vocab and not the math of it
Projectile that them blasted with,
After this you be pressing rewind
Shining like an asterisk for all those
Connectin' like a roundhouse from the
townhouse to the tenements
Cause all my Brooklyn residents,
Don't believe, here the evidence,
See that? Bound to take it all kid,
From where they sellin' tree at,
to where the police be at
Talib Kweli e- Kweli- ty yo tell
Brooklyn, New York City where
they paint murals of Biggie
In cash we trust cause it's ghetto fabulous,
What a pity. Blunts is still fifty cents,
Tree scents is dominant can't
My presence felt my name is Kweli from
People thinkin' MC is short
Let me meditate, set it straight,
That most of these cats is featherweight,
Walkin' the streets is like battlin',
be careful with your body
You must know karate or think
your soul is bulletproof like Sade
Stop actin' like a bitch already,
And maybe you can see your name
in the column of obituary
Third rate teacher readin'
Talkin' and loud like you in
With body parts and treys,
what a way to start your day
We came to rock it on to the tip- top
Best alliance in hip- hop, Y- O
It's kind of dangerous to
They shot Tupac and Biggie
Too much violence in hip- hop, Y- O
I said Manhattan keep on makin' it
(Bo!), Brooklyn keep on takin' it (Bo!)
So relax we're takin' it back,
Redhook where we're livin' at
Plenty cats be strugglin' not
It ain't about production and,
When the cock crows, my crop grows,
Strivin' for perfection ever since
Colossal, true original B- boy apostle
Standin' on the rooftop with the,
Somebody in the wings'll force
It could be your crew or click
Or some random kid you smoked
Consider me the entity within the
industry without a history
Of spittin' the epitome, of stupidity,
it gotta be done properly
My name is in the middle of e- Kweli- ty
People follow me and other
And assume I'm the real one
with lyrics like I'm Cyrano
Still sippin' wishin' well water,
milliliters for all our believers
In miles or kilometers, most cats,
In the jungle with the leaders we
the lions you the cheaters
A cypher, will complete us if we
come through your receivers
You can play us and repeat us and then
(Line for line) Good Jesus,
We came to rock it on to the tip- top
Best alliance in hip- hop, Y- O
It's kind of dangerous to be a emcee
They shot Tupac and Biggie
Hold your head when the beat drop, Y- O