| Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem
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| If you can hear me ladies and gentlemen
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| Then I’m very happy that you came here
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| Ooh-oooh, whee!
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| That was for Brooklyn
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| Ha ha, we get it every time
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| You got me on? |
| Oh
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| Shout out to all of my crew, East-West, North-South
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| All the continent, Europe, all abroad international
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| Bring it in, bring it in, bring it in, bring it in
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| It’s a lot of things goin' on y’all
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| 21st century is comin'
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| 20th century almost done
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| A lot of things have changed
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| A lot of things have not, mainly us
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| We gon' get it together right? |
| I believe that
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| Listen—people be askin' me all the time
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| «Yo Mos, what’s gettin' ready to happen with hip-hop?»
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| (Where do you think hip-hop is goin'?)
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| I tell em, «You know what’s gonna happen with hip-hop?
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| Whatever’s happening with us»
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| If we smoked out, hip-hop is gonna be smoked out
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| If we doin' alright, hip-hop is gonna be doin' alright
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| People talk about hip-hop like it’s some giant livin' in the hillside
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| Comin' down to visit the townspeople
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| We are hip-hop
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| Me, you, everybody, we are hip-hop
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| So hip-hop is going where we going
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| So the next time you ask yourself where hip-hop is going
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| Ask yourself: where am I going? |
| How am I doing?
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| Till you get a clear idea
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| So if hip-hop is about the people
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| And the hip-hop won’t get better until the people get better
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| Then how do people get better? |
| (Hmm)
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| Well, from my understanding people get better
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| When they start to understand that they are valuable
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| And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
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| Or 'cause somebody, think they sexy
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| But they valuable 'cause they been created by God
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| And God makes you valuable
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| And whether or not you recognize that value is one thing
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| You got a lot of societies and governments
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| Tryin' to be God, wishing that they were God
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| They wanna create satellites and cameras everywhere
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| And make you think they got the all-seeing eye
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| Eh, I guess The Last Poets wasn’t too far off
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| When they said that certain people got a god complex
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| I believe it’s true
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| I don’t get phased out by none of that, none of that
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| Helicopters, the TV screens, the newscasters, the satellite dishes
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| They just wishing
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| They can’t really never do that
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| When they tell me to fear they law
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| When they tell me to try to have some fret in my heart behind the things that
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| they do
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| This is what I think in my mind
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| And this is what I say to them
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| And this is what I’m saying to you check it
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| All over the world hearts pound with the rhythm
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| Fear not of men because men must die
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| Mind over matter and soul before flesh
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| Angels hold a pen, keep a record in time
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| Which is passing and running like a caravan trader
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| The world is overrun with the wealthy and the wicked
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| But God is sufficient in disposing of affairs
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| Gunmen and stockholders try to merit my fear
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| But God is sufficient over plans they prepared
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| Mos Def in the flesh, where you at, right here
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| On this place called Earth, holding down my square
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| 'Bout to do it for y’all, and y’all at the fair
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| So just bounce, come on bounce
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| B-b-bounce b-bounce b-bounce-bounce
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| And just-
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| Just step, two, three
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| Just step, two, three, and
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| Step two
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| Two, three and
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| One two three and four
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| One two three and four
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| Once again
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| All over the world hearts pound with the rhythm
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| Fear not of men because men must die
|
| Mind over matter and soul before flesh
|
| Angels hold a pen keep a record in time
|
| Which is passing and running like a caravan trader
|
| The world is overrun with the wealthy and the wicked
|
| But God is sufficient in disposing of affairs
|
| Gunmen and stockholders try to merit my fear
|
| But God is sufficient over plans they prepared
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| Mos Def in the flesh, where you at, right here
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| On this place called Earth, holding down my square
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| Bout to represent in your whole atmosphere
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| Bout to represent in your whole atmosphere
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| To your atmosphere, to your atmosphere
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| Oh-ooh!
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| That was for you—and Brooklyn, too! |