What'd you do last night? We did umm, two whole cars It was me, Dez, and Main Three right? And on the first car in small letters it said 'All you see is' and then you know Big, big, you know some block silver letters That said 'crime in the city' right?' It just took up the whole car? Yeah yeah, it was a whole car and shit... The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis Shinin', like who on top of this? People was tusslin, arguin and bustlin Gangstaz of Gotham hardcore hustlin I'm wrestlin with words and ideas My ears is picky, seekin what will transmit The scribes can apply to transcript, yo This ain't no time where the usual is suitable Tonight alive, let's describe the inscrutable The indisputable, we New York the narcotic Strength in metal and fiber optics Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets Hard knuckles on the second hands of workin class watches Skyscrapers is collosus, the cost of living Is preposterous, stay alive, you play or die, no options No Batman and Robin, can't tell between the cops and the robbers They both partners, they all heartless With no conscience, back streets stay darkened Where unbeliever hearts stay hardened My eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbin You either make a way or stay sobbin, the Shiny Apple Is bruised but sweet and if you choose to eat You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat Nightly news repeat, who got shot down and locked down Spotlight to savages, NASDAQ averages My narrative, rose to explain this existance Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance So much on my mind that I can't recline Blastin holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline Heard the bass ride out like an ancient mating call I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathin Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening Sigh before we die like the last train leaving Breathin in deep city breaths, sittin on shitty steps We stoop to new lows, hell froze the night the city slept The beast crept through concrete jungles communicatin with one another And ghetto birds where waters fall from the hydrants to the gutters The beast walk the beats, but the beats we be makin You on the wrong side of the track, lookin visibly shaken Taken them plungers, plungin to death that's painted by the numbers With crime unapplied pressure, cats is playin God But havin children by a lesser baby mother but fuck it We played against each other like puppets, swearin you got pull When the only pull you got is the wool over your eyes Gettin knowledge in jail like a blessing in disguise Look in the skies for God, what you see besides the smog Is broken dreams flying away on the wings of the obscene Thoughts that people put in the air Places where you could get murdered over a glare But everything is fair It's a paradox we call reality So keepin it real will make you casualty of abnormal normality Killers Born Naturally like, Mickey and Mallory Not knowing the ways'll get you capped like an NBA salary Some cats be emceeing to illustrate what we be seeing Hard to be a spiritual being when shit is shakin what you believe in For trees to grow in Brooklyn, seeds need to be planted I'm asking if y'all feel me and the crowd left me stranded My blood pressure boiled and rose, cause New York niggaz Actin spoiled at shows, to the winners the spoils go I take the L, transfer to the two, head to the gates New York life type trife the Roman Empire state So much on my mind I just can't recline Blastin holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline Yo don't the bass ride out like an ancient mating call I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathin' Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening Sigh before we die like the last train leaving Yo, on The Amen, Corner I stood lookin at my former hood Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it Mixin down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered I coreograph seven steps to heaven And hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leavened Veteran of a cold war It's Chica-I-go for What I know or, what's known So some days I take the bus home, just to touch home From the crib I spend months gone Sat by the window with a clutched dome listenin to shorties cuss long Young girls with weak minds, but they butt strong Tried to call, or at least beep the Lord, but didn't have a touch-tone It's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush on Some of this land I must own Outta the city, they want us gone Tearin' down the 'jects creatin plush homes My circumstance is between Cabrini and Love Jones Surrounded by hate, yet I love home Ask my God how he thought travellin the world sound Found it hard to imagine he hadn't been past downtown It's deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleep Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep Deep, I heard my man breathe in his sleep Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep So much on my mind I just can't recline Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline Yo how the bass ride out like an ancient mating call I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathing Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening Kiss the Ide's goodbye, I'm on the last train leaving

Take me to the river baby, drink my wine When I'm going down won't you throw me a line? Lead me to religion, take me up them stairs When I take a tumble will you say me some prayers? When will you show me a sign? When will you throw me a line? Help me to the answer baby set me free I'm torn between the Devil and the deep blue sea Maybe if you wanted you could save my face Keep me out of trouble and I'm a living disgrace When will you show me a sign? When will you throw me a line? Oh baby, call me on the hot line Baby, call me on the hot line The hot line's on fire Show me to a sucker and you'll see my name Standing in a line with the shadows of fame Lead me to a legend, take me up them stairs When I take a tumble will you say me some prayers? When will you show me a sign? When will you throw me a line? When will you show me a sign? When will you throw me a line? Oh, call me on the hot line Yeah, call me on the hot line Oh, the hot line, baby Take me to the river baby, drink my wine Take me to the river and drink my wine Take me to the river, drink my wine Take me, take me, take me, take me Take me to the hot line Baby, take me to the hot line Take me to the hotline To hotline

Against the canvas of the night Appears a curious celestial phenomenon Called Black Star, but what is it? What is the Black Star Is it the cat with the black shades, the black car? Is it shinin' from very far, to where you are? It is commonplace and different Intimate and distant Fresher than an infant Black, my family thick, like black strap molasses Star, on the rise, in the eyes of the masses Black is the color of my true love's hair Star's are bright, shining, hot balls of air Black like my baby girl's stare Black like the veil that the muslimina wear Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared? Black like the slave ship belly that brought us here Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears That leave black faces well traveled with years Black like assassin crosshairs Blacker than my granddaddy armchair He never really got no time to chill there 'Cause this life is warfare, warfare Deep on the front lines, and blacks is all there Black like the perception of who, on welfare Black like faces at the bottom of the well I've been there before To bring the light and heat it up like la cocina Make without imagine happen but maybe I'm just a dreamer I love rocking tracks like John Coltrane love Naima Like the student love the teacher Like the prophet love Khadija Like I love my baby features Like the creator love all creatures Who are knowledge, truth, and peace seekers We on point like heat seekers Targettin' the black marketing strategists Run up on 'em with the heaters Everybody followin' with no leaders Feelin' like we killin' ourselves Because I know they can't defeat us It don't stop til we complete this, keep this fly There's so much to life when you just stay black and die Blacker than the nighttime sky of Bed-Stuy in July Blacker than the seed in the blackberry pie Blacker than the middle of my eye Black like Fela man cry Some man wan ask "Who am I?" I simply reply, "The U.N.I., V.E.R.S.A.L. magnetic" Work to respect the angelic Climb the mountain top and tell it 'til the valley's enveloped You're full of big chat but you nah know me I'm dark like the side of the moon you don't see When the moon shine newly You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) me You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) me You know who else is a Black Star, who we? (And we) Be shinin' and shinin', when we rhymin' and rhymin' We be shinin' and shinin', when we rhymin' and rhymin' Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two It's the third eye vision, five side dimension The eight th light, is gonna shine bright tonight It's the third eye vision, five side dimension You know the light (Go from the dark) The other way is ass backwards It's absurd Make you wanna crow like a blackbird That's right You livin' from your first day to your last night Sometimes you show your ass like Lint on your clothes When you froze in The black light Dead that Before you get your head wrapped Like Badu We see through your voodoo Just like Eve's Bayou, you dealin' with that black magic Try to civilize you Not walk on by you Like Sybil lies do get you black listed, (It'll) Be unlucky for you like a black cat A panther Revolution is the answer That's what we need Greed plague my people like the cancer True indeed Now black people unite, and let's all get down Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two It's the third eye vision, five side dimension The eight th light, is gonna shine bright tonight Everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two It's the third eye vision, five side dimension The eight th light, is gonna shine bright tonight It's the third eye vision, five side dimension Equalin' up to eight, light shine bright

Hello everybody, they're calling live from somewhere Lawd, lawd have mercy All nice and peace and true, follow me now, we say Say hi-tek yes you're ruling hip-hop Say J. Rawls yes you're ruling hip-hop Redefinition say you're ruling hip-hop Say Black Star come to rock it non... Yo, from the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate The whole and not the half of it, vocab and not the math of it Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit Me and Kweli close like, Bethlehem and Nazareth After this you be pressing rewind on top your master disk Shining like an asterisk for all those that be gatherin' Connected like a roundhouse from the townhouse to the tenaments 'Cause all my Brooklyn residents? Heavy regiments Don't believe, here the evidence, where Brooklyn? See that? Bound to take it all kid, believe that From where they sellin' tree at, to where the police be at Talib Kweli e-kweli-ty, yo tell them where we be at Brooklyn, New York City where they paint murals of Biggie In cash we trust cause it's ghetto fabulous, life look pretty What a pity, blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense Tree scents is dominant can't be covered with incense My presence felt my name is Kweli from the eternal reflection People thinkin' mc is short hand for misconception Let me meditate, set it straight, came to the conclusion That most of these cats is featherweight, let me demonstrate 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, be a visionary And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituaries Third rate teacher readin' and talkin about, "I knew he'd amount to nothin" Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type, who'd have thought they was frontin? " Talkin' loud like you in RCA, get carted away With body parts and treys, what a way to start your day Yo it's like One two three Mos Def and Talib Kweli We came to rock it on to the tip-top Best alliance in hip-hop I said one two three It's kind of dangerous to be a emcee They shot Tupac and Biggie Too much violence in hip-hop I said Manhattan keep on makin' it, Brooklyn keep on takin' it So relax we're takin' it back, Red Hook where we're livin' at Plenty cats be strugglin', not hustlin' and bubblin' It ain't about production and- what else we discussin'? So when the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows Strivin' for perfection ever since I was a snot-nosed Colossal, true original b-boy apostle Standin' on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo You think you the shit Somebody in the wings'll force you to quit It could be your crew or click Or some random kid you smoked buddha with Consider me the entity within the industry without a history Of spittin' the epitome, of stupidity, livin' my life Expressin' my liberty, it gotta be done properly My name is in the middle of e-kweli-ty People follow me and other cats they hear him flow And assume I'm the real one with the lyrics like I'm Cyrano Still sippin' wishin' well water, imported, from Pluto Three hundred and sixty milliliters for all our believers In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot proceed us 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 take us home and read us (Line for line) Good Jesus, Mos Def and Kweli just Make a pussy freeze up, thinkin' we will ease up One two three Mos Def and Talib Kweli We came to rock it on to the tip-top Best alliance in hip-hop I said one two three It's kind of dangerous to be a emcee They shot Tupac and Biggie Hold your head when the beat drop

Intro/Chorus: Laura Alfored Seem all the fellas understand what it feel Cos it's a Nubian Jam and everthing's real *Repeat* Verse One: Lord Jamar It's time to blow up the spot, anything you was in, you're thru the roof All the jams we done been thru is proof We blend truth, with mathematics doin acrobatics over beats The sound dramatic when it played in Landrover jeeps I know my peeps is in the front of the stage Smokin blunts with the strokin stunts, ready to set it When the word is given, I know you heard how we was livin Never takin no shit, just stayin clever and makin the hits Shakin the tits of the honeys when they jump Makin money's what we bump cos slumps is for chumps And we pumps, worldwide, girls slide backstage Lookin for a free ride, legs divide at a young age Lord Jamar is like Jesus, speakin in parables And to devil's is cemarable To see this, but they ain't got no choice No escapin the penetration of the voice Chorus (x2) Verse Two: Sadat X And I watched and I watched and I watched then I looked The X is like no other who can drop it in the rain I'm not that high, so give me back my lighter Stage right in the party at night, I'm in the shadows Thinkin bout returnin to the spotlight The X is top flight, ESPN highlight From, throughout the rhythm, I give em what I give em Oil slickness on that ass like *? Ewin?* I know what I'm doin, leave your whole town ruined Brand Nubian, the name alone stands Overseas fans be shoutin different accents So hence the black prince from 2-0 Soft-spoken but my words comprehended by the herds Goin back to the days past the ol' gun phase All stare in amaze or get caught with the rays Cos the X is like the master of the phrase... Chorus: Laura Alfored Seem all the fellas understand what you feel Cos it's a Nubian Jam and everthing's real *Repeat x3* Verse Three: Sadat X, Lord Jamar I want the mic in the clutch Cos it's too cold to hold, and too hot to touch I'm like the thoroughbred searchin for cheese You can't cut off the head of a fatal disease MC's freeze at thirty-two degrees below Justice served, now watch us bust this herd In the head with another jam set by the brother man Letters for the other man, understand Chorus: Laura Alfored Seem all the fellas understand what you feel Cos it's a Nubian Jam and everthing's real *Repeat 3X*

Intro: Sadat X Ha, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yo, straight from the wilds of The Bronx, it's Buckwild, y'knowI'msayin? And that kid Sadat X born king, doin my thing KnowI'msayin? I let'cha know how it is in my lifestyle everyday Verse One: Sadat X Lately yo, I been walkin tightropes It's an adventure everyday as I walk down the block Quiet baldhead is like a bad motherfucker All charged up from Madison Ave. I'm up on the stage if you read the front page Give me the ol' school mic wiv a cord I'll stand on the table, give a fuck about a label Now, we all can't brawl, we all can't brawl It'll be your downfall when you're goin like this Is it the cash or the hash from my stash that compells you? Gas kids throw me but my crew bring me back They stay on my back so I don't act like alladat Hook: Busta Rhymes Now all these niggas carry on like they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat Now all these niggas carry on when they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat Verse Two: Sadat X Late one night, 55th outpost Chickenhead watchin to see who she can catch She got a man, I can tell cos the action in her eyes Ain't nervous, a young sassy thing She call me a playa, standin on the corner wiv her whole dime crew I'm ridin down the block wiv her girlfriend In the next nigga's car, lookin like a star Shades, blackness, packed his whole damn frame Ya got to be down to *? starts?* about the booty Cos Sonny Lamb packs the wham It's all good, yeah it's all good See it attracts kids that are sweater A nigga like me'll be the first to forgetta So now she all mad, bringin drama to the crib Go ahead, chickenhead, wit the funk You get played like trash if you act like you'd always have and you always Will Chickenheads is only good for a thrill Hook: Busta Rhymes Yo yo, yo they think they alladat, they think they alladat All these bitches carry on when they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat Verse Three: Sadat X Now my cheques jam and I waited all damn week And if I flip em the bad guy, you wonder why When the corner officers and nobody can call me back And everybody claims to know nothin And these is the peoples that's down wit me Supposedly, lays on my side, yeah right They let a nigga die in the night if you let em You can get wild, flip, go grab the mask But it damn sure slow-up the cash cos I know Ya be a menace to society, still waitin for the dough The thinkin man is the one with the plan Plant his seeds first then be ready to burst It's like that, huh? My name is X from the hot blocks of Harlem Take it personally when you try to stop my stardom Use to be mild, find myself gettin wild Got to slow down for my girl and my child Cos I love life and I gots ta live it And everytime I get on stage I'ma move sometin And you can never say the X didn't hit'cha Aiyo, I put it on ya, but first I warn ya This ain't no average skit, this is a hit More than you hit, better than your best shit Better than your man's shit, better than his cousin's shit Better than your whole block, buck once and then ya come wit that nons... Interlude: Sadat X talking Aight, hey Buck, when you bring what you bring to the game and when I bring What I bring to the game, it's dangerous that I can't even call it. But we Gonna end it off like this, y'knowI'msayin? On some Bronx town shit, check It out Verse Four: Sadat X The big X has spoken, courtesy of Buck A Bronx hoe-down similar to the showdown Won't you place a bet on ya man You know my style and you know where I stand I'ma leave you on wit the real for right now Peace to Brand Nubian, Now Rule and Buckwild But right now, peep the master of the headnod Hit New York harder and smarter, thieves attack, now stay back Tainted styles don't pass the grade A lotta kids are slidin, just ridin on the wave A lotta kids are slidin, just ridin on the wave A lotta kids are slidin, just ridin on the wave Hook: Busta Rhymes Yo, all these niggas think they hard when they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat All these bitches act like sluts when they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat Now all these fraud niggas are bitches when they think they alladat They think they alladat, they think they alladat Fuck dem niggas out there who think they alladat They think they alladat, they thunk they alladat Fuck dem niggas, fuck dem bitches Fuck dem fraud ass, motherfuckers Fake ass niggas HAH!

King Nut the Nubian Tut Say follow follow they use their ears Say follow follow then they use their minds But when they follow your body Then they loose their minds Let me tell you a little story about King Nut, The natives call him the Nubian Tut Out of 1407 he came to be somewhere around 2000 B.C. Well the natives clap for the Nubian sap Then sit back and listen to the King Nuts rap Do It! Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da I know you hitting be true Knee deep in the jungle where the coconuts grow Where the tiger and the lion boogie with the rhinos There's a tribe over here there's a tribe over there Drums beating funky rhythm, music's everywhere Doing the Nubian Nut Say follow follow they loose their ears Say follow follow then they loose their minds High high high Doo doo doo doo doo Shoo bee doo bee doo dow Doo dow doo dow doo dow King Nubian never got hot before a show 'Cause in the motherland they didn't wear too many clothes People talk that talk break out the camel walk Then he wiggle through the jungle just as quick as a hawk Then he grab his spear then he grab his shield Show all the native people just how good he feel Doing the Nubian Nut Say you got what you got gotten gotten goo ga got Ho! doing the Nubian Nut Say follow follow they loose their ears Say follow follow then they loose their minds Say follow follow then they loose their mouths Late at night he'd talk his crap While soaking his feet in some Nubian sap He had a bone through his ear and one through his nose The women in the tribe would massage his toes Yeah! When he asks you what's jumpin' it's the peas in the pot They wouldn't be jumping if the water wasn't hot Doing the Nubian Nut Yeah follow follow follow follow Follow follow follow follow The people didn't know where the beat was coming from But they knew it had to be another Nubian drum King Nut is the future history Somewhere around 2000 A.D. Holding up the shield that's a glowing green Raising a spear that shoots laser beams Riding in a spaceship up and down the street Tooting at the fine women on the block he meet Throwing down in studios track by track Letting everybody know the impost right fact Another spaceship here another spaceship there Here a ship there a ship everywhere a mothership Landing in Detroit at United Sounds Where all the funkateers like to boogie down Because most of all we need the funk Oh uh heh heh heh Say follow follow they use their ears Say follow follow then they use their minds Say follow follow they use their mouths But when they follow your body Then they loose their minds Follow follow follow follow Follow follow follow follow Shoo bee doo bee doo dow Doo dow doo dow doo dow Follow follow follow follow Shoo bee doo bee doo dow Doo dow doo dow doo dow Follow follow follow follow Shoo bee doo bee doo dow Doo dow doo dow doo dow Follow follow follow follow Shoo bee doo bee doo dow Doo dow doo dow doo dow