I said that...

Yo
The first time I heard Digital Underground, I was in the first grade
My homie, Lace, brought it over and he dubbed it on a mixtape (I said hey)
I would do the Humpty Hump and perform to his verses
Twelve years later, I learned that Shock G and him were the same person (hey)

I loved Hammer, I can't front he taught me how to dance
Along with Bell Biv DeVoe, I had Jay-O's and a pair of zebra pants
But this was the foundation
What would come to be a life long passion, journey and drive an MC

(I said hey) some people ask me what it means
I don't know where to start
It's the deepest connection between my soul and my heart (I said hey)
When I first stepped to do a cypher in a jam at the park
I got served, no, for real, I got served

But see I learned something observed others
And watched an urge hungered
Studier earned a turn on that block
I don't care who you are or where you're from or what you believe in
But if you love hip-hop, I bet it's more or less for the same reason (I said hey)

This is it when you spit, you exist in that moment
And if you're sick with that gift, you then rip it when you perform it
Then all the shit that you live begins to lift off your shoulders
And the audience, well, they get to experience where your soul is
(Hey) the most amazing feeling rocking a crowd to your anthem
To the front to the back with their motherfucking hands up
'Cause I'm an MC won't be the first, won't be the last
Just another B-Boy and I'ma die in my stance

(I said hey) if you got a pen and a pad, put your heart down
If you got a record and can crab, lay your scratch down (oh, yeah)
If you got a marker and a can, bomb, your art now
If you got a floor and you're fast, kick that ill style
If you got a pen and a pad (hey), put your heart down
If you got a record and can crab (oh, yeah), lay your scratch down (oh, yeah)
(I said hey) if you got a marker and a can, bomb, the whole damn town
But if you live for hip-hop, don't ever put your hands down

(I said hey) don't put your hands down, keep that shit up
We're gonna rock it like this (I said hey)
It goes front, back, front, back, front, back
Front, come on
It goes front (hey), back, front, back
I said front, back to my people, you know it (I said hey)
It goes front, back, front, back, it goes front, back
Okay, bring it down (I said hey)

Now, I don't know if it's the clothes, the hoes or the cars
That make people rap like they're trapped inside these bars
This shit ain't complicated, man, just be who you are
Too busy searching for the light, missing the fact that you're a star
(Hey) now, who's got passion? Stand the hell up
'Cause I wanna hear somebody rapping who's got it inside their cuts (I said hey)
Now you can get intricate, displaying your fancy cadences
But if you're not speaking the truth, you might as well not be saying shit (I said hey)

I said, "who's going to teach the kids?"
You wanna blow up and get famous, so you can get some new rims (I said hey)
All the money in the world can help you look like a star
But money can't buy you the heart to go and put inside your bars (hey)
And I like nice shit too
Believe me, I got a closet full of Nikes and whole bunch of Velour suits (I said hey)
Fitted white Tees and an Icy earrings like the whole youth
Population of hip-hop, but look beyond it when I record to these beats (I said hey)

'Cause if I don't speak me
What's the difference between my lyrics and what you hearin' on MTV (I said hey)
People fear that if they're steering away from the mainstream
Then their album won't sell, well, I could give a fuck (hey)
I'm just gonna freestyle and spit what's inside my gut
And if you want to, you can go and label me conscious (I said hey)
But just remember there's a kid at a bus stop beatboxing
Whose life's will be affected by what's inside of his walkman (I said hey, walkman, walkman)

I said hey
Hey
I said hey
I said hey
I said hey

(Hey) if you got a pen and a pad, put your heart down
If you got a record and can grab, lay your scratch down (oh, yeah)
(I said hey) if you got a marker and a can, bomb, your art now
If you got a floor and you're fast, kick that ill style (I said hey)
If you got a pen and a pad, put your heart down
If you got a record and can grab (oh, yeah), lay your scratch down (oh, yeah)
(I said hey) if you got a marker and a can, bomb, the whole damn town
But if you live for hip-hop, don't ever put your hands down

Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey