We the People.... - A Tribe Called Quest

Little smokey, little bandit Little getting out of handed If you're going where we're going get going or get out of our way Mixing Crowes hard to handle, burning Willie, Rockin' Randall If we're gonna do it then we ain't Gonna do it halfway cause we don't play... If you need a little turn it up Friday night A crowd with their hands and their cans up high Wanna raise one with the raise hell kind We the people We the people with the needle in the red on cruise Out setting fire to a neon moon Wrecking them back roads, reppin' our roots We the people We front row, we back porch We dirt stomp, we dance floor We're the party and the party don't start 'til we roll up That's when everybody shows up If you need a little turn it up Friday night A crowd with their hands and their cans up high Wanna raise one with the raise hell kind We the people We the people with the needle in the red on cruise Out setting fire to a neon moon Wrecking them back roads, reppin' our roots We the people We the ones that preacher done warned you bout We the ones that'll get ya kicked out We the ones drink way too loud We the people We're the jokers, and tokers In the land of the free Got some hot ones, some cold ones What more do you need If you need a little turn it up Friday night A crowd with their hands and their cans up high Wanna raise one with the raise hell kind We the people We the people with the needle in the red on cruise Out setting fire to a neon moon Wrecking them back roads, reppin' our roots We the people If you need a little turn it up Friday night A crowd with their hands and their cans up high Wanna raise one with the raise hell kind We the people We the people with the needle in the red on cruise Out setting fire to a neon moon Wrecking them back roads, reppin' our roots We the people

We are the people without land We are the people without tradition We are the people who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease We are the thoughts of sorrows Endings of tomorrows We are the wisps of rulers And the jokers of kings We are the people without right We are the people who have known only lies and desperation We are the people without a country, a voice, or a mirror We are the crystal gaze returned through the density And immensity of a berzerk nation We are the victims of the untold manifesto Of the lack of depth Of full and heavy emptiness We are the people without sorrow Who have moved beyond national pride and indifference To a parоdy of instinct We are the people who are desperate Beyond emotion because it defies thought We are the people who conceive Our destruction and carry it out lawfully We are the insects of someone else's thought A casualty of daytime, nighttime, space, and God Without race, nationality, or religion We are the people, and the people, the people

Back in the days when I was a teenager Before I had status and before I had a pager You could find the Abstract listening to hip hop My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop I said, well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin like Michael It's all expected, things are for the lookin If you got the money, Quest is for the bookin Come on everybody, let's get with the fly modes Still got room on the truck, load the back boom Listen to the rhyme, to get a mental picture Of this black man, through black woman victim Why do I say that, cuz I gotta speak the truth man Doing what we feel for the music is the proof and Planted on the ground, the act is so together Bonafide strong, you need leverage to sever The unit, yes, the unit, yes, the unit called the jazz is Deliberately cheered LP filled with street goods You can find it on the rack in your record store (store) If you get the record, then your thoughts are adored And appreciated, cause we're ever so glad we made it We work hard, so we gotta thank God Dishin out the plastic, do the dance till you're spastic If you dis... it gets drastic Listen to the rhymes, cuz its time to make gravy If it moves your booty, then shake, shake it baby All the way to Africa a.k.a. The Motherland (uh) Stick out the left, then I'll ask for the other hand That's the right hand, Black Man (man) Only if you are noted as my man (man) If I get the credit, then I'll think I deserve it If you fake moves, don't fix your mouth to word it Get in the zone of positivity, not negativity Cuz we gotta strive for longevity If you botch up, what's in that (ass) (what?) A pair of Nikes, size ten-and-a-half (come on, come on) We gotta make moves Never, ever, ever could we fake moves (come on, come on) "Time. time is a ship on a merciless sea Drifting toward an average of nothingness Until it can be retarded for it's own destiny TIME is an inanimate object Praying and praying and praying for? Time is DANCING, moving lingering all memories of past." We gotta be a winner all the time Can't fall prey to a hip hop crime With the dope raps and dope tracks for you for blocks From the fly girlies to the hardest of the rocks Musically the Quest, is on the rise We on these Excursions so you must realize That continually, I pop my Zulu If you don't like it, get off the Zulu tip So what can you do in the times which exist You can't fake moves on your brother or your sis But if your sis is a (bitch), brother is a jerk Leave 'em both alone and continue with your work Whatever it may be in today's society Everything is fair, at least that how it seems to me You must be honest and true to the next Don't be phony and expect one not to flex Especially if you rhyme, you have to live by the pen Your man is your man, then treat him like your friend All it is, is the code of the streets So listen to the knowledge bein dropped over beats Beats that are hard, beats that are funky It could get you hooked like a crackhead junkie What you gotta do to is know that the Tribe is in the sphere The Abstract Poet, prominent like Shakespeare Edgar Allan Poe, it don't stop (uh!) "Time is running out on black power Africans today And whites blacks and reporters at night Everytime you see them? with their tongues hangin out Time is running and past and passing and running Running and past and passing and running (excursions)"

Do you know the importance of a skypager? Those who don't believe, see you're laid behind Got our skypagers on all the time Hurry up and get yours, 'cause I got mine Especially if you do shows, they come in fine If you're with a G, and you're sippin' wine Eatin' cacciatore with a twist of lime Gotta meet your lover at a quarter to nine Joint by base, then you get your high If you get your high, then mine is next The 'S' in skypager really stands for sex Beeper's goin' off like Don Trump gets checks Keep my bases loaded like the New York Mets At times, I miss the pager, so you don't get vex Havin' bad days like a voodoo hex Conceptually, a pager is so complex That I'll be standin' on the verge, ready to flex (Welcome, we-, we-, welcome to the new skypager) (We-, welcome to the new skypager) (Welcome to the new skypager, the new skypager) (Enter a telephone number or other numeric message) Uh, so funky Uh, so funky Uh, so funky Uh, so funky The batteries I use are called Duracell They last for three weeks, so they do me well Don't be goin' through no phases, my joint stays on 24/7, from dusk till dawn If you're in Costa Rica on a sunlit beach You greed for the Phifer, I can be reached A number of importance, I just put it on lock You leave code '69', that means you want some People tend to think that a pager's foul Well it kinda is, 'cause it makes me scowl But it really hurts when you're on the prowl Brothers know it hurts when you're on the prowl Grabbin' on my joint 'cause I'm an eager owl Get paged by a G or a business pal My shit is overflowin', they won't allow Another page, so I'll just end this now (Message sent. Thank you for calling skypager)

[Q-Tip] Babies babble on, they lookin for excuses Game for the buzzer who kicked it to the losers Lame as a brain, could be, golly gee If you see a shrink he'll charge you a fee If you see me ya see the fee is nothing [Fee will be for patience] all that's no fronting What is a party if it doesn't really rock? What is a poet? All balls, no cock What is a war if it doesn't have a general? What's channel nine if it doesn't have Arsenio? What is life if you don't have fun? What is a what if you ain't got a gun? What's Ali without Shaheed Muhammad? Nothing. [Calpekur] makes you vomit What is a Quest if the players ain't willing? What is a pence if you don't have a shilling? Excuse me if I'm chillin, hey what, say what What's a fat man without food in his gut? What's a child birth, without the umbilical? What's United Parcel, without the deliverer? What's momma-san, without poppa-san? What's martial arts without Daniel-San? What's Rasheed without Tonya, Tamika? What's orange juice and Doug E. Doug without Shaniqua? Not a not a not a, not a damn thing What's Duke Ellington without that swing? What's Alex Haley if it doesn't have roots? What's a weekend if you ain't knockin boots? What's a black nation, without black unity? What is a child who doesn't know pubery? What is my label when I exit boom status? What's menage-a-tois, or, that is What is sex when you have three people? What are laws if they ain't fair and equal? What's Clark Kent without a telephone booth? What is a liquor if it ain't 80 proof? What are the youth if they ain't rebellin? What's Raplh Cramden, if he ain't yellin At Ed Norton, what is coke snortin? What is position if there is no contortin? What is hip-hop if it doesn't have violence? Chill for a minute, Doug E. Fresh said silence *Four second pause* What is a glock if you don't have a clip? What's a lollipop without the Good Ship? What's S&M if you don't have chains? What's a con artist if he doesn't have brains? What's America without greed and glamour? What's an MC if he doesn't have stamina? What's music fractured without Mr. Walt? What's Trugoy without a phrase called torte? What's Kris Lighty if he wasn't such a baby? What is a woman if she didn't say maybe? Baby laid down, I removed the frown What would be my penal cord if it wasn't brown? What is a paper without a president? What is a compound without a element? What is a jam if you don't spike the punch? Was it Bruce Lee if you don't like brunch? Oooh ooh, it's like that you keep goin Freak freak y'all cause you know that we showin What to go what to go what to go what to go what To go what to go what to go what to go

1988 Senior Year at Garvey High Where all the guys were corny but the girls were mad fly Lounging with the Tipster, cooling with Sha Scoping out the honeys—they know who they are I was the b-ball playing, fly rhyme saying Fly girl getting but never was I sweating Cause when it came to honeys I would go on a stroll Until I met my match—her name was Flo Yeah, I messed around with the one called Flo All the troopers 'round the way used to call her a ho But deep down in my heart I knew that Flo was good to go Cause I thought it was me like Bell Biv Devoe But little did I know that she was playing with my mind The only thing I learned is good girls are hard to find I feel like Heavy D I need somebody for me Not someone whose mind is blank And trying to juice me for my banks Swinging with my main man Lucky behind my back What type of crap is that—yo, how's about a smack? Word life, I can't front, thought I was all that But now it seems, I've met my match I was a stone cold lover, you couldn't tell me jack Settling down with one girl, wasn't trying to hear that I had Tonya, Tamika, Sharon, Karen, Tina, Stacy, Julie, Tracy Used to love 'em, leave 'em, skeeze 'em, tease 'em Find 'em, lose 'em - also abuse 'em My whole attitude was new day, next hon And believe it or not, they all got done Well here comes Flo, with the crazy whip appeal And I'm all true man, like Alexander O'Neal Is this really love, then again how would I know After all this time trying to be a Super Ho She finally played me, but yo I'd find another Cause I got the crazy game and yo, I'm smooth like butter It's like Butter, it's like butter baby It's like Butter, it's like butter baby It's like Butter, it's like butter baby It's like Butter, it's like butter baby It's like Butter, it's like butter baby It's like Butter, like the butter baby Not no Parkay, not no margarine, Strickly butter baby, strictly butter baby I remember when girls were goodie two shoes but now they turned to freaks All of a sudden ("We love you Phife") Ease off ho, my name's Malik Phife this, Phife that, where you going, where you at These girls don't know me from jack, yet I feel like the Mack You didn't want me then, so yo hon, don't want me now Here, Here - take the towel, wipe off your brow And take the contact out your eye, you're far from looking fly You get an E for effort, and T for nice try Now tell me what's the reason, for dying your hair Slum village gold still dangling in your ear You barely have a neck but still sporting a rope Four-finger ring just so Phife can scope You looked in the mirror, didn't know what to do Yesterday your eyes were brown but today they are blue Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true And if you really liked yourself then you would try and be you If your hair and eyes were real, I wouldn't have dissed ya But since it was bought, I had to dismiss ya But if you can't achieve it, then why not try and weave it If you can't extend it then you might as well suspend it If you can't braid it, best thing to do is fade it I asked who did your hair and you tell me Diane made it If you were you and just you, talk to you, maybe But I can't stand, no bionic lady Trying hard to look fly, but yo, you're looking dumber If I wanted someone like you I would've swung with Jaime Sommers You wanna be treated right, see Father MC Or check Ralph Tresvant, for sensitivity Cause I am not the one, I got more game than Parker Brothers Phife Dog is on the mic and I'm smooth like butter