The Roots Album

[40 seconds of instrumental to start]

[Black Thought]
Get 'em up high - okay, yeah

[Chorus]
Go all-star, and get down for yours
To the ladies in the house, be proud of yours
You got the, Roots crew with the sound of course
High, lift 'em up high, okay

[Black Thought]
When that adrenaline get in they system
It get 'em out on a quest for stardom, could be a motherfuckin problem
in Philly, Cincinatti, Los Angeles or Harlem
Kids call theyself killers let they hammers do the talkin
Don't even know the meaning of life, ain't seen a thing
and you dream of floodin the scenery with, llello and greenery
But for now, you stickin her with the heavy machinery
Wonder how, you lift it up, be only 17
And like e'rybody he wanna shine, young brothers on the grind
Holdin somethin in they spine, "Bowling for Columbine"
Stressin to me how it's all about a dollar sign
Dig the way you out of line, out of sight and out of mind
Up against the clock and damn near out of time
"The Tipping Point" has arrived, and that's the bottom line
To all my peoples that's stars, it's our time to shine
Let's get 'em up high, c'mon

[Chorus] - 2X

[Black Thought]
Yo, ain't it strange how the newspapers play with the language
I'm deprogrammin y'all with uncut slang shit
I know some peoples in the party armed and dangerous
Twist some cool champagne, I'm goin through changes
A grown-ass man, I done paid my dues
Learn the rules lil' homey, you could be one too
Niggaz know, ain't no tellin what he gon' do
But recognize young bruh, I'ma do it for you
You know why? We all stars and we highly evolved
Hip-Hop, it's not pop like Kylie Minogue
If it bang, them gettin-busy brothers probably involved
In the game, where e'rybody got a shottie to draw
I guess you probably a thug, you boss ballin or what?
I can't call it man, I got the ladies fallin in love
Cause handsome, intelligent, tough - I'm all the above
I know you knew it it's the movement
Groove to it while you doin it up

[Chorus] - 2X w/ minor variations

[Black Thought]
Introducin the band you gotta see to believe
He got the mic in his hand, so keep the heat up your sleeve
It's Black Thought, he rockin sharp so the speakers'll bleed
I run a triathalon, you wouldn't see me fatigued
I'm a star, and maybe y'all should cop somethin to be
Or trade some of y'all equipment in for somethin you need
Cause it's a, lot of bullshit floodin the scene
Where e'rybody's a star, and hot shit is few and far between
We lose the grip of what, garbage mean
Shorties wanna be theyself, I know it's hard to be
Don't wanna do the Ruben Studdard and come off less threatenin
Keepin it real'll kill you if you end up lettin it
Ain't it blowin your mind how the game all in line
Now the best, to the rest, we fin' to end up settin it
I'd tell you that I was a veteran but it's evident
You act like you want it, you gon' end up gettin it

[Chorus] - 3X w/ minor variations

"Everybody is a star.."

[Chorus: sung 2X]
I don't care, as long as the bassline's pumpin
The drumline bangin away
Make one move and I'll blow you away
One false move and I'll blow you away

[Black Thought]
Yo - I don't really know but somebody said
that the O.G. flow, it could fuck witcha head
And the po-lice know that the green black and red
too strong to con-trol, they study what I said
Dig it - my name is 'Riq, and when I'm on the mic
I'm known to spit somethin that these MC's hate
I couldn't care less what you feel what you say
Cause I gotta put it to you in my own special way - I'm a MONSTER!
You know I'm certified sick
I came from the corner where nobody got shit
Took the cards I was dealt, turned it into hot spit
Now I'm not only a passenger, I'm in the cockpit
Been a long time comin, I was caught in the scramble
of cats, tryin to do the same thing that they man do
Eagles born to fly, real is made to ramble
"A Dangerous Mind," I'm a prime example

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
Superfans wanna run up on me sparkin the ground up
You need to fall back, could be NARC's around us
You in a hot area for marchin powder
If you holdin chowder, just walk without it
Them real crook brothers don't talk about it
They never make a move 'til they thought shit out kid
I knew a lot of men who did bids for mayhem
They made a lot of money, they money never made them
The game of survival is filled with rivals
Knives and fo'-five slugs flyin in spirals
The wicked is diseased and it ain't all viral
Could be greed and gluttony bubblin inside you
Dawg, follow your pride, the rhythm'll guide you
Yo, follow them guys, them niggaz'll rob you
And have you up in somethin that dont' really involve you
But you don't give a fuck you wanna pump the volume, I know

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
Yo, aiyyo the waistline thumpin, the face kinda jumpin the game
Lookin sweeter than a bassline bumpin
Don't come 'round me sparks and waste time frontin
Them trick ass marks'll get the eight-five dumpin
It ain't really bout nothin - Philly just love cuttin
They shut shit down before the law start shuttin
Get your route right cousin - be out nightclubbin relaxed
And wanna get lights out tonight brother, perhaps
It's the percussion that keeps shit, kinetic
For some it ain't as fame, more sweet the street credit
Some cats that play dirty didn't live, to regret it
But move to the music he can live through the record
I'm a Philly boss player, a dope rhyme sayer
It's Black Ink back gettin cake by the layer
by the stack, comin at us, get your weight right yeah
If not, you makin a mistake right there, f'real

[Verse 1 - Black Thought]
Yeah! That all mighty amazing, ill, highly contagious
Kamikaze south splash like it shot from a gauge
Until your body sound clash
Head of the Class, Magna Cum Laude
Beats bring the beast out me, flagrant - foul rowdy
Reed pipe but deed tight, disposition keep on flipping
Keep em playing they position
Keep making the people listen what I spin
Put em out on a limb
Got tears, got blood, got sweat, leaking out of the pen
Y'all fake niggas not setting a trend
We never listen to them
It's like trying to take a piss in the wind
My home team doing visitors in, yo don't test em
They all standing close to the edge, so don't stress em
Now who the type built to last?
It's no question, the Master!
Villain in Black wit no stets in my sound
Hitting you hard from - every direction
Your head and shoulder, area your midsection dawg!

[Chorus]
Yeah.....
Give it here, and don't say nuthin
Just give it here, and don't say nuthin
.....Cut the check
Give it here, and don't say nuthin
Nigga, give it here, and don't say nuthin

[Verse 2 - Black Thought]
Yeah, Illadel! Home of the original gun clappers
Out on the wrong corner your shit'll get spun backwards
You got the fool wanting the rules, enter at risk
Or your own nana'll keep a gat under the matress
Shorties running reckless from Philly to Texas
Suprising what niggas willing to do to get a neckless
Some emotions felt better left unexpressed at times
Niggas' crime record longer than a guest list
Yes, I done seen things you wouldn't believe
Seen people reach levels thought they'd never achieve
Silhouettes waiting in the wings ready to D
Thirst decise or need at least a buck to breathe
C'mon! Stick up kids, they be out to tax
Most times they be sticking you without the gats
I'll still be on the grind when it all collapse
And if it's my worst bar then I'm a take it right back nigga

[Chorus]

[Verse 3 - Black Thought]
Yeah, it ain't nothin like I rush I get, in front of the band
On stage wit the planet in the palm of my hand
When a brother transform, from aynonomous man
To the force, crush whoever might of thought I was playin
I'ma flame some, sentence the shit, the cold twist to slang
Thicker than big boy baby, mom, sister pain
Beyond measure, relaxed under pressure
You see the master piece, but to me it's unperfected
Give it here Geffen Records, I'm off the handle
Cut the check, and yo it better be as heavy as anvil
Next joint comin, all bets is cancelled
Nigga black ink, red was a G finacial
We finna have the whole industry at a stand still
See me put the system on lock like can pill
So get wit them endorsements, and call reinforcements
Cause my click come a full sizeable portions

Yeah it would be cool it could be too
Stop Running round in circles off of what we fuel
Living a lie eventually believing it's true
A lot of people here for us one could be you
It's outrageous and they just ain't nothing
But save us an ocean of brown fists in various flavors
A favor for a favor man, this is the majors
Tell me what you would do with no phone or pagers
No Kinko's, no Fed Ex and no ATM's
What you gone do when the poliece state vegin
Well it already began but I guess it depends on what's really going on
what's happening, huh
Military target practicing
They finna write another patriot act again
The days is short the nights is long
The fight goes on
The pistol and the pipes are drawn

[Hook:]
The middle of the night
We fight like barbarians
In sight of the former might
You might think that it's a waste
Of our time
And I think you would be right
Till he drop that rhyme
[Repeat]

And some might say that it's a waste of time
Cause ain't no amount of dancing finna break the bondage
We go to war and transcend space and time
When every record ain't a record just to shake behinds
You know the stakes is high we in the face of drama
That's why we can't shake it or escape the problem
Its like a game of roulette the barrel revolving
They only wanna see us occupying a coffin
Mothers crying too often from they lost child leaving
From trying to get over, get under, get even
Get inside getting, getting dumped, getting greedy
We got to get it right
It ain't about to be easy
You better pull you goggles up, it's about to get greasy
Believe it's on as long as we can still speak freely
Pages of my life would make it hard to read me
I know my people hearing me, holler it you hear me

[Black Thought]
Bass for your face, highs for your eyes
Don't blink, Black Ink has arrived, all rise
Rudebwoys keep dem thing at your side, be alright
Muh'fuckers Philly we up in here, we all live
I'm puffin this Cohiba mami coolin her heels
All she ever seem to do is play it cool f'real
She be pushin, pop vessel, and her shoes is ill
But her hand, keep slippin on the woodgrain wheel
But it's cool, we never slippin when there's moves to make
Especially when what we talkin ain't ya usual cake
I pump bass for y'all bathin apes, to get charged
Nah, I'm not a dealer, I'm a poet at large
We in the wind with the roof back, lettin the breeze hit us
The bathrobe on with sweatpants and slippers
Comin to pay a visit to whoever on the hitlist
Some of y'all been tryin for years, you'll never get this fool

Check it out (stay cool) stay cool daddy (stay cool)
Stay cool ma (hey, hey) c'mon
(Stay cool motherfuckers y'all know the rules)
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)
There it is (Yeah hah hah, stay coooool)

[Black Thought]
Hip-Hop my main bitch, I got a few on the side
The game stitched y'all I'm doin my job
Go up against enormous odds
Wouldn't break a sweat, money make her bet
Funny son you threat, well I ain't shakin yet
Twenty-fo'/sev' chillin, tougher than penicillin
From the block where the crooked cops killin like a villain
Children, in the hood gettin rocked by they buildings
And brothers, 'cross the board gettin knocked by the millions
The stress, got me ignitin the potent marijuana leaf
Tryin to play it cooler than a polar bear colony
You feel the music know I'm over there probably
Pimpin on the same system that forever shorted me
I got the soul of a young Sam Cooke when I spit
It make you wanna make a new dance up
It's all to the good shorty 'gwan do that stuff
It's not another sound system rockin steady as us
And it's cool

(Stay cool) yeah (stay cool) stay cool ha
(Hey, hey) check it out, and just
(Stay cool motherfuckers y'all know the rules) yeah
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)
(Yeah hah hah, stay coooool)

[Black Thought]
Yeah, when I'm crusin in my vehicle, the chase harass me
They never ride past me, they really comin at me right
They wanna know where the drugs guns and cash be
Probably wanna get me to run, so they can blast me
Just, blast me in your box, play my shit
I know it's crowded at the top, cause I'm on the tip
And that's as high up at the top, as a brother could get
And how I do it make a lot of muh'fuckers upset
But it's fine, re-gizzlin I'm back for mine
In case y'all gettin tired of the same ol' shine
And I'm calm, calculated and perfectly aligned
The way I'm operatin what is a surgery of rhyme
It's not a thang when I lower the gradient lens frames
I'm cooler than Clyde Stubblefield, drummer for James
Hip-Hop is out of Hustleville, comin for change
I exercise 'til a muscle build, breakin the chains
And I'm cool

(Stay cool) (stay cool) (hey, hey)
(Stay cool motherfuckers y'all know the rules)
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)

[Black Thought]
Uh huh
uh

And it weights a ton
'riq geez motherfuckers I'm a son of a gun
Black master of any trade under the sun
Talk sharp like a razor blade under the tongue
clear my path and come get your captain hung
Trying to breath like black'll collapse your lungs
Young chump you could choke off the web I spun
I done cleared 'em out from the threat I brung
You done heard about what set I'm from
My nigga, word-a-mouth little rule-a-thumb
Y'all better bow down when the ruler come
I'm a real hood nigga not a hood-a-lum
The way Thought put it down be confusin' some of y'all
cats can't walk while chewin' your gum 'n all
With a keyboard got do with a drum 'n all
School 'em on stage like I'm doin' a seminar
Professional type, I'm adjusting my mic
Go to war kid I'll give you any weapon you like
Give you something to run from
, bust off your dum-dum
Stop kid, that hot shit you know where it come from
It's philly world-wide phenomenom
And reinforcin' that shit is my 9-to-5
And when I finish making you recognize
I'm getin' at a couple civilized women that's tryin' to ride
You were waitin' on the raw to come off the oil
You wanna get the bitches up off the wall
Just to see you smile and enjoy yourself
To keep you in health, this for all of y'all
I'm quick on the draw like Black McGraw
And I can't tell what y'all cats rappin' for

My name 'riq geez and I'm back for more
To get more chips than the corner store
with a portrait of Malcom X on the door
while I'm eatin' MCs like a carnivore
Matter fact, ease back 'fore you get harmed
Ring the, warning horn when I'm gon' perform
The first nigga that move, or disturb the goove
I'm a have y'all flicks on the evening news
Play y'all part - get on y'all P's and Q's
And when y'all think Thought, be prepared to lose
Bring money to spend and somebody to lend
And some worthwhile money not twenties and tens
Get took for your tuck right in front of your 'hens
Who coulda help you nigga, not none of ya friends
Because, I put a black fist under ya chin
Have your physical remains found under the pen
If I'm coming up in the place, I'm coming to win
Wasn't in it for a minute, now I'm dumbin' again

'riq geez ock, y'all can chat what y'all please
Receive what I'm gonna give back to y'all please
'cuz y'all don't really wanna get clapped with all these
My man, you can take y'all strap when y'all leave
You see the squad come in the place, they all freeze
Ice cold, with his mellow cool breeze
MCs, never showed loyalty yet
Kool Herc ain't never get a royalty check
I do work, no question, and bomb your set
I'm calm collect, sharp like my name Gillette
RIP my man Gillette
Until I touch the mic, y'all people ain't seen danger yet
I'm a decorated vet, I regulate and wreck
Never hesitated yet, I'm gettin' heavy weighted checks
If you would dare ask if I'm dedicated - yes
I spit, live rounds that would penetrate a vest
Nigga, take ya seats I'm a demonstrate a test
How to freak the beats, so gangsta fresh
And it thump, from the east coast to Bangladesh
Big bank, willy gank smoke the thing to death
But hold tight, cuz it's not over yet
I don't even feel like I'm not sober yet
And it ring like shots in the projects new year's eve
And it ain't even October yet
I'm a big bounty hunter like Boba Fett
Y'all more shell shocked then a soldier get
If the prize in my sights then I'm goin' for this
Whoo whoo 'riq geez be the ultimate
I'm the corporate, give me the bulk of this
'riq set it on the magnetic ultra tip
Get down how you 'posed to get
I got nothing to lose, I'm a killer with no regrets
I'm like young LL, cuz I'm hard as hell
Makin' niggaz screw face like Gargamel
Now I'm all out on my own like Patty LaBelle
Put the pimp game down on your mademoiselle

Keep the beat goin'

Hold your flix, I'm not for the photo op's
It's Black, code name Yaphet Kotto ock
My twist like a ratchet in an auto shop
Since granddaddy old Desoto stopped and he got the Caddie
I been gladly servin, any y'all cats wanna act determined
Spit pesticides for rats and vermin
Seem like none of y'all chumps is learning
Y'all hopeless, and I'm a little better than dope is
Far from a brand new kid to show biz
Tryna hold on, maintain my focus
Coming out a room with a could of smoke
Smokers rolling with the punches
I survive and rock
Cause I keep the crowd alive
And the texture of my voice
Is course and kind of hoarse and cut
Like I'm throwing a thousand knives

[Hook:]
Party people gather round what we have here is a brand new sound
Reach for my waist you hit the ground
You better duck when that awful sound goes
Boom
Thats what's happenin in the parking lot
Thats whats happenin on stage

[Repeat Hook]

The man at hand that rule the school
And reach and teach the blind and find a way from A to Z
And be the most to boast I'm load and proud
The game and reign that remain
The heat is on so feel the fire come off the empire or the
More higher level of depth one step beyond dope
To suckers all scope and hope to cop a note
Cause I could never let em on top of me
I play em out like a game of Monopoly
Let it speed around the board like an astro
And send them to jail for tryna pass go
Shaking them up
Breaking them up
Taking no stuff
But it still ain't loud enough
So quest love let the fire roast
So I can flow and we can kill the whole show cause

[Repeat hook]

I'm live
Design a finer rhyme that's right on time
One step beynd and not behind the line
That seperates thought from divine
You can take it as a caution or a warning sign
Look for antonyms
Words I'm sending em
Homonyms, synonyms good like M&M's
You know the time when it's Riq Gees slicing
I turn a Mic's last name into Tyson
My brain like a factory constantly creating
Materials stitch by stitch for decoration
My lyrics one fabric the beat is a lining
My passion of rhyming is fashion designing
Now it get sorted cause people wanna sport it ya bought it
If you didn't then you couldn't afford it
Poetry full of surprises it's like a game show
And my brain go
I do my thing yo

[Hook:]
Somebody's gotta be there when it gets ugly
Somebody's gotta be there when it gets bloody
Somebody's gotta get their hands dirty
Yo, it's a fucked up job but somebody's gotta do it
Somebody's gotta come up with a plan
And be there when the shit hits the fan
I hope ya'll out there understand
Look man it's a fucked up job, but somebody's gotta do it

[Riq Gees:]
Yeah ya'll, ideal for a lyrical perfectionist
Raw, that's what every soldier in my collective is
Thought, control level is that of a gold medalist
My level headedness make it come off so effortless
The rebel is a opposite extreme of devilish
Back setting it with the answer to your deficit
My track record is hot shit, consecutive
Smug, I got game just like a record executive
A kiss to the feminine girls loving a gentlemen
A genius slash gangsta with a skill for swindling
Bet on Black
Bet these cats that's all gelatin
Will fall back spittin' them raps that's unintelligent
Raps that cap, rabid rattlin' out the gattlin'
Crippling rhymes whistlin' past, blow you back in
Smellin' your blood now I'm huntin'
Blowin' your front in for frontin' what up cousin?
Oh, now it's nothin'
Yo, you can't go beyond a point of no returning
I flip like my name Turner
That's for certain nigga, Ted Turner, Nat Turner, nigga Ike Turner
The raw sojourner for truth
The mic burner

[Repeat Hook]

[Jean Grae:]
Mic malevolence defies violence I inherited
Others just rentin' it like rooms at the Sheraton
I gotta jones like Vanessa in the devil in-
And y'all cold like a show in the Netherlands
Cold shoulders and frozen aortic valves -
So I don't form pals - conform to norms - morals different
Gifted - use it to shift shit a mutant shape shifter when I spit it I'm liquid
You could lick a million shots at the character of the body shell
They'll just richochette nigga aura's hard as hell
Before there was ain't hard to tell
The mic's cycle coincided right with mine as well
Since a minor I walked with the spine upstraight
I learned to rhyme to feed the dinner plate
I scraped barrel - even dined up on wine and steaks
Cuz in the bone same marrow that apartheid chased
The narrow margin with the haves and the have nots
Will get smaller as I approach - so watch your stash box
Fox logo if your fave is local
Get bruised till you're the color of the Laker's logo
This is work niggas

[Repeat Hook]

[Mac:]
I made it - ain't nobody believe in me
But this rap game is like selling coke legally
Ain't no innovations - that takes concentration
Nigga's celebrating not knowing the time they wasting
Killin' mics is one of my aesthetics
Rip very live so I'm an entertainer like Cedric
Shit they play on radio's now give me a headache
Can't slow me down I know where I'm headed
The profit on kill if you let it
Nigga's feeling energetic
Wanna rumble - guns will come out
Here come the paramedics
I'm just trying to live like I've Devin
Tired of my people failin'
We all sin - the devil, what di I tell em
Somebody gotta get their hands dirty and shoes muddy
I see things vividly, ya'll vision is blurry
Even if you hate - through my music you gone love
Everybody with me and they was with me when it was ugly

[Black Thought]
Yea we gettin' ready to break y'all it's winner take all
The game is locked we down to the eight ball
The time is now, it ain't nothin' to wait for
I'm a king by blood a soldier by nature
I'm somthin' like a threat to y'all space cadets
'Cause you never met brother nothin' like me yet
So push another slice into your toast and tighten your vests
Cause it's a warrior you seein' here tonight in the flesh
I give you somthin' high voltage double dosage
Runnin' with these vultures givin' me ulcers
Which one of these hustlers bringin' the thunder
Re-gees (refugees?) not another man takin' us under
Nigga please which Philly cat doin' his own thing
Might say black my give you a code name
Round my neck see the microphone hang
Have your lady lips singin' like on soul train
The niggaz that's a problem is minimal margin
The Colonel, Capitan, Lieutenant, General Sergeant
Black, one man army move in on your squadron
You sittin' still you know you a target
You heard you better duck down!

[Black Thought]
Yea we gettin' set to get rid of y'all that's what it's headin' for
The underdog knuckle and brawl with the bigger ?ball?
I spit what your wig absorb sicker than sycamore
I'm creatin' a circumstance that you a victim of
The rebel or the renegade out on the quest
The super black man runnin' wit a S on his chest
And stand for the straight struggle to escape the stress
You think it's sweet tryin' to eat, you ain't taste this yet
So make y'all steps precautious into the darkness
Thoughts cold and heartless makin' me nauseous
Gettin' more remorses for what I done
If the lawyers and courts wonder what I run
You see the liberty is free but just for some
How you a gangster and you scared to bust your gun
For the call, trust your fam' and trust nobody at all
Seein' brothers gettin' struck down

WHY?? [6 x's]

Sky's the limit so you know I'm gonna rise and shine
I gotta do my thing, I'm kinda getting a little tired of all that's hidden
That's the reason I'm a speak my mind, keep from going insane
Now work with it, we in the last innin'
The world keeps spinnin', my peoples steady losin' while the rich keep winnin'
It's like we neva smilin' and the devil steady grinnin'
killin' what we representin'
Even our children and women, 2K4, livin' above and under the law
Young teen joins the marines, says he'll die for the core
Inducted up into the goverment's war as if the land of money and oil
Funny how ain't none of it yours
I can't sleep yo I'm paranoid, it's code orange
It's far from right, I guess that's why it feels so wrong
To see the world get stripped out of every resource
And people pray to Coca-Cola now instead of the gods
What's goin' on?

WHY?? [6 x's]

Keepin' your head above water, hustlin' to survive
Some people chasin' a dream, others just chasin' a high
Some people blind leading the blind, they chasin' a lie
Some people chokin' backs broken barely makin' it by
But still they workin' all they live, they pushin' for the light
Givin' everything they got to stitch them swishes on ya Nike's
Puttin' pockets on our jeans, mining diamonds for them rings
Rewarded with small change and bullets in the brains
And it makes me feel strange everything we take for granted
At times I feel stranded on this planet of mine
Now should I pull the hammer, clap it out, and laugh about it
Or stand up, be counted while I cast my ballot
When the undertaker's busy and the prison's is crowded
People livin' in fear because they vision is clouded
But the sky's the limit, I ain't cryin' you a river
Gotta move me a mountain, I'm a git up and shout it

WHY?? [6 x's]

When I dream it's hounds on my heels gainin' momentum
I'm tired, can't get uninspired or quit runnin'
I can feel they only inches behind, I escape, I survive
Some how I gotta decide how much I want it
Or is anybody listenin' without a pot to piss in
If I disappear I wonder if the world will know I'm missin'
Who my support system, it's not the court system
Gotta letter it said that you're not avoiding prison
People 'neath the microscope 'cause we defining the culture
They smile and insult you like you shinin' their loafers
Them old heads say we need a modern day Moses
When the leaders is posers we needing some soldiers
It's the X generation, The anger is a nature
Got the writing on the wall so clear that I can taste it
Like a kid sniffing glue somewhere trying to escape
Cause we vulnerable and naked
Gotta show 'em we can make it

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]