The Ghost of Hip Hop's Past

歌詞

[Canibus] Wake up, what is the date? 1988 Hip Hop is barely exposed to the emotion of hate I hibernate, rhyming from space My first album ten years late, I tried to take it to a positive place But it was like a communist state, I tried to escape My label shot me in the back as I was climbing the gate I woke up, now I'm awake I found democracy to be fake Hip Hop sucks, who made it this way? I was a teenager when Hip Hop saved the day Paychecks paved the way, not radio play Some artists had knowledge of self, that little bit of honesty helped Followed lyrics, promoted positive guilt So even when you thought the message was negative it promoted positive health It was about the rhymes not wealth It was about our culture not what the culture could sell It was a path to enlightenment, not Hell We amused ourselves and this confused everybody else I memorised 'Rock the Bells' I memorised 'Tales for the Crack Side', I used to rock gazelles EPMD 'You Gots To Chill' Dougie Fresh, Slick Rick, Pete Rock, 'Mistadobalina' was Del Cold Crush Crew, Melle Mel Sugar Hill, Salt-n-Pepa, Sweet Tee pretty as Hell Shanté dimple on her face, pretty as well I used to wanna smell the pale Roxanne's tale Technics 1200, beat it like an SB12 Lord Finesse the punchline king, Heavy D was doing his own thing D.O and McGruff used to hold things Biz Mark's big ass gold chain One day I think I saw the Jungle Brothers dancing on Soul Train Marley Marl, Craig G, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane Kool G Rap put me under his wing On the road to lyricism with Rakim and them, some real lyricists Eric B was sick with the _____ I know I'm tripping, it's bin a minute So many brothers and sisters, it's hard to remember who did it Memories disappear like Houdini My friends disappeared faster than my budget when my producer was greedy *sample*, feed me I've been eating emcees, you still don't believe me _____ wolf, brown teeth, red blood leak from black sheep Whenever the horns blowing gets deep Digging In The Crates for my niggas in the streets Diamond D had the 'Best Kept Secret' for weeks D-Nice said, "Bis, you a beast", Redman said, "Peace" Def Jam said I couldn't compete Killah Priest spit 'Heavy Mental' before 'Heavy Mental' was released Accapella, no instrumental beat My _____ would hang low, no crease Timbs on the feet, Cold Cheeks had a Lex Tom Leek had the MPV, J Rav had the jeep Clark Kent had the Tahoe, Charles bought a 4.6 because of Jay-Z The programme director's name from Hot 97 was Tracy Tragedy Khadafi, Queens' first intelligent Prodigy Probably the first Arab Nazi K-9 Posse chew you up like blue chuck chopped meat MC N-I-N-E This is the way we 'Walk in New York' 'Throw Ya Gunz' in the air if you ready for war Throw your hands in the air if you ready for more If I don't like the way you look, I'ma tear your face off The Undergod, underground lord When it comes to '100 Bars' you niggas know who to ask for I woke up in the morning, on a regular day I knew my nigga K-Solo would be around my way I washed off my Thor hammer, the trigger mechanism lubricate It was time to destroy the place He kept saying if I spit my rhymes on the mic In no time, I would be back in the limelight I said, "Solo, nowadays I don't feel rap Cos it ain't like it used to be, the shit is wack" He said, "No Bis, trust Wolfgang cos I know my shit You already know the verse I spit", wake up