Definition

Lord, Lord have mercy

All nice and decent crew, follow me now, we say

Say, Hi-Tek, yes, you're rulin' hip-hop

Say, J. Rawls, yes, you're rulin' hip-hop

Redefinition, say, you're rulin' 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, forecast and aftermath of it

Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit

Me and Kweli close like Bethlehem and Nazareth

After this, you be pressin' rewind on top your master disk

Shinin' like an asterisk for all those that be gatherin'

Connectin' like a roundhouse from the townhouse to the tenements

'Cause all my Brooklyn residents, known as heavy regiments

Don't believe, here the evidence—where Brooklyn? (Whoa)

See that? Bound to take it all, kid, believe that

From where they sell they tree at, to where the police be at

Talib Kweli, e-Kweli-ty, yo, tell 'em 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 shorthand 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 and 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 grade 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 on RCA, get carted away with body parts and trays

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, Y-O

I said, one, two, three

It's kind of dangerous to be a MC

They shot 2Pac and Biggie

Too much violence in hip-hop, Y-O

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, then what is we discussin'?

When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows

Strivin' for perfection ever since I was a snot-nose

Colossal! True, original b-boy apostle

Standin' on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo

You think you the shit? Somebody in the win's'll force you to quit

It could be your crew or clique 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 equality

People follow me, and other cats they hear 'em 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 the believers

In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot precede us

In the jungle with the leaders, we them lions, you the cheetahs

Our cypher will complete us as 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, think it over, 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, Y-O

I said, one, two, three

It's kind of dangerous to be a MC

They shot 2Pac and Biggie

Hold your head when the beat drop, Y-O