(Introduction)
Barry O
I think that the potential for them to deliver a message
Of extraordinary power that gets people thinking
The thing about Hip Hop today is
It's smart, it's insightful
The way that they communicate a complex message in a very short space
Is remarkable
(Verse 1)
Lurkel Fresh
We use this creativity to express ourselves and feel the beat
But we have all this negativity tryna drop us to our feet
Isn't hip-hop an extended version of poetry?
Roses are red, violets are blue. critique elsewhere man fu*k YOU
Hip Hop is the sh** I vibe to, I ride to, I listen to when I dive INto
And you trying to take this from me, shame me
Go kick rocks
While I vibe to my boom box
I don't usually go on this tip
But f** it
I am about to let it rip
Give you a piece of my mind
While I let these lyrics unwind
I keep it real and 100 everydamn time
I am more authentic than ever can be
From the 206 born and raised yea that's me
Just another black man tryna chase these dreams
And race ain't gunna stop me from making them into realities
Man I had enough tampering with this I'm out
That's why Hip-hop is
(Chorus)
Lauryn Hill
There for me, there for me (x2)
(Verse 2)
Zachronius
Now If I was hip hop, I would say
Why does everybody gotta put the blame on me
Can they not see? This is what they made it be
It didn't start out takings d**, and preaching violence
It's not rap, it's them, I won't be silenced
I'm not gonna take this sh** no more
There's no reason for, all this hate
Can't you see it just escalates, while you perpetuate
Everything that's wrong, in every goddamn song
I'm no expert
But I now know a thing or two
And I say to you
That unlike they make it sound
There's a lot of blame to go around
Hip-hop is not one-dimensional
For me it's straight suspenseful
As a kid rap had my back
When life was on the attack
It was my outlet, so I might get
A little sentimental, but when I felt all, was done and gone
I'd listen to a song, and nothing was wrong
Cuz it put me in the zone, coulda been sitting on a throne
Wouldn't have felt any better, so I let 'er
Fill my mind And maybe some of the time
What I heard wasn't all that great
For someone too young to contemplate
What it all meant, but I'll be damned if I spent
My time listening to crap, cuz even now when I hear that rap
It's take me back, to a better time
That's the power of a rhyme
The reason why
Hip-Hop is…
(Chorus)
Lauryn
There for me, there for me (x2)
(Verse 3)
Kevonté McFly
You ever want somethin so bad
You would take what the next man had?
My stomach be the reason to criss-cross these n***as like plaid
[JUMP]
Lupe said, “life ain't easy, when n***as gotta eat that's when sh** get greasy”
But life ain't Cool
And I am cow 3 stomachs to feed and 0 dads around
A scholar feindin for a degree to make mama proud
Through da insubstantial circumstances, get a witness now?!
Mama filed lil brutha on my Nana taxes
Sister idolizing the plastic: Barbies, kens and bratzes
Weed and therapy remind me of The Wackness
First time they pa**ed me the tree, n***a I pa**ed it
Then they laughed, peer pressure I got past it
-Kevonté McFly my laugh lasted
You dumb ba*tards. Now get ya a** kicked:
Cuz I'm jus cruising casually
Relaxin rather factually
Actually, jus take a seat
Cuz I jus feel like practicing
-Stop. Pa** the tree
Ok, back to she-
Pseudo-rap is sad to me
n***as get big heads and then
They praised for spittin “cla**ically”
Yo rhymes is cla**ic trash, believe
That yo mind is young like Sesame St
Wu Tang Stain: Hip Hop is FOREVER…
(Chorus)
Lauryn
There for me, there for me (x4)
Ali P
How do you explain spending billions on NASA
When in America parents can't even afford pampers
For the babies who have to grow up on dilapidated campuses
Government funded programs
That pacify and abandon sh**
But seriously what would rap be
It weren't for the money
Psyche
More like what if it weren't for the kids in the street livin hungry
With nothin in their tummy's and nuthin for a mummy
That sh** ain't even funny
Oh man, this beat deserves hennessy
A bad b**h and a bag of weed
The holy trinity
Oh 'scuse me, the swearin, and these words that I'm saying
But you can't take seriously all the sh** that I be spraying
And relaying
From the record companies, the industry, and the bank that
Be paying me
For all these
Dope-a**-beats and that we be makin
And the fact that we made this sh**
In only one f**in take in
My mothaf**in basement
Speaks to that fact
Man I'm just sayin
That it's quite amazin
While your guns are raisin
Mine are blazin
Yo are you playin?
The game, that is
The one that gets played by kids
Who get discouraged and frustrated with abandonment
And abandon ship
Hit puberty, have a baby abandon it
It so unfortunate
But maybe instead, they go and make a Hip Hop hit
Cause god damn they trying get out of it
All the pain and the struggle
In the city, in the hustle
And bustle of everyday life, always livin in constant trouble
But hell man, some things stay the same
We still wondering how we gon change this rap game
Gangsta-a** rappers don't think twice they so nice
When they writing down they lyrics, makin beats, shootin dice
But here's a piece of advice, work your trade
Remove the hate, don't worry bout gettin paid
Cuz then son, soon you'll have it made
(Chorus)
Lauryn
There for me, There for me(x2)
(Verse 5)
Trims
Man I can't wait
Writing raps for cla** that should be light weight
Thinking ill just skate cause im steady on the grind
Ears between headphones gettin deep between the lines
What else besides hip hop- would be exactly on my mind?
But this right here is for the love, for the vibe
The good life, kids, wife and hope by my side
I hear all your productions and your practiced rhymes
But what checks are you writing, if you're only getting signed?
Please …
Remember first that I'm a fan
Knowin that Im growin from a boy to man
By flowin with this beat and the pen in my hand
Got me feelin casey veggies have me singing, "aw man..."
If we all don't like the wagon, why we trying to join the band?
Some call me Trims cause that sh** is name brand
Some would say insane, no brain, or plain bland
What im really tryin to say is yo: I understand
And Im sorry I can't offer the solution or a plan
But I've been listenin for the lessons like getting lectured by your gram
And my nose in these books help me learn about the set up
Done repeating history, 2pac said it man I'm "fed up”
So I know I'm not the first, been a student to this game
Always sitting front row, like whoa, is he a lame?
I'm not, but I'm not a rapper either f** the fame
If it means I'm saying dumb sh** never worryin bout the stains
Cause clearly I'm not new at this
These rhymes weren't just fortuitous
You see that I'm invested but considered being through with this
So stop the wishin, and help the mission
To spread these good words and to stop dismissing
This art as bein violent In nature and tradition
Critics pointin fingers forgot to ask why they were spittin
(Outro)
And Its sad, But I'd have
Kevo spit my verse if it meant you'd really listen
But I feel you in my soul
And there's nothing that compares for me
I know its you hip hop, your always there for me