I lived in Detroit and I lived in LA In Houston and Boston and San Jose I slept in the Hilton, I slept on the curb I lived in the cities and in the suburbs I was born in the Bronx 19 years ago My mother was a roadie for an acid rock show My old man went to 'Nam, I never saw him alive And my mother started living with a guy named Clive Clive was a con that was on the lamb But Clive could cut and scratch and we used to jam And so at 9 years I was already rappin' But that ain't nothin', let me tell you what happened We jammed all day and we jammed all night But the noise from the crowd put the neighbors uptight They showed Clive's picture on the news one day The building super called the cops, they took old Clive away But I made every jam and I just wouldn't stop 'Cause I knew I could make my way right to the top I had a friend at school, his name was Fred Fred was on d** and now Fred is dead All the guys at school liked Brenda and Sue They had so many friends, they didn't know what to do It seems every night they all got laid Now them and their friends, they all got AIDS Meanwhile I'd draw a crowd wherever I'd be To everyone in my school I was the number 1 MC In the bathrooms and the halls and out in the street We'd rap and jam wherever we'd meet When I was fourteen my mother moved in with a banker Fred had plenty of money but Fred was a wa*ker He had sweaty palms and a nervous glance And when my mother was away he tried to get into my pants They had the [?] of the night when I was out rappin' But that ain't nothin', let me tell you what happened My mother one day was taking a nap And Fred said "Hey, why don't you come sit on my lap?" I said "I don't do it with wa*kers", he said "Gimme a chance" A wa*ker is a jerk whose got his brains in his pants My mother saw the light on one fateful day When Fred was caught in a raid where wa*kers pay to play They caught him in flagrento at the Bristol hotel If you don't know where that's at you have to ask LL Meanwhile they were comin' from miles around Diggin' my jam and gettin' down From number one in the state to number one in the nation The deffest the baddest, number one of creation