[Intro Scratches: DJ Ruxta] [Verse 1: Maddie] I Am, the war, the common enemy The one you'll see if you look deep into your destiny I Am, all the love and all the hate The disaster that strikes each time you tempt fate I Am, the voice of the layman The instrumental from the lies of the Mayans I Am, the power of the people The voice of the talk, the action, the sequel Put me on a deadly trip When I be up to savage this You're the definition of what garbage is I make the earth shake Every time my voice shatters So how the f** can the lyrics don't matter? You're the dirt in the culture, I'm a vandal MC If the words don't matter then you are not real to me You're the dirt in the culture, I'm a vandal MC If the words don't matter then you are not real to me! [Chorus: Young, Maddie, DJ Ruxta] All the poets and MCs Rise above the greatness, come on! All the DJs and B-boys Rise above the greatness, come on! All the writers tagging the streets Rise above the greatness, come on! And all of ya'll that's keeping it real Rise above the greatness, come on! [Verse 2: Young] I Am, the riot, the chaos The subject of ignorance the type you would stay off I Am, the criminal, the crook The soldier, the son, the Gentlemen's Coup I Am, the rise and fall The people with the power and the money to rule them all I Am, the kept and the cryptic The anti-socialite, the lost hope, the misfit! I speak from the view point of no nation, no flag In a known world where no man and no one can correct I meditate at the point where the sun docks Immortalize the culture each time my bars drop This is poetry, wordplay your highness I doubt you'll make it you ever want to try this This is poetry, wordplay your highness I doubt you'll make it you ever want to try this... You wanna try this..? x 4 [Chorus: Young, Maddie, DJ Ruxta] All the poets and MCs Rise above the greatness, come on! All the DJs and B-boys Rise above the greatness, come on! All the writers tagging the streets Rise above the greatness, come on! And all of ya'll that's keeping it real Rise above the greatness, come on! [Verse 3: Young & Maddie] I Am, the artist, the vandal The light of a purist, the fire from a candle I Am, the man, the machine The island of lost hopes, I am the dream I Am, the avant garde, the familiar The novelty from the hands of a sculptor I Am, the lightning bolt, the dark clouds The next of kin, that you chose to do without, what! [Outro Chorus: Young, Maddie, DJ Ruxta] Rise above the greatness of the sound/ The real hip-hop is buried underground x 4