The Roots

[fox69]

"The Dark (Trinity)"
(feat. Dice Raw & Greg Porn)

"The Dark (Trinity)"
(feat. Dice Raw & Greg Porn)



[Verse 1 - Black Thought:]
Mountain high and valley low and river wind and tunnel deep
I have traveled chasing demons screaming all I find I keep
If you don't pay like you weigh alright okay that's fine with me
I'ma just spray my heat and say my piece and lay you down to sleep
Ain't nobody tell you clowns to speak
I'mma AK you down the street
Draw that bump that's built for the riots see how quiet y'all can keep
Ain't no wilding it ain't no problem
It ain't no question it ain't no beef
Cut that check then things are sweet
I'ma go buy some diamond teeth
I'll be damned if my setback gonna help you get back on your feet
No surrender no retreat
Nigga we out here trying to eat
Hashtag diamond dog tag
Money bag, nice swag, pockets need an ice bag
Toe tag, body bag
Niggas lose their lives sad
Rockets in their flight path
Breaking bad, making bad
Choices out here thinking fast
Smoking wet and drinking bad
Soaking wet and sinking fast
Shoot them niggas making cash
Stick them niggas take their stash
The law of gravity meets, the law of averages
Ain't no sense in attempting to civilize savages
Even though I wish I could be spared my embarrassment
I'm a nigga, other niggas pale in comparison
We out in Paris yet but still a nigga perishing
No idea how much time's left, fuck trying to cherish it
A life in times unchecked, now that's American
Inherit the wind, pressure in everything

[Verse 2 - Greg Porn:]
The world ain’t ready for someone like me
And life is sex, stress, drama and I’m hooked on all 3
I’d rather O.D. than be the next O.G
You fronting for a whore that already chose me
One man revolution that’s supportin prostitution
I’m trying pimp the game, where balling don’t mean hooping
And riding don’t mean cruising
It mean keep your bitch-ass moving
If you ain’t built for bruising, redrum ain’t in your blueprint
In a jungle made of concrete, every animal Jumanji
On Eazy-E and PCP, ass-cash or EBT
How you monetize pigeons on a power line
On a road to the riches every dudes a dollar sign
I don’t mind, I don’t mind, long as all the smoke is mine
And the liquor store delivers faster than a Papa Johns
And I heard that def-ass caller money’s on the other line
The last episode of Good Times is my life

[Verse 3 - Dice Raw:]
It's a phrase they say in the streets when the young players meet:
Get rich or die trying
But the funny thing about that phrase to me
Is that these little niggas be lying
Cause don’t nobody wanna die
But everybody trying to get rich though
But the fucked up thing about that
These lil' niggas don’t how to get rich so
I still run with those angels
Man I still peep all those angles
Speaking with guns, sticking in tongues
Talking that Arabic and that Yiddish
Riding them trains, stashing them chains, bangles
Yeah I played all those games, though
My tag on the wall, you niggas look up
You can still see my name yo
How did I end up where I’m at?
It’s kind of hard to explain yo
I remember all i wanted was a gold chain and a Kangol
I remember all i wanted was a gold chain and some Jordans too
Crossed that bitch, then I got that bitch
Now all I want from her’s an abortion
My mind filled with distortion
My eyelids say caution
Yeah I sold crack to get my soul back
They say it’s gonna cost a fortune
And I wonder if Allah take debit?
‘Cause a nigga got real bad credit
If not I ain’t got a whole lot so a nigga like me just can forget it

 

[fox69]

"The Day"
(feat. Blu, Phonte, Patty Crash)

"The Day"
(feat. Blu, Phonte, Patty Crash)



[Chorus: Patty Crash]
When I wake up, I look into the mirror
I can see a clearer, vision
I should start living today
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day
Cause today is gonna be the day, is gonna be the day

[Blu]
Yeah, it's like everyday I wake up, I stare into space and don't say much
Peer in the mirror, feeling dead from the face up
Coffee pots, cigarettes, morning Js, Baileys
Slowing down my day before it picks up the pace
Beats playing since the night before, thinking bout writing songs
Feeling exhausted from times we toured constant
And plus the toxics I sip got me tall
Still tipsy, staring at the city from the spot we call Los Angeles
Every day is like a blank canvas
Carving my initials in the planet like I brand it
Hand picked to live this life we take for granted
like a child with an upright bass, we can't stand it
Smiling through the trouble we face, tryna manage
my way without pumping my brakes and staying stagnant
Cause I can sit on my ass or just imagine
the madness I did on my path and paint the canvas

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
Before I rise and shine like a neon sign
I need the girl of my dreams to give me Einstein
And burn the marijuan' like Buju Banton
is my only bonafide break from these confines
I need a change of scenery like a mind tide
These kids bringing me the noise like the bomb squad
And everybody coming at me from the blindside
I'm tired, it's hard to open up my eyes wide
I listen to some theme music on the iPod
and walk around the crib doing little odd jobs
Checking my breath, take a view from this high rise
Feeling like I'm checking out a game from the sideline
I got to try different things in these trying times
Twenty-ten is different than it was in nine-five
It's come alive time, I picked a fine time
for getting open off life like a fine wine

[Chorus]

[Phonte]
Uh, yeah, Sunday morning, plan my day out
Whole new blueprint, brand new layout
Deep down still don't know if it'll play out
Before the first time, feel like I done found a way out
Skin getting clearer and it feel like I lost weight
Stop and say a prayer for the times I lost faith
Troubles of the world had me in a cross-face
Chicken-wing, sickening, liver so off-base
But now it's like I'm in the last lap of the car chase
and I finally understand my right to choose
My preacher man told me it could always be worse
Even the three-legged dog still got three good legs to lose
So you can stop and refresh the rules
Breathe in, breathe out, let it heal all your exit wounds
Something inside said that's the move
and made it today, I'll restart fresh and new

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Devil"
(performed by Mary Lou Williams)

"The Devil"
(performed by Mary Lou Williams)



The Devil never rest, come day, come dusk, come dawn
You compromise and wind up sold in parts
So don’t it strike you funny when you look him in the eye
The Devil looks a lot like you and I

 

[fox69]

"The Fire"
(feat. John Legend)

"The Fire"
(feat. John Legend)



[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire

[Chorus: John Legend]
There's something in your heart
and it's in your eyes
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn
You don't say good luck
You say don't give up
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn

[Black Thought]
Yeah, and if I'm ever at the crossroads
and start feeling mixed signals like Morse code
My soul start to grow colder than the North Pole
I try to focus on the hole of where the torch goes
In the tradition of these legendary sports pros
As far as I can see, I've made it to the threshold
Lord knows I've waited for this a lifetime
And I'm an icon when I let my light shine
Shine bright as an example of a champion
Taking the advantage, never copping out or cancelling
Burn like a chariot, learn how to carry it
Maverick, always above and beyond average
Fuel to the flame that I train with and travel with
Something in my eyes say I'm so close to having the prize
I realise I'm supposed to reach for the skies
Never let somebody try to tell you otherwise

[Chorus]

[Black Thought]
One love, one game, one desire
One flame, one bonfire, let it burn higher
I never show signs of fatigue or turn tired
cause I'm the definition of tragedy turned triumph
It's David and Goliath, I made it to the eye of
the storm, feeling torn like they fed me to the lions
Before my time start to wind down like the Mayans
I show 'em how I got the grind down like a science
It sounds like a riot on hush, it's so quiet
The only thing I hear is my heart, I'm inspired
by the challenge that I find myself standing eye to eye with
Then move like a wise warrior and not a coward
You can't escape the history that you was meant to make
That's why the highest victory is what I'm meant to take
You came to celebrate, I came to cerebrate
I hate losing, I refuse to make the same mistake

[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire
Ohhhh, the fire, the fire

[Chorus]

[John Legend]
Ohhhh, the fire inside you
The fire inside you
The fire inside you
The fire inside you

 

[fox69]

"The Grand Return"

"The Grand Return"


The streets talk,
And they hear
And They watch,
So stay clear
Cuz they need,
The streets feed
A street thief
and what they need

[Dice Raw]
And everybody get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up.
Everybody get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up.
Everybody get up.

[Black Thought]
Uh, I get up.
Read the mornin' paper,
Kiss my baby girl.
Tell my lady friend I'm gone till I save the world.
Jump in my hotrod wheel,
Lookin' super thorough.
Rockin' a long black cape like the Duke of Earl.
My cool don't drop,
I spit where the future twirl.
I smash glass in my hands to produce a pearl.
I do the james on stage, then I do the ??.
You can tell I'm bonafide live, cuz I'm too fo' real.
So the truth prevail, I never fail.
Ask me to key the blaze in the trail.
I never tell,
Like the digits on the check in the mail.
I give 'em hell,
With the clever rhymes in the squad situated ??.
White on white ?? throwin' elbows.
You wanna holla, you can do the rebel yell bro.
I'm not concerned,
When will y'all learn.
Roots Crew muthafuckas,
It's the Grand Return.

The streets talk,
And they hear
And They watch,
So stay clear
Cuz they need,
The streets feed
A street thief
and what they need

[Dice Raw]
And everybody get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up.
Everybody get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up.
Everybody get up.

 

[fox69]

"The Hypnotic"

"The Hypnotic"


(The hypnotic, the hypnotic)
(The hypnotic, the hypnotic)
[7X]

Yo,
I knew this girl named Alana with mad persona
She delt with reality never fed it to the drama
I met her through my nigga named Jermaine Palmer
Who knew her through his peoples by the Baltimore harbor
Alana was a Marylan' thurough and attractive
Shorty that's relaxed with me and kickin back
Wif a phat flick to cool out
Was stressed cause the game'll make you wanna pull a tool out
And go the old school route
But all-a that cease - when that piece checkin the jewel out
A bruver was charged - light a spliff and listen to the dabarge
Let the shorty hit me wif a massage to annoint
Lubricatin my maridian points that was the Summer easy to remember
Alana was all up on - to read the gender how I used to back bender
She even told her best friend Blinda from Virginia
Who asked me if I had a cousin I could recomend-a
But as time float on we grew more mature - and further apart
When I began to do tours, we lost contact
And slowly parted - reminissin of when it started
It keep me feelin heavy hearted - a stolen moment periodic
Addicted to her presence like a narcotic
Though I wonder if she ever got it - the hypnotic
That faded like a dream sequence that pursuaded
Beyond being infatuated - spiritually intoxicated
Comps are dated - I concentrated
On how to get in touch with her
Cuase the fact of the matter remain that I miss the hypnotic

Driftin -- (driftin)
(the hypnotic, the hypnotic)
[X7]
Driftin -- (driftin)

I would begin to dial -
Her number but knowin it's been awhile it's hard to link
I figure what she probly think and soon start to drink
Fightin the feelin I'm concealin apparently I first appealin
Later revealin to be deeper - resistance increasingly weaker
The essence of life is more than just mic's and puffin reefa
This universe of Black Thought that I can teach ya
I'm tryin to touch ya only if I can reach ya
I hit this kid I sign up on his beepa
And ask him if a had a chance to speak ta
Jermaine Palmer who fathers a preacha
To make the story short me and my man soon ran
Into each other von the humble at a show in San Fran
I said "Yo Palma, when did you last see Alana"?
He offer me a seat and attempts to make me calma
When he began to break it down my mind start to wander
Response beyond somber incredible crushed
Kinda feelin on my shoulder - that of a boulder
To find out that her life was over - it made the room feel colder
I thought I could get wif her when she was a little older
But she a victim of the wicked system that controlled-a it's all chaotic
But if my life it's symbolic forever shadow on my mental I never forgot it
Yo the psycotic, the hypnotic check it out the Most Melodic hypnotic

Driftin --
Driftin --

 

[fox69]

"The Lesson Pt. 1"

"The Lesson Pt. 1"


[Verse One: Black Thought]

Lyrically versatile
My rap definition is wild
I wrote graffiti as a juvenile
Restin on deuce trey
And used to boost gray Kangol's
with 555 Soul's from the streets
of the Ill-a-delphiadaic insane
For monetary gain, niggaz is slain on the train
It's homicide
For wealth stealth missions for crack
In the alleyways, where niggaz get grazed in the back
From stray shots
Clips with hollow tips, for your spine or
Either remain calm, catch a rhyme, to your mind
Niggaz ya know my style
I run a--motherfuckin-rap--muk
When Malik get a U-Haul truck
I stand five, foot seven, in command of the party
and scam like Uncle Sam
I'm never caught up in the glass eye
of your action cam, cause I'm down low
Artistic exquisite rap pro, that get the dough
It's the Philly borough dread
thoroughbread for dolo
I bag solo, like a nigga that boost Polo
Steppin through the corridor, of metaphors
Lookin over my left
Shoulder the mic, still feel colder than before
With this jazz shit I hit your jaw
Dice Raw, get up on the mic, my young poor
I be the nigga blowin up the spot on tour
Surely real to the core, old school like eighty-four
I never die, and raps till my lungs collapse
Then relax until my knack for tracks
Bring it back, on time
When I rhyme my rep remain
Either go against the grain or your ass is found slain
I overcome, niggaz want styles then I throw you some
Show you some, get on the mic and take it over son
Dice Raw, the motherfuckin Wild Noid
Get on the mic and perpetratin is void

[Verse Two: Dice Raw]

Ya leave niggaz missin in action like their dads in the projects
My style like an old mac, travel round and catch wreck
I'm ill versatile, with the skill no more
Wack MC's wanna flex but their styles they bore
Got to know the real meaning of the ill shit, kid
I do mad damage but never will catch a bid
With my knapsack, full of ill shit that I just boosted
From the corner store when I let loose more
Flavor that's me, rippin heads off from the seams
Niggaz didn't play like Jeru and Come Clean
[he heh ha ha ha] I beat down on they heads like drum machines
Or 808's cause my style flows out great
And superspectac, with all the raw rap
Pull a metal chair out my knapsack across your back ka-crack
Now do you feel the pain of course
I guess you're believin that I'm insane
When I'm taggin my name, upon the train I got so much pride
I got so much soul, with lyrics high
To make niggaz stop drop and roll, now check me out one time
For your ass, fat styles equivalent
of an AIDS infected Glock blast
Niggaz know my style, plus they know they want more
Props from Mount Vernon, to Mount Rushmore
OK kid, you know my style is buckwild literature
That you can never get when I'm thinkin your particular
flavor that you want
I sit back and smoke a fat blunt in class
Teachers can kiss my ass, I'm twice, Dice
Nigga de Raw, never take a bad fall
Smack your head up against the wall
Like playin handball, my style's ill
I slam like Hulk Hogan, Dice Raw bettin on my arm
Niggaz know my slogan while I breathe your last breath
Niggaz better watch they step, fat bull catch wreck
Ill, gots ta keep you in check
With the hellified beats and hard rhymes
Niggaz know my style, when I go the whole nine
I beat down punks, cut em up into fruit chunks
Like fruit salad, my style's smooth like white owl
Blunts, so whatcha want if you got beef then come get it
if ya don't well then forget it
My rap style's exquisite, I'm Raw Daddy
Like niggaz with no Trojans on the stage when I rhyme
I gots ta keep, my composure
Where I'm from it's like a whole different world
Hoppin a train honeydip and I'ma snatch your squirrel
Most corrupt, motherfucker in the tenth grade
Juvenile cause Jeff McKay could not fade
Don't ask me honey I'm not the one for stressin
If you wanna know better ask BR.O.Th.E.R ?
Cause he know the time like I know the time
When I grab the microphone
It's like, summertime, laid back, to recline
In my La-Z-Boy chair
Dice Raw, the Wild Noid
I'm the fuck up outta here

 

[fox69]

"The Next Movement"

"The Next Movement"


[Black Thought]
C'mon.. and yes y'all
You are now in tune to the sounds..
of the legendary.. foundation

Yeah, you go
Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement

Word up, we got the HOT-HOT music, The HOT MUSIC [1X]
The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music [3X]

Yo, one, two, one-two one-two
That's how we usually start, once again it's the Thought
The Dalai Lama of the mic, the prime minister Thought
This directed to whoever in listening range
Yo the whole state of things in the world bout to change
Black rain fallin from the sky look strange
The ghetto is red hot, we steppin on flames
Yo, it's inflation on the price for fame
and it was all the same, but then the antidote came
The Black Thought, ill syllablist, out the Fifth
This heavyweight rap shit I'm about to lift
LIKE, a phyllum lift up it's seed to sunlight
I plug in the mic, draw like a gunfight
I never use a cordless, or stand applaudless
Sippin cholorophyll out of ill silver goblets
I'm like a faucet, monopoly's the object
There ain't no way to cut this tap, you got ta get wet
Your head is throbbin and I ain't said shit yet
The Roots crew, the next movement, c'mon!

And yes y'all
You are now in tune to the sounds
of the legendary, foundation, check it out, uh

Testin, yo, you go
Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement

Word up, we got the HOT-HOT music, the HOT music [1X]
The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music [3X]

Word up, the formation of words to fit
That's what I usually disturb you with
A lot of rappers never heard of this, or know half the time it is
You doubt the Illa-Fifth, what could you accomplish?
Whether they skywriting your name, or you anonymous
You be speechless, with stinging sinuses
The Roots royal highnesses through your monitors
I tilt my crown, then blow down a diamond kiss
You need to buy a CD and stop rewindin this
I'm the finalist, shinin like a rugged amethyst
And at your music conference, I'm the panelist
Listen close to my poetry, I examine this
like an analyst, to see if you can handle this
Check it out
You, got the groove, emcees
freeze, stand still, nobody move
unless you dealin with The Next Movement
The P-Phi-D we be the mon-u-ment
I live my life nice, but I'm not too bent
You theatrical as a Broadway play, this ain't Rent
One hundred percent, straight out the Basement
Spreading this across a planet on some next shit
How many people feelin this love music? C'mon

Yo, you go
Hey you listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin and
set it in motion, it's the next movement

Yo, we got the HOT-HOT music, the HOT music [1X]
The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music [7X]

 

[fox69]

"The OtherSide"
(feat. Bilal & Greg Porn)

"The OtherSide"
(feat. Bilal & Greg Porn)



Baby come back

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Yo, we obviously need to tone it down a bit
Running round town spending time like it’s counterfeit
Everybody catching hay fever like sinuses
Step in my arena let me show y’all who the highness is
You might say I could be doing something positive
Humbled head down low and broke like promises
Soaking and broken in a joke like comics is
Not enough paper to be paying folks compliments
But when that paper got low so did my tolerance
And it ain’t no truth in a dare without the consequence
Listen if it not for these hood inventions
Id just be another kid from the block with no intentions
On the dock of that bay serving a life sentence
Even if I’m going to hell I’m gonna make an entrance
Yeah let em know I’m getting cheese like omelets is
But I’m the toast of the town like Thomas is

[Hook: Bilal]
We’re all on a journey
Down the hall of memories
Don’t worry bout what you ain’t got
Leave with a little bit of dignity
Never loved what I had
Always felt like I deserved more
But when I
Make it to the other side
Make it to the other side
That’s when we’ll settle up the score

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Yo, we did this in remembrance of
Faces from the past
We no longer have an image of
Carrying cold blood hearts
That never been for love
Brothers keep going for theirs but never get enough
World travelers that seen it all
And did enough
Only to return to learn
The world wasn’t big enough
Damn, how long has it been?
I guess the jig is up
Now all I know is I’m about to wake this n*gga up
Yeah that hindsight 20/20 now n*ggas dead on the money
Trying to take something from me
It’s a wrap like mummy
Undone I am becoming and…
When he’s tired of running
Through the layers of the onion
He’ll probably shed a tear
Cause they’ll be no more fast times
Just his weak mind scrolled out like a bad sign
He never had enough and got confused when they asked why
Life is only a moment in time and it passed by

[Hook: Bilal]
We’re all on a journey
Down the hall of memories
Don’t worry bout what you ain’t got
Leave with a little bit of dignity
Never loved what I had
Always felt like I deserved more
But when I
Make it to the other side
Make it to the other side
That’s when we’ll settle up the score

[Verse 3: Greg Porn]
I’m sitting on top of the world ready to jump off
Thinking of various ways to break law
Thinking that enough is enough but still I want more
Thinking of how I’m playing with fire that burned my young boy
By any means necessary… don’t give a damn
So every night I’m on a flight that never lands
Be an asshole when the shit hits the fan
Or bet your life on a bluff and a bad hand
Can’t win, can’t lose
Get ‘em gassed leave em leaking fuel
Either way the market moves
Cash rules kings, queens, prince and princess
Every night I’m crossing a line that ain’t the finish
Every thought is dark as a glass of f*cking Guinness
Too far gone to come back to my senses
Now I’m on the edge of my bed making love to my meds
Every moments like a pistol to my head
When I’m getting mine

[Hook: Bilal]
We’re all on a journey
Down the hall of memories
Don’t worry bout what you ain’t got
Leave with a little bit of dignity
Never loved what I had
Always felt like I deserved more
But when I
Make it to the other side
Make it to the other side
That’s when we’ll settle up the score

 

[fox69]

"The Puppet Has Cut His Strings"

"The Puppet Has Cut His Strings"



They pulled the stars down one by one
Hauled up the moon to shine upon
A velvet curtain rising
Now her puppet has cut his strings

The footlights glare
The trumpets blare
Why is your face drawn on so glum, old chum
Paintbrush dragging on a drum
The rimshot on the punchline that you fumbled
The crowd went home and left you
For dead
My old woodenhead
Took the thimble and the thread
Choked back tears like a cymbal

The breath is slow and shallow too
The sky is bright Venetian blue
The cardboard sun is all ablaze
The air is painted Clifford Brown
Caressing "Yesterdays"
The steady gaze of your glass eye
Head in a basket smiling still
Free of will, free of wisdom

Can't feel my fingers anymore
Can't raise my hand and ask for more
Dance my doll across the floor
Or fire a flag from a pistol
("Bang")

They pulled the stars down one by one
Hauled up the moon to wish upon
The puppet finally cut his strings
And free at last from earthly things
He's dancing on the ceiling
With a showgirl in a feather dress
Time is meaningless

We carried you on buckled limbs
Through mournful airs and martyrs hymns
Then one blue and one more yellow pill
One keeps you quiet
One keeps you still
You sang "The Way You Looked Tonight"
Your voice is ringing true and clear
Then you wore them down like candlelight

And in the darkness
You'd best beware
And in the darkness
You'd best beware
You'd best beware
You'd best beware
I used to love him
When I used to care
Canopy
Satin trim
Slowly closing
The puppet has cut his strings