[Intro: Mos Def]
Looooord... Lord have mercy
All nice and decent crew, follow me now, we say
Say Hi-Tek, yes, [bad word] hip-hop
Say J. Rawls, yes, [bad word] hip-hop
Redefinition say [bad word] hip-hop
Say Black [bad word] to rock it non

[Verse 1: Mos Def]
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 [bad word] Me and Kweli close like Bethlehem and Nazareth
After this you be pressing rewind on top your master disk
Shining like an asterisk for all those that be gathering
Connecting 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

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
Brooklyn, New York City, where they paint murals of Biggie
In cash we [bad word]  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 thinking MC is short hand for misconception
Let me meditate, set it straight, came to the conclusion
That most of these cats is featherweight, let me demonstrate
Walking the streets is like battling, be careful with your body
You must know karate or think your soul is bulletproof like Sade
Stop actin' like a [bad word] already, be a visionary
And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituaries
Third grade teacher reading and talking about
"I knew he'd amount to nothing"
Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type
Who'd have thought they was fronting?"
Talking loud like you on RCA
Get carted away with body parts and trays
What a way to start your day, yo it's like

[Hook]
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 an MC
They shot 2Pac and Biggie
Too much violence in hip-hop, Y-O

[Verse 3: Mos Def]
I said Manhattan keep on making it, Brooklyn keep on taking it
So relax we're taking it back, Red Hook where we're living at
Plenty cats be [bad word] not hustling and bubbling
It ain't about production and – what else we discussing?
When the [bad word] crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows
Striving for perfection ever since I was a snot-nose
Colossal! [bad word] original b-boy apostle
Standing on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo

[Verse 4: Talib Kweli]
You think you the [bad word] Somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
It could be your crew or click
Or some random kid you smoked buddha with
Consider me the entity within the industry without a history
Of spitting the epitome of stupidity
Living my life, expressing 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 lyrics like I'm Cyrano

[Verse 5: Mos Def]
Still sipping wishing well water, imported from Pluto
Three hundred and sixty milliliters for all the believers
In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot proceed us
In the jungle with the leaders, we them lions, you the cheetahs
Our cypher, [bad word] us as [bad word] 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 [bad word] freeze up; think it over, ease up

[Hook]