[Intro: Talib Kweli] Yes Every day somebody ask me where all the real MC's is at? They underground There's mad talented cats underground with that raw shit Yaknowwhat'msayin? Bringin them raw skills YaknowwhatI'm sayin? Really, to me
[Verse 1: Talib Kweli] It's a Small Wonder, like Vicki, why I'm picky These niggas suck like hickies And still get to slip they shit in like Mickies I'm sick of the hater-players, bring on the regulators With the flavors like a farm team fucking with the majors Like a river how I run through it, I do it so cold Freezin up your bodily fluids, your style is old You runnin your mouth, but don't really know what you be talkin about You should retire, get that complimentary watch, be out! Yo, with the quickness, so swift you miss this lyrical fitness Now get this, these emcees wanna test me like litmus, bear witness I'm like shot clocks, interstate cops, and blood clots My point is, your flow gets stoped! By all means, you need more practice, take that ass home Everybody lookin at you, fish tank syndrome In full effect, I stay catchin lyrical rep And keep it blacker than the back of your neck What you expect, emcees hollerin Cause we developin the followin Gettin played like stone love tapes and dollar vans Order reverse your universe so your demise is first Before your rise it gets worse You need a night nurse like Gregory Beggin me - stop it hurts! - is what you say to me Like that's supposed to mean somethin? You the one I seen frontin in the club Your act I don't buy it, I got the dub Come on everybody, come on just show your love Come on everybody, come on just show your love Come on everybody, come on just show your love Come on everybody, come on just show your love Come on everybody, come on just show your love
[Verse 2: Mos Def] Visions occupy my synaptic space Command and shape, to illustrate my mind's landscape The tall grass, the low plains, the mountanous ridges Thickets among the forests, rivers beneath the bridges Presence of hilltops, lit up with tree tops Eavesdrop; and hear the incline of sunshine, nine Stones in orbit, refuse to forfeit They all form a cipher, and they came to absorb it I follow suit, and face it, embrace it Shinin bright, but still I'm careful not to waste it Destined to rise, because I'm basement adjacent Spirit is still so just chill and be patient Some heads approach like I'm the one to base with Clowns about to scream and shout but don't say shh... I ain't your student so I ain't to be tested I'm majestic, I represent my strength without effort My, method is unorthodox, but of course it rocks My serious synopsis will drop kick, my topics Run the gauntlets and galvanize the audience I must represent, I don't come off with no corniness It's all luminary, despite commentary Some people say, Mos how you get so? My sign will make you jump around like calypso And, murmur to yourself like a schizo There ain't no bottom on the ???
[Bridge: Talib Kweli] Come on Here we go, Blackstar, hop on the Blackstar line We bout to take y'all home YaknowwhatImean? Here we go
[Verse 3: Talib Kweli] We got all markets on lock From meat to stock Black Star, what? Throwin like Kid Rock in bars Men flock to where we are, cause its the place to be I grab my paint, jump on stage and deface emcees We sell our souls like Spawn and come for the throne I sit upon Freestyle or written songs, shit we can get it on! Going back and forth, forth and back, all across the track Passin the mic's like quarterbacks Of course its phat, get off of that! Reverse psychology got em scared to say when shit is whack Out of fear of being called a hater, imagine that! We ain't havin that reachin past the star status that you grabbin at My battle raps blast your ass back to your natural habitat So floss, cause what it costs ain't worth it to me Cause I'm the one these Spice Girl emcees Wannabe But they can't, ain't no points for effort, so why bother? Cause your girl calls my name out like Clarence Carter Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter! (I be strokin, that's what I be doin) Aiyyo, as we rock harder And always drop the bona-fide head nodders Aiyyo, later for the hater-players Yo-yo, yo-yo, later for these hater-players