[VERSE 1 : BLUE SCHOLARS] Live from occupied Duwamish territory Where Carlos Bulosan once lived to tell the story Of the brain, sweat, and glory of mic, checks, and men Who fight the destination we were destined to end
Left the writing on the walls in the halls of the Nippon Kan Others transform, majority Decepticons But my conception of the Walkman's rotation Is you live in the upper left you've got to have patience
Cause ain't no urban radio stations about to play us Unless you sign the dotted and make your songs brainless While you waitin' for the mention in the pages of \"The Stranger\" You can find me in the basement makin' heaters for later
And yes, we all need a little paper to strive But the monsters in your town will put a limp in your stride I exhibit all the time like I'm pimpin' your ride And we've been living in conditions we're tired of
Come on and rise up
[Hook : BLUE SCHOLARS] Two Scholars rock fresh, North by Northwest And it's still no rest cause we're not finished yet We're broke, but not broken Cold, but not frozen Lost but not forgotten, we're kickin' the doors open
Two Scholars rock fresh, North by Northwest And it's still no rest cause we're not finished yet We're broke, but not broken Cold, but not frozen Movin' in slow motion, it's that Northwest classic
[VERSE 2 : BLUE SCHOLARS] Nine eight double-one eight, the alphabetically 2nd to last state Never finished in last place Like the Mariners for 3 years straight
From prescriptions we administer the medicine For people still afflicted with acute two-oh-sickness We exist between the gold and the green I paint the soul of the scene
Under towers of power, dodging the over Over-fiend daily Causing bones to decay, they say is so far away Couldn't possibly make it, I seen modesty fade And awful lot of hate, but none of which was said to my face
I confide inside, my son, but with a fire made of purple I'm a writer for the art, I keep it sharpened with rehearsal The worst is when they mark us to target a market that we're not even a part of If your CD's in Target it means you got distribution, but we still pushin' units With our own two homegrown since youth
Thought you knew
[Hook]
[VERSE 3 : BLUE SCHOLARS] And they say desegregation was a big step forward But integration only covered up a rotten core The surface might've changed but the cauldron is still hot Now we more politically correct with less real talk
They say we liberal but literally not When the cops bend us over while upholding the law Despite the sight of coffee shops on every single block Nearby its supply and demand for the rock
It's two types of crack, one legal, one felonious The lumpenprole push keys like Thelonious The corporation pushing blood with the beans I heard people moving up here for the love of the green
New homes, new stores, still a hood underneath No good how we chilling in the gut of the beast A national question, with no answer in the least It's no resting ‘til the cancer meets defeat