[Erick Sermon] As the wind sets the mood, it's time to let off A sucker tried to play me, the E I'm not soft I'm very hardcore, droppin bombs like Warsaw It reminds me, back in 1984 when I went to a party with the master plan to step up, and put the mic in my hand Everybody was there, from junior high to high schools Dyin to get busy, because I knew I had the tools Then I got the heart and went by the set I said, "Yo, I wanna rock the set" "Yeah no sweat" Kickin rhymes in the place, people couldn't take it The style I flowed, the way I shaked and baked it Later on I made a record, and got recognition Everybody's jockin, now nobody's dissin Written and produced by the new rap duo Yes EPMD, now I'm known in school I see the backstabbers, and the elderly creature features that used to diss me, when I was tryin to reach the tip tip-top and I won't stop To be the master, in the field of hip-hop I did that, and got a name for myself The image of E, and all of my wealth I see my fake friends, but things ain't the same Oh what a shame, I diss em Who to blame? It wasn't me it was the .. "Fame!"
[P] It wasn't me it was the .. "Fame!"
[Parrish Smith] Before I cut records I had dreams of livin large Earnin crazy cash flow, the whole nine yards But when I told my college friends they kicked back and laughed Said, "You better grab your books and take your behind to class" They said, "You couldn't make a record and expect to get paid cause there's too many def rappers in the world today" I said, "Yo, my name is M.D. and my style is def" They said, "Your name is Parrish son, you're like all the rest Frontin you gettin a contract, but then you 'fess" But when you heard my record playin, your mouth was wide open Your head was tilted back that you was almost chokin But I just lounge, and cool with the fellas Like my roomie D-Wade, Top Notch, and James Ellis I never hung with girls, only one and she was mellow First name was Terry, last name Romanello My records started sellin then P withdrew from the college Southern Con, known as SCSU But when I often go and visit they say, "P bust a rhyme" I shake my head and then chuckle, and throw up the peace sign They wanna feel my gold and sport my Rolex but P reply it's really nothin, and don't like to flex And when I step up on the scene I always hear them whisper "Yo P's not the same, did you see him diss you?" I go deep into my thoughts, then I questioned my brain It wasn't me, the money, or the fortune, it was the .. "Fame!"
[P] It wasn't me it was the .. "Fame!"
[Erick Sermon] Oh! Now you wanna know me, before you wasn't speakin Now you watch Yo! MTV Raps every weekend Just to see me, the E and the P Coolin out on the scene, with Fab 5 Freddy Back then you didn't know, that I was determined to be a def rapper with the name Erick Sermon To be a crowd mover, someone that cause trouble Then I thought, and came up with E Double I can't forget, how they used to diss Sayin he can't rap, because he talks with a lisp But I got paid, now you feel stupid Amazed by the style the sound and how we looped it Now I clock G's, trunk jewels, and star trims Cool around town, and flex my black Benz Definitely hooked up, with the system that cranks Livin well off, with the ? in the bank EPMD, is Erick Parrish Makin Dollars Always on tour, so you can call us roads/Rhodes scholars You saw me in eighty-seven, where have you been because we miss you I dismissed you, it wasn't me who dissed you, it was the .. "Fame!"