1.As The Rhyme Goes On
Knowledge will begin until i finish this song
'cuz the rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme goes on
You sweat as you step about to get hype
Or should you just listen to the man on the mic
You're physically in this with me but how could you tell
If it's meant to be hip-hop if you're not mentally as well
Ready to absorb the rhyme that i just poured
Into the mic and so unite and this won't be so bored
If you just keep kickin' listen - to the mix
And think you'll sink into the rhyme like quicksand
Holds and controls you 'til i leave
You fall deeper in the style - it's hard to breathe
The only time i stop is when somebody drop and then
Bring 'em to the front 'cuz my rhymes' the oxygen
Then wave your hands - when you're ready i'll send you
Into your favorite dance so let the rhyme continue
And so on and i'ma go on simultaneously
And even if i stop - the rhyme remains to be
Rising to the top - and i came to drop it
Catch it and quiz it - is my topic
Universual 'cuz i move everybody to come
By exercising your mind you'll coincide as one
You look around and see how packed the party starts to get
I draw a crowd - like an architect
The five borroughs react and all the islands attract
And every state can't wait - so they attack
Off a spot on the floor - squeeze in cuz it's packed
It'll be more room if mc's play the back
I'm the r the a to the k-i-m
If i wasn't, then why would i say i am
The microphone fiend if i was a fake
Whoever said it's just buggin' off the rhymes i make
I had you biting your tongue for what i brung and recite
Sung it on stage some said it don't sound like
The voice on the record - i see what you mean
Because the system was wack, so i had to scream
So just - give me a mic if it's loud i'll blow it
If not - into the crowd i'll throw it
Pull out my cordless mic and entertain you well
Before i let go i'ma spark your brain cells
I took time to write - tonight i will recite
So poetically inclined when the mic is held tight
Rhymes start flowin' kisses are blowin
Mc's are knowin' that's why they're goin
Home to tell a friend when the party ends
'yo, man you know rakim？ that brother struck again'
Cuz mic by mic and stage by stage,
Tape by tape and page by page,
When the crowd is moving i compete with the mix
The rougher the cuts - the rougher the rhyme gets
Deeper and deeper - i hope you understand it
I made it up myself and i planned it
For other mc's who waste time
Writing jokes, riddles, and maybe a rhyme
I cross my arms and i was waiting - but i was hating
The rappers on the microphone was fronting - just faking
They wasn't breakin', which means i was achin'
To get up on the microphone and then start takin'
Control of the mic - uptight when i grabbed it
So hug the speaker- your ear's a magnet
Attracted to a freestyle put in effect
You listen to my man while you're sippin' moet
So eric, pick up the needle (yeah) put it in the middle
(ahhight)
Give me a scratch, turn my mic up a little,
I want you to hear this perfectly clear
Catch what i'm sayin'？ you get the idea？
I hope you knowledge the beginning cuz i'm finished this song
The rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme flows on...
2.Chinese Arithmetic
3.Eric B. Is On The Cut
4.Eric B Is President
I came in the door, i said it before
I never let the mic magnatize me no more
But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme
I can't hold it back, i'm looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
My rhyme will be kicking it until i hit my last note
My mind'll range to find all kinds of ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, i'll just bless one
And you know that i'm the soloist
So eric b, make 'em clap to this
I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric b easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
Cuz to me, mc means move the crowd
I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist
Saying indeed that i precede cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix
If they can get some around until there's no rhymes left
I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death
But he's kicking it because it ain't no half stepping
The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in-
Side, it needs erupting just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style of the same old rhyme
Because i'm better then the rest of them
Eric b is on the cut and my name is rakim
Go get a girl and get soft and warm,
Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have i done lately
First you said all you want is love and affection
Let me be your angel and i'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of things
I must of got you too hot and burned off your wings
You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up
I'm scheming like i'm dreaming on a couch wit my feet up
You scream i'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought i was a donut, you tried to glaze me
Funky...
5.Extended Beat
6.I Ain't No Joke
I ain't no joke, i use to let the mic smoke
Now i slam it when i'm done and make sure it's broke
When i'm gone i wrote this song cuz i won't let
Nobody press up and mess up to seen i set
I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn
Bu think about it then you'll understand
I'm just an addict addicted to music
Maybe it's a habit, i gotta use it
Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up convert it in a hip-hop form
Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in
Deep concentration cuz i'm no comedian
Jokers are wild if you wanna be tame
I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
Cuz you'll get fried in the end if you pretend to be
？can be？ cuz i just put your mind on pause
And i can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours
I wake you up and as i stare in your face you seem stun
Remember me, the one you got your idea from
But soon you start to suffer but you only get rougher
When you start to stutter that's when you had enuff of
Biting it, i make you choke, you can't provoke
You can't cope, you should of broke cuz i ain't no joke
I got a question, it's serious as cancer
Who can keep the average dancer
Hyper as a heart attack nobody smiling
Cuz you're expressing the rhyme that i'm styling
This is what we all sit down to write
You can't make it so you take it home, break it and bite
Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits
Get the style down pack then it's time to ？swit？
Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours
Then you figure you're ready for the neighborhood chores
The e-m-c-e-e don't even try to be
When you come up to speak, don't even lie to me
You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate
Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me
So when you see me come up, freeze
Or you'll be one of those 7 mc's
They think that i'm a new jack but only if they knew that
They who think wrong are they who can't do that
Style that i'm doing, they might ruin
Patterns of paragraphs based on you and
Your offbeat dj, if anything he play
Sound familiar, i'll wait til e say
Play 'em, so i'ma have to dis and broke
You could get a smack for this, i ain't no joke
I hold the microphone like a grudge
B'll hold the record so the needle don't budge
I hold a conversation cuz when i invent
I nominated my dj the presdient
When i'm see i'll, people freestyle, going steadily
So pucker up and whistle my melody
But whatever you do, don't miss one
They'll be another rough rhyme after this one
Before you know it, you're following and fiending
Waiting for the punchline to get the meaning
Like before the middle of my story i'm telling
Nobody beats the r so stop yelling
Save it, put it in your pocket for later
Cuz i'm moving the crowd and be a record fader
No interruptions and the mic is broke
When i'm gone, then you can joke
Cuz everything is real on a serious tip
Keep playing and i varies quick
And take you for a walk through hell
Feed your dome then watch your eyeballs swell
Guide you out of triple stage darkness
When it get dark again then i'ma spark this
Microphone cuz the heat is on, you see smoke
And i'm finish when the beat is gone, i'm no joke
7.I Know You Got Soul
It's been a long time, i shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of how many weak shows you slept through
Time's up, i'm sorry i kept you
Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss
The rhymes from the microphone soloist
And you sit by the radio, hand on the dial, soon
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Dance wit the speaker 'till you hear it blow,
Then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go
It's a 4 letter word when it's heard, it control
Your body to dance (you got it) soul,
Ditects the tempo like a red alert
Reaches your reflex, so let it work
When this is playing, you can't get stuck wit
The steps, so get set and i'm a still come up wit
A gift to be swift, follow the leader, the rhyme will go
Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago
It can be done but only i can do it
For those that can dance and clap your hands to it
I start to think and then i sink
Into the paper like i was ink
When i'm writing, i'm trapped in between the lines,
I escape when i finish the rhyme...
I got soul
You got it (4x)
I know you got soul
Picture a mic, the stage is empty
A beat like this might tempt me
To pose, show my rings and my fat gold chain
Grab the mic like i'm on soul train
But i'll wait 'cause i mastered this
Let the others go first so the brothers don't miss
Eric b. break the sticks (you got it)
Rakim will begin when you make the mix
I'll experiment like a scientist
You wanna rhyme, you gotta sign my list
'cause i'm a manifest and bless the mic i hold
You want it next？ then you gotta have soul
'cause if you ain't got it, i'm a make an encore
Take the mic, make the people respond for
The r, 'cause that's the way it'll have to be
If you wanna get on after me
Think about it, wait, erase your rhyme
Forget it and don't waste your time
'cause i'll be in the crowd if you ain't controlling it
Drop the mic, you shouldn't be holding it
This is how it should be done
This style is identical to none
Some try to make it sound like this but you're getting me
So upset that i'm wet 'cause you're sweating me
I drip steam like a microphone fiend
Eager to mc is my theme
I get hype when i hear a drum roll
Rakim is on the mic and you know i got soul
You got it (5x)
I got soul (you got it) that's why i came
To teach those who can't say my name
First of all, i'm the soloist, the soul controller
Rakim gets stronger as i get older
Constant elevation causes expansion
I write my rhyme while i cool in my mansion
Then put it on tape and in the city i test it
Then on the radio the r's requested
You listen to it, the concept might break you
'cause almost anyone can relate to...
Whoever's out of hand, i'm give him handles
Light 'em up, blow 'em out like candles
Or should i just let him melt？
Then give him a hand so they can see how it felt
I'm not bold just cuz i rock gold
Rakim is on the mic and you know i got soul
You got it (4x)
Now i'm a stop to see what you got
Get off the mic before i get too hot
I want to see which posse can dance the best
It should be easy 'cause the beat is fresh
Now if your from uptown, brooklyn- bound,
The bronx, queens, or long island sound,
Even other states come right and exact,
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Since you came here, you have to show and prove
And do that dance until it don't move
'cause all you need is soul self-esteem will release,
The rest is up to you, rakim 'll say peace
You got it (10x)
8.Move The Crowd
Verse one：
Standing by the speaker, suddenly i had this
Fever, was it me or either summer madness
Cuz i just can't stand around
So i get closer and the closer i get, the better it sound
My mind starts to activate, rhymes collaborate
Cuz when i heard the beat, i just had to make
Something from the top of my head
So i fell into the groove of the wax and i said
How could i move the crowd
First of all, ain't no mistakes allowed
Here's the instruction, put it together
It simple ain't it but quite clever
Some of you been trying to write rhymes for years
But weak ideas irritate my ears
Is this the best that you can make？
Cuz if not and you got more, i'll wait
But don't make me wait too long coz i'm a move on
The dancefloor when they put something smooth on
So turn up the bass, it's better when it's loud
Cuz i like to move the crowd
Move the crowd...
Verse two：
Imagine me wit the heat that's made by solar,
It gets stronger everytime i hold a
Microphone, check the tone to get started
The line for the microphone is departed
So leave it up to me, my dj is mixing
Everyone is moving or eager to listen
Your hands in the air, your mouth, shut!
Cuz i'm on the mic and eric b is on the cut
For those that know me, indeed i like to flow
Especially when the music's going slow
It gives me a chance to let everybody know
It's time to bust out the rakim show
I'm the intelligent wise on the mic i will rise
Right in front of your eyes cuz i am a surprise
So i'ma let my knowledge be born to a perfection
All praise due to allah and that's a blessing
Wit knowledge of self, there's nothing i can't solve
At 360 degrees, i revolve
This is actual fact, it's not an act, it's been proven,
Indeed and i proceed to make the crowd keep moving
Move the crowd...
9.My Melody
Verse one：
Turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar
I'm lettin knowledge be born, and my name's the r
A-k-i-m not like the rest of them, i'm not on a list
That's what i'm sayin, i drop science like a scientist
My melody's in a code, the very next episode
Has the mic often distortin, ready to explode
I keep the mic in fahrenheit, freeze mc's and make em colder
The listener's system is kickin like solar
As i memorize, advertise, like a poet
Keep you goin when i'm flowin, smooth enough, you know it
But rough that's why the middle of my story i tell e.b.
Nobody beats the 'r', check out my melody...
Verse two：
So what if i'm a microphone fiend addicted soon as i sing
One of these for mc's so they don't have to scream
I couldn't wait to take the mic, flow into it to test
Then let my melody play, and then the record suggest
That i'm droppin bombs, but i stay peace and calm
Any mc that disagree with me just wave your arm
And i'll break, when i'm through breakin i'll leave you broke
Drop the mic when i'm finished and watch it smoke
So stand back, you wanna rap？ all of that can wait
I won't push, i won't beat around the bush
I wanna break upon those who are not supposed to
You might try but you can't get close to
Because i'm number one, competition is none
I'm measured with the heat that's made by sun
Whether playin ball or bobbin in the hall
I just writin my name in graffiti on the wall
You shouldn't have told me you said you control me
So now a contest is what you owe me
Pull out your money, pull out your cut
Pull up a chair, and i'ma tear shit up
My name is rakim allah, and r ＆ a stands for 'ra'
Switch it around, but still comes out 'r'
So easily will i e-m-c-e-e
My repetition of words is 'check out my melody'
Some bass and treble is moist, scratchin and cuttin a voice
And when it's mine that's when the rhyme is always choice
I wouldn't have came to ？set？ my name ？around the？ same weak
shit
Puttin blurs and slurs and words that don't fit
In a rhyme, why waste time on the microphone
I take this more serious than just a poem
Rockin party to party, backyard to yard
Now tear it up, y'all, and bless the mic for the gods
Verse three：
The rhyme is rugged, at the same time sharp
I can swing off anything even a string of a harp
Just turn it on and start rockin, mind no introduction
Til i finish droppin science, no interruption
When i approach i exercise like a coach
Usin a melody and add numerous notes
With the mic and the r-a-k-i-m
It's a task, like a match i will strike again
Rhymes are poetically kept and alphabetically stepped
Put in order to pursue with the momentum except
I say one rhyme and i order a longer rhyme shorter
A pause, but don't stop the tape recorder
Verse four：
I'm not a regular competitor, first rhyme editor
Melody arranger, poet, etcetera
Extra events, the grand finale like bonus
I am the man they call the microphonist
With wisdom which means wise words bein spoken
Too many at one time watch the mic start smokin
I came to express the rap i manifest
Stand in my way and i'll lead a ？？？ words protest
Mc's that wanna be dissed they're gonna
Be dissed if they don't get from in fronta
All they can go get is me a glass of moet
A hard time, sip your juice and watch a smooth poet
I take 7 mc's put em in a line
And add 7 more brothas who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before i go for mine
And that's 21 mc's ate up at the same time
Easy does it, do it easy, that's what i'm doin
No fessin, no messin around, no chewin
No robbin, no buyin, bitin, why bother
This slob'll stop tryin fightin to follow
My unusual style will confuse you a while
If i was water, i flow in the nile
So many rhymes you won't have time to go for your's
Just because of a cause i have to pause
Right after tonight is when i prepare
To catch another sucka duck mc out there
Cos my strategy has to be tragedy, catastrophe
And after this you'll call me your majesty
My melody...
Verse five：
Marley marl synthesized it, i memorize it
Eric b made a cut and advertised it
My melody's created for mc's in the place
Who try to listen cos i'm dissin ？？？
？take off your necklace, you try to detect my pace？
？now？ you're ？buggin？ over ？？？ off my rhyme like bass
The melody that i'm stylin, smooth as a violin
Rough enough to break new york from long island
My wisdom is swift, no matter if
My momentum is slow, mc's still stand stiff
I'm genuine like leather, don't try to be clever
Mc's you'll beat the 'r', i'll say 'oh never'
So eric b cut it easily
And check out my melody...
10.Paid In Full
in full
right？
over
This def beat that i put together, i wanna hear some of them
Def rhymes, know what i'm sayin？ and together, we can get
Paid in full...
Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain't nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So i dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So i dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So i start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could i get some dead presidents
I need money, i used to be a stick-up kid
So i think of all the devious things i did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
But now i learned to earn cos i'm righteous
I feel great! so maybe i might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if i strive
Then maybe i'll stay alive
So i walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do i miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and eric b, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it's still a wish
Cos i don't like to dream about gettin paid
So i dig into the books of the rhymes that i made
To now test to see if i got pull
Hit the studio, cos i'm paid in full
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