Intro
Ayyo, I think it's time we give them a sign
Take it back to seventy-nine when hip-hop would shine
Of a good times and the hood felt fine
I mean, we came from pro kegs, to Bally's to afrocentric dreads
From nappy heads, to now we being prawled by the feds
From low-top fades, to baldheads to braids
To doo rags with tilted hats
And cats carrying razor blades inside their mouth
Before we was gettin crunk and going dirty dirty south
Know what I'm sayin, It was all about what a nigga would spit from his mouth
How much weight to a hole
Back when the Cold Crush Brothers was fresh, fly, wild and bold
Kool Moe Dee versus Busy Bee, Force MC's and the Fantastic Freaks
Mc Spoony G, on the wheels of steel Grandmaster D
Or Flash and DST, sparking their wild style
With that spinback that made the other cats go wild
Let me tell you son, we goin back to porce tapes to four tracks
when we always wanted more tracks
From the SP-1200 with two point five seconds per sampling pack
That was all we had but niggaz was glad
They could loop the beat, so maybe they could scoop the street
This is back when Marley Marl first dropped the "Symphony"
The eighty-six MC era, when Rakim struck all y'all crap MC's with terror
And Kool G Rap and Kane flipped track to argue who was better
And yes, some would stress it was KRS from the Bronx
And he proved that MC Shan from Queens was no conte
Then we flash to the nineties, when shit got all grimey
And everybody was claimin they was thug, gansta or crimey
When WTC just appeared on the scene
This was the first time when everybody start to make some real cream
And New York niggaz walked around with fronts in their teeth
The next thing you know, east coast and west coast caught beef
And noone knew how far it would go
'Till we lost two great soldiers and now we cherish their souls
Two heroes, hip-hop industry now resorted down to numbers of ones and zeroes
From mono to stereo, from analog to digital
Now hip-hop life support's stuck on critical
Let's take it back before MTV and BET
Before the commercials by KFC, ATT and Mickey D's
Before all you gangstas and G's, pimps and hoes
Let's take it back to the original flows
Of an MC, his DJ, the mic and the show
The crowd yelling Hoooo
And off on the way we go
Let's take it out of the matrix
Ayyo Tech, yo Sway, let's get back to the basics
Introdução
Ei, acho que tá na hora de darmos um sinal
Vamos voltar a setenta e nove, quando o hip-hop brilhava
Nos bons tempos e a quebrada se sentia bem
Quero dizer, viemos de festas com barris, pra Bally's e dreads afrocentrados
De cabeças desgrenhadas, pra agora sermos perseguidos pelos feds
De cortes baixos, a carecas e tranças
Com doo rags e bonés virados
E caras carregando lâminas na boca
Antes de ficarmos loucos e irmos pro sul sujo
Sabe do que tô falando? Era tudo sobre o que um mano soltava da boca
Quanto peso numa rima
Na época em que os Cold Crush Brothers eram frescos, estilosos, ousados
Kool Moe Dee contra Busy Bee, Force MC's e os Fantastic Freaks
Mc Spoony G, nas rodas de aço Grandmaster D
Ou Flash e DST, acendendo seu estilo selvagem
Com aquele spinback que fazia os outros pirarem
Deixa eu te contar, mano, vamos voltar a fitas de porce pra quatro faixas
Quando sempre queríamos mais faixas
Do SP-1200 com dois ponto cinco segundos por amostra
Era tudo que tínhamos, mas os manos estavam felizes
Eles podiam repetir a batida, então talvez pudessem conquistar a rua
Isso é de quando Marley Marl lançou a "Sinfonia"
A era dos MCs de oitenta e seis, quando Rakim aterrorizou todos os MCs ruins
E Kool G Rap e Kane trocavam faixas pra ver quem era melhor
E sim, alguns diziam que era KRS do Bronx
E ele provou que MC Shan de Queens não era nada
Então pulamos pros anos noventa, quando a coisa ficou pesada
E todo mundo dizia que era thug, gangsta ou criminoso
Quando o WTC apareceu na cena
Essa foi a primeira vez que todo mundo começou a fazer grana de verdade
E os manos de Nova York andavam com dentes de ouro
A próxima coisa que você sabe, costa leste e costa oeste entraram em conflito
E ninguém sabia até onde isso iria
Até perdermos dois grandes soldados e agora valorizamos suas almas
Dois heróis, a indústria do hip-hop agora reduzida a números de uns e zeros
De mono pra estéreo, de analógico pra digital
Agora a vida do hip-hop tá em suporte crítico
Vamos voltar antes da MTV e BET
Antes dos comerciais da KFC, ATT e Mickey D's
Antes de todos vocês gangstas e G's, cafetões e prostitutas
Vamos voltar aos flows originais
De um MC, seu DJ, o microfone e o show
A multidão gritando Hoooo
E assim seguimos nosso caminho
Vamos sair da matrix
Ei Tech, yo Sway, vamos voltar ao básico