A Love Letter To Hip Hop

Black ThoughtBlack Thought 

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Black Thought

Tariq Trotter (born on October 3, 1971), better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots, as well as an occasional actor. Black Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Thompson), is widely lauded for his live performance skills and his complex and politically aware lyrical content. more »

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Beneath the flickering lamp post we dance
Managing to keep the kick of the amp closer than
What some refer to as the Spirito Santos
That spanned days of Dapper Dan through June Ambrose
The band made us clap our hands
What came after was the scratch from the grand wizards and grand masters
One topic of discussion was whose hands were faster
Than a six train where the illest tags were plastered
The pillars of a village at the origin of it
Came to occupy the space of our eternal beloved
This culture we constructed was determined to thug it
And kept it rugged while the proverbial gates got flooded
Cold-blooded, no budget, but we became raw to end the gang war 
Is what we started this thing for
So were we kings or pursuing visions of grandeur
When through the rhythm it was true religion we came towards
When Sylvia Robinson became a hip hop mogul
Who could've known we'd ever reach the tip top total
Or how one common cause could become so noble
That we be going exit through the gift shop global
That gift that kept givin' us light and keeps givin' advice
Took on a life of its own and keeps livin'
We found strength in numbers many of whom were women like Sha-Rock and them who were there
From the beginnin' is all rocks, they could never be kept in a vault
There'd be no Kim or Nicki Minaj without Pepa-N-Salt
I hope Cardi B and Megan thank Latifah and Light and L Boogie
Super heroes who were eager to fight
Before out entire lives became computerized
We were back spinnin' in shell toes and Puma Clydes as we watched
Some of our stars continue to rise up to Jupiter and Mars
We learned to utilize our credentials
And how to maximize the potential to build brands
Laying a proper ground work's essential to go
From Public Enemy to Tribe Called Quest
To Jay-Z, Diddy, Pharrell, Drake, or Kanye West
To where our world could be as free as Ron Artest
In a place where no one else has got to sign our checks
We made fortunes out of fame like Run and DMC
When we came in the door like Ra' and Eric B
To make somethin' outta nothin'
And it's come to define a legacy more meaningful than just a moment in time
The kind of brilliance we reveal instead of holdin' inside
Ordained by God's the only way we know to describe
If you rollin', let's ride, you're welcome to get in the car
Be whoever you need to be but don't forget who you are
You are a north star as black as my thoughts are
It's true that back in the day they used to report
How you were too black or too Latin, too tapped in, too from the hood
But ever since we conquered Hollywood, it's been all good
And it don't even really feel like it take long to get from a pay phone to Twitter
You stay strong and diligent, great songs created the safe zone
That Diddy's citizens rep in the name of they place zone
They fit a set, it ain't where you ain't from
It ain't where you was headed, it's where you at
From here lookin' back, I say we did it, we made it, they hate it
And said we were over and gone
I feel it's the move to say we proved all of them wrong
You got your money right, mind right
We been in the limelight
It's the joint till you on point all the time
Fight, thug life, fan life, jet life, tramp life
Do it for the 'Gram, SoundCloud, Bandcamp life
Can't stop, won't stop, body rock
Don't knock us, bolt lock
Clock hangin' 'round the neck
Show shot, tour stop, next joint to drop
Gonna be more hot, pure pot
Walk me to see if the corner store got the boogie down
Break down, face down, take down
H Brown, H Town bass
Harlem Shake down, Cape Town
Till the details of our escape down
We was hungry but it's more than enough on the plate now
8 mile, Rosecrans, Ten Toes, both hands
Peach Tree to Ninth Ward, in and out the psych ward
Cos and POs and OGs and GOs
The rights of passage that's passed down from the Griots
In search of caption hear in the absence of egos
Extraordinary ethos, TakeOff from the Migos
We rose to become entire ecosystems
It's wild to think about how long the people have listened now
Fifty years down the line, we could spark this
My eternal beloved hip hop is where our hearts live
And that's word, I'm not the herb
Understand what I'm saying, saying
Saying, saying, saying

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