MOS DEF – Hip Hop

Lyrics

You say "one for the treble, two for the time"
Come on, y'all, let's rock this!
You say "one for the treble, two for the time"
Come on!
Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape
Now let it fall, (huh!)
My restlessness is my nemesis
It's hard to really chill and sit still, committed to page
I write a rhyme, sometimes won't finish for days
Scrutinize my literature from the large to the miniature
I mathematically add-minister, subtract the wack
Selector, wheel it back, I'm feeling that
From the core to the perimeter black
You know the motto, stay fluid even in staccato (Mos Def)
Full blooded, full throttle
Breathe deep inside the drum hollow... There's the hum
Young man, where you from? Brooklyn number one!
Native son, speaking in the native tongue
I got my eyes on tomorrow (there it is)
While you still tryin to find where it is
I'm on the Ave where it lives and dies, violently but silently
Shine so vibrantly that eyes squint to catch a glimpse
Embrace the bass with my dark ink fingertips
Used to speak the King's En-ga-lish
But caught a rash on my lips, so now my chat just like dis
Long range from the base-line (swish)
Move like an apparition, low to the ground with ammunition
(Chi-chi-pow) Move from the gate, voice cued
On your tape, putting food on your plate
Many crews can relate, who choosing your fate (yo)
We went from picking cotton
To chain gang line chopping, to Be-Bopping, to Hip-Hopping
Blues people got the blue chip stock option
Invisible man, got the whole world watching
(Where ya at?) I'm high, low, east, west, all over your map
I'm getting big props, with this thing called hip hop
Where you can either get paid or get shot
When your product in stock, the fair-weather friends flock
When your chart position drop, then the phone calls....
Chill for a minute, let's see who else hot, snatch your shelf spot
Don't gas yourself, akh'
The industry just a better built cell block
A long way from the shell tops
And the bells that L rocked (rock, rock, rock, rock...)
[Scratching]
The more emotion I put into it, the harder I rock
Hip Hop is prosecution evidence
An out of court settlement, ad space for liquor
Sick without benefits (hungh!) Luxury tenements
Choking the skyline, it's low life getting tree-top high
It is a back water remedy
Bitter and tender memory, a class E felony
Facing the death penalty (hungh!)
Stimulant and sedative, original repetitive
Violently competitive, a school unaccredited
The break beats you get broken with on time and inappropriate
Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it
Medicine for loneliness remind me of Thelonius and Dizzy
Propers to B-Boys getting busy
The war-time snap shot, the working man's jack-pot
A two dollar snack box sold beneath the crack spot
Olympic sponsor of the black Glock
Gold medalist in the back shot
From the sovereign state of the have-nots
Where farmers have trouble with cash crops (woooo)
It's all-city like Phase 2
Hip Hop will simply amaze you, praise you, pay you
Do whatever you say do, but, black, it can't save you

Paroles (Traduction)

Tu dis "un pour les aigus, deux pour le rythme"
Allez, tous ensemble, on va déchirer ça !
Tu dis "un pour les aigus, deux pour le rythme"
Allez !
La parole est mon marteau, je frappe le monde pour le façonner
Maintenant, laisse-le tomber, (hein !)
Mon agitation est mon ennemi
Il est difficile de vraiment se détendre et rester assis, engagé sur la page
J'écris une rime, parfois je ne la finis pas pendant des jours
Je scrute ma littérature du grand au petit
J'additionne et je soustrais mathématiquement, je retranche le médiocre
Sélecteur, rembobine, je ressens ça
Du cœur à la périphérie noire
Tu connais la devise, rester fluide même en staccato (Mos Def)
À fond, à pleine vitesse
Respire profondément à l'intérieur du tambour creux... Voilà le bourdonnement
Jeune homme, d'où viens-tu ? Brooklyn numéro un !
Fils du pays, parlant dans la langue maternelle
J'ai les yeux tournés vers demain (voilà)
Pendant que tu essaies encore de le trouver
Je suis sur l'Avenue où ça vit et ça meurt, violemment mais silencieusement
Brille si intensément que les yeux se plissent pour apercevoir
J'embrasse la basse avec mes doigts noirs d'encre sombre
Je parlais l'anglais du roi
Mais j'ai attrapé une éruption sur les lèvres, donc maintenant ma conversation est comme ça
De loin de la ligne de base (swish)
Je bouge comme une apparition, bas au sol avec des munitions
(Chi-chi-pow) Je sors du portail, voix prête
Sur ta cassette, mettant de la nourriture sur ton assiette
Beaucoup de groupes peuvent se reconnaître, qui choisit ton destin (yo)
Nous sommes passés de la cueillette du coton
À la coupe en ligne de la cha

Thématique Authenticité

Style Rap

Keywords Black Star, Brooklyn

Entités normées Mos Def, Talib Kweli