Black Thought

Released: October 16, 2020

Songwriter: Sean C Black Thought

Producer: Sean C

[Intro]
Uh, two fifteen (That's right)

[Verse 1]
I hurt myself to see if I could feel (I am magnificent)
Then I began to pray to see if God was real
I said, "All Seeing, reveal to me that which is concealed"
Somethin' told me that I probably shouldn't be behind the wheel of that Bonneville
I was still feelin' kinda ill, not a dollar bill
Time to kill, tryna sign a deal
Ten years before State Prop was rock la famille
I was poppin' pills unaware that steel sharpens steel, I've grown
Droppin' my popular B-Boy poems (Magnif-Magnificent)
Took me to Amiri Baraka from LeRoi Jones
To Hajj Malik el-Shabazz from Detroit Red (Magnif-Magnificent)
And to the polar opposite of what your report said
Well, me and Sponart was playin' our part
Creatin' con art to curatin' fine art, now a nigga's a monarch
The torch head was force fed, look how the flames flicker
Now if it's what Thought said, you know the name quicker

[Verse 2]
Uh, ay, yo (I'm magnificent)
The big homie in The Smithsonian (I am magnificent)
I'm an ox, so the box niggas can't throw me in
The punishment I'ma hit 'em with is draconian
It's in me (Magnif-Magnificent), muscle memory is Pavlovian
The magnificent with a tinted skin tone
Ain't nobody fuckin' with me, keep 'em in the friend zone
Keep 'em closer than my enemy, which I depend on for that motivation
That's what keep a nigga en vogue
Fingers full of Flintstones
Louder than a motherfuckin' pimp clothes
Haters, I am the weapon, the Lord formed against those
I prefer the law of mathematics over Jim Crow's
My prose keep 'em devils jumpin' out the windows (Magnif-Magnificent)
The man tellin' you shams to go to hell if you a god damn pyramid, scam evangenical
The origin of my grace is unavailable
But you would know the name of the place is Illadel, if you a real one

[Verse 3]
Ayy, yo
(I, I, I, I, I'm magnificent)
Got the bop gun loaded up to kill one
Drop cruisin' like Top Gun through Brazil
When your net worth is millions, people too familiar
My network is real young, careful where you chill, son
I'm the magnificent
Stay playin' where them bad bitches is
Dilla, Slum Village, macknickelous
People know my style nasty as black licorice
Telephone stacks sickenin', that's nigga-rich (God damn)
Don't make me burn your wings off like the Icarus (I am magnificent)
The Lord take away the same thing he giveth us
Temptation, do not lead, please deliver us (I am magnificent)
When you a beast, you kinda cease to give a fuck
You stop listening, please tell me not this again
Begging, "Bring back Black, the block missin' him"
To murder tracks right in front of mad witnesses
Forty-four magnificent, what the bidness is?
(I am the most magnificent)
(I, I, I, I, I'm the magnificent)

Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter is the co-founder and MC of the legendary Philadelphia-based hip-hop group The Roots.

Thought is highly renowned in the Hip-Hop community for his socially aware, informed, and character-driven rap style. He is considered by many, a lyrical killer and legend that falls in the same category as Yasiin Bey, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, members of the Wu-Tang Clan and even Nas.

He also is a member and founder of supergroup Money Making Jam Boys, consisting of Black, and other Roots collaborators Sugar-Tongue-Slim (STS), Greg Porn, Truck North, and Dice Raw. STS can be heard on “Right On” while the other three are widely and largely on Undun.

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Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Able

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Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Able (2020)

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Black Thought

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