Released: June 19, 1990
Songwriter: Rakim
Producer: Eric B. Rakim Paul C Large Professor
See if you can step to this
Back to the lab
[Verse 1]
Now try to do this step
And make sure the pace is kept
And this ain't as smooth as I'mma get
Nice and easy but hard to catch on to
Move with melodies, rhymes to respond to
The mic's in front of me, so you know it's gonna be
Rough and rugged, plus I'm smooth as I wanna be
I'm something like sipping on Dom Perignon
So absorb the song, til the rhyme's all gone
My beats and speech original, you can't find these
Eighty-nine is mine, so is the nineties
Telling you what you need to know and more
You're unsure? On tour, I explore
From street to street, to speak, from beat after beat
My cipher's complete, when I build with people I meet
So here's the info straight from the source in fact
Paid the cost to be the boss, step back
Give me room to exercise the mind
360 degrees'll be fine
The weight of the world is what we hold
That's a six, followed by twenty-one zeroes
Six sextillion tons is a lot of weight
My truth is the strength and my thought won't break
What it take, concentration, to rebuild our
Nation but we got to have mind power
And we can make it work, because I know we can
And if something go wrong, make another plan
It's up to us, so strive and be wise and
When we reach the top, don't stop rising
And I'll keep coming up with more of
The most requested songs that you all love
Reach out and touch the mic, take control
Still getting paid and I still got soul
And the only thing I ever wanted you to follow was poetry
Mind takes X-rays, so listen closely
From the darkness came the light, clear out of a dark night
Now I'm here to spark the mic
Send out truth, for other groups and substitutes
With run-on rhymes and weak dubs and loops
They'd rather hear the arsonist, they insist
No need to reminisce, see if you can step to this
[Verse 2]
Just step, the rhymes create energy
Charged up, by the cut, and it's sending me
For a trip through the mind so I can locate
A laid back rap at a slow rate
It ain't hard at all, cause I invented it
As the days go on, you hear them with it
Brother busting brain cells, thinking of a rap
With the same old style, we had enough of that
We all need something to step to
And don't forget to, cause I won't let you
Dance without hoping that this come on next
And if it go off, the DJ can't flex
Cause here's the tempo, I'mma regulate the pace
Here's the step, go find some space
And what we gonna do is in unison, kick
Shake your head, you're influenced with music
By now you're intoxicated, cause I prove I made it
The pep your step so soon you get rejuvenated
From side to side, you pause and clap
But if you came to rap.. (step back)
Back to the lab
[Verse 1]
Now try to do this step
And make sure the pace is kept
And this ain't as smooth as I'mma get
Nice and easy but hard to catch on to
Move with melodies, rhymes to respond to
The mic's in front of me, so you know it's gonna be
Rough and rugged, plus I'm smooth as I wanna be
I'm something like sipping on Dom Perignon
So absorb the song, til the rhyme's all gone
My beats and speech original, you can't find these
Eighty-nine is mine, so is the nineties
Telling you what you need to know and more
You're unsure? On tour, I explore
From street to street, to speak, from beat after beat
My cipher's complete, when I build with people I meet
So here's the info straight from the source in fact
Paid the cost to be the boss, step back
Give me room to exercise the mind
360 degrees'll be fine
The weight of the world is what we hold
That's a six, followed by twenty-one zeroes
Six sextillion tons is a lot of weight
My truth is the strength and my thought won't break
What it take, concentration, to rebuild our
Nation but we got to have mind power
And we can make it work, because I know we can
And if something go wrong, make another plan
It's up to us, so strive and be wise and
When we reach the top, don't stop rising
And I'll keep coming up with more of
The most requested songs that you all love
Reach out and touch the mic, take control
Still getting paid and I still got soul
And the only thing I ever wanted you to follow was poetry
Mind takes X-rays, so listen closely
From the darkness came the light, clear out of a dark night
Now I'm here to spark the mic
Send out truth, for other groups and substitutes
With run-on rhymes and weak dubs and loops
They'd rather hear the arsonist, they insist
No need to reminisce, see if you can step to this
[Verse 2]
Just step, the rhymes create energy
Charged up, by the cut, and it's sending me
For a trip through the mind so I can locate
A laid back rap at a slow rate
It ain't hard at all, cause I invented it
As the days go on, you hear them with it
Brother busting brain cells, thinking of a rap
With the same old style, we had enough of that
We all need something to step to
And don't forget to, cause I won't let you
Dance without hoping that this come on next
And if it go off, the DJ can't flex
Cause here's the tempo, I'mma regulate the pace
Here's the step, go find some space
And what we gonna do is in unison, kick
Shake your head, you're influenced with music
By now you're intoxicated, cause I prove I made it
The pep your step so soon you get rejuvenated
From side to side, you pause and clap
But if you came to rap.. (step back)
more tracks from the album
From the album
- Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em (1990)
Eric B. & Rakim popular songs
- Paid in Full
- I Ain’t No Joke
- My Melody
- Follow the Leader
- I Know You Got Soul
- Microphone Fiend
- Eric B. Is President
- Juice (Know the Ledge)
- Don’t Sweat the Technique
- As the Rhyme Goes On
- Lyrics of Fury
- In The Ghetto
- Mahogany
- Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em
- Move the Crowd
- What’s On Your Mind
- No Competition
- Paid in Full (Seven Minutes of Madness – The Coldcut Remix)
- Casualties of War
- The Punisher
- No Omega
- Eric B. Is on the Cut
- Musical Massacre
- Kick Along