Released: June 23, 1992

Songwriter: Rakim

Producer: Eric B.

Kill em' again!

[Verse 1]
Try to identify the man in front of ya
But it ain't the role, the gear, or the money, the
Swift intellectionist with plenty of
Bite, if it's dark, I'll spark every one of ya
I throw a mic in the crowd, if it's questioned
I got the answer, it includes directions
Go manufacture a match, show me after
A blast of a master that has to make musical massacre
Attack your rap 'till it's handicapped
You'll never hold the mic again, try to hand it back
For every rapper that comes, I cut off his thumbs
Put a record to his neck, if he swallows, it hums
Slice from ear-to-ear, so he can hear better
Before he bleed to death, hear, hear every letter
And you can see how quick and thick the blood can get
If you try to change the style or the subject
As I get deep in the rhyme, I'm becomin' a
MC murderer, before I'm done, I'mma
Prepare the chamber, the torture's comin' up
Trip through the mind, at the end you'll find it's The Punisher!

Kill 'em again!

[Verse 2]
I hold the mic as hostage, MC's as ransom
Rhymes'll punish 'em 'cause they don't understand 'em
I heat up his brain, then explain that I hand him
A red-hot microphone... that's how I brand 'em
Rhymes fall in formation, unite and ignite
Like a platoon puttin' bullet wounds in the mic
If ya curse me, it ain't no mercy
Give 'em an autopsy, killed by versin' me
I took a kid and cut off his eyelids
Killin' him slow so he could see what I did
And if he don't understand what I said
I'm pushin' his eyeballs wayyyy to the back of his head
So he can see what he's gettin' into
A part of the mind that he never been through
A journey is comin' 'cause ya gettin' sent to
A place harder to find, but it's all in the mental
I run a brain scan to locate his game plan
When I'm through with his brain, he ain't the same man
Did he lose his mind or lost in his mind?
But this ain't the lost and found because ya can't find
Your foundation, coastin'
Your mind is driftin' in slow motion... frozen
Looks like another murder at the Mardi Gras, B
Too late to send out a search party
Once ya out of ya head, then ya can't get back
I give him a map, but he still get trapped
So prepare the chamber, the torture's comin' up
Trip through the mind, at the end you'll find it's The Punisher!

Kill 'em again!

[Verse 3]
Dangerous rhymes performed like surgery
Cuts so deep, you'll be bleedin' burgundy
My intellect wrecks and disconnects your cerebral cortex
Your cerebellum is next!
Your conscience becomes sub-conscious
Soon, your response is nonsense
The last words are blurred, mumbled then slurred
Then your verbs are no longer heard
You get your lung fried so good you're tongue-tied
He couldn't swing or hang, so he hung 'till he died
Reincarnate him and kill him again
Again and again, again and again
I leave him in the mausoleum so you can see him
I got a dead-emceein' museum
When I create 'em, I cremate 'em and complicate 'em
You can't save 'em, there's no ultimatum
Mics lay around full of ashes, with the victim's name in slashes
Got a long list and I'mma get every one of ya
Beware of The Punisher!

Then I'ma kill 'em again!

Wake 'em up... kill 'em again!

Eric B. & Rakim

Eric B. & Rakim are a duo made of DJ Eric B. and MC Rakim. The two worked in the late ‘80s and early '90s and are considered to be one of the best and the most influential duos of all time.

The duo made their big break in 1987 with their classic album, Paid in Full which is considered to be one of the best rap albums of all time.

After that, they made three more albums – Follow the Leader, Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em, and Don’t Sweat the Technique – before splitting up.