Released: December 6, 1993

Songwriter: KRS-One

Producer: Show

[Produced by Showbiz]

[Chorus]
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast (Yes indeed)
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast (Yes indeed)

[Verse 1]
Stand clear, Don man'll talk
You can't stand where I stand, you can't walk where I walk
Watch out, we run New York
Policeman come, we bust him out the park
I know this for a fact, you don't like how I act
You claim I'm sellin' crack, but you be doin' that
I'd rather say see ya, ‘cause I would never be ya
Be an officer? You wicked overseer!
You hotshot, wanna get props and be a savior
First show a little respect, change your behavior
Change your attitude, change your plan
There could never really be justice on stolen land
Are you really for peace and equality?
Or when my car is hooked up, you know you wanna follow me
Your laws are minimal
‘Cause you won't even think about lookin' at the real criminal
This has got to cease
‘Cause we be getting hyped to the sound of da police

[Chorus]
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast

[Verse 2]
Now here's a likkle truth, open up your eye
While you're checkin' out the boom-bap, check the exercise
Take the word overseer, like a sample
Repeat it very quickly in a crew, for example
Overseer, overseer, overseer, overseer
Officer, officer, officer, officer
Yeah, officer from overseer
You need a little clarity? Check the similarity!
The overseer rode around the plantation
The officer is off, patrollin' all the nation
The overseer could stop you, "What you're doing?"
The officer will pull you over just when he's pursuing
The overseer had the right to get ill
And if you fought back, the overseer had the right to kill
The officer has the right to arrest
And if you fight back they put a hole in your chest
(Woop!) They both ride horses
After 400 years, I've got no choices
The police them have a likkle gun
So when I'm on the streets, I walk around with a bigger one
(Woop-woop!) I hear it all day
Just so they can run the light and be upon their way

[Break]
Yes indeed
Yes indeed
Yes indeed
Yes indeed

[Chorus]
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast

[Verse 3]
Check out the message in a rough stylee
The real criminal are the C-O-P
You check for undercover and the one P.D
But just a mere Black man, them wan' check me
Them check out me car, for it shine like the sun
But them jealous or them vexed, ‘cause them can't afford one
Black people still slaves up 'til today
But the Black police officer nyah see it that way
Him want a salary, him want it
So he put on a badge and kill people for it
My grandfather had to deal with the cops
My great-grandfather dealt with the cops
My great-grandfather had to deal with the cops
And then my great, great, great, great—when it's gonna stop?!

[Chorus]
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast

[Break]
Yes indeed
Yes indeed
Yes indeed
Yes indeed

[Chorus]
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da police
Woop-woop! That's the sound of da beast

KRS-One

The legendary MC from the South Bronx, New York, Lawrence “KRS-One” Parker has been steadily rapping since 1985. His name stands for “Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone”.

KRS came to rapping only by chance. In the Something from The Art of Rap documentary, he recalls watching an MC cypher when suddenly “a dude” randomly picked him out of the crowd and made fun of him. Feeling compelled to defend himself, KRS performed a little freestyle which impressed the crowd and eventually kicked off his rapping career.

His breakthrough onto the hip hop scene began with “The Bridge Is Over” – an answer record to the popular Queens rapper MC Shan’s song “Queensbridge”. From 1986 to 1992, KRS-One fronted the groundbreaking hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, scoring six top 20 hits on the US Rap Chart. In 1993, he began a solo career spanning three decades, racking up six more top 20 Rap Chart hits with “Sound of da Police”, “MCs Act Like They Don’t Know”, “Step Into A World” and “Men Of Steel” also achieving mainstream pop success on the Hot 100.