Released: November 4, 1997

Songwriter: Rakim

Producer: Clark Kent

[Intro]
Yeah, yeah
Once again, back is the incredible

[Verse 1]
It's the return of the Wild Style fashionist
Smashin' hits, make it hard to adapt to this
Put pizzazz and jazz in this, and cash in this
Mastered this, flash this and make 'em clap to this
DJ's throw on cuts and obey the crowd
Just pump the volume up, and play it loud
Hip-hop's embedded, before I said I wouldn't let it
But me and the microphone is still magnetic
Straight off the top, I knew I'd be forced to rock
Dancefloors just stop, the spot's scorchin' hot
Hopin' I'll open Rakim Allah seminars
Massage at the bar, smokin' ten dollar cigars
While I admire MIDI, with more vision than TV's
I find it easy catchin' diabetes from fly sweeties
Sit back and wait to hear a slammin' track
Rockin' jams, by popular demand I'm back

[Hook]
I control the crowd, you know Ra hold it down
When it drop, you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world-renowned
And I rock New York City all year around

[Verse 2]
It's on, so you can swerve when it's heard in clubs
Thought patterns displayed on Persian rugs
Equations are drawn up in paisley form
Mic, it stay warm, my flow is Evian
Deep as a Nautilus, you stay dipped in Ra's style
From the shores of Long Island to Panama Canal
Intellect pitches new trends like a clothes designer
I'm in effect, quicker than medicines in China
Split the mic open, fill it with somethin' potent to go in
And take a toke then mental planes start floatin'
Hot science is smokin', altitudes cause chokin'
Product is hypnotic, you're soakin' and still smokin'
Showin' better scenes than grams of amphetamines
Plans to scheme, means I'll forever fiend
Long as the mic is loud and the volume's pumpin'
I'mma move crowds to two-thousand and somethin'

[Hook]
I control the crowd, you know Ra hold it down
When it drop, you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world-renowned
And I rock New York City all year around

[Verse 3]
My rhymes and lyrics find spirits like a seance
Since fat crayons, I write and display chaos
My plan is damage, the diagram to where the jam is
I take advantage until the crowd go bananas
What a rush! I hear cuts, then I lust to touch
Microphones get clutched by the illustrious
Word spread, I inherited many ways to say the unsaid
Born with three 7's in my head
In time, no one can seem to blow your mind as far as this
To find, you'll need philosophers and anthropologists
Astrologists, professors from your smartest colleges
With knowledge of scholarships, when Ra be droppin' this
Some of the things that I know will be in your next bible
When I die, go bury me and my notebook in Cairo
With the great God from Egypt, manifest, was writin' rhymes
Align with the stars, I come back to bless the mic

[Hook]
I control the crowd, you know Ra hold it down
When it drop, you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world-renowned
And I rock New York City all year around

I control the crowd, you know Ra hold it down
When it drop, you know it's jiggy when you hear the sound
From town to town, until it's world-renowned
And I rock New York City all year around

[Outro]
Once again, back is the incredible
Word up, Rakim Allah the Microphone Fiend is back
Yaknahmean? (Rakim Allah!)
Til' death do us part, it's on
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again, back is the incredible (Rakim Allah!)
Once again back is the incredible
The incredible, the incredible, the incredible
Once again, back is the incredible
Rhyme animal, the incredible

Rakim

The God MC, William Michael Griffin Jr. (b. January 28, 1968), known professionally as Rakim, is an American rapper representing the East Coast, hailing from Long Island, New York. Widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most influential lyricists of all time, Rakim’s pioneering multisyllabic rhyming techniques demonstrated his lyrical superiority and helped cement his legacy.

Prior to his celebrated solo efforts, Rakim served as one half of the hip-hop duo, Eric B. & Rakim. The duo would go on to release a total of four studio albums before separating in 1992. Their 1987 debut album, Paid in Full, became a benchmark within hip-hop and inspired many future rappers, partly due to Rakim’s lyrical proficiency.

Coming off of a five-year hiatus, Rakim released his acclaimed debut solo album, The 18th Letter, in 1997. It is considered by many to be his best album, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 charts. Rakim’s 1999 sophomore album, The Master, received mixed reviews—it would be his last studio album for a decade until re-emerging with 2009’s, The Seventh Seal.