The Roots

Released: August 29, 2006

Featuring: John-John

Songwriter: Black Thought ?uestlove Kamal Gray Frank “Knuckles” Walker Leonard “Hub” Hubbard Captain Kirk Douglas John McGlinchey

Producer: John McGlinchey

[Intro: Black Thought]
Slow down when you're hitting them corners
Fuck around, spill this 'gnac on my two hundred dollar suit
(stop being a backseat driver man)
(turn him up)

[Verse 1]
Your ma don't like to jitterbug, said this unholy music
Hip hop just so ridiculous, everything sounds so confusing
Nowadays ain't nothing like it was, one thing that showed the blues
Is this system so mysterious, can't let that stop the movement
Can't get no satisfaction, they all laughing, glad it's happening
All ringside for the main attraction
Acting a fool with a lust for action
Young girl caught in a crime of passion
Sitting there crying in designer fashion
Didn't blow, didn't have time for asking
"Somebody call for the ambulances", girl

[Hook: John-John]
Baby, baby, baby
Baby let me live, please girl let me slide
Baby, baby, baby
Baby if you let me go, I swear I'll change, just change your mind

[Verse 2]
Your old man don't like to jitterbug, said this old dirty music
Hip hop just so ridiculous, them stories too confusing
Nowadays he ain't loving you like he was
And you ain't there just for using
Could have sworn that was him with another girl
And they wasn't out just for cruising
Can't get no satisfaction
He out late nights, probably smashing
Leaving a trail like trolley tracks
Or the train on the ground, downtown Manhattan
Everybody seen him run around and you bound to catch him
The condoms, you found and asked him, was all this just for practice?
He didn't realize what he had
Now your heart got fractured, girl

[Hook: John-John]
Baby, baby, baby
Baby let me live, please girl let me slide
Baby, baby, baby
Baby if you let me go, I swear I'll change, just change your mind

[Outro: John-John]
Baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby

The world’s premiere hip-hop band, The Roots were formed in Philadelphia in 1987 by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Since those early days, the band has weathered changes in personnel and record labels while performing hundreds of shows a year and releasing a string of well-regarded (if not always top-selling) albums.

While the musicianship of Thompson and the other band members, as well as their seemingly limitless repertoire, gets most of the attention, real hip-hop fans know that the rapping skills of Black Thought (along with former group member Malik B.) are the group’s hidden weapon. Thought, one of the few MCs brave enough to go toe to toe with Big Pun, handles any groove the band throws at him with aplomb, style, and flash.

Today, The Roots are seen by millions every night as the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a move that has given the group the chance to indulge its not-insignificant comic side.

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