Ital (The Universal Side)The Roots

[Hook x2]
Everybody reppin'
From the Illadelph side (from the Illadelph side)
From the New York side (from the New York side)
To the Universal side (to the Universal side)

[Verse 1: Q-Tip & (Black Thought)]
(Abstract) I wanna be able to reach an MC
And reach a little child in the same degree
And my elders excel, I mean, what the hell?
We might as well bridge these gaps
And all before we fall in the fire

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
There's a million MC's up on a plan they call real, tryin' to set it
Profess mic techniques illegit
Inaccurate perceptions of reality embedded in they minds
Thus, they rhymes I discredit, check it out now

[Verse 3: Q-Tip]
I use my music, implement it with jewels and sport tools
To inspire all these too-cool fools who say "screw school"
'Cause they don't see the conspiracy
That's put here to trap you and me, but we can get out

[Verse 4: Black Thought]
Y'all know the Bad Lieutenant
Be on some whole 'nother other finesse genetic
They say I get it from my mother, so it's inheredit-ary
And very necessary to shine, legendarily, heavily refined

[Verse 5: Q-Tip]
Contemporaries like The Roots is so rad, it's like, dag!
Which bag did they come out of?
And how can I get in it to win it?
Like a raffle ticket pickin', if you feelin' stuck
Then guess who did the stickin' of ya feelings, y'all

[Verse 6: Black Thought]
I got this Ital style up-close and personal
The first I find to violate, I shall retal-iate
With realism for their whole local to relate
We on point like decimal, Abstract, now!

[Verse 7: Q-Tip & (Black Thought)]
Emceein' while I'm breathin' (Emceein' while I'm breathin')
Emceein' is believin' (Is believin' that what?)
That you can host a ceremony and the dose is never phony
In fact, it's quite therapeutic like a B12 hypodermic needle
So, shoot it!

[Verse 8: Black Thought]
Lyrically elicit, up steps the explicit most wicked 7-digit mic wizard
My tongue lash out and strike with it, ya slightly might miss it
When I blast through ya section or district to rip it like...

[Hook x2]

[Verse 9: Black Thought]
In my formative years, by my peers I was influenced
Until the instruments of time killed the congruence
I peeped the blueprints on how to make true sense
Of MC's which are a nuisance
I know just what to do since I'm on another lev'
Brothers is fakin' jacks and think they ready for the rev'
But they got a lot to learn to make their thoughts long-term
'Cause their short-cuts'll make a wrong turn, probably
Timelessly, I construct the fearsome
To rip ya eardrum for many years to come
Profession-al style, thinkin' rational to move wise
So hard, it's a wonder y'all alive...

[Verse 10: Q-Tip]
... And still breathin', niggas is dead and not even
Perpetratin' real life, this shit kicked is real trife
They fake bleedin', it's obvious that they needin'
Attention feedin', they cold actin' like heathens
When mics is picked up, obscene scenes is kicked up
Like women with the grip up, drinkin' Moët 'til they hiccup
Fellas hustlin', pickin' bricks up
Fantasizin' about the illest stick-up
But rip up the jam and we'll be truly impressed
On stage, you won't need ya tef' vest (What?)
Only a mic and a mic test, and at your best
You get blessed by the fans who profess
That they can relate to the trials you tribulate
Or the pains you endure, 'cause some cats is pure
Tell horrors that are true, but see, cats like you
Y'all fake joints just to get a woo-hoo
The tear jerker, you like a miracle worker
Whose miracles just ran out, I think it's time you pan out
Or just plain fade 'cause, yo, you played
We 'bout to drop it on you like the Everglades like...

[Hook x4]