Released: September 24, 1996

Songwriter: Leonard “Hub” Hubbard ?uestlove Kamal Gray Black Thought Malik B

Producer: Grand Wizzards Chaos

[Intro]
One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two
Check it, yeah, yeah

[Hook]
If you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise tryin' to vocalize

[Verse 1: Malik B]
Dig it, look through the window, tell me what you see?
The M-Illitant school of philosophy
Where niggas get dealt wit' mental velocity
Connect my sentences and thoughts like apostrophes
You represent hypocrisy, it ain't no stoppin' me
Until I fulfill the term of my prophecy
My attitude is scarred by this inner-city urban
Iller dolo stress on my brain just like a turban
Who get grazed by the bullet? Triggers, who quick to pull it?
The anti-bullshitter, Islamic extortioner
You're the forfeiter unfortunately
Niggas who wanna gyp me, I cause humidity, so come and get me
I'm simply the cat to lay back, I chill and watch you
The silent ninja intends to injure, now I gotchu
Sanity was lost so now I'm found insane
I'm thinkin' streets to jeeps; hours, days to weeks
I even speak to geeks, I hold my fortune, it's sweet
I'm discreet in the streets, but that's just the way I play, though
I lay low, but over your head just like a halo
Hell's angel, these thoughts you cannot untangle
When I drop jewels, niggas, they wear 'em like a bangle
Check it out, one time for your mind like that

[Hook x2]
If you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise, no verdicts, no alibis

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Dig it, look into the window, tell me what you see?
Lieutenant university of philosophy
When you not possibly escapin' what I'm meditatin'
My shackle of thought tackle you while I'm educatin'
Your dome resonatin' from inhalation of darkness
As I spark the smart shit for which you’re waitin'
Situatin' me at the top of the pile
Wild Delaware Val', Pennsylvanian sub-terranean style
Step up into my crevice and taste the medicine of the champagne
King like Evelyn, leavin' you leveled and sabotaged
It's all camouflage like the devil and guns
And coke peddlin', Olympic meddlin' flashback
That of a war veteran blast at
The programmer bringin' lashes 'cross your back
On some accuracy of a brainwashed Bosnian troop
That swooped down through your roof without sound
On a lyrical Nat Turner mission, reactin' off of intuition
Continuously alert, no intermission
If your ears hurt, you shouldn't listen
That means you're artificial and my style'll poison your brain tissue
Gettin' maimed and crippled once the gamma rays hit you
My grain's/migraines habitual and I should never go against
The ritual I've been masterin' ever since
I was among the flavored youth, remain sharper than a saber tooth
My deliverance is self-evidence
Vit-al, lyric-al science, now!

[Hook]
See, if you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise, no verdicts, no alibi
If you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise tryin' to vocalize, yeah

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
Who knows what you snorted?
Or who support what you recorded?
But don't get it distorted, in this orbit you're aborted
This authentic, sorted shit's imported, exported
Styles, they get sported, my paragraph's aortic
Behold, the illest medley lock you in a choke hold
Illadelph epilogue, top league, plush, plus en vogue
Slice tongues from your area code
Student of life that's on the rugged, exterior mode
Blind a devil with the bold, black and gold shine
I walk the thin line and hold mine, let the people respond
It's mind detect mind, swine decline, let the power refine
Build like it's 1999
In this day and time, the reptilian roams the sextillion ton
Your Armageddon gwan come from the sun
Untouchable cuts that's unclutchable for some to overstand
So y'all sit back and wonder "Damn!"
I'd like to take this time to tell you who I am
Original man, Black Thought A.K.A. Lieutenant
Malik B'll be the M-Illitant
Known to vanish in the atmosphere, we up there like the stratos
Word life

[Hook]
If you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise, and no alibi
So, if you seen it or heard it, maybe, probably I did it
Maybe or maybe not, I admit what I committed
Exhibit the truth because I'm livin' proof why
I had no disguise tryin' to vocalize, we got no alibi

The Roots

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.