Released: April 28, 2008

Songwriter: ?uestlove Black Thought

Producer: ?uestlove

[Intro]
Just a little bit more
We got Tariq up?

[Verse: Black Thought]
I'm from the land of them straight razor face beard niggas
With hammers on their waist, yeah, waste weird niggas
And erase scared niggas, them snake-head niggas
That take care of niggas who don't break bread with us
Niggas make dead niggas, and hate Black niggas
Brown niggas, high yellow niggas and them red niggas
No tellin' when the bullet comin', be prepared, niggas
'Cause when it do, it's coming land, sea and air, niggas
That's everywhere, niggas
Am I the motherfuckin' legendary? Yeah, niggas
Make it very clear, niggas
Been looking at y'all in my rearview mirror, niggas
Wanna be a millionaire, I'm already there, niggas
I'm a debonaire nigga, a bear taking more than my share
Looky here, yeah, I know it ain't fair, nigga
Neither is a bald eagle with a hair trigger
Haystack—try to find a needle up in there, nigga
Leave you up in there, nigga
Show me the puppet that don't need a puppeteer, nigga
Shed another tear, nigga
I'm in the field with a shield and a spear, nigga
I'm in your girl with her heels in the air, nigga
I am such a rare nigga
You in a battle telling me you not ready
Like you figured I'ma bear with you
I don't care, nigga
You now listening to the sounds of the Money Making Jam Trillionaires, nigga
Gentlemen of an extraordinary league
You never see me blowing on no ordinary weed
What I'm smoking ain't a product of no ordinary seed
Your boy is heavy tree'd
I'm feeling merry as a Tyler Perry scene
That monetary gangrene
We tried to launder the cash and never came clean
So now, I'm in the story with all the cats before me
And smoke purgatory for doing the same thing
And them niggas ain't change, them niggas can't change
Their moms shake they heads, say, "It's such a dang shame"
The train to the bus then another dang plane
My stage and my government ain't the same name
I'm a rockstar, love it that my wallet chain hang
I'm a modern day saint, I'm a modern day Kane
My definition, I can finally explain
Cold smooth like that dude Sean Connery was playing
I just gotta be the man, I'm the father figure and
When I spit, it's something like a psychology exam
If you stand where I stood, you could probably understand
How that mic feeling like a million dollars in my hand
It's the silence of the lamb, go and cop another gram
And twist with your Xanny, Percocet, Percodan
What's your networking plan? You better look alive
'Cause them niggas outside looking desperate again, nigga
And the blunts and liquor killing our lungs and liver
The asthmatic drug addict, I function with it
I put a rapper in a hole where the dust will sit
For spitting played out patterns that once was hittin'
I got news for you all, let me show you how to ball
See the legendary fall, I ain't heard of that
Y'all niggas is off the wall like Arsenio Hall
I'ma put you right back where the dirt is at
450 Fahrenheit on the thermostat
Somebody starvin' like a white girl, Bernadette
But she not a earner yet
She couldn't put in no work for Nat Burner yet
The black microphone murder vet, I'm in a class of my own
If I got beef with you, you the last one to know
I arrive on time, I'm never fashionable
You late, I'm already internationable
I done twirled in Berlin, banged in Beijing
You never seen nothing, can't say the same thing
Tell somebody "Black Thought," yeah, you know the name ring
So give him the game ring for bringing what them niggas can't bring
My hustle is long, my muscle is strong
My man put the paper in the duffle, I'm gone
Y'all still a lightyear from the level I'm on
Just a pawn stepping right into the head of the storm
You been warned, I will blow y'all niggas and disintegrate
I'm a rebel, renegade, must stay paid

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.