The Roots

Released: March 11, 2008

Featuring: Patrick Stump

Songwriter: ?uestlove Patrick Stump Black Thought

Producer: Shane Clark Richard Nichols ?uestlove

[Hook: Patrick Stump]
What is it we wanna doooo..
Now that I'm allowed to be in love with you?
Bir-thday girl, it's your birthday
Wherever you wanna go
Now you're old enough to go and see the "R"-rated show, now
"R"-rated show

[Verse One: Black Thought]
Yo, she said she was a magazine editor named, Janine
Backstage in high-heels and painted-on, jeans
Probably had the most, devious eyes I'd ever seen
Told me she was twenty-two, she was only seventeen
She had sum'hin to hide she snuck in from out-side
And got, everybody gassed like the car I, drive
With all that grown-lady ass and my far-out, vibe
She said she came to see them Roots boys +Fall-Out+ live, but listen...

[Hook w/ ad-libs]

[Verse Two: Black Thought]
You see the girls look good, but they brains not ready
I talk to a woman, her mind is mo', steady
Probably sum'hin in the way they designed, that's mo' steady
I just let you inside cause the line so, heavy
But I shoulda know, better cause now I feel like America's
Underbelly R. Kelly gutter smut peddlers
Internet predators, chat-room irregulars
This not my twist, you tryna send me to the therapist, miss

[Hook w/ ad-libs]

[Verse Three: Black Thought]
Now, she told me cheddar cheese grits, two tomato fried fish
Cause she heard it's my dish, tryna be my sidekick
All the people all around thinkin she was my chick
Sayin, "Damn, the girl thick, but she ain't no twenty-six"
Lookin at me like I'm up to sum'him on the funny tip
Like I ever really been the one to try the honey drip
It's your birthday so let me know the gift you wanna get
In fact, blow out the candles on the cake and make a wish for me

[Bridge: Patrick Stump]
They can't really seem to look away
So they try, asking her to stay
Fake I.D., you won't get turned away!
You look, lovely toniiiight...
Now you're old enough to buy a gun
So many better ways of having fun
Right now I can only think of one...
You look lovely toniiiight...

[Hook w/ ad-libs and variations 'til end]

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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