The Roots

Released: July 13, 2004

Featuring: Martin Luther

Songwriter: Black Thought Mel “Chaos” Lewis Dice Raw Paul Griffin Yolanda Paterno

Producer: Mel “Chaos” Lewis

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Bass for your face, highs for your eyes
Don't blink, Black Ink has arrived, all rise
Rude boys, keep that thing at your side, be alright
Muh'fuckers, Philly, we up in here, we all live
I'm puffin' this Cohiba, mami cool in her heels
All she ever seem to do is play it cool, f'real
She be pushin' Pop's vessel, and his shoe's is ill
But her hand keep slippin' on the woodgrain wheel
But it's cool, we never slippin' when it's moves to make
Especially when what we talkin' ain't ya usual cake
I pump bass for y'all bathin' apes, to get charged
Nah, I'm not a dealer, I'm a poet at large
We in the wind with the roof back, lettin' the breeze hit us
The bathrobe on with sweatpants and slippers
Comin' to pay a visit to whoever on the hit-list
Some of y'all been tryin' for years, you'll never get this, fool

[Hook]
Check it out (Stay cool) stay cool, daddy (Stay cool)
Stay cool ma (hey, hey) c'mon
(Stay cool, motherfuckers, y'all know the rules)
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)
There it is (Yeah, hah hah, stay coooool)

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Hip-Hop my main bitch, I got a few on the side
The game stitched, yo, I'm doin' my job
Go up against enormous odds
Wouldn't break a sweat, money make a bet
Funny son, you threat, well I ain't shakin' yet
Twenty-fo'/sev' chillin', tougher than penicillin
From the block where the crooked cops killin' like a villain
Children in the hood gettin' rocked by they buildings
And brothers 'cross the board gettin' knocked by the millions
The stress got me ignitin' the potent marijuana leaf
Tryin' to play it cooler than a polar bear colony
You feel the music, know I'm over there probably
Pimpin' on the same system that forever shorted me
I got the soul of a young Sam Cooke when I spit
It make you wanna make a new dance up
It's all to the good shorty, go on, do that stuff
It's not another sound system rockin' steady as us
And it's cool

[Hook]
(Stay Cool) yeah (Stay Cool) stay cool, ha
(Hey, hey) check it out, and just
(Stay cool, motherfuckers, y'all know the rules) yeah
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)
(Yeah, hah hah, stay coooool)

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
Yeah, when I'm crusin' in my vehicle, the Jakes harass me
They never ride past me, they really comin' at me, right
They wanna know where the drugs, guns and cash be
Probably wanna get me to run, so they can blast me
Just blast me in your box, play my shit
I know it's crowded at the top, 'cause I'm on the tip
And that's as high up at the top as a brother could get
And how I do it make a lot of muh'fuckers upset
But it's fine, 'Riq Jizzle and I'm back for mine
In case y'all gettin' tired of the same ol' shine
And I'm calm, calculated and perfectly aligned
The way I'm operatin', what is it? Surgery or rhyme?
It's not a thang when I lower the gradient lens frames
I'm cooler than Clyde Stubblefield, drummer for James
Hip-Hop is out of Hustleville, comin' for change
I exercise 'til a muscle build, breakin' the chains
And it's cool

[Hook]
(Stay cool) (Stay cool) (Hey, hey)
(Stay cool, motherfuckers, y'all know the rules)
(Hey, stay cool.. stay cool)
(Yeah, hah hah, stay coooool)

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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