The Roots

Released: November 4, 2011

Featuring: Dice Raw Big K.R.I.T.

Songwriter: ?uestlove Khari Mateen Ray Angry Black Thought Dice Raw Big K.R.I.T.

Producer: Ray Angry ?uestlove Khari Mateen

[Verse 1: Big K.R.I.T]
I did it all for the money, Lord, it's what it seems
Well in the world of night terrors, it's hard to dream
They holl'in', "Cash rules everything," just call it cream
'Cause when it rises to the top, you get the finer things
Ocean fronts, rolling blunts with model chickens
Saying grace over lobster and steak
Like, please forgive us for riding Benzes with camera plates
Too busy looking backwards for jackers to pump my brakes
For help signs to symbolize the lives that hunger takes
Addicted to the green; if I don't ball, I get the shakes
I'd give it all for a peace of mind, for Heaven's sakes
My heart's so heavy that the ropes that hold my casket breaks
'Cause everything that wasn't for me, I had to chase
I had to take, I had to take

[Hook: Dice Raw]
They told me that the ends
Won't justify the means
And they told me at the end
It won't justify the dreams
That I've had since a child
Maybe I'll throw in the towel
Make my (Make my), make my (Make my)
Departure from the world

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Tryna control the fits of panic
Unwritten and unraveled, it's the dead man's pedantic
Whatever—see, it's really just a matter of semantics
When everybody's fresh out of collateral to damage
And my splaying got me praying like a mantis
I begin to vanish, feel the pull of the blank canvas
I'm contemplating that special dedication
To whoever it concern, my letter of resignation
Fading back to black, my dark coronation
The heat of the day, the long robe of muerte
That soul is in the atmosphere like airplay
If there's a Heaven, I can't find the stairway

[Hook: Dice Raw]
They told me that the ends
Won't justify the means
And they told me at the end
It won't justify the dreams
That I've had since a child
Maybe I'll throw in the towel
Make my (Make my), make my (Make my)
Departure from the world

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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