Released: February 23, 1999

Featuring: Dice Raw

Songwriter: Scratch James Poyser Leonard “Hub” Hubbard Rahzel Kamal Gray ?uestlove Malik B Dice Raw Black Thought

Producer: Grand Wizzards

[Intro: Black Thought]
Uh, what, what, yo, yo, P-5-D uncut
Check it out, yo, yo, S-P uncut
Yo, yo, what, P-5-D uncut, yeah, yeah, it's that Philly shit
Yo, yo, check it out, yo yo

[Hook: Malik B]
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Mesmerizin', state of the art caffeine
It's over head like Omniverse screen
I'm not the average savage that curse queens
I'm somethin' from his worst dreams
First we handlin' first things, I'm subsurface unseen
Grat'll hold planet by purse strings
MC's are earthlings, not built to hurt things
Speakin' the words of weaklings, nothin' but sweet things

[Verse 2: Malik B & Black Thought]
Man each world, it ain't no time to recline
Act up, get clapped up, my mind is the nine
Shine like jewels that spark, swimmin' with sharks
Never caught speakin' to NARC's, that's weak in the parks
I'm the type to sit back and analyze the prize
Grip it up and flee the scene wit' a different disguise
Take a detour, I be all that I can be, whore
Talkin' to this *bitch* life, had to make her my wife
Live twice, got seven more lives to live
I'm all out, takin' things to the fullest extent
Help me get it down and we can split 100%
Run a rapper through a maze like an experiment
Word up, you know the legendary Roots crew, yo

[Hook: Malik B]
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check

[Verse 3: Dice Raw]
The Raw Dice rise like a creature from out the swamp
With my blood-thirsty clergy that's on the hunt for conk
Who pumps your heart?
Who made you wanna rhyme from the start?
You should be more alert, then you wouldn't get hurt
Get off your horse and on your P's and beware
Of images you seein', they deceivin', you're scared
And even more shook up than the scenes that's near, I'm Dice Raw
Sting the inside of your mouth like a cold sore
Who want a piece? Well, it's Round One, let's begin
I got a gun that's don't bust, it just suck niggas in
I got shit that'll have you beggin' me to shoot ya
I'm the professor, you rock a dunce cap, go get a tutor

[Verse 4: Black Thought]
Yo, Okay Computer, Radiohead's knock to the
Future Shock like Curtis, at your service
None other than, the Fifth government playin' the cut again
Y'all clueless to what the fuck is up again
Yo, hard times and sufferin'
What? My peoples in the crevices strugglin'
'Nuff of them a toy soldier thespian
But I'm from the next e-on
Supreme being that's unseen for emceein'

[Hook: Malik B]
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check

[Verse 5: Malik B]
Yo, they all around me, 'round me
On my head, they got a bounty
I'm tryin' to get this bail up, so I can flee your county
Triple-six, come in my mix, flood it with tricks
I'm sharper than rough spoons for icepicks
Niggas price bricks till dawn, if the money is long
Cats who play strong will inhale, then go play bong
You wrong, son, if you thought I wasn't droppin' a ton
Sit and think about the way I wanna tally a sum

[Verse 6: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Aiyyo, I sneakfully snuck up from behind and got you
From over there in them bushes, I chilled and watched you
Dancin' all jolly as you pussy for them folly
I knock you out wit' one punch
Which mean you been Ali-ed
I float like hovercrafts and sting like vaccinations
When my name's said out loud, you'll lose your concentration
Dice Raw, D-I-C-E R-A-W
You wanna take it, otherwise, fuck you gon' do?
That's what I thought, nada, nothin', kaput, zero
Rough as sandpaper, but still smooth as a tiptoe
Raw's takin' over, baby, don't tell me you ain't know
A lot of kids can rap but you fuckin' with the pros
Nahmsayin'? Y'all know the legendary Roots crew, it's like

[Hook: Malik B]
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check
You don't see us, but we see you
You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's
'Cause you will get crept, wit' no discrept
You know the rep, we keep the flows in check

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.