The Roots

Released: December 2, 2011

Featuring: Greg Porn

Songwriter: Black Thought Greg Porn

Producer: Sean C & LV

[Intro: Derrick Moore]
"It’s about flesh and blood
It’s about a heart beat that beats strong
It’s about a passion that is unyielding
And I want you men to know today
It is your time
It is your hour, it is your moment
Go take it!"

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Yeah, speaking of "Pieces of a Man"
Staring at a future in the creases of my hand
It reads like a final letter I’m leaving for my fam
But it’s written in language they will never understand
A late repentant, never deviating from a plan
I drive by, headed for the Valley of the Damned
The wheels spin, I’m looking for a sacrificial lamb
Then roll tactics like a soldier out in the Sudan
Listen: Was this a matter of flesh and blood? Yes, it was
Does it matter who win and lose? Yes, it does
It ain’t about the most blessed love
When you return to the essence, what is it back to the essence of?
Greatness, I wasn't in the presence of
'Cause you was fake and never measured up
You just a nigga on his regular, but how far am I ahead of you?
It just as easily could've been me instead of you

[Interlude: Derrick Moore]
"We gon' fight 'til we can’t fight no more
And when we can’t fight no more
We gon' lie down and bleed a while
We gon’ get up, and fight some more
And I want you say it with me
Repeat it after me when I say it:
'We gon’ fight!'"

[Verse 2: Greg Porn]
Fuck getting fucked, Immaculate Conception
Now, "What’s beef?" ain’t even a question
Calico kisses, cold blood, and crime tape
Flirt with death, every night is a blind date
One-night stand, payback's a bitch
Shit have you skinny-dipping in a pool of your piss
Blood, sweat, and tears, broken teeth and spit
Put the barrel in your mouth, blow the Devil a kiss
Put the knife in your back, cut down to the red meat
Daddy should’ve let me be a stain on the bedsheets
I’m one shot short of a Molotov cocktail
Kick in the door like, "Welcome to my world"
I’m an evil genius when it comes to this dumb shit
Half of the time, I'ma keep it one hundred
Don’t play chicken when I’m driving 'em crazy
Get hit in the wing, thigh, breast or drumstick
We like (We like— We like— We like— We like—)

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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