Released: February 23, 1999

Featuring: Jazzyfatnastees DJ Jazzy Jeff

Songwriter: Leonard “Hub” Hubbard Kamal Gray ?uestlove Black Thought

Producer: ?uestlove Kamal Gray

[Intro: Black Thought]
C'mon, and yes y'all
You are now in tune to the sounds
Of the legendary foundation

[Pre-Hook: Black Thought]
Yeah, you go
Hey, you listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement

[Hook: Black Thought]
Word up, we got the hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Yo, one, two, one-two, one-two
That's how we usually start, once again it's the Thought
The Dalai Lama of the mic, the prime minister Thought
This directed to whoever in listening range
Yo, the whole state of things in the world 'bout to change
Black rain fallin' from the sky looks strange
The ghetto is red hot, we steppin' on flames
Yo, it's inflation on the price for fame
And it was all the same, but then the antidote came
The Black Thought, ill syllabist out The Fifth
This heavyweight rap shit I'm about to lift
Like, a father lift up his seed to sunlight
I plug in the mic, draw like a gunfight
I never use a cordless, or stand applaudless
Sippin' chlorophyll out of ill silver goblets
I'm like a faucet, monopoly's the object
There ain't no way to cut this tap, you gotta get wet
Your head is throbbin' and I ain't said shit yet
The Roots crew - The Next Movement, c'mon!

[Interlude: Black Thought]
And yes y'all
You are now in tune to the sounds
Of the legendary, foundation, check it out, uh

[Pre-Hook: Black Thought]
Testin', yo, it go
Hey, you listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement

[Hook: Black Thought]
Word up, we got the hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Word up, the formation of words to fit
That's what I usually disturb you with
A lot of rappers never heard of this, or know half the time it is
You doubt the Illa-Fifth, what could you accomplish?
Whether they skywriting your name or you anonymous
You be speechless with stinging sinuses
The Roots royal highnesses through your monitors
I tilt my crown, then blow down a dime a kiss
You need to buy a CD and stop rewindin' this
I'm the finalist, shinin' like a rugged amethyst
And at your music conference, I'm the panelist
Listen close to my poetry, I examine this like an analyst
To see if you can handle this
Check it out, you, got to groove
Emcees, freeze, stand still, nobody move
Unless you dealin' with the next movement
The P-Phi-D, we be the mon-u-ment
I live my life nice, but I'm not too bent
You theatrical as a Broadway play, this ain't Rent
One hundred percent, straight out the basement
Spreadin' this across the planet on some next shit
Yo, how many people feelin' this love music? C'mon

[Pre-Hook: Black Thought]
Yo, you go
Hey, you listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement
You listeners, stop what you're doin' and
Set it in motion, it's the next movement

[Hook: Black Thought]
Word up, we got the hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music
The hot-hot music, the hot music

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.