TAKE A KNEE

I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Take a knee for the rap music industry

All the creativity’s gone
Some new fools
Same old damn song
Hip-hop gloss got lost in the sauce
Now everybody wanna be on top
With the lame-ass rhymes and the lame-ass sound
The best rap music began as underground
KRS-1, Run-DMC
Eric B., Rakim, EPMD
Too $hort, Ice-T
Public Enemy
Showed us the rise of rhythm and rhyme, G
Now the crap that’s out is a joke
Everybody wanna brag on the blunt smoke
Or the two nines or some rims
Grammy’s don’t make you a legend in the game, kid

I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Same old beats, BS, and bling-bling
I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Take a knee for the rap music industry


So you got money but where’s your heart?
Hip-hop’s on it’s way to a lost art
Back in the day, lyrics and rhymes
Demonstrated depth in a young mind
Now all you need is a dumb-ass hook
The same drum beat and ridiculous look
The time is now and the game has changed
But roots are roots and soul should remain, man
Yeah, I am new
And I’m old school
And I know what hip-hop’s about, fool
What’s the future of rap gonna be?
Originality already died, G

I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Same old beats, BS, and bling-bling
I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Take a knee for the rap music industry


Jam Master Jay, Tupac and Big
ODB, Big Pun, Eazy-E did
Leave their mark in the rap hall-of-fame
True to the game they were to their last day
Now some sucka tries to apply
Some lame style to rap and I ask why
Paint-by-numbers fools wanna play hard
N.W.A. pulled that card
Personified street crime into hard rhymes
Dr. Dre and Cube on the front lines
Recognize the originals and respect
Rap’s headin’ hard for a car wreck

I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Same old beats, BS, and bling-bling
I remember back in the day when
Rap was original, non-residual
Now it’s the same old thing, same old thing
Take a knee for the rap music industry