[Intro]
Yeah
As a shorty, playing in the front yard of the crib
Fell down and I bumped my head
Somebody helped me up and asked me if I bumped my head
I said, "Yeah"
So then they said, "Oh, so that mean you gon', you gon' switch it on 'em?"
I said "Yeah, Flipmode, Flipmode is the greatest"
You know, and as a shorty, I was always told
That if I ain't gon' be part of the greatest
I gotta be the greatest myself
C'mon, c'mon, yeah, c'mon
[Verse 1]
Yeah, nigga, what? What a surprise
Give ya somethin', make a nigga close both of your eyes
All my niggas gettin' money capitalize
Die, little small guy, we on the rise
Everything a nigga touch Platinum-ize
Fully equipped, you know we come with all the supplies
Got a big gun and I'ma show you the size
You fuck with any of my Flipmode family ties
Me and my niggas be comin' through, stalkin' you out
Killin' off any and everything you talkin' about
See you in the club, now we walkin' you out
Shoulda thought twice 'fore you went and opened your mouth
Yo, anyway, we stay keepin' it movin'
Fuckin' with the wrong nigga, hope you know what you're doin'
Now blame me, all the same niggas is lame
It's not a game, makin' names still splittin' your frame
[Chorus]
Y'all niggas had enough? (Gimme some more)
Y'all niggas want the wild shit? (Gimme some more)
Yo, Spliff, where the weed at? (Gimme some more)
I know y'all niggas need that (Gimme some more)
Even though we getting money, you can (Gimme some more)
With the cars and the big cribs (Gimme some more)
Everybody spread love (Gimme some more)
If you want it, let me hear you say it (Gimme some more)
[Verse 2]
Flash with a rash, gimme my cash, flickin' my ash
Runnin' with my money, son, go out with a blast
Do what you want, a nigga's cuttin' the corner
You fuckin' up the order, go ahead and meet the reporter
Yo, she tellin' news on how you switch to a bitch
Little fake, funny style nigga chill with a snitch
So now I pass you straight, I don't got nothing to ask you
Make a little room for me and all my niggas to pass through
Cartier , Sidney Poitier , hooray shit
Roll with all of my niggas from around the way shit
When I come through, you niggas know I do my thing
Bring more shit that generate money, cha-ching
Arrest you, lyrically, flow'll caress you
Bless you, then a nigga come to your rescue
While you assume a nigga blossom and bloom
I'm comin' soon, hit you with a boom, gimme some room
[Chorus]
Y'all niggas had enough? (Gimme some more)
Y'all niggas want the wild shit? (Gimme some more)
Hey, Spliff, where the weed at? (Gimme some more)
I know y'all niggas need that (Gimme some more)
Even though we getting money, you can (Gimme some more)
Cars and the big cribs (Gimme some more)
Everybody spread love (Gimme some more)
If you want it let me hear you say it (Gimme some more)
[Verse 3]
Yo (Yo), live nigga shit, know what I mean?
I represent while we gettin' money and reign supreme
Hope y'all niggas know we comin' through full-steam
Can't see me, better turn on your high beam
All my niggas wildin', ringin' the siren
( Flipmode! ) Be glory niggas from my team
Never should you ever try to fuck with my cream
I O.D. when my shit get all in your bloodstream
Every time we be rippin' it, be blowing it down
Blowing you off, fuckin' with the hottest niggas around ('Round)
Ruckus when me and my people run through your town
Holdin' it down, takin' a while and then gimme my crown, ayy (Yo)
All my people need to come and surround
A nigga be hittin' so much, it make you fall on the ground
Sure to make you shout, that's what I be all about
Turnin' you out, makin' all you niggas fall out
[Chorus]
Y'all niggas had enough? (Gimme some more)
Y'all niggas want the wild shit? (Gimme some more)
Hey, Spliff, where the weed at? (Gimme some more)
I know y'all niggas need that (Gimme some more)
Even though we getting money, you can (Gimme some more)
With the cars and the big cribs (Gimme some more)
Everybody spread love (Gimme some more)
If you want it let me hear you say it (Gimme some more)
[Produced by DJ Scratch]
Busta suggests that his flow stops people to listen to him, a musical arrest, a flow that caresses them. Could be linked to the wind’s flow, blowing and caressing the individual in a smooth way.
“Bless you” he says, thanking those new listeners, Busta, coming in to save the day while the next lines are either referring to him not reacting as you expect it (he hits you with a gunshot ‘boom’ so better leave some room) or because he expects his success following such a boom (maybe a future hit song) to require room for them to be praised for it.
“Then a nigga come to your rescue” could also be interpreted as being ‘saved’ from listening to him, where he will as promised come back with a boom that will not be unnoticed and hook you back to his music.
After confirming he bumped his head as a child, ‘they’ replied that it would indicate either that they are or that he is now going to ‘switch it on them,’ most probably a switch if we think of the “flip the switch” expression, meaning to have a sudden and drastic change of heart according to Urban Dictionary.
Since his crew is called Flipmode Squad, it somewhat suggests they are the best at flipping switches on them, most probably to disregard/ignore them instead of suddenly acknowledging or respecting these opponents. The visualization would be like turning the lights off on these adversaries and having the spotlight on Busta Rhymes and his friends.
While Busta is moving up in the game, he’s passing by all of the other small rappers, like a large corporation squashing small competition. Busta is an industry.
Cartier is a distributor and retailer of jewelry and watches. In the music video, Busta flashes a fancy watch as he says this line.
Combined with the reference to Poitier, and the next line “from around the way”, I think Busta is highlighting how much American culture changed from the ‘60s to the '90s. Specifically, that it is possible for an African American to be successful and have expensive things, thanks in part to the efforts of positive role models like Poitier.
Smoking weed will often make people squint their eyes. Some are also affected with a feeling of drowsiness. Busta is bragging that he has good weed here.
Two interpretations may rise from these lines
“Busta now passes and trait over your blood to ask you” seems to have a double entendre.
1 – Trait has Latin and French origins. As per Google’s Knowledge Graph/Define function: from French, from Latin tractus ‘drawing, pulling’ (see tract).
An early sense was ‘stroke of the pen or pencil in a picture,’ giving rise to the sense ‘a particular feature of mind or character’ (mid 18th cent).
In French today, the word trait is still used to refer to a single line drawn with a pen, maybe suggesting he is drawing in your blood to ask you to make a little room for his crew to go through.
2 – Blood Type Trait is potentially referred to here like he is examining your blood type, and potentially your human traits before asking for sufficient room to passage. Interestingly, Busta having access to trait over your blood would probably not require him asking you to provide space for them to pass through.
ACCEPTED SUGGESTION: It’s actually “So now I pass you straight up, don’t got nothin' to ask you.” I dunno how people came up with “pass and trait”.
Answer: It was originally interpreted as such since the end of the nineties on ohhla.com and may have been re-transmitted, copied unchallenged ever since on many lyrics websites up until now, on genius.com.
After re-listening to the line, what would make sense with the following line would be:
So now I pass you straight up (and) though I got nothin' to ask you (except) make a little room for me and all my niggas to pass through – I’ll correct the line with that in mind as per user Maglot’s comment.
Cutting the corner means to take shortcuts; to save money or effort by finding cheaper or easier ways to do something.
If speaking of him cutting the corner, one could see this as his way of improving his situation in a cost-efficient and in the fastest way possible while leaving you do your thing, which in his view is the wrong decision.
If speaking of others, he may refer to someone speaking against him to an unspecified lady reporter if we take the next line into consideration, that is, even though that reporter is actually criticizing the individual as well for their fakeness and for that person to be chilling with a related snitch who exposed potentially damaging secrets to his financial success to the public. That person would be cutting the corners not discussing the matter with Busta directly.
Similar to King Midas in Greek mythology, whose touch turned everything to gold. However here, Busta’s touch turns all of his records Platinum.
True enough – he does have five platinum albums.
Flipmode was the name of Busta Rhymes' mostly defunct rap unit, similar to Young Money or the like. They are now known as “The Conglomerate”.
On their debut album, The Wu-Tang Clan coined “C.R.E.A.M.”, which stands for “cash rules everything around me”. He’s effectively saying “Don’t mess with my money”.
PROPOSED SUGGESTION: I’m pretty sure he says “Never should you ever try to fuck wit' my preem' or O.D. when my shit get all in your bloodstream.
In other words, Busta has the best (“preem” being short for “premium”) weed, and you had better be ready for it or it’ll fuck you up (O.D. when it gets in your bloodstream).
“Keep It Movin'‘” was one of the songs on his debut album “The Coming”.
Busta is telling up the story of how he’s in the process of robbing a snitch he knows:
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- “Flash with a rash”: when you’re stuck up, or being “flashed” by a robber’s gun, you in turn get “flashed” with a rash, as robbed victims often go into a panic and look mortified (they see Death flashing their life before their eyes)
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- “Gimme my cash, flickin my ash”: what a robber demands, and they often smoke cigarettes while waiting. “Flickin' my ash” could refer to how the situation will play out in his hand as “ash” could mean gunpowder if he doesn’t get his money.
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- He spared the guy, but after he took his money he “flicked his ash” and decided to kill him anyways–“out with a blast”!
This is a reference to overdosing on drugs – Busta is saying that when you listen to his music, it will go inside your bloodstream just like a drug would and take over your body.
This line can be confusing because it’s unclear who’s overdosing, Busta or his listener, but he’s saying that he’ll spazz on the mic and you’ll take it like a drug.
A reference to Spliff Star, another member of Flipmode Squad.
Spliff got the weed. “Spliff” is also British derived slang for a marijuana cigarette.