[Intro: Pharrell & Common]

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing

Nothing you could do (Straight up)

There's nothing you could do (You know the boy is serious)

There's nothing you could do

I don't even know why you wanna play with it

There's nothing you could do

[Chorus: Common]

They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game

A heart full of glory and a fist of pain

A couple of battle scars but shit's the same

Are you not entertained?

To all the onlookers and the bystanders

Wait 'til intermission, run, buy your cameras

Record the moment, cause it'll be platinum

And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium

The gladiator

[Verse 1: Common]

I was told by a wise old to come from the heart

Though I might've did The Light, I don't run from the dark

A dark knight that sparked mics and start fights

The warrior archetype like Kimbo Slice

It's strength in the beard, am I loved or feared?

A beast amongst boys, like Paul, I'm revered

Vroof, vroof-vroof, vroof-vroof-vroof, well

Like Jacob Jewel, I keep clientele

You frail on the mic like you might break a nail

I might smoke a joint but I won't take the L

I knew a fat broad that broke the scale

Still touched down 'cause I was off Martell

Had dreams of breaking Mike Vick out of jail

Took the Underground Rail' to the NFL

I rebel in YSL

Here to leave a trail like Nelson Mandel'

[Pre-Chorus: Pharrell & Common]

There's nothing you could do

Man, why you wanna go against me?

There's nothing you could do (You've seen where I'm from)

There's nothing you could do (You've seen what I do)

There's nothing you could do

[Chorus: Common]

They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game

A heart full of glory and a fist of pain

A couple of battle scars but shit's the same

Are you not entertained?

To all the onlookers and the bystanders

Wait 'til intermission, run, buy your cameras

Record the moment, cause it'll be platinum

And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium

The gladiator

[Verse 2: Common]

My words is the sword, my skill is the shield

My life is the style, I stay dressed to kill

A legend like Will, Smith with the steel

I could save the world when shit get for real

The skinny George Foreman, all in your grill

My rhyme style is blind, it's all in the feel

Touch it and watch the blood fall with the steel

The weak raps you wrote you could call that your will

My drive (VROOM!) is how I stay the livest

Your guys got you gassed, my flow is a hybrid

Crashed I survived it, gashes over eyelids

You easy to take out cause you hot garbage

I'm amped like wattage—the truth, nigga, honest

Any moment opponents drop out like college

Kneel and pay homage to the rap Ziggy Stardust

Stadium, hands in the air, fists balled up

[Pre-Chorus: Pharrell & Common]

There's nothing you could do (You know what it is)

There's nothing you could do (The boy is raw)

There's nothing you could do (So who next?)

There's nothing you could do

[Chorus: Common]

They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game

A heart full of glory and a fist of pain

A couple of battle scars but shit's the same

Are you not entertained?

To all the onlookers and the bystanders

Wait 'til intermission, run, buy your cameras

Record the moment, cause it'll be platinum

And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium

The gladiator

[Verse 3: Common]

Feet in the dirt, blood on the shirt

Scars over bars, symbols of the work

Tight clothes the armor, center of the drama

Defeat your whole army like this is Sparta

So don't violate or you'll get violated

Some of you model bitches is so overrated

Don't mean to underrate it but damn it, I made it

In the water I waded, on the corner I painted

Draw blood like we related

MCs get de-decapitated

Syncopated is the style that I fight with, write with

Mr. Excitement change your face up like a white chick

Then light shit up like a dread with the herbs

Get sex in the city and head in the burbs

These are the words of a radical

The crowd applaud, I'm bowed, I'm proud

To be the gladiator

[Pre-Chorus: Pharrell & Common]

There's nothing you could do (How could you even question this?)

There's nothing you could do

There's nothing you could do (Now you know)

There's nothing you could do (The future)

[Chorus: Common]

They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game

A heart full of glory and a fist of pain

A couple of battle scars but shit's the same

Are you not entertained?

To all the onlookers and the bystanders

Wait 'til intermission, run, buy your cameras

Record the moment, cause it'll be platinum

And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium

The gladiator