Before rap was a game or Hip-Hop was a nation

Before Lauryn Hill began her miseducation

Before Milk was chillin', or PE brought the noise

Before Heavy D and the Boyz

Before the roof caught on fire, before fresh was the word

Before Whodini and friends and Roxanne's revenge

Before the freaks came out at night, before say "Ho!"

Before the Crash Crew was rockin' on the radio

Before Whitney, Mariah and J-Lo and Janet

Before Bam and the Soulsonic Force rocked the planet

Before "These Are The Breaks", before "Hard Times"

Before the Sugarhill Gang and before super rhymes

Before Reaganomics, before rappers got shot in they stomachs

Before you found Hip-Hop in comics

Before Gs, before weed was trees

Before going raw dog gave you a deadly disease

Before haters, before thugs and perpetrators

Before the alphas and before the betas

Before beepers and cell phones and retro gods

And fed ex, food stamps and metro cards

Before cops was 5-0, or gats was answers

Before all the B-Boys turned into break dancers

Before Legs was crazy, or out turned to Swayze

When my man said it's hot, humid and hazy

Before all the bull and by no means get it twisted

See my name is Hip-Hop, and I have always existed