Released on July 1999

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[Intro: Mike Shinoda]

Yo


[Verse 1: Mike Shinoda]

Watch as the room rocks, mentally moonwalk

Mixed Media slang bangin' in your boombox

Verbal violence, lyrical stylist

In a time when rock hip-hop rhymes are childish

You can't tempt me with rhymes that are empty

Rappin' to a beat doesn't make you an MC

With your lack of skill and facility, you're killin' me

And a DJ in the group just for credibility

I heard that some of you are gettin' help with your rhymes

You're not an MC if someone else writes your lines

Rappin' over rock doesn't make you a pioneer

'Cause rock and hip-hop have collaborated for years

But now, they're getting randomly mixed and matched up

All after a fast buck, and all the tracks suck

So how does it stack up? None of it's real

You wanna be an MC? You've gotta study the skill


[Chorus: Mike Shinoda]

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Bring it to you every time like this?

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Step, step up! Step, step up!


[Verse 2: Mike Shinoda]

So, you pick up a pen and write yourself a new identity

But mentally, you don't have the hip-hop energy

With a tendency to make up stories (Bullshit)

Sounding like the only hip hop you've heard is top 40 (Top 40)

And your record company is completely missin' it

All the kids are dissin' it for not bein' legitimate

So in a battle, you can't hack it, react with wack shit

And get smacked with verbal backflips

Get your ass kicked by fabulous battle catalysts

It's taken decades for MC's to establish this

You're new to hip-hop, and welcome if you're serious

But not on the mic, leave that to the experienced


[Interlude: Mike Shinoda]

Using the waves of sound

The true master paralyzes his opponents

Leaving him vulnerable to attack


[Chorus: Mike Shinoda]

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Bring it to you every time like this?

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Step, step up! Step, step up!

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Bring it to you every time like this?

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Step, step up! Step, step up! Step up!


[Interlude: Mike Shinoda]

After years of pain-staking research by the world's leading sound scientists

We here at the Sound Institute have invented a reliable audio weapons system

Actual movement of musical sound in space used to carefully attack and neutralize the cellular structure of the human body

And the question must be asked…


[Chorus: Mike Shinoda]

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Bring it to you every time like this?

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Step, step up! Step, step up!

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Bring it to you every time like this?

Who can rock a rhyme like this?

Step, step up! Step, step up! Step up!


[Outro: Joe Hahn]

Mix Media

Step up the microphone

And you do it like this

And you do it like…

Step up the microphone

Mix Media

And you do it like this

Mix Media

Step up the microphone

And you do it like this

Mix Media

Step Up the microphone

And you do it like this