[Intro]
For real
E'rybody's a star, e'rybody shine
Follow your heart and not mankind
For real, for real
I'm 'bout to do my thing to shine
So everybody shine, c'mon
[Verse 1]
It's not luck that I'm sittin' here spittin' for y'all
Pre-ordained by Allah that I'm hittin' for y'all
Growin' up on the New York concrete lookin'
Like a little snotty dish of prodigy cookin'
They called me Little Man, all in the boulevard
When I was young, my family used to party hard
Games of 'Run, Catch, Kiss' turned to 'Run, Catch, Hump'
The illest niggas was Richard Pryor and Ronnie Bump
Skinned knees from being bad-ass little boys
Police si-re-ns and baby screams was average noise
Hip-Hop came, the ghetto copped the soundtrack
Street poetry to tracks, could you beat that??
Malik Taylor introduced it to me
He said, 'Forget Benny Hill, nigga, let's M.C.!'
Twelve years old, rhymin' in the back room
For echoes, we used to rhyme in the bathroom
Run-D.M.C, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh
"The Juice Crew rule, but who's this nigga KRS?"
Reference points, too many to wish for
Battlin' niggas on trains, I stay raw
Never let my dream die
I was happy and high going to Ali's in Bed-Stuy
We made our first demo tape
Ex-cited like a muhfucka, lookin' for our first break
[Chorus]
I know (For real)
You can do it (Listen to the story I tell, yo)
Be about it, y'all (For real)
I know you can see it (Use my life as an example)
Do it, and see it, and be nobody else (Here we go)
[Verse 2]
Jungle Brothers, De La, they gave me a little light
"In Time," Three Feet, "Buddy" – that was aiight!
One year later, the Tribe was initiated
"Bonita" came, it was wild how she dominated
"Can I Kick It" parlayed us to our next phase
So drunk in those days, it truly was amaze
How I got up enough to make tunes
People cheered me
It was foreign, then came Low End Theory
People quickly recognized who we are
Phife is ill and Busta is a superstar
Tours with P.E., Naughty, and the Geto Boys
Arsenio Hall, women then were evil toys
Whisperin' hate inside my brother's virgin ears
Tryin to hurt but, yo, we stood amongst the tears
Midnight was even tighter, now look at us
Condoms is on the rider, stored on the bus
It got funky right here, I had to save my life
In the snow after the show, I had a fight wit' Phife
Moved to a land to get away, but back home
Jive was jerkin' us, it sent me to a danger zone
The good thing: I found Allah in the process
An angel appeared wit' sneaky ways and gave me stress
Now what am I to do?
My album's platinum, but I'm still feelin' blue – c'mon
[Chorus 2]
Yeah, yeahh
Yeah, yeahhhh
(You could do it)
Yeah, yeahh
Yeah, yeahhhh
Yeah, yeahh
(I know)
Yeah, yeahhhh
(You can see it)
Yeah, yeahh
Yeah, yeahhhh, yeah-ee-eahhh
[Verse 3]
Makin' my way, the wilderness has grown fierce
Gumption and my heart, both of them was pierced
Crashed my truck, didn't think I'd make it out
Had a hit on my life, he thought I screwed his wife
Plus my house burned down, me and Ang' was in it
My crew was tired and I knew we had to end it
But through all of this – I'm still here, take notes, and let hope floats
I'm still here, take note, and let hope float
I'm still here, take notes, and let hope float (I know...)
[Chorus]
(You could do it) You could do the same shit that I'm doin'
(Be about it, y'all) You can do the same thing that I'm doin'
Uh-huh, I'm still here, take note, let it...uh-hah
(I know you could see it)
Still here, take notes and let it float, ha ha
Still here, take notes... and let it..
(Do it, and see it, and be nobody else)
You can do the same thing I'm doin', thing that I'm doin'
(I know you could do it) Still here, take... c'mon
Still here, take notes, let it float, c'mon
(Be about it, y'all)
Do the same thing that I'm doing, look and pay attention
(I know you can see it)
(Do it, and see it, and be nobody else)