[Intro: Black Thought & Mos Def]

Uh, uh

Yeah

Check it out, yeah

Yeah, yo

It's like

Let the poppers pop and the breakers break

Emcees, your verse was fate (Word)

Let the poppers pop and the breakers break

Fake emcees, your verse was fate, come on

Let the poppers pop and the breakers break

Emcees, your verse was fate, check it out

We paint our sentences state-to-state (Yeah)

Let the poppers pop, uh, uh, uh (Uh-huh, yo)

[Chorus: Black Thought & Mos Def]

We go wow, ba-da-dow-dow-dow-dow-dow

Either stand tall or just sit the fuck down

All the way from 2-1-5th to Bucktown

Brace yourself, it's about to go down

Yo, Tariq (What's up?), how your microphone sound?

It sound tight, well, aight, show 'em what it's about

We got to blow up the spot because they must've forgot

We double (Trouble), bubble (Bubble), bubble, bubblin' hot

[Verse 1: Black Thought & Mos Def]

Well, it's like smack the track up and leave dents in it (What?)

The vocalist, bustin' this blunt, instrument spit

The magnificent, rappers run from it

All fly girls' nipples and toes numb from it

Emcees in my circumference is confronted, son

Get your growth stunted from this, you don't want it, want it (What, nigga?)

The Black Thought and M-O-S Def done it

Who the ultimate? Yo, my man, speak upon it, look

Ayo, I stop fools and drop jewels, but never run it

Rock mics so nice, I make your stock price plummet

All you high-noon riders better rally at the summit

It's me and Tariq and your fleet outnumbered

'Cross the membrane, barkin' big game and get hunted

Eyewitness account say it happened so sudden

Just slid off to the side, didn't really say nothin'

Then blaow, blew away the 1900th

You better get your rest cause the next day comin'

Oh, yes, and emcees, they scared to say somethin' (Uh)

Stop frontin', I'm in the cut just onlookin'

You get your kings, your rooks, rings, and pawns tooken

Ayo, keep your tape rolling so you catch every bar

Of the Black Thought and the Black man from Black Star

Illadelph and Vietnam, we conference, accomplish

Even with stakes inclined, I get mine regardless

Yo, a lot of Smurfette emcees carry purses

And rock uniforms that's made for nurses

I verse your verses, your words is worthless

Only touchin' surface, the fuck's the purpose?

I shot the sheriff, the deputy, and head of bank treasury

So mounties in the county got a big bounty stressin' me

But tell 'em to hold off, they too short to measure me (Uh-huh)

Mos and Black Thought blast forth with the weaponry

[Chorus: Black Thought & Mos Def]

Like wow, ba-dow-da-dah-dow

Either stand tall or sit the fuck down

All the way from 2-1-5th to Bucktown

Brace yourself, it's about to go down

Yo, Tariq (What's up?), how your microphone sound?

It sound tight, well, aight, show 'em what it's about

We got to blow up the spot because they must've forgot

We double (Trouble), bubble (Bubble), bubble, bubblin' hot (Yeah, hot, hot)

[Verse 2: Mos Def & Black Thought]

Now check your stove top before you take a listen (Right)

And make sure beans don't burn in the kitchen

These gassed-up niggas just ain't fuel efficient (huh)

I play the winter breeze to chokehold your piston

Now you niggas can't make pole position

Class E chassis can't hold the transmission

Crew pit useless, they got they tools missing

Watch me, grand prix, champy for wealth driven

Yo, you go one for the hustle (Hah), two to rock rhyme (Two to rock rhyme)

From the muscle, kid, I'm one of the illest of all time

I swing from chandeliers and wall climb

And specialize in warfares of all kind

A lot of emcees said I'm a run-it-down rhyme

But half the time, they runnin' down one of mine

Thought suffocatin' 'em with yet another stunning line

You dumb and blind, kid, it's enlarged and underlined

What I memorized leave your whole staff pressurized (Uh-huh)

Melt down all of your artificial dyes

Y'all niggas is faker than yellow number five

Swine like mono and diglyceride

My vocals got texture, you just texturized

I'm nicer than your writtens even when I'm improvised

Step into my zone, get thrown like lava

The B-boy Lazarus who just won't die

Yo, me and Kamal and Leonard Hubbard, Questlove and Malik

We go back to dollar hoagies and Tahitian Treat

Or like toast in the oven with government cheese bubblin'

Me and Dante like Marvin, the trouble men travelin'

Give me the mic, we on that again

B-boy business, off the top actin' and battlin'

Servin' them cats that forgot

But don't get too close because you might get shot

[Chorus: Black Thought & Mos Def]

Like blaow, ba-da-da-da-da-dow-dow

Either stand tall or sit the fuck down

All the way from 2-1-5th to Bucktown

Brace yourself, it's about to go down

Yo, Tariq (What's up?), how your microphone sound?

It sound tight, well, aight, show 'em what it's about

We 'bout to blow up the spot because y'all must've forgot

We double trouble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubblin' hot

We go blaow, ba-da-da-dow-dow-da-dow

Either stand tall or sit the fuck down

All the way from 2-1-5th to Bucktown

Went from Do You Want More?!??!! to what you want now?

Yo, Tariq (What up?), Well, how your microphone sound?

It sound tight, well, aight, show 'em what it's about

We 'bout to blow up the spot because y'all must have forget

We double trouble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubblin' hot

[Outro: Mos Def]

Say, here's a little story that must be told

About two young brothers who got so much soul

They takin' total control of the body and brain

Flyin' high in the sky on a lyrical plane

It's just two bad brothers who will never quit

Mos Def and Tariq from the 2-1-5th

They rock beginning to end, on a spiritual blend

And everybody who forgot, then, baby, tell 'em again

It's just me and Tariq with Ahmir on the beat

The Roots Crew, baby, yo, we got to make it unique

We got the soul-shockinest, body-rockinest

Non-stoppinest, Fortified Live, survive the apocalypse

Rhymes we say the perfect blend

Because we know how to rock when the beat come in

Like zen-zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen-zen-zen, zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen zen-zen, zen-zen-zen, zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen, zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen, zen-zen, zen-zen

Here we go, here we, here we, here we go

Zen-zen-zen, zen-zen-zen, zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen, zen-zen, zen-zen

Let the poppers pop and the breakers break

Zen, zen-zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen-zen-zen, zen-zen-zen-zen

Two years ago, a friend of mine

Zen-zen, zen-zen-zen-zen-zen-zen

Zen-zen-zen, zen-zen, zen-zen

And these are the zen-zen-zen-zen