The study of hip-hop is not the study of the acquisition of knowledge

The study of hip-hop is to question yourself

It is the stripping off of useless knowledge—a quite different thing

Strip off useless knowledge, and you will arrive at hip-hop

I was conceived on the turntable, by the needle and the groove

The sound of vibrations kept me settled in the womb

I made a move, stepped out the belly foot-first

Onto the cardboard in a fresh pair of Converse

Let's converse over some headspins and windmills

The footwork in uprock always gave me the chills

It's so ill, the way you slide across the floor

And you pose at the end, always made me want more

Below the floor, that's where we made our bones

No glamour and glitz, only concrete and stone

Motivated with ambition, never scared to fail

Movin' raw energy, like a train on the third rail

Can't move like a snail if you wanna leave a mark

Ghetto Picasso, displayin' all kind of art

Burners, throw-ups, and various handstyles

A canvas in motion, I swear this thing is wild

It took me overseas, yeah, I crossed many lands

Made some new friends, some I consider fam

Put bread in my hand, but money isn't everything

The experience is more, wouldn't change it for anything

Rhythm, style, slang, yeah, all these things

Make up this beautiful culture that is king

Since its inception, it has reigned supreme

One hook could make the entire globe sing

The more lies you can pull off yourself, the faster you will master this culture

And let me tell you, it's not about celebrity

You have to ask yourself

Ehe mein Redefluss im ewigen Staub versiegt

Schlachte ich meine Sprache und lege sie auf den Beat

Danke Gott dafür, dass ich die Zeichen hab'

Und dechiffrier' das Palimpsest auf dem evolutionär'n Feigenblatt

Sprenge das Spektrum

Spreche universellen Dialekt und lasse zur Verständigung

Die Schallenwell'n brechen, bis der Groove steht

Wie wiederauferstandene Tote, Ausbruch im Bann der Gebote

Aus dem Missverständnis in das Überständnis

Erklär' dem Kind in der Sprache beider Eltern das Gefängnis

Das Militär, was 'ne Grenze ist, die Nationalität

Geld, Produktivität, und das Baukastenweltbild steht allein

Die Bedeutung liegt dazwischen

Die wenigsten dieser Lieferketten liefern Wissen

Anstelle eines Kreuzes trag' ich tausend Tonn'n Wörter

Höre zu, seit ich das erste Mal KRS-One gehört hab'

Nimm das Mic, aber sieh, der Scheiß ist bedingungsreich

Was wär'n DJs ohne Grandmaster Flashs Erfindungsgeist?

Elektrische Kreise zieh'n dialektische Kreise

Eine Lebensweise macht uns zu Brüdern und Schwestern im Geiste

Universal dialect, no analyst can handle this

My people all over the world overstand the shit

Whether we give the drummer some, loop it up or get the sample flipped

We hold the torch, freak the funk, we keep the candle lit

Universal dialect, no analyst can handle this

My people all over the world overstand the shit

Whether we give the drummer some, loop it up or get the sample flipped

We hold the torch, freak the funk, we keep the candle lit