Rakim When I Be On The Mic
[DJ Premier scratches hook] (Hardcore...real ill niggas) (I'm internationally known) (When I be on the mic) (Hardcore...real ill niggas) (I'm internationally known, yo) (Hardcore...real ill niggas) (I'm internationally known) (When I be on the mic) (Hardcore...real ill niggas) (So all hail the honorable) It's to my real ill niggas, heavyweight hitters Dough getters, fifty ways to make figures My niggas, that come on the spot to feel sisters Like they hear real spitters and kids on the zigga-ziggas When it's ugly, then the club is lovely Thugs be sipping Henessey and bubbly To my comrades that keep it flaming hot On dangerous blocks, claiming spots Where the goal is to be one of the top-ranked soldiers Forty-five holders, one of the high rollers Get respect in the hood, credit is good Knock it down lumberjack style, baby, extra wood Rock it all night long, the bang-a-thon baby Keep hanging on, we like it with the lights on Don't have to blow twenty thou' to get to know honey's style Show her the town, steal her heart, no money down (Hook) How about some hardcore, yeah we like it raw for sure Broads on the floor, wall to wall There's more at the door, players ball to score 'Cause this right here is for all of y'all Rakim and Primo, yo I got what you need bro You go see a show, smoke an L, mean yo And deejays play hits with hard bass kicks And then they display tricks like The Matrix Make the record fly undetected by the naked eye So just feel the vibe 'cause your ears never lie Nowadays deejays bags of tricks, graphic On some behind the back shit, catch it and scratch it Classic, this kid got his craft mastered Hands is mad quick like he mix with magic Spin it back and forth and grab it, and know just where it is... There it is (Hook) To my elite peeps with the murderous mystiques I hit the streets with beats and they critique for weeks They be like "How that kid Ra reach the peak?" Pull out the heat and use my technique to speak It's dangerous, sit calm and explain to kids What part of the game this is and foreign languages They hold Ra's events in different continents Put my lyrical contents in monuments In ghetto garments, I rock a towel like a pharaoh Mind travel, design style like apparel My fashions last long as a lifetime Cause I can see the future when the god write rhymes They're mad cause I managed to reign so long Like their chance to make money done came and gone This is strictly for my listeners on the corners at night And the sisters that be keeping this right, when I be on the mic (Hook)