Sometimes, you gotta be direct with the people, y'know like   Give it to 'em (c'mon)   Yo   Give it to 'em   GET, UP, NOW      Yo, we keep it type raw, and know exactly what we fight for   When the nightfall come, we in the right war   Cats who spill blood for a cause, not just because   Defy the authority and follow God's law   Revolutionary entrepeneurswho make the fans   Clap they hands and stompin the floor not start the applause   (Ahhh ssssh! Yeah!) Thank you very much, without further adieu   Let me introduce the rest of my crew, Mos Def      Yo, I am the world renowned, verb adjective adverb   Pronoun preposition suffix prefix   Original or remix, sunburst and eclipse   Me and Kwe' combine like strands on a double-helix   My speech seasoned, with dialect of my region   Booga-nam Brooklyn Bed-Stuy Eastern   Where youth and policemen, they nah reach agreement   Pressure in the mornin, pressure in the evenin      You, need, to, get, up, right, now   And, move, with, this, yes, this, means, you   You, you   Yeahh, alright yeah, alright yeah, alright yeah   Alright yeah, alright yeah, alright yeah, yeah-ehhhh      Uh, uh, uh, uh, yo, yo, yo   Things changed since we came out, been some shit in New York   Niggaz stopped gettin jig in New York, bloods and crips in New York   The Y-2-K celebration wasn't big in New York   Babylon live in New York, should I keep a crib in New York   Or just V.I., to handle my B.I   When with my A-Alikes we see with three eyes      Yo Kweli I agree I, was thinkin the same thing myself   Smog in the city ain't no good for your health   Things changed in New York, type strange in New York   Forty-Deuce don't look the same in New York   Just politics, tricks and big games in New York   Switched trains a writer can't get fame in New York   Internet and Wall Street got paid in New York   Poor folks and workin class got slayed in New York   Even still, everyday they make weight in New York   Flashlights lookin for a brighter day in New York   In New York they say it's - red hot   Will the temperature ease up? Black I guess not   It's multi-lane traffic, no sign for rest stops   No corner breaks, put on your gloves and just box   No dance school to teach you to wop and bus stop   Better get up in the booth, hop up and just rock   If you think it's like that, it's not so just stop   All mankind time runnin down on one watch, just watch      If, you, are, just, coming, in, I, will   Say it, once, more, so, you, can, hear, cause   You, need, to, get, up, right, now   And, move, with, this, yes, this, means, you   You, you      Yo, Mos Def and Talib Kweli bring disaster to the industry   We best-sellin authors writin great chapters in history   These cats undercover like gay rappers dealin with mystery   My platinum grey matter spray batter that's specifically   Designed to make rappers break faster than eggshells in the mornin   Inhaled the divine in that's laid dormant   Water from the well stay pourin'   I answer back when I hear fate callin'   Freedom fighter ready to attack at the crack of a new day dawnin'   Way more than necessary skills for the application   My flow is Great like the Lakes and it rocks like Applachains   My facts more than make up for what you lack in imagination   You more confused than Tiger Woods when he made up Cabalaysian   I'm sayin      Break bounds like the jet Concorde   Win awards before I leave for my world award tour   When they scream encore, that's when they want more   Flow steadily, whether I'm on or off shore   High potent, zone coastin, no jokin   Safecracker sniff gon' keep the joint open   Peep the focus, high resolution, high reception   My "Train of Thought" connectin with my bredren from Reflection like      You, need, to, get, up, right, now   And, move, with, this, yes, this, means, you, again   You, need, to, get, up, right, now   And, move, with, this, yes, this, means, you, we goin      New York, Philly   Chicago, Detroit   Miami,D.C   L.A. The world   London, Amsterdam   Paris, Japan   Any place that a human being might stand, we goin'