N. Steven
Replay the track, I’m back, not rapping,
in fact my status is “reading my soul”
Totally sold to the art of playing my part
in a screenplay that has yet to unfold
A sense of suspense suspends in the air
as reality lets loose what was already there.
Yet here I stand, pen and heart in my hands,
prepared to lay bare, never playing it fair.
For together, we’re like Thelonius,
some might call it ceremonious
The Mason/Dixon line’s not holding us,
so don’t dare to call it erroneous.
More like synonymous, on top of us,
it shocking and rocking the lot of us,
But for now, this wordplay is Phase One,
Phase Two holds a lot more promises…
Spoken.Word.
And what’s become of us is, now,
declared as Significant Importance
Reproduction of a Zealous Phonomenon,
once barren from Impotence
Two unlikely Life Forces,
a part of citations of Differently-writ Sources,
Experimented to show forth data
to what a Combustible Force is
Compatibility is merely a ploy
to distract from the underlying connection
Yet, in retrospection, ‘tween our Lyrical Bars
lays a Love Sonnet’s affection
Uncommonly, we exude the Poetic Oneness
that one is meant to live
Our indifferences gives me the insight
to finish your lyrical Sentences
Quick! How many hip-hop emcees/artists can be mentioned by our favorite Jedis? Read on and find out!
Verse One: Spoken.Word
My very first words/"mic check, one two, one two"/
From the "Sugahill Gang"/Hip Hop gets its cue//
Began wit few/"Chastisement"/Became a "Rapper's Delight"/
But first/was "King Tim III"/Made a classic overnight//
"Run DMC" n "Cool James"/Began to transform the listener/
Dedicatin' Hip Hop back to its creator/Like a catholic baby's christener//
I fell in love wit my "Radio"/Wit "De La Soul's" jazzy rap/
"Dr. Dre" was my brother's step-daddy/Sportin' his "NWA" ballcap//
Not just rap/The "Native Tongues Posse"/Warmed up our political voices/
Showed to the free world/The consequences of limited choices//
The gangsta's voice is released/At the drop of Dre's "Chronic"/
Real talk/of our biographies/Tastin' bitter like tonic//
"B.I.G" and "2Pac"/Strengthened Hip Hop's name/
But the war of rival coasts/Had our 2 soldiers slain//
Not in Vain/Their legacies/..."Outkast", "Jay-Z", n "Nas"/
Made one community's voice/Into a whole culture's Cause//
Chorus:
Listen up/yeah we here/wit a fresh new sound/
All nations/lend ya ear/mainstream/undaground//
Newly found/once as "stars"/now like a "supernova"/
Prophesied/Hip-Hop's/destined for a takeova//
Verse Two: N. Steven
My very first words/”mic check, one two, one two”//
threw the whole world in a frenzy/wondering what we’d do//
They watched us “Walk This Way”/”Bridging the Gap” to different sounds//
They were “Plug Tunin’”/trekking across brand new grounds//
A new species of sound/and I stumbled into the laboratory//
Tripped over something “Notorious”/another chapter in this story//
I became “Miseducated”, /and took DLP with “TLC”//
“The Fresh Prince” expanded his kingdom/letting almost anyone see//
My “Speakerboxxx” began a search/for something truthful enough to hurt//
Bigger than “Big Pimpin’”/something allowing Hip-hop to work//
It was found to be “Ludacris”/yet shining like a “Black Star”//
“Mos Def”inately un“Common”/from “4th Avenue” to where you are//
Defining love from lust/splitting the “Black Eyed Peas” from the chitlins//
Searching for “Classics” with “Kweli”ty/Finding “The Roots” when mixing in the kitchen//
Sick enough to make “Mars Ill”/painful and playfully nice//
It sounds so right/and it sounds so nice/Hip-Hop: one of the loves of my life…//
Chorus:
Listen up/yeah we here/bringing new sounds/
Crossing oceans with these potions/mainstream/undaground//
Newly found/once as stars/blown like a supanova/
Stop taking up space/Hip-Hop’s designed for a takeover//
Labels: collaboration, poem