Rapsody - Ibtihaj ft. D’Angelo, GZA

Stream “Ibtihaj“ here: *Donate to Peter Westbrook Foundation. Support the fencers here: LYRICS: Now when the emcees came To live out the name And *shhkka shhhk* perform Some had to snort cocaine To act insane to provoke It rocket on Now on with the mental planes Spark the brain With the building to be born Boy! Boy you sharp, boy! Look that fade on you, boy! Eww, boy! That’s liquid swords on your head, boy! Yo, waves! Thinkin’ like back in the days when niggas wore fades Silk tied caps just tryna catch a wave (boy you sharp) Tryna catch a wave (liquid swords sharp) Tryna catch a wave Tryna catch a wave A wave It’s been a long time coming Since we had someone swarming with the bees (killah) The birds and the killah bees when the emcees came to live out their name Inscribed in the halls and the walls of fame Balancing life I wrote both the ying and yang The Hansberry/hands bury the man and they raise the sun, Lorraine That’s a play on words, they say herb ain’t all the same Slaves in prison and they some unchained While everybody in my gang a star, DJ Preem screaming the sunroof “money still ain’t thang” While I’m spending small bank asking “where is my change?” Carpool with the homies saving gas in tank I think like a billionaire, I spend less than I make Strong minded I should bench way more than my weight women been leading the way since Roxanne Shante And the Unit had flavor and Jay had Marcy neighbors that waved They lookin confused I’m like “cool maybe it’s age” When I see Afro puffs i think maybe it’s Rage Maybe it’s staged, they trippin, say they got beef Ain’t a emcee on this earth that make me feel afraid Wu-tang for the children, that’s a scripture and phrase See my goals from a birds view like Trae Underage Now when the emcees came To live out the name And *shhkka shhhk* perform Some had to snort cocaine To act insane to provoke It rocket on Now on to the mental planes Spark the brain With the building to be born When Im so off the radar its very hard to find me It’s space is selfie with the earth behind me You follow the leader the track is off the meter A lot of rappers wack, low frequency in the tweeters Very inaudible clock radio speakers Quietly whispering as a world of wiki leakers Forget the gaudiness, my method is nausent Transferring ideas into the brains of the audience The street poet gave a special art form a global reach ya burn your heart and then your ear by giving a local speech Believe and wonder wit words as potent as the sorcery Witch craft, wit a list of terms in the glossary Written rap bound to have a great impact On a listener for the fact, its well in tact An emcee should electrify, beauty and strive to Empower, inspire, transform a world view back in the days when niggas wore fades Silk tied caps just tryna catch a wave (boy you sharp) Tryna catch a wave (liquid swords sharp) Tryna catch a wave Tryna catch a wave A wave It’s been a long time coming Since we had someone swarming with the bees (killah) The birds and the killah bees