Dear Hip Hop - LL Cool J (埃勒·酷)
Written by:James Todd SmithDoris McNeilMarlon WilliamsJohnny BristolShawn MoltkeNicholas Warwar
You better stop foolin if you want to get along with me
True
We grew up on the block and we know about poverty
Do you
Dear hip-hop
I apologize for how you've been treated
I should've fought for my culture
Instead I retreated
The game is wounded
I stood and watched while they beat it
My culture starved
I refused to feed it
They sold you for a dollar like slaves in iron collars
A&R's chase you with bloodhounds and rottweilers
You went to the highest bidder
You was pissed on like kitty litter
But far from a quitter
But there's somethin to consider
Nah after much deliberation
I decided I'm the hottest cat to ever receive rotation
I'm the foundation
One of the chief architects
Of this dream we're all chasin
I had to speak up
Too much time was wastin WHOA
So here we go
I'm tired of the money talk and the
B**ches and hoes
Everybody's always soundin the same
I have to walk on water I can't
Drown in the game
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
I remember your bar mitzvah
That burgundy label
Me and Jam Master had the battle of the big cables
Before the Serratos real vinyls real tables
Skills was the motto no hype no fables
You seemed so happy you loved me so much
You popped off and went platinum
At my slightest touch
Oversized hoodies Yukon trucks
20 years later it's like lightning struck
They're worshipin the money
They're prayin to the bank
They danced on slaveship slept as it sank
The devil made 'em do it
But only God do I thank
Because we aren't done yet
There's still gas in the tank
You look in a man's eyes
That's how you really tell his rank
Not the size of his account check him he might bounce
It's all on the line this time it really counts
I'll bleed for this one on down to the last ounce
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
They rent a crib they're frontin
They rent a car they're stuntin
They rent a chain they're bluffin
That's why the culture's sufferin
And even if you're a millionaire that don't mean nothin
Unless you build your community and encourage some unity
Too much ego too much posin
If he's so hot then why's the culture frozen
It's time for a change
The order needs to be rearranged
And this song was pre-ordained
After 2 long decades LL still remains
And you can blame it on my spirit not on my brains
Time to put on my armor go to war for the game
Cause it's on its last leg and that's more than a shame
This is a lifestyle homey it's more than champagne
But I will make a toast to Flash reachin the Hall of Fame
I end it with a line from the book of King James
Let there be light when I write graffiti on the train
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
Hip-Hop was set out in the dark
They used to do it out in the park
Let us proclaim the mystery and fame
I pray the Lord my culture be saved
If hip-hop dies before I awake
May Jam Master Jay cut a LL break
Let us proclaim the mystery and fame
I pray the Lord my culture be saved
If hip-hop dies before I awake
May Jam Master Jay cut a LL break