[ 1: Mike G ] for house parties stayed simple and plain Little wine, little music, Mary Jane Gotta keep the dim, so when the people walk in The vibe stays and mellow, everybody fits in And everybody hey and ho, are gettin groove on The record only stops the lights came on they went back off, we continued to groove Then somebody grabbed the mic like they had somethin to It was the spirit got em, it wouldn't let loose There right before our eyes hip-hop was The fire on burnin like a doggie in heat You couldn't help to feel the flavor as you walked the streets Everybody had a on every block for blocks This seemed to be insurance that the won't stop So one day shots and it was no one to blame All you was would it ever all be the same But if you got the love, baby, won't a damn thing As as you remember it always remains
[ CHORUS: The Holmes ] I When we to play shoot-em-up, bang-bang I When we to play shoot-em-up, bang-bang MC's and (2x)
[ VERSE 2: Baby Bam ] Block parties jam-packed, the first I heard rap And deejays breakbeats back These were the good days of the ghetto It all about bein jiggy, so save that rap for Jell-O Down on my in the street playin skelly Rushin upstairs to see _Graffiti Rock_ on the one eye on the beats droppin I knew that one day would come I'd be on the mic rockin Every day after practisin I mixed blues smarts with street smarts, and then started rappin But for me it happenin So I changed up my style, to the been mackin I wrote a rhyme 'Roxanne, Roxanne' I to bust it out when I went to a jam My read the dirty rap She said, "You ain't gon' go too far expressin yourself like black women And what's gon' happen when you turn around and try to your own children?" So I up my style once again So me and my could still be friends My wasn't buggin out so far Watchin me to be another rap star my eyes he saw a child changin Growin up to be a man and leave behind the shootin,
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[ VERSE 3: Baby Bam ] Now this one goes out to the who set it off And all the pioneers that made it it was Cause we been doin for 25 years long So we gotta represent and keep strong JBeez, we on a plateau, nothin stoppin us Will the spirit of God, now watch it jump in us Cause when you cut the roots off the tree All you behind is the sweet memory Right the start, we did it in the park It wasn't for the money, and it from the heart But in these days and times, when rappers rhymes All we think about is on the dotted line Me, I been thinkin about the way it to be When before you was a rapper, you an MC I'm of my heritage, and glad that we made it I still bust without bein player-hated Standin on the same stage, rockin the JBeez Was a dream true for a brother like me rap was consumed, and hip-hop was doomed I was bangin on tables, in the lunchroom I used to walk the street with my blaster My brothers on the block was startin chapters You know what I'm talkin if you go way back And yo, big ups to all my sisters, in the of rap Cause when it comes to hip-hop, you know you gotta keep it Take from the old, mix it the new I used to go by the name of MC But now you know me as Baby Bam
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