Back in the Day (2012)

What you know about “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back,”

Or the cleverly laced tracks laid down by the abstract acts from the Native Tongue,

Well hung on this hip-hop tradition,

My lover puts my pole in position,

Just a smidgeon of Kane, Kool G Rap, and BDP,

No roster would be complete without Public Enemy, the Ultramagnetic MCs,

And EPMD,                                

I marvel at the multiple personalities of Kool Keith,

The utter disbelief of lyrical prowess from Company Flow, Nas, Biggie, or Jay-Z,

Complete with violent visuals of relief

From the Geto Boys, NWA, and Mobb Deep,

Cube’s solo feats,

Snoop’s flow on Dre’s immaculate beats,

Fate took the voice of the DOC,

Consciously,          

I hit the streets with Common, Mos Def, Jeru and the Guru,

In the background I hear chants of “Noodles,”

As the Wu-Tang Clan comes through

With perhaps the deepest roster in the history of rap groups,

The swagger of Slick Rick on his best day,

Pumping Dipset, 50-Cent and G-Unit on the expressway,

I slay with the death rays of MF Doom, the Game, and Cage,

On full blast with the Outkast,

In yet another hourglass from the past

I see LL rock the bells as Kool Moe Dee gets annoyed,

3rd Bass beefing with the Beastie Boys

And X-Clan,

Life is Too Short to be worried about those MC Hammer pants,

I advance…

To the relentless passion of Tupac who was just reaching his peak as Makaveli,

The skillful melodies

Of Ladybug Mecca, Roxanne Shante, and MC Lyte as a rock,

Time stops as the Roots are performing live right up the block,

Remember when Ice-T was raided by the cops at six in the morning,

Only in dreams         

Could you flow like Rakim, the Microphone Fiend,

I advance…

To the relentless passion of Tupac who was just reaching his peak as Makaveli,

The skillful melodies

Of Ladybug Mecca, Roxanne Shante, and MC Lyte as a rock,

Time stops as the Roots are performing live right up the block,

Remember when Ice-T was raided by the cops at six in the morning,

Only in dreams         

Could you flow like Rakim, the Microphone Fiend,

Lord Finesse was full of punch lines,

We recited Grand Daddy IU verses in the lunch lines,

There was Redman and his many blunt rhymes,

The sunshine of Brand Nubians,

The Large Professor clued me in     

With “Just a Friendly Game of Baseball,”

Pharcyde’s “Passin Me By,” embraced yall,

De La Soul taught me how to be original,

Can’t forget the Tribe, JB, Queen Latifah, and Monie in the Middle,

And the family’s incomplete without the Black Sheep and Chi-Ali,

The nostalgia of the Poor Righteous Teachers beefing with YZ,

“Let Me Clear My Throat,”

To recall back when there was 3 Times the Dope in hip-hop,

It don’t stop with DJ Premiere, Scott La Rock, and Pete Rock

Supplying the backdrop for the vocal astronauts,

I used to chill with Lauryn Hill up on Cypress Hill,

Back before Eminem was rapping about popping pills,

Or Kanye’s ego surpassed his skill,

Before the Carter legacy was built,

I was pumping “Top Billin” by Gizmo and Milk,

And you wonder where I get my wordplay,

Yeah, those were the days…