[Intro: Ice Cube]
Yeah, shit
The fuck you talkin' 'bout?
[Chorus: Ice Cube]
Before hip-hop, niggas got shot
Before hip-hop, niggas smoked rocks
Before hip-hop, my uncle had a drop
Before hip-hop, homies stood on the block
Before hip-hop, people smoked weed
Before hip-hop, I'll get you what you need
Before hip-hop, pimpin' was goin'
Before hip-hop, bitches was hoein'
[Verse 1: Ice Cube]
My style is hostile, your style is docile
I pull them Glocks out, forgot to box out
I grab the rebound, I claim to be down
The guppy, he drown 'cause homie's thee clown
My pronouns will throw rounds, heartbeats will slow down (Yеah)
Where's the showdown? Your hood is a ghost town
I'm a Ghostbustеr, hit you with the whole cluster
Turn you into mustard, General Custer
Chief Blackfoot kick a black rock
'Cause somehow they responsible for crack rock
Somehow they wanna blame it on hip-hop
Before I could talk, they used to Crip walk
They used to roll dice, they used to flash ice
Fuck with a chick, she'll cut your ass twice
They used to pay the price, they used to go to jail
Hip-hop ain't the reason why we catching hell
[Chorus: Ice Cube]
Before hip-hop, girls got knocked
Before hip-hop, that pussy used to pop
Before hip-hop, they was on molly
Before hip-hop, niggas caught a body
[Interlude: Ice Cube]
Hm, shit
Yeah, right (Yeah)
What you talkin' 'bout?
[Verse 2: Ice Cube]
They tell you and me it was lots of unity in the Black community
That shit is lunacy
They tried to ruin me, got me for my jewelry
What they did to me, police got immunity
Early '70s, got him for his leather piece
Khakis hella creased, it was lots of jealousy
Boys' bathroom was like a platoon
The girls' bathroom was like a saloon
Squabbles all year, September to June
Niggas on weed, water and shrooms
Niggas OD'd, had gangs and goons
Down to send a coon (Zoom) straight to the moon
Niggas would holler "Give me a dollar, nigga"
He wanted more than a dollar, didn't take no scholar
Yeah, motherfuckers had the Chevy Impala
And they crashed out like, "Fuck you, your honor" (Fuck you, your honor)
It all happened (Bitch) before they start rappin'
If they say I'm lying, motherfuckers is cappin'
Niggas be crying like they was the captain
But I don't give a fuck, hand that bitch a napkin
[Bridge: Ice Cube]
They mad at the mirror, but the mirror don't lie
Before hip-hop, it was a drive-by
Before hip-hop, niggas used to die
Before hip-hop, mamas used to cry
They mad at the mirror, but the mirror don't lie
Before hip-hop, it was a drive-by
Before hip-hop, niggas used to die
Before hip-hop, mamas used to cry
[Chorus: LL Cool J & Ice Cube]
(Before Hip Hop) Martin, Medgar, Malcolm shot
(Before Hip Hop) Street profits with choppers and drug spots
(Before Hip Hop) Heroin flooded parks and back blocks
(Before Hip Hop) Cities burned and scorched, the world watched
(Before Hip Hop) Blood splashing, fascist, food smarts
(Before Hip Hop) Corporate bastards count cash, no heart
(Before Hip Hop) Fred Hampton got blammed in his own spot
(Before Hip Hop) That's why I don't give a damn if you understand me or not
(Before Hip Hop)
[Verse 3: LL Cool J & Ice Cube]
I used to dream of selling coke
Sip of Pepsi on a jet ski, ice like Gretzky, big boats
Slice 'em, food chain, chef it up, Wolfgang
Got the recipe for your destiny, let me explain
No little boy moves
Don't let them toy with your food
Don't play with your aims, like a Barbie you can lose
Teach you how to read the room like literary heirlooms
Reading hands like Braille
Corporations for sale, short sighted, tall tales
My people in private jails
While these guppies and kitty guppies actin' like born whales
In waters where LL, riptide, farewell
Hard to stay current, only serpents and cartels
Gotta dive deeper, learn to float
Catch a reefer, spotting sharks
After dark, it's an art, Mona Lisa
(Before Hip Hop) Martin laid in Ebenezer
You lucky I'm rocking parties
Your body be in a freezer
[Verse 4: Chuck D & Ice Cube]
Listen here
Before Hip Hop, brothers still reach for the trunk
It wasn't just bass, it wasn't just funk
Sideline for the sidewalks, talking all that junk
Before Hip Hop, they funk you right on up
(Before Hip Hop) We fought until we got taught
The law putting both our black asses in court
(Before Hip Hop) Records still got bought
33s and 45s, before New York
Crime news at 9, no neighborhood support
(Before Hip Hop) We all still came up short
Before Hip Hop, the cameras, we still got caught
Drank, smoke, told mama jokes
Before Hip Hop, cops, we still got choked
(Before Hip Hop) We still was broke
Before guns, money, and that goddamn coke
But don't blame it on Hip Hop, 'cause we still got hope
[Outro: Ice Cube]
They mad at the mirror, but the mirror don't lie
Before hip-hop, it was a drive-by
Before hip-hop, niggas used to die
Before hip-hop, mamas used to cry
