No Gimmicks

[Intro: KRS-One]

Lord Finesse and Blastmaster KRS-One

Lyrical styles weigh a ton

Lord Finesse, we know you got skills

Come into the cypher and build

Chill out, all MC I kill

Come down

[Verse 1: Lord Finesse]

Check it out, come on, here’s your chance to swing

With some ill motherfuckers, we don’t dance and sing

In ‘95 we’re out jingling

Serving Poetic Justice without that nigga John Singleton

I do my thing while the fans be jelling

Ayo, I’m so dope, you better tap your man and tell him

I don’t fake moves, I scrape crews, I make brothers break food

Just give me a beat with a bass groove

I’m mad funky, ask the experts

‘Cause I’ll make you bob your head until your motherfucking neck hurt

So don’t ask me to max, G

‘Cause if you ain’t real, I’m bringing it to your face like acne

Now rappers run scams and flim-flam

On how they be getting loose when they’re rusty like the Tin Man

They rap fast, tryna stack cash

But on the real-to-real, yo, they still sounding half-assed

Yelling and screaming like they got somethin'

When they don’t got nothing, so them niggas need to stop frontin'

Talking how they be ragging shit

When I don’t know if them niggas are rapping or talking motherfucking Arabic

They act so ill, ayy, no frills, they should go chill

They all mouth with no skills

When I’m around, they all feel funny

‘Cause I’m young, making funds like Shaquille O’Neal, money

You want any drama? You better wear plenty armor

I’ll cut that ass like the chef at Benihana’s

The Funky Man’s in it to win it

We gotta keep it real, yo, no motherfucking gimmicks

[Chorus: Lord Finesse]

Whoever make a hit, they the best (That’s a gimmick)

You sell records based on how you’re dressed (That’s a gimmick)

Ayo, that tongue-twisting shit, that’s kind of fresh (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you’re soft but you’re fronting like you’re stressed? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you’re only into rap to get paid? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you’re yelling and screaming up on stage? (That’s a gimmick)

When your career is numbered by days? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when your lyrical style is just a phase? (That’s a gimmick)

(Yeah, check it out)

[Verse 2: KRS-One]

A-yes, yes, y’all, to the beat, y’all, bringing the street

Let me put my beeper on “vibrate” so we won’t hear it beep

Representing the street, concrete what I speak, yeah, I live it

Let it be known, KRS is not about a gimmick

I’ll grab the mic and rip it, meanwhile, they’re stalling

I’ll raise the mic stand because I’m tall and I keep the crowd crawling

I’m not like those other rappers talking about the caps they peel

Punk, I’ll battle MCs for real

Fuck a record deal when you’re still into hip-hoppin'

With your country ass sounding like you’re still picking cotton

You’ll get thrown across the room in that direction, listen

The lyrical Teacha’s not the one you should be checking

This is my era or era or era, whatever

I’m mad clever, I’ll Shoop, you’ll doop, you’ll doop like Salt-N-Pepa

Lyrical terror, you should never ever come for mine

When I rhyme, I clean up emcees with the fresh smell of pine

I got skills and it shows, you could slow or speed up the tempo

Your style is fake like Janet Jackson’s nose

I’m selling that real live shit and you could get hurt

You’re selling that fake shit like the Home Shopping Network

You got a lot of rhymes to battle in a second

But frankly, the bottom line is: Where’s your hit record?

You claim I’m jocking, you claim I’m on your dick, where’s your witness?

If I’m on your dick, my name has got to be syphilis

I come with lyrical, physical fitness

Two months from now you will have bit this, watch me light that ass up like Christmas

Don’t let me come out on that ass, start flipping

The lyrics I’ll be kicking be hotter than jerk chicken

So whether from The East or from The West, brothers know I’m KRS

I got force, I came to your town to set it off

So when Finesse goes, “Hit it!”, I’ll never mimic

KRS-One could never use a gimmick

[Chorus: Lord Finesse]

When you’re riding the next rapper’s dick (That’s a gimmick)

When you’re R&B and then you cold flip (That’s a gimmick)

Start rhyming hardcore just to get a hit (That’s a gimmick)

When you get over, but your skills ain’t shit (That’s a gimmick)

When you rap but you don’t have soul (That’s a gimmick)

When you cross over just to go gold (That’s a gimmick)

When you’re not a gangster but portraying a role (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you’re shaped in somebody else’s mold? (That’s a gimmick)

[Verse 3: Lord Finesse]

Man, your station, ‘cause the clan you’re facing

Is stepping to you trash motherfuckers like sanitation

I’ll shoot and throw rhymes, the whole nine

When it’s showtime (What up, kid?), brothers know I could hold mine

On the real, I got rhyme skills

When the time’s ill, I’m blowing up spots like a minefield

Brothers front with their chest out

But words from Finesse mouth’ll leave them niggas stressed out

They make me sick to my stomach

(So put it on ‘em, kid!) Them motherfuckers don’t want it

They can’t see me, believe me

They’re all phonies like them niggas that be wrestling on TV

Yo, they nowhere near pro

And niggas couldn’t hang if they was motherfucking scarecrows

Nowadays, a lot of rappers sound fake

Talking that gangsta shit when they’re softer than a pound cake

So why you fronting with the burner, kid?

When you done took more ass-whippings than fucking Tina Turner did

You wanna front? So be it

But fuck beating around the bush, I just speak how I see it

Me fall off? That shit’s dead

It’s not happening, kid, so get that shit through your thick head

I’ll never sellout (What?), you heard right

I’ll never cross over (Aight!), word life

So when I said it, peep the method

If I never go Gold but get credit, I won’t sweat it

In ‘95 we’re all in it

We gotta keep it real, yo, no motherfucking gimmicks

[Chorus: Lord Finesse]

What’s when you rap but don’t appreciate the art? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you sell out just to get a start? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you make bullshit just for the charts? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you rap but it’s not from the heart? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you’re Hardcore, then you turn pop? (That’s a gimmick)

When you steal ideas to get props? (That’s a gimmick)

When you sell out to be on top? (That’s a gimmick)

What’s when you front like you’re hard but you’re not? (That’s a gimmick)

[Outro: KRS-One]

Now let this be a lesson to all MCs... and DJ’s

Anyone that come across the line will have to pay

Real hip hop is in effect

Real hip hop is in effect

Real hip hop is in effect

Give it respect, we catch wreck