DJ Premier samples/scratches between verses:

"Boogie Down was performin hey they ain't no joke" > Slick Rick

"Down with the sound called B D P" > KRS *



Verse One:



Back in the days I knew rap would never die

I used to listen to Awesome 2 on WHBI

I used to hear all kind of rap groups before sampling loops

Rappers wore bell bottom Lee suits

Me and Kenny couldn't afford that

So we would go to the park when they was jammin' to hear rap

I used to listen till the cops broke it up

I always thought to myself "Damn, why they fucked it up?"

But never the less I was in love with the microphone

And it stayed that way until I left home

On the streets of New York, now I'm free

But with freedom comes big responsibility

I used to walk around driven by the force

I remember how large Super Rhymes was when he fell off

I used to wonder about crews that used to rock

They were large, but none of them could manage to stay on top



Do you ever think about when you outta here?

Record deal and video outta here?

Mercedes Benz and Range Rover outta here?

No doubt BDP is old school, but we ain't goin' out!



Verse Two:



After livin' on the streets alone

Some years went by, I signed myself into a group home

I used to watch the show "I Dream of Jeannie"

And dreamt about "When will I be large like Whodini?"

But I was messin' with graffiti on the subway

And gettin' chased by the cops almost everyday

I knew it had to bea better way see

So I would go to my room, blast RUN DMC

Around 1984 I left the group home, again alone

Still dreamin' about the microphone

Gimme a chance man, I know I can rock it

But I had to worry about puttin' money in my pocket

So when I reached the shelter I met my helper DJ Scott La Rock

And we both loved hip-hop

I was takin' suckas out in the shelter system

Yeah there was rappers in the shelter but I had to diss 'em

But all along, my vision was never lost

I kept seeing all these rap groups fallin' off



Do you ever think about when you're outta here?

Fly girl and fresh gear outta here?

Five-thousand dollar love seat outta here?

No doubt BDP is old school, but we ain't goin' out!



Verse Three:



While I'm battling these rival crews

Yes, BDP would stay in the street news

Some said all they wanna do is battle

They can't write a song, so their careers won't last long

Around this time I used to hang with Ced Gee

And DJ Scott La Rock used to buy gold with Eric B

I didn't meet Rakim till later with Scott

I remember we were jammin' at the rooftop

It used to irk me when these critics had opinions

Scott would say "Just keep rappin', I'll keep spinnin'"

We had a fucked up contract, but we signed it

And dropped the hip-hop album Criminal Minded

We told the critics your opinions are bull

Same time Eric B and Rakim dropped Paid in Full

Hip-hop pioneers we didn't ask to be

But right then hip-hop changed drastically

People didn't wanna hear the old rap sound

We started samplin' beats by James Brown

In the middle of doin' My Philosophy

Scott was killed and that shit got to me

But knowin' the laws of life and death

I knew his breath, was one with my breath

I had nothin' left and it was scary

So I dropped By All Means Necessary

Another hip-hop group that was a friend of me

Was a revolution crew called Public Enemy

It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

These two albums set off consciousness in rap

But all along, I'm still lookin' around

And all I can see are these rap groups fallin' down



Do you ever think about when you outta here?

Condominium and beach house outta here?

Credit cards and bank accounts outta here?

No doubt BDP is old school, be we ain't goin' out