Linkin Park — Step Up Xero Demo Unreleased 1998 Demo

[Intro: Mike Shinoda] Yo [Verse 1: Mike Shinoda] Watch as the room rocks, mentally moonwalk Mixed Media slang bangin' in your boombox Verbal violence, lyrical stylist In a time when rock hip-hop rhymes are childish You can't tempt me with rhymes that are empty Rappin' to a beat doesn't make you an MC With your lack of skill and facility, you're killin' me And a DJ in the group just for credibility I heard that some of you are gettin' help with your rhymes You're not an MC if someone else writes your lines Rappin' over rock doesn't make you a pioneer 'Cause rock and hip-hop have collaborated for yеars But now, they're getting randomly mixеd and matched up All after a fast buck, and all the tracks suck So how does it stack up? None of it's real You wanna be an MC? You've gotta study the skill [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Who can rock a rhyme like this? Bring it to you every time like this? Who can rock a rhyme like this? Step, step up! Step, step up! [Verse 2: Mike Shinoda, Mark Wakefield] So, you pick up a pen and write yourself a new identity But mentally, you don't have the hip-hop energy With a tendency to make up stories (Bullshit) Sounding like the only hip hop you've heard is top 40 (Top 40) And your record company is completely missin' it All the kids are dissin' it for not bein' legitimate So in a battle, you can't hack it, react with wack shit And get smacked with verbal backflips Get your ass kicked by fabulous battle catalysts It's taken decades for MC's to establish this You're new to hip-hop, and welcome if you're serious But not on the mic, leave that to the experienced [Break: Mike Shinoda] Using the waves of sound The true master paralyzes his opponents Leaving him vulnerable to attack [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Who can rock a rhyme like this? Bring it to you every time like this? Who can rock a rhyme like this? Step, step up! Step, step up! Who can rock a rhyme like this? Bring it to you every time like this? Who can rock a rhyme like this? Step, step up! Step, step up! Step up! [Bridge: Mike Shinoda] After years of pain-staking research by the world's leading sound scientists We here at the Sound Institute have invented a reliable audio weapons system Actual movement of musical sound in space used to carefully attack and neutralize the cellular structure of the human body And the question must be asked… [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Who can rock a rhyme like this? Bring it to you every time like this? Who can rock a rhyme like this? Step, step up! Step, step up! Who can rock a rhyme like this? Bring it to you every time like this? Who can rock a rhyme like this? Step, step up! Step, step up! [Outro] Mix Media Step up the microphone And you do it like this And you do it like… Step up the microphone Mix Media And you do it like this Mix Media Step up the microphone And you do it like this Mix Media Step Up the microphone And you do it like this