The Roots — Water

[Part 1: "The First Movement"] [Intro: Black Thought] South Philly, Northside Oakland, Texas Georgia, Black people Ugh, ugh, ugh, yo Worldwide, it's for my nigga Know what I'm saying? Yo Dumb and blind [Verse 1: Black Thought] They say a record ain't nothing if it's not touching, gripping Draw you in closer, make you want to listen to it And if you real ill at making music, the listener feel like he living through it That's how my nigga do it I met Slacks back in Lyte, '91, rapping We went to Millersville to get away from gun-clapping It ain't last; I be in class dreaming 'bout Fifty thousand fans up in the stands, screaming out: "Encore!" Yo, I'm headed back to Philly Nigga, you rollin' with me? I'm tryna get busy We walked dogs that was off the chain Lot of times, at the shows, people hardly came I just took it in stride as part of the game But inside, people down with me started to change It was a couple things: lil' syrup, lil' pills Instead of riding out on the road, you'd rather chill I know the way the pleasure feel—I'm not judging But still I'm on a mission, yo, I'm not bugging I got fam that can't stop drugging, they can't sleep They can't stick to one subject, they can't eat It's people steady coming at me out in the street Like, "'Riq, yo, what up with your peeps?" It gets deep, nigga [Chorus] Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high Son, you missing out on what's passing you by I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get Come on—over, over the water Come on—over, over the water Yo, water, come on, water Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh [Verse 2] Yo, we done been through many meals, a couple of deals We done shared clothes and wheels, killed mics and reels We done rocked shows abroad and slept on floors Tryna figure what the fuck we getting slept on for Or what we walking with the weapon for Weighted by the gravity law You'd know it if you came up poor, my nigga Picture the bus up north You know we made of everything outlaws are made of I'm far from a hater And I don't say I love you, 'cause the way I feel is greater And M-Ila, you a poet, son, you a born creator And this'll probably dawn on you later It's in your nature, lyrics all on your walls like they made of paper You got to find out where your talent take you You might fuck around, finally make it And that's real, but— [Chorus] Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high Son, you missing out on what's passing you by I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get Come on—over, over the water Come on—over, over the water Yo, water, come on, water Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh [Verse 3] Yo, I want you all to understand: I come from South Philly And when I walk the street, it's like a pharmacy They got all type of shit anybody could get It go from H to X to loosie cigarettes For my ghetto legend, known for lil' sheist' running Copped codeine by the quarts and keep comin' Dumbing, just embracing the dope, like it's a woman You burning both sides of the rope and just pulling, tugging In between Islam and straight thugging Laying every day around the way and doing nothing See 'em looking, shaking their head, and start shrugging If they don't got a man like mine, they got a cousin Ayo, you better be a true friend to him Before this shit put an end to him Or give a pen to him Or lock him in the studio with a mic 'Cause on the real, it might save his life—keep telling 'em! [Chorus] Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high Son, you missing out on what's passing you by I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get Come on—over, over the water Come on—over, over the water Yo, water, come on, water Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh Yo, you need to walk straight, master your high Son, you missing out on what's passing you by I done seen the streets suck a lot of cats dry But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get Come on—over, over the water Come on—over, over the water Yo, water, come on, water Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh [Part 2: "The Abyss"] [Intro: Samples] [Instrumental] [Outro: Samples] [Part 3: "The Drowning"] [Instrumental]