The Art Of The Handshake

[Intermission: Dave Pettitt] Golden Era Records in conjunction with Hilltop Hoods proudly presents ‘The Art of the Handshake’ [Verse 1: Suffa] I used to wake up, bathroom, face-wash, cartoons Ma Dukes, far too smart to start to Talk to this awful swine with a score to Settle with the world, whose only crime is that it bores you Walked to the train it was covered from the floor to Ceiling in graff and stickers, up back no ticket Can’t afford to, life off the payroll Lye rolled up made my eyes and my brain roll Headphones wrapped like a vine ‘round my Kangol Walked like a Bengal Tiger, and the train rolled And the train rolled, and the train rolled, and the train rolled on Then I was stopped by these two cops who got mad rude I’m like ‘What? There’s not a whole lot that you can do’ Then whop-bop-a-lu-a-whop-bam-boo Next stop, what have you got? The whole damn crew So I grabbed ‘em by the wrist, then switched to a grip thumbs Flipped then we clicked then we finished with a fist bump This chump, tried to get cute with me and diss us About the handshake, I said man wait [Hook] There used to be a time like way before this song When all the handshakes were like twenty seconds long And they just went, and they just went And they just went, and they just went on There used to be a time like way before this song When all the handshakes were like twenty seconds long And they just went, and they just went And they just went, and they just went on [Intermission: Dave Pettitt] The handshake is thought to have developed as a gesture to demonstrate that neither party at an encounter is carrying a weapon or poses a threat. Over hundreds of years this simple act has developed into a sometimes-complex ritual and a way to convey status, mutual affiliations or just plain respect [Verse 2: Pressure] I used to wake on a Saturday, play in the matinee Game, get faded on the train down to Adelaide Headphones playing looking out at fresh painted walls Rakim saying we about to get paid in full My man entered, cap and black sweater Jacks get all up on a fella that act clever Train tracks were graffed with back-to-back letters But we came to rap and that was back when a DJ would supply the wax stage had a lino mat Place full of writers in a Raiders or a Giants cap Casing with minors, crates are piled by the back We’ll break in in time to hit the stage and freestyle attack Walk in like I’m possessed by the beat mix Clean kicks, full of more hot air than a phoenix Move right away to my crew side of stage Nothing new but this groove how we do night and day Bring it back; no high five shit is wack We’re bringing that old side-to-side, finger snap Fist poke, stop and lock, just don’t stop the rock Look away handshake body pop [Hook] There used to be a time like way before this song When all the handshakes were like twenty seconds long And it just went, and it just went And it just went, and it just went on There used to be a time like way before this song When all the handshakes were like twenty seconds long And it just went, and it just went And it just went, and it just went on [Intermission: Dave Pettitt] Not all cultures consider a firm handshake as a sign of respect; in fact a grip that’s too tight can often be considered as offensive Scientists at the University of Manchester, taking into account twelve different variables, developed a mathematical formula for the handshake to which people would be the most receptive [Hook 2] There used to be a time like way before this song When the DJ cut the record right Cut the record right, cut the record right Cut the record right, cut the record right There used to be a time like way before this song When the DJ cut the record right Cut the record right, cut the record right Cut the record right, cut the record right