Just Like That

[Intro] You know, you don't see with your eyes You see with your brain And the more words your brain has The more things you can see [Verse 1] Yes yes y'all, it don't stop, it can't stop, it won't stop We used to be there rapping on the block It was like hip-hop would never stop But then we all got older, and a little bit bolder The streets of New York got a little bit colder I'm a young dude, I gotta learn and get over 1980, Brooklyn is crazy in the dark But there I am in Wingate Park Jamming to the DJs creating this art I'm on E, but I'm free and I wanna be part So I gotta be smart and then it just sparked I'mma start with my heart, achieving the mark Of being the number one MC on the chart So on your mark get ready go I Rock Steadied the show with DJ Scott La Rock, you already know Yo, these were the days when bands were elected Based on the jams they selected so check it This man got respected When fans detected that the South Bronx Was the new answer record [Hook] And just like that, just like that, just like that I speak into the air and Just like that, just like that, just like that My dreams they did appear so Just like that, just like that, just like that You speak into the air and Just like that, just like that, just like that Your dreams they will appear so [Verse 2] Just like that I was right on top Me and Scott La Rock but then Scott La Rock got shot I can hear him echoing: "hip-hop don't stop" But we was getting robbed like a bank with no lock By a record company that was taking a lot People blaming us and shaming us, but then it all stopped When By All Means Necessary dropped It was like the whole damn hip-hop culture stopped But that's when the vultures dropped, from the culture shock Because we was showing people how they supposed to rock With their hands in the air and they mouth on scream But in '81 this was just a dream But we kept dreaming, kept decreeing, kept seeing Kept being hip-hop, breaking, MCing Graffiti writing, DJing on the weekend It's the proper use of your mind I'm teaching [Hook] [Verse 3] Just like that, I began to see The true force and the power of M-I-N-D Now I am free and yes I can be The amazing MC I saw in 81 Back then I was the crazy one Even the lazy one, the not sure, the maybe one Now today I'm the sure one, the on tour one The raw one, the one you want more from But it was all a dream Now this brother's on the cover of Word Up magazine Hanging fliers on my wall Boogie Down Productions vs MC Shan and Marley Marl You know my tape rocks, I don't say pop If I couldn't find OE, then I got the Private Stock Way back where them Dapper Dan jackets at With the hat to match, all that [Hook] [Verse 4] Just like that, now it's '91 And the West Coast Era now has just begun And you can't run, crack cocaine affects everyone Now we know the military, they brought in several tons Forget them old guns they brought in better ones The name of this new game is stack your set of ones For me I remember 1981 When I first wanted to rap it was mainly fun But hip-hop was made to run So them dudes that think it's all about money their day will come And it comes for many, and it's scary To learn your whole career was really temporary But on the contrary we can look at the past And see the major recording artists that didn't last But here comes the blast, in order to last Be the real you, man, take off the mask [Hook]