Meta-Historical

[Intro: KRS-One] Back to the class. Word up Ya'll know you're going through chambers now. Haha Check this out... [Verse 1: KRS-One] Did you know that Ronald Reagan was a deejay? And Napoleon in Egypt wrote graffiti? Did you know that history is just a replay And you affect it by what you do and what we say? Did you know that history is just a memory And we are the present memories of future centuries? You gotta know your history, the what and the how And be aware, you're making history right now So since history is a record of past events Let's give the future something it can respect (Uh, meta-historical Listen, listen Meta-historical) [Verse 2: KRS-One] History is a record of past events That tries to make sense of the past with past evidence The life of a free man makes history in many ways But history makes the life of a slave History is an art, not a fact And the historian, no matter how scholarly, is never exact We are living in an omni-event - Keep in mind everybody's doing everything at the same time The activity of the whole globe could never be recorded: Our linear vision is too distorted We think in terms of A, then B, then C, then D, then so on We say "this began here, that ended there" So our conversations can have something to grow on But in reality the omni-event has no beginning or end that you can detect We make beginnings and endings in mass confusion So we can talk about the things we're doing But this is all an illusion We see reality according to the symbols we're using Can words exist without letters? Can birds fly without feathers? Who changes? We or the weather? These words are forever, so I'm calling these oratoricals Meta-historical (Uh.. Meta-historical Beyond history Look) [Verse 3: KRS-One] Meta-historical, I got so much more for you Hip hop is a culture; rap's not all we do When The Teacher's calling you to higher order, you Try to slaughter your own foundation What's wrong with you? We got so much more to do You order your history; history don't order you! Here's what we ought to do - I'm talking to you: Let's do this different from how these others do History documents its society - the physical society - not what's inside of me So my history will lie to me Cause it's based on physical space, not my psychology I got a new philosophy: it's called hip hop and it needs a new methodology Now follow me... History documents what's physically there Or what's physically here But hip hop is not here or there, it's not physical Hip hop is a shared idea; We all share it. From different dimensions, we all hear it But hip hop is all spirit So let's get down with what the truth is They're not recording hip hop; they're recording what produces Winners and losers, CDs and tours That's not hip hop; that's rap music folklore That's why these rappers are no more - Cause they followed no principles, traditions, and no laws That's why the future remembers me, KRS, rhyming for the century (Uh... Meta-historical Meta-historical)