[Intro]
(I got a hole where my heart used to be)
[Verse 1]
I'm a real true artist, put all of my heart in this
I live for the basslines and guitar riffs
But too modest, the music biz
Is a vast sea, and you know where the sharks is
I discovered hip-hop as a little tyke
Before I kissed a girl or ever rid a bike
There was nothin' about it the kid didn't like,
so an
Obsession was born for written rhymes ripping mics
My astute pursuit wasn't about loot
To boot I studied the game from root to fruit
People gathered in flocks, hip-hop, had the
Block locked and had us thinking out of the box
The time we were living in it was a testament
For before the corporation would invest in it
And now they acting brand new, I'm waving a flag
For the culture, they lookin' at me like I'm a damn fool
[Chorus]
(When I was up
You would always come around)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
You are my life
(But when I needed a friend
Oh you can never be found)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, you are my friend
[Verse 2]
What's really relevant, is it good in the
Hood if it ain't selling and what is you telling me
Back when we was back spinning the party was
Packed and it wasn't nobody to stack digits
They did it for the kids on the block, instead of banging
They was hanging out doing that up rock flow rock
Hip-hop was there when nobody else cared
No education, no healthcare, or welfare
The Bronx burning we turning into an inferno
What do we learn to know when we ain't earning dough
We got greedier when the media showed up
And got needier when the city disowned us
I guess it was tryna find a way out the projects
And that gentrification is the process to progress
God bless the child with the heavenly trust fund
The heaviest lump sum that come from the slums
[Chorus]
(When I was up
You would always come around)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
You are my life
(But when I needed a friend
Oh you can never be found)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, you are my friend
[Verse 3]
That's the sound of the men banging on
Track not hanging on the corner slinging crack
Now that we got our back up against the wall we gon' bring it back
We them entrepreneurs keeping our dream intact
The way I feel I don't know if you can say the same
Look at what they became following the gravy train
And when it drips dry, them little birds fly
Flocking for better weather while we keepin' it curbside
To have a cypher you've got to come around
While pop radio is telling you to dumb it down
But I've been initiated and we gon' get this
Shit straight and state it that Hieroglyphics the greatest
And I'ma be your friend even when I don't got one
And when I give 'em the Rigmarole to let 'em know we're not done
Many rivers to cross to deliver the loss
It's destiny, yes, we gon' weather the cost
[Chorus]
(When I was up
You would always come around)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
You are my life
(But when I needed a friend
Oh you can never be found)
Hip-hop, hip-hop, you are my friend
