(Make 'em clap to this)

I came in the door, I said it before

I never let the mic magnetize me no more

But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme

I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line

Taking off my coat, clearing my throat

The rhyme will be kicking until I hit my last note

My mind remains refined, all kind of ideas

Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build

But still say a rhyme after the next one

Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one

And you know that I'm the soloist

So Eric B. make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill

No tricks in '86, it's time to build

Eric be easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed

'Cause to me, MC means move the crowd

I made it easy to dance to this

But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist?

Say indeed and I'll proceed 'cause my man made a mix

If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix

His fingertips sew a rhyme until there's no rhymes left

I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death

But he's kicking it 'cause it ain't no half stepping

The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in—

Side, it needs erupting just like a volcano

It ain't the everyday style or the same old rhyme

'Cause I'm better than the rest of them

Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

(Make 'em clap to this)