RZA
Books of War
[Verse 1: MF DOOM]
It ain't nothing like a fistful a cash or a bliss fulla the hash
That twist like a mustache, from end to end, spread it like a rash
From talking through your walkman or at your disco bash
Gimme the Timbs Rumplestiltskin brown
A metal face mask with a built in frown
A mic to tilt down, a hundred thousand pounds
And see how kilt sound like spilt milk clown
Cocoa butter on very ashy day fam
With Ray-Bans out on the islands of Cayman
Or I'll break it down for the layman
Bain de Soleil, for that St. Tropez tan
A can a ol' gold too cold to hold, slow ya roll
Keep on moving like Soul II Soul, hold the dough
Like a fool who stole pity y'all
From tryna go up against city hall titty bar
The black mic is like a red violin
Ok, everybody back to the lab, try again
Bloody rap game like leviathan
Leave a bad taste, killin' my high like niacin
Stop kiddin' middlemen need Ritalin
Hit mе with the full tin of gin and I'm a kid again
Keep the bong lightin' straight through the song writin'
Thе super-villain A.K.A the thong bitin', thats inviting all
To the recitin' thats dope and raw
Hoping all y'all come in peace and its open bar
Tear the roof off this bumba raasclaat
By the end of the night spaz like shazbot
I spilt a shot made the pen lines runny
An ill plot that's ten times Ben Stein money, funny
How he rip the scripts with a straight face
With more rhymes than is lines in ya database
Placing rappers in endangerment, who's reckless
With this food for thought sorta' like breakfast
You could mark it off as wreck on a checklist
Wear gold fronts, can't afford no necklace
Shit, that there, could go to help buildin' daycares
Somebody say yeahh.. (yeahhh!)
Pay ya fares, give the Herbalizers their shares
And y'all could pay DOOM in beers; cheers!
[Verse 2: RZA]
I came to the shores of America disguised as a peddler
The alpha and omega and the home of the beggars, the black settlers
Who been beaten, raped, lynched, robbed and stoned
And called to roam the earth in service cause they couldn't maintain at home
This dates back to 1555
When they captured the first tribe of men and piled them in a pen
Fifty feet high
And took em all on a 9000 mile ride
And landed on the shore of a place they never seen before
But read about this inside the ancient books of war
Bonded in stainless steel, stripped of their language
Still survived the anguish of slavery but still remained nameless
Separated to portions and tricked by John Haughty Hawkins
And sold on the auction, taught birth control and abortion
Rulers of the first part became slaves of the worst part
The devils cursed God and reversed God
And turned God into dog and made people search hard
No relief came til' the prophet of W.D. Fard
To a trauma, dropped our mommas off in Bahamas
And Barbados, Tobago's, separated us from slave boats
Made our own brothers hate us from Virgin Isle to Jamaica
Trinidad, Honduras, Haiti, Grenada
Bermuda to Cayman, mental enslavement

[Verse 3: Jeru The Damaja]
Conquer more dips than the late Hannibal
Terrain gets too rough, I ride the beats like wooly mammals
Smokin' shit like Joe Camel
Fatal when inhaled
Double-0-seven but you still got tail
Q's scrambling device must have failed
Spies, thick thighs, and mics get mil, lies
Deception, military prowess
Bad bitches, tours, and microphone powers
Chemical warfare and mortar showers
Once again blowin' up shit like the Twin Towers
Poison rhymes for enemies or whoever devours
Holdin' shit down until the last hours
[Verse 4: Guru]
Worldwide famine, poor people demanding
That somebody do something soon
And let's examine the facts
Behind the violent acts, behind the daily gunplay
The cocaine and the crack
Thug season
What's the reason for the trees and everybody wants to eat
Some gotta resort to thievin', believin'
That a hustle will help 'em get by
But for anyone that gets over
Another hundred will die
Will I succumb, will my heart grow numb ?
Or will I save the world ? By using my mind like a gun ?
Seems a better weapon, 'cause everybody got heat
I know I carry mine, since the last time I got beat
Ain't nothing sweet
I turn a stickup kid to a soldier, put him down with the cause
Make him feel real bold and more intelligent
Plus aware of the tricknology, the revolutionist
Grab your shit and follow me

[Verse 5: Talib Kweli]
2000 came and went 2001 was crazy
People can't deal fashion go back to the 80's
Got me thinking about my n-gas, drinking dark liquor
Sparks flicker in my mind, my heart quick to think about the time
They try to front on a kid, up in front of Medgar Evers
N--ga nailed, Juju, Seth 'n D rolled up like "whatever you wanna do"
Damn n--ga, Derreck locked down
Seth held the spot down wonder how long he got now, wow
If it happened today who would rob a man
Junior got shot, Ray committed suicide, do or die
Changed to do or live, doing their thing
Rubix is in Altanta, LG ready to bang
Kev lost his baby momma, Kipa lost a baby father
Enough to make you say "why bother?"
But no, they tried harder – that’s strength
Love to my n--ga John (word) soon as you come back, you back on
That word is bond
[Verse 6: DMX]
Yeah baby, shit's about to jump off and
Lookin' for the bus to bring in my man from up north
Been like three years since when got knocked
Since he got caught
Punked up like five new blocks, holding down for it
Kept a n--ga straight with money in the books
And them bitches is crooks who look out for other crooks
Took him shopping, money in his pocket is straight
Dropped him off at the wife's crib after we ate
Our estate was the next move for me
Had to make that n--ga chill for at least two to three months
Cause when it's on, it's on
He didn't care
It's like slow down baby
The money ain't going nowhere
Keep in touch though and show how much your ass is with it
The dope flow is there and in a minute you can get it (come on)
You gotta watch a n--ga just coming home in a game
Cause on the low we may just be trying to go against the grain