[Intro]
Be now, be ill, be down, be real
Yo, they used to always ask me
What I wanted to be when I grew up
I said yo (Be now, be ill, be down, be real)

[Verse 1: Rakim]
A fashion dripper, Carhartt, Timberlands, contests
Opps flop, I stomp from gimmickless
Average spitter, the response, my competition
Get them all next, you're blessed like when the Fonz'll twist his lip
Lab hitter, progress, the God's magnificent
Patterns differ, context, my compositions hit
Fathom quicker, conquest, a conscious lyricist
Atom splitter, complex, it's quantum physics
Since they put my melody on a cleverly poem
My celebrities still legacy, and 'gevity long
Design flows in binary codes, no matrix
Light-speeds, time could be froze, no spaceships
Walkin' paradox, I made them all believers
Ship the paradigm, even time, alter features
On the mic, it's either too three or not too three
In life, it's either to be or not to be

[Chorus]
"I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone" ("This is what it's all about")
Be ill ("I-I-I'll be flooded with ice")
Be ready to reveal ("I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone")
B-B-"Be all I can be, and more" ("Finishin' touch")
Be boys and girls ("Be now, be ill, be down, be real)
[Verse 2: Kurupt]
My abilities, to create mass delusion
Headaches, heartaches and mass confusion
Contusions, I give out for free
Five at a time, one for two and two for three (For three)
Confucius, verbally abusive
Intuitive, a gift I give (I give)
Look what I'm givin', the voice of the unforgivin'
In time, I might get forgiven for my crimes (Crimes)
Lay the body down and lace 'em with lime
You throw the beat on and I'ma lace 'em with rhymes
Helter skelter, this pure love bizarre
Masta Killa said we gon' rock with the R (With the R)
You are who you are and we shine like the stars (Like the stars)
Sharp as a thumbtack, you jump in my car, let's go

[Chorus]
"I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone" ("This is what it's all about")
Be ill ("I-I-I'll be flooded with ice")
Be ready to reveal ("I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone")
B-B-"Be all I can be, and more" ("Finishin' touch")
Be now, be ill, be down, be real

[Verse 3: Masta Killa]
I walked on the sea of existence
And stepped on the shore of the moment
The father of civilization, I own it
The maker of my daughter, creation
One Nation Under a Groove
Before the two virtues of seamless scriptures
Woven with the threads of wisdom
This picture of my life intelligence, stimulates life and matter
So eloquent, a thought so delicate
Yet weighs more than elephants, strokes of excellence
Extracted from the elements, a powerful calmness
I'm always armed and equipped with what I bomb with
A sweet flowin' river of mad facts, the actual
Calculated pressure applied, hits are tactical
Masterful mind
Catapult self beyond the measure of time
The resilience and brilliance of Kurupt Young Gotti
Rakim the Godbody with the wise Chief Jamel Irief when I speak
Raisin' Universal Flags up high, say peace (Peace)
[Chorus]
"I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone" ("This is what it's all about")
Be ill ("I-I-I'll be flooded with ice")
Be ready to reveal ("I'm-I'm-I'm in the zone")
B-B-"Be all I can be, and more"