Pete Rock
The Audacity of Dope
[Intro]
Retropolitan
Uh-huh
Retropolitan
True, indeed, huh


[Verse]
All three of 'em
All being one in the same is all I need from 'em
Word to everyone who remain and all it mean to them
Know I stand tall with them you ever saw me with them
Seated in box cars from the A to the Jeep
Singing the same song but I got a cadence to me
So when I sing along, know that I made it to be
All that they sing for and all that's related to me
Know above all what I come for is usually a one off
Like, "Only one of y'all will get out, yo, why he brung y'all?"
And my reply be bottom line, "Yo, where the front door?"
That'll be the way that we out, and we now
Should be in accord when I throw this caveat
The one that would've cleared every shelf outta Camelot
The one that explains the give and take of who handle rock
And pulled up a chair for all of who couldn't stand to watch
Like, fuck all the standing by
Unless you involved or in the hearts of who can't oblige
Knowing their hand is tied
Talking the same song, hear how they plan to drive
If they got a seat for y'all, then yo would you stand to ride? Follow me
Same ones who would call corners came out the box with me
Nothing else changed except the neighbors on top of me
Swear that they ain't know how to get it until it got to me
The hallway got all the allure 'til you buy property
If y'all be on the side of me
Then you can say the same about me if I'm what the topic be
Word to how you got to me
Grew up with real Huxtables dealing with real Carters
Due to what they took but told you to still harbor
And the way that it rides, I'm just taking what's mine
But forgive me for tryna steal honor like Killmonger
Praise due to the corner stores that I'm still part of
And for me being able to come home to my real father
All of this was said one way or another
But when it's told hand in hand it replaces the stutters
Applause for understanding the fate of the runners
Because I wouldn't go home until I made all my jumpers
Pardon me for seeing all of that with all three eyes
While I was drawing a line and shooting off from behind
The rims never had nets but it would all be fine
The crib never saw it all, they was drawing the blinds
Picture all I described, and add a Lex 450 double parked outside
With Frank White at the wheel
I took that, put it in back in light of the real
It's all or nothing like if you was tryna write an appeal
Moral being, you all got some audacity
You top 20? I'm half that at least, and that's modest
If we're being that honest then can't too many follow this
Stage left, curtain drawn, Retropolitan
[Outro]
True indeed
Do believe, true indeed
Do believe we being that honest then can't too many follow this
Stage left, curtain drawn, Retropolitan, yeah
Yeah
As we conclude
Retropolitan
SK
PR
It's a love letter and a wake up call to the city all
All at one time
All at one time
Giveth and they take it away
Said, giveth and they take it away
Literally give it and then take it away
One time for the city, though
One time for how it did me, though
Yeah

[Interlude]
He says to me, "Well, just so people see it and they know who I am
Nobody knows who he is and so they see it—"
No, it's not a matter of "So they know who I am—"
So they see it. And after they see it, so what?
It's a matter— It's for me, ii>It's not for nobody else to see
I don't care— l don't care about nobody else seeing it
Or the fact if they can read it or not
It's for me and other graffiti writers, that we can read it
These other people who don't write, they're excluded
L don't care about them, you know?
They don't matter to me. It's for us