[Intro]
Brooknam, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, mad hood
What it is y'all, bust it, yap

[Verse 1]
As is requested on the record
My speech is live, devised or nothin'
Fortified the weapon, the best was selected
You ain't the mos' def
You the mos' defective — bounce and keep steppin'!
My inkwell is a riverbed that resurrect the livin' dead
I manifest what's considered, but what isn't said
Stay on the dot like a infrared
Sew up the block with whole different thread
The durable, flame-resistant, breathable, fantastic fabric
You all get into your formal wear weave classics
My speech fits so seamless, ya need glasses
To recognize the stitch on your nerve fiber
The Black Star gon' make the whole world turn brighter
You shine bright, but my constellation burn brighter
They ain't invited to the table, make it turn cipher
They chattin' big words, but backs is yellow like Big Bird
When I flow, you ain't seein' no dough like interns
A professor, you a freshman that's scared of your midterms
The title on my bookbinding is "Advanced Mic Science"
A champion can only rest at the place where the title is
Brooklyn!
{​​*Beat switches*}​​

["And I'm Crooklyn's finest... Crooklyn's finest"]
Believe that!

[Verse 2]
Brooklyn — my habitat, the place where it happen at
Lives sway in the sharp balance of the battle axe
Irons is brandished at, thugs draw they hammer back
It's where you find the News Two crew cameras at
It's where my fam' is at, the summertime jam is at
They play B.I.G. and get you open like a sandal back
Hotter than candle wax, hustlin', you can't relax
The crack babies tryin' to find where they mamas at
It's off the handle, black, with big police scandals that
Turn into action screenplays sold to Miramax
The type of place where they check your appearance at
And cats who know where all the hot 'Lo gear is at
The stompin' grounds is where you find the pound smokers that
Be Blazin' John, that have your wave cap floatin' back
The doorstep where the dispossessed posted at
Dope fiends out on Franklin Ave. sellin' Zorarax
You big ballin'? Better keep your money folded back
'Cause once the young guns notice that, it's over, black!
"Brooklyn keep on takin' it!" — worldwide we known for that!
Flossy cats get it snatched like the local tax
The place I sharpen up my baritone vocals at
Where one of the greatest MC's was a local cat!
{​​*Beat switches*}​​

[Verse 3]
Uh, huh, yeah, I keep it rockin', classic like Adidas Top 10's
I'm free from all fillers and toxins
Mysterious like chessboxin'
Roll with the force to stop gents
From mixin' up their wicked concoctions
Kweli, that's my Akh, and thought is our department
If you can't clean up, don't start then
My print on the parchment, translate finer and large and
To leave the competition disheartened
The Star shine black like carbon
Writin' in my book of rhymes, all my words past the margin
To hold a mic I'm throbbin'
I carry off the page, go on and on for days
So my phrase autographed on the breeze you breathe
Inhale the crisp air of the brand new seas
Where we run tings, but tings don't run we!
What you hear from me — constructed carefully
Walk into my brothers on the run so fearfully
Passionate to the point of tearful
They be like, "Mos, I FEEL YOU!"
Holdin' it down — I still do!
For real, dude! I'm real, true!
Radiate wherever I'm far from or near to
Stay electric like eels who preside in the ocean tide
Better tell the clothesline time to open wide, and receive this!
No tricks, son, we sleeveless
So nice, you can either recite or read this (Woooo!)
My semantics deep like Atlantis secrets
Who you got beef with? Then state your grievance!
Make it known! Before my defense make a zone
Make peace 'fore you find it too hard to make it home
Vocal cords so powerful, they might break a bone
We rollin' with the Natives, regulate the Terrordome
'Bout to enter to the ages where my crew take the throne
My DNA is out of print, you can't make a clone
So rockin' it, keep rockin' it
A hundred percent B-Boy document!
Magnetic marvelous
Astonishin' accomplishments like consciousness
Whether solo or partnership, I dominate the conferences
Can't say that twice? But you ain't that nice!
But Mos Def is, ain't that right?