[Intro: Charlie Parker & Quincy Jones]
It had to be sweetness
'Cause I'd been in New York all the time, and he brought Charlie Parker in this hotel room, in the Booker Washington Hotel
There was nothing to do but play, you know, and we had a lot of fun trying to play, you know
That man, Charlie Parker, was mine
That was the first time I ever had the pleasure to meet Dizzy Gillespie
I can remember Miles
Miles was in my original band
And Charlie Parker created the sound, and the moment I heard him I said, "that's how music should sound"

[Verse 1: Kool Moe Dee]
A tribute to the Birdman, the father of Birdland
A masterpiece that release the horns, words and
The musical greats, salute the late
Mentor, inventor of a sound that dates back
From bebop to pop and pop to hip hop
We fused the times of jazzing rhymes and got
Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane
To bring on the legends; Kane, hit the names

[Verse 2: Big Daddy Kane]
I kick a rap to what you can relax to
A jazz soloist, play away with the sax
To get the job done, next one up to do his duty
Ladies and gentlemen, mister James Moody
[Saxophone Solo: James Moody]

[Verse 3: Big Daddy Kane]
No one goes the mile like Miles Davis
Watch how he plays this trumpet and pump it
Just like a mechanic handles a tool
Here's the rebirth of the cool

[Trumpet Solo: Miles Davis]

[Verse 4: Big Daddy Kane]
What kind of noise can a string bring
Making you swing and sing things of a musical fling
Well listen to this star, next up is our–
Oh, George Benson bringing the guitar

[Guitar Solo: George Benson]

[Verse 5: Big Daddy Kane]
A voice of choice used just like an instrument
So magnificent, I'm proud to present
Divine, Sassy or A.K.A Sarah Vaughan
Honey, you're on

[Scat Solo: Sarah Vaughan]
[Verse 6: Big Daddy Kane]
I'm introducin' a bop revolution
In jazz that has pizazz, he is one player usin' it
Ask who is he, his first name's Dizzy
Last name Gillespie, now watch him get busy

[Trumpet Solo: Dizzy Gillespie]

[Verse 7: Big Daddy Kane]
Allow me to tell a story about Ella
Fitzgerald, who's sound can never be sterile
A woman with flexibility of range
Making octaves change, go 'head do your thing

[Scat Solo: Ella Fitzgerald]

[Verse 8: Big Daddy Kane]
This is a shoutout to one more man
Joe Zawinul, the writer of Birdland

[Organ Solo: Joe Zawinul]

[Verse 9: Kool Moe Dee]
In the fifties, this was the place to be
From the bands down to the maitre'd
Now, who could forget the MC on the set
The emollient voice of Pee Wee Marquette
[Talking: Pee Wee Marquette]
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know we have something special down here at Birdland this evening

[Verse 10: Kool Moe Dee]
A sound so profound it's come back around
52nd Street is now world-renowned
With horn licks with kick, and swift riffs to stick
Today bebop makes the hip hop pick
These musical genius's souls are so clever
They changed the face of music forever
And if you can't understand
Here's a past and present Birdland