Strong Island (Album Version (Explicit)) Rakim

[00:04.01] [Rakim]
[00:07.08] One two.
[00:13.90] Yeah. uhh. yeah.
[00:19.65] "Rough enough to break new york from long island" -> my melody
[00:21.95] Yeah it's the god baby.
[00:24.55] Long island's own.
[00:26.85] Barbarian of the microphone.
[00:30.28] "Rough enough to break new york from long island" -> my melody
[00:32.02] It's for y'all niggaz
[00:32.72] And the streets just a couple of miles east of mecca
[00:34.43] Where peeps touch nuttin but style heat and cheddar
[00:37.28] Compete witcha livelihood to eat better
[00:39.64] And ain't nuttin sweet but the ladies who speak wetta
[00:42.30] With a torn smile, tryin to get my song on file
[00:44.62] It's on now, the whole town done gone wild
[00:47.33] Kick rhymes off my heartbeat as a unborn child
[00:50.08] Then developed a strong style on long isle
[00:52.77] Won't be long now, i started rhymin young
[00:55.05] I designed for fun, knowin my time would come
[00:57.89] I started, payin dues djin with crews
[01:00.33] Learnin the inner city rules, conveyin the news
[01:02.97] Soon as the jam start the man's art'll jam parks
[01:05.66] Slam so hard it remains a landmark
[01:08.45] The rhyme that i'm stylin, smooth as a violin
[01:10.93] But "rough enough to break new york from long island" -> my melody
[01:17.35] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[01:24.14] Like any g.o.d., loose on a spree for new degrees
[01:26.70] Things to do and see until nuttin is new to me
[01:29.36] A true mc usually be into a breeze
[01:31.87] And i can still see new york city through the trees
[01:34.61] My advance slams put you outside lookin in
[01:37.18] Or the other way around, that depends, look again
[01:39.65] Took a pen so you could zero in on my book of gems
[01:42.21] It extends from the hamptons to brook-lyn
[01:44.93] Through every hoodie in town, to learn the boogie down
[01:47.41] Til every dj around, wanted to put me down
[01:50.07] Rhymes got rougher til i was ready to blast off
[01:52.79] And harass all from suffolk county to nassau
[01:55.29] Where we keep the money pilin, keep the honies smilin
[01:58.19] Keep the heater just in case kids start whylin
[02:00.72] The rhyme that i'm stylin, smooth as a violin
[02:03.23] "Rough enough to break new york from long island" -> my melody
[02:08.28] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[02:19.15] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[02:26.74] Grew up in wyndanch, formerly known as crime-danch
[02:29.11] Me and my mans we travel lands to find jams
[02:32.00] Where violence usually ends in sirens
[02:34.52] By all means, we all fiend for finance
[02:36.98] We make cash on the street called straight path
[02:39.85] We take class, build with the gods with great math
[02:42.42] Everyday true to the street, and never fronted
[02:45.11] Along the way, learned from the best that ever done it
[02:47.52] Bein exposed to life's highs and lows
[02:50.09] Got my flows ready for shows, i'm ready for the pros
[02:52.67] I put it on a tape and then the city i tested
[02:55.15] Then on the radio the r's requested
[02:57.94] Now the whole world's whylin, all the girls smilin
[03:00.61] You know, it's on, soon as they let the crowd in
[03:03.25] The rhyme that i'm stylin, smooth as a violin
[03:05.70] "Rough enough to break new york from long island" -> my melody
[03:11.58] Word up. i wanna give a big up to long island. stompin grounds. f'real
[03:19.06] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[03:20.98] Crime-danch. one love baby. word up.
[03:24.54] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[03:25.58] I wanna give a crazy shout out to all the dj's back in the day
[03:29.12] Who used to let me smoke they microphones, yaknahmean?
[03:32.95] Big up to dj maniac, dj teddy tuff, and dj cool breeze
[03:37.96] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[03:39.51] Word up
[03:40.75] {*dj cuts and scratches "rough enough to break new york from long island"*}
[03:52.25]