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This is hip hop, NYC's version/
Cause Hip Hop represents me as a person/
My life, My outlook, My essence/
My integrity, My honor, My blessings/
The way I act and the way I look/
The way I react and the roads I've took/
It all comes back to the culture I've adopted/
Not co-opted/
This is not an experiment, phase or project/
This is life, at least as I see it/
Too many people jumpin' on bandwagons, talkin' but not being it/
It's got nothing to do with trying to be cool/
Nothing to do with being new school/
Alot of so-called hip hoppers don't know or care about the history/
And that is the kind of shit that pisses me off and puts me into misery/
Thinking your 50's and Dips represent the whole picture/
The whole view, and if you do to you/
Then we know who's playin' the fool/

I know myself and I stay true/
Can you say the same for you?/
This game ain't nothing new/
Listen, this is HIP HOP/

Too many people use it as a ploy, a joke and pretend/
But they don't care what happens to it come day's end/
Trying to steal an image and play the role/
Using parts of it, but never understandin' the whole/
They call it the game, but it's a serious thing/
It's not just jewels, fat chains and diamond studded rings/
It's not just slang/It's not just fame/
It's not just having a cool sounding rap name/
Its a way of conducting your behaviour, and living your life/
It's the feelings and emotions you convey when you pick up a mic/
Or a pad and a pen/ A notebook/
Writing for enjoyment, not trying to sell a catchy hook/
It's not even about money, honey's or cars/
It's about struggle, and what you can achieve if you willing to try hard/
It's about your code of ethics, the rules you live your life by/
The honor you hope people say you had when you die/
The way you look at things, your entire outlook/
Someone creating poetry even though they grew up without books/
It's why I dress the way I do, it's not about looking like a rapper/
That's not the look I'm after/
It's about a type of vibe I'm trying to capture/
I'm not anti-gangsta, but these wannabe thugs look like actors/
Always bandana's and jerseys, standard phony attire/
Please just retire that shit it's so tired/
Hip Hop's about originality, not being a clone/
That's why I don't care if your rims are chrome/
Why I don't care about the size of your home/
Why I don't believe you when you say you'll stick a gun to the side of my dome/
Seriously tho, the frontin? Let me sum it all up like this:/
It really don't make sense to me/
To be talkin' bout Bentley's when you cruisin' a Buick Century/
So please, don't disprespect this culture that I've taken to heart/
Be a a part of the whole, instead of just playin' a part/

I know myself and I stay true/
Can you say the same for you?/
This game ain't nothing new/
Listen ya'll, this is HIP HOP/

Peace,
NYC