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In the Ghetto - Eric B. & Rakim



     
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In the Ghetto Lyrics


Planet, Earth, was my place of birth
Born to be the soul controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any environment I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets goin', the goin' gets rough
When I start flowin', the mic might bust
The next state I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes'Cause times was hard on the Boulevard
So I vote God and never get scarred and gauled
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Lookin' over the edge but the R never fell
A trip to slip 'cause my Nikes got grip
Stand on my own two feet and come equipped
Any stage I'm seen on, or mic I fiend on
I stand alone and need nothin' to lean onGoing for self with a long way to go
So much to say but I still flow slow
I come correct and I won't look back
'Cause it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at

Even the ghettoI learn to relax in my room and escape from New York
And return through the womb of the world as a thought
Thinkin' how hard it was to be born
Me bein' cream with no physical form
Millions of cells with one destination
To reach the best part as life's creation
Nine months later, a job well done
Make way, 'cause here I comeSince I made it this far I can't stop now
There's a will and a way and I got the know-how
To be, all I can be and more
And see, all there is to see before
I'm called to go back to the essence
It's a lot to learn so I study, my lessons
I thought the ghetto was the worst that could happen to me
I'm glad. I listened when my father was rappin' to me'Cause back in the days, they lived in caves
Exiled from the original man, they strayed away
Now that's what I call hard times
I'd rather be here to exercise the mind
Then I take a thought around the world twice
From knowledge to born back to knowledge precise
Across the desert, that's hot as the Arabian
But they couldn't cave me in, 'cause I'm the AsianReachin' for the city of Mecca, visit Medina
Visions of Nefertiti, then I seen a
Mind keeps traveling, I'll be back after
I stop and think about the brothers and sisters in AfricaReturn the thought through the eye of a needle
For miles I thought and I just brought the people
Under the dark skies, on a dark side
Not only there, but right here's an apartheid
So now is the time for us to react
Take a trip through the mind and when you get back
Understand your third eye seen all of that
It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the ghetto
Even the ghettoNo more props, I want property, in every borough
Nobody's stoppin' me, because I'm thorough
Rhymes I make gimme real estate for me to own
Wherever I bless a microphone
Double-oh-seven is back and relaxin'
On point and reactin', and ready for action
I'm so low key that you might not see me
Incognito, and takin' it easy ghettoQuiet as kept on a hush hush
In front of a crowd, I get loud, there's a bum rush
Be calm, keep a low pro and play the background
Hopin' the whack rapper put the mic back down
So rip it, break it in half, go 'head and slam it
'Cause when it's time to build I'm a mechanic
Of bondin' and mendin', attachin' and blendin'
So many solos, there is no endin'People in my neighborhood, they know I'm good
From London to Hollywood, wherever I stood
Footprints remain on stage ever since
Sidewalks and streets, I leave fossils and dents
When I had sex, I left my name on necks
My trademark was left throughout the projects
I used to get rich when I played c-lo
When I rolled 4, 5, 6, they go, "We know"So I collect my cash then slide
I've got my back, my gun's on my side
It shouldn't have to be like that
I guess it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the ghetto
I'm from the ghetto
Word up
Peace

Enjoy the lyrics !!!
Eric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo from New York City, New York, United States composed of DJ Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1965) and MC Rakim (born William Michael Griffin Jr.). The duo went on to release 4 studio albums with their 1987, Paid In Full being regarded as one the most influential albums in Hip Hop. In 1988, they released their second album titled, Follow The Leader. They later continued two release two more albums in 1990, Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em and in 1992, Don't Sweat The Technique in which they went on to split in that same year.

Eric B. & Rakim were almost universally recognized as the best DJ & MC duo. Not only was their chemistry superb, but individually, each represented the absolute peak in their respective skills. Eric B. was a hugely influential DJ and beatmaker whose taste for hard-hitting James Brown samples touched off a stampede through the Godfather of Soul's back catalog that continues up to the present day. Rakim, meanwhile, still tops fan polls as the greatest MC of all time. He crafted his rhymes like poetry, filling his lines with elaborate metaphors and complex internal rhymes, and he played with the beat like a jazzman, earning a reputation as the smoothest-flowing MC ever to pick up a mic. His articulation was clear, his delivery seemingly effortless, and his influence on subsequent MCs incalculable. Together, their peerless technique on the microphone and turntables upped the ante for all who followed them, and their advancement of hip-hop as an art form has been acknowledged by everyone from Gang Starr to the Wu-Tang Clan. While certain elements of their sound might come off as slightly dated today, it's also immediately clear how much of a hand Eric B. & Rakim had in leading hip-hop into the modern age.

Eric B. was born Eric Barrier in 1965 in Elmhurst, Queens; his future partner, William Griffin, Jr., was born in 1968 and also hailed from the suburbs of New York, specifically Wyandanch, Long Island. At age 16, Griffin converted to Islam and adopted the name Rakim Allah. Barrier played trumpet and guitar early on, but switched to the turntables in high school, and eventually landed a job as the mobile DJ for radio station WBLS. It was there that he met Rakim, and the two officially formed a partnership in 1985. Their first single -- "Eric B. Is President" (an ode to Barrier's DJ skills) b/w "My Melody" -- was released on the tiny Harlem-based indie label Zakia. It was a street-level sensation during the summer of 1986, and the duo was picked up by the larger 4th & Broadway imprint. The equally monumental singles "I Ain't No Joke" and "I Know You Got Soul" sampled James Brown and his cohort Bobby Byrd, respectively, and their utter funkiness began to revolutionize the sound of hip-hop. Moreover, Rakim's line "pump up the volume" on the latter track was in turn sampled itself, becoming the basis for M/A/R/R/S' hit of the same name.

In 1987, 4th & Broadway issued the duo's full-length debut, Paid in Full; accompanied by a mighty underground buzz, the record climbed into the Top Ten on the R&B LP charts (as would all of their subsequent albums). Additionally, the British DJ duo Coldcut remixed the title cut into a bona fide U.K. smash. The exposure helped make "Paid in Full"'s drum track one of the most sampled beats this side of James Brown's "Funky Drummer"; it provided the foundation for Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True," among many other, more credible hits. On the heels of Paid in Full, Eric B. & Rakim signed with MCA subsidiary Uni and consolidated their reputation with another landmark hip-hop album, 1988's Follow the Leader. The title cut took its place among the classic singles already in their canon, and Jody Watley soon tapped the duo for a guest spot on her 1989 single "Friends," which brought them into the pop Top Ten for the first and only time.

The 1990 follow-up Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em proved relatively disappointing from a creative standpoint, although 1992's slightly jazzier Don't Sweat the Technique was a more consistent affair that bolstered their legacy. As it turned out, the record also completed that legacy. The duo's contract with MCA was almost up, and they had discussed the possibility of each recording a solo album. Unfortunately, the resulting tension over the future of their partnership ultimately destroyed it. In the aftermath of the breakup, various legal issues prevented both parties from starting their solo careers for quite some time.

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Eric B. & Rakim