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What's On Your Mind - Eric B. & Rakim



     
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What's On Your Mind Lyrics


I seen her in the subway on my way to Brooklyn
Hello good looking is this seat tooken
On the A train picking at her brain
I couldn't get her number I couldn't get her name
I said I still like your style of fashion
But I hate your hostile 'itty attitude wit a passion
Is it because brothers like to hawk a lot
Is it because your sign don't talk a lot
She turned away no play I said OK
You don't really look good, I hope you have a bad day
Sat back, relaxed though the ride was tight
I was thinking of the rhymes I wrote last night
Next stop was mine, a familiar scene
I was meeting my friend, killer Ben in Ft Green
Where the girls are real, they tell ya how they feel
If you're soft, you're soft, or if you're hard like steel
See I don't bend and I won't rust
And I don't break and I won't bust

Stomped up the street and did I hear a treat?
Hard high heels tappin' on the concrete
I took a peek, it was the girl from the train behind me
Did she live in the area, was she trying to find me?
Hm, I didn't want to play myself out
I played it off, stopped and I bought a Guinness Stout
Now was she shy, she didn't walk by
She came in the store then she even said hi
Curiosity at a high velocity
Maybe possibly she had the hots for me
I said if we're playing games then we're gonna play mine
I'm a lay the rules 'cause it ain't much time
If you hide your feelings, and they hard to find,
I want to know what's on your mindAbout a week went by and I called her, "Hello"
I said yo, can I speak to, um, she said no
Hey yo, I know I didn't call, I didn't want to stress you
Go out my way to impress you, press to undress you
See I want to get to know you so I can show you
What a strong relationship can grow to
But you gotta trust me and you're gonna love me
Squeeze the phone and hug me, use your mind to rub me
Now how does it feel when my mental, massage ya temple
Telephone's hot from the vibes that I sent you
Now tell me your inner thoughts and deepest emotions
Next you see ectacy's explosions
Now I'm coming to see you to spend some time
I'm a romantic warrior but is it a crime
And if you hide your feelings and they hard to findI want to know what's on your mind
I want to know what's on your mindNow it's been months and it's smooth and lovely
I'm in your head so you'll be thinking of me
So we met in Queens and went to Valley Streams
And, uh, couldn't remember the movie we just seen
But it's Wednesday, take the train uptown
How do the 125th street sound
Songwriters
BARRIER, ERIC/GRIFFIN, WILLIAM /Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group Song Discussions is protected by U.S. Patent 9401941. Other patents pending.

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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