[Verse One: Tom Rockwell - Sudden Death]
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I took a look at the state of hip-hop, and it made my jaw drop
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Ccause it's mostly just sloppy pop
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I've watched the quality drop over the years
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Even the rap pioneers managed to bring me to tears
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It's like everybody stopped trying, but people keep buying
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which keeps the record companies complying
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And rappers gettin high and puttin out this crap
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It's pathetic what passes on the radio as rap
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I'm flippin down the dial then I flip it the bird
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Cause every song that I hear is just totally absurd
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It's about as fresh as a turd
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Festering on the sidewalk as I sit there gesturing
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at the radio like the DJ's can see me
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I'm screamin so my windows got steamy
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Every song sounds the same, if they're lookin for fame
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why do their records sound so damn lame?
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The beat is a cheesy remix or a cheap rip off
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And the rappers come off soundin soft
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Cause none of it rhymes and it sounds all wrong
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It's like they're rappin over the beat from the previous song
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I get the impression that they really don't care
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what it sounds like as long as it's played on the air
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And the record companies'll take care of that part
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It's sad, but that's state of the art
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[Verse Two: Tom Rockwell - Sudden Death]
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Every album that comes out is worse than the last one
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Curses and a verse about how they're gonna blast one
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Mumblin the lyrics off instead of really handlin
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That way you can't tell that they're really just ramblin
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And most rappers can't even handle that part
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So they get a guest appearance by ever rapper on the charts
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And when that leaves you feelin all cold and empty
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They just add another verse by a dead MC
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Rappers nowadays come a dozen for a dime
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But true lyricists are nearly impossible to find
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I remember a time when I would hear Rakim
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And go damn, I wanna be just like him
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Today it's all about bein gangsters and pimps
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In real life most of 'em are pranksters and wimps
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The real gangsters are out there buying the CD's
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The real pimps are the people in the record companies
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So don't tell me you keep it real cause you come off
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About as real as the integrity at Microsoft
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And like them you jam it down our throat every day
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But what kills me is it never used to be this way
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I ain't sayin that rap should stay the same for all time
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But the least they can do is make an attempt to rhyme
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It's like they got their lyrics on sale at the Qwik-E-Mart
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It's pretty sad, but that's the state of the art
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[Verse Three: Tom Rockwell - Sudden Death]
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What happen to the rappers who could freestyle
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Flow off the heads of the dome for a little while, goin wild
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Off of the dome flowin for a long time
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And hey how about that - they would actually rhyme!
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Legends of the game have faded away
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They can't rip it like they used to back in the day
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And nobody stepped up to take their place
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So now the race continues on at a lumbering pace
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Run-D.M.C. ain't the kings no more
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LL's about as funky as a canker sore
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Whodini disappeared and Doug E. Fresh went stale
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And I think Sir Mix-A-Lot got into some bad ale
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The Fat Boys broke up and then one of 'em died
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And when I heard that, I sat down and cried
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Cause I realized I'd never get to see them perform
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It was the end of an era that I had to mourn
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Today's rappers can't cut it like they used to
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There's a couple that I like but I won't say who
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Cause by the time this song is done those people might suck
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So I'm not gonna press my luck
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I'm not trying to preach, I'm just ventin my frustration
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At the sense of apathy in the hip-hop nation
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It's spreadin all Hova like a rancid fart
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It's pretty sad, but that's the state of the art
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State Of The Art
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| Sudden Death |
