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[ VERSE 1: Mike G ]
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Remedies for house parties stayed simple and plain
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Little wine, little music, little Mary Jane
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Gotta keep the lights dim, so when the people walk in
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The vibe stays nice and mellow, everybody fits in
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And everybody hey and ho, are gettin they groove on
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The record only stops when the lights came on
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Then they went back off, we continued to groove
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Then somebody grabbed the mic like they had somethin to prove
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It was just the spirit got em, it wouldn't let loose
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There right before our eyes hip-hop was produced
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The fire kept on burnin like a doggie in heat
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You couldn't help to feel the flavor as you walked through the streets
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Everybody had a crew on every block for blocks
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This seemed to be insurance that the beat won't stop
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So one day shots ring and it was no one to blame
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All you thought was would it ever all be the same
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But if you got the love, baby, won't a damn thing change
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As long as you remember it always remains
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[ CHORUS: The Holmes Brothers ]
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I remember
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When we used to play shoot-em-up, bang-bang
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I remember
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When we used to play shoot-em-up, bang-bang
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MC's and DJ's(2x)
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[ VERSE 2: Afrika Baby Bam ]
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Block parties jam-packed, the first time I heard rap
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And deejays spinnin breakbeats back
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These were the last good days of the ghetto
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It wasn't all about bein jiggy, so save that rap for Jell-O
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Down on my knees in the street playin skelly
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Rushin upstairs to see _Graffiti Rock_ on the telly
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With one eye on the beats droppin
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I knew that one day would come when I'd be on the mic rockin
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Every day after school practisin
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I mixed blues smarts with street smarts, and then started battle rappin
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But for me it wasn't happenin
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So I changed up my style, to the ladies been mackin
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I wrote a rhyme about 'Roxanne, Roxanne'
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I used to bust it out when I went to a jam
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My mother read the dirty rap
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She said, "You ain't gon' go too far expressin yourself like that
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Disrespectin black women
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And what's gon' happen when you turn around and try to have your own children?"
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So I changed up my style once again
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So me and my moms could still be friends
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My daddy wasn't buggin out so far
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Watchin me pretend to be another rap star
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Through my eyes he saw a child changin
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Growin up to be a man and leave behind the shootin, bangin
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[ CHORUS ]
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[ VERSE 3: Afrika Baby Bam ]
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Now this one goes out to the ones who set it off
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And all the pioneers that made it what it was
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Cause we been doin this for 25 years long
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So we gotta represent and keep hip-hop strong
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JBeez, we on a plateau, ain't nothin stoppin us
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Will with the spirit of God, now watch it jump in us
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Cause when you cut the roots off the family tree
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All you leave behind is the sweet memory
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Right from the start, we did it in the park
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It wasn't for the money, and it came from the heart
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But in these days and times, when rappers write rhymes
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All we think about is signin on the dotted line
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Me, I been thinkin about the way it used to be
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When before you was a rapper, you became an MC
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I'm proud of my heritage, and glad that we made it
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I still bust rhymes without bein player-hated
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Standin on the same stage, rockin with the JBeez
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Was a dream come true for a brother like me
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Before rap was consumed, and hip-hop was doomed
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I was bangin on tables, rhymin in the lunchroom
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I used to walk the street with my ghetto blaster
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My brothers on the block was startin Zulu chapters
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You know what I'm talkin about if you go way back
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And yo, big ups to all my sisters, in the name of rap
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Cause when it comes to hip-hop, you know you gotta keep it true
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Take from the old, mix it with the new
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I used to go by the name of MC Shazaam
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But now you know me as Afrika Baby Bam
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[ CHORUS ]
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-----------------
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I Remember
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Jungle Brothers |