Yo Shameek, what we're doin now, man?

Ahh - theme song for New York, man, we're tryin to find one

How 'bout 'I want to be a part of it'?

Bust how we're not tryin to hear that...

Yo, forget it, we gonna kick it off like this:



(Ain't no doubt that we will

Y'all don't just understand)



(Let me ask you somethin

How much feelin do you have out there?

You got a lotta feelin, huh?

In that case y'all don't mind singin along

Come on, y'all)



[VERSE 1]

Cold New Yorkin, and yes, I can hold mine

If rhymes were gold, then I would have a gold mine

I diss your favorite MC, and the whole nine

I'm Universal, indeed I control mine

Like the master from an old kung-fu flick

Killin MC's with a lyrical death kick

Laid-back in the track like a cantor

Wonderin what they wanna quote 'word is bond' for

When they can't quote the power of god degree

They must wanna be down universally

In that case, I'm ready to start punishin

With many stripes I snipe you so astonishin

I leave a shine on your mind like a pledge

Push you off the edge if you don't know the ledge

As in the first step towards righteous

You look a bit hungry, please, don't try to bite this

Duplication will result in a violation

I have you payin for my summer vacation

Yo, put down your microphone, and just start walkin

I play you out, no doubt, when I'm just cold New Yorkin



[Rakim] (It ain't -

It ain't where you're from [x3]

It's w-w-w-where you're at)



[VERSE 2]

I'm blazin like fire, rippin through silk

Puttin rhymes to the rhythm like cookies in milk

You wanna taste it? You wrote a rhyme and I erased it

I said a line and like a crackhead you based it

After you smoked, did you fiend for another one?

When I resign, there could never be another Sun

Anyone could be the king, even a dog

But when I hear 'Sunborn', I leap like a frog

And you're the lillypath, you must be silly mad

I'm so rough, that when I'm good, I'm really bad

How many rappers does it take to beat me?

Well, I don't know, cause they're afraid to meet me

Some try to greet me, and then try to diss me

Behind my back when their girls can't resist me

It's only right that I get my props

Cause I drop hip-hop freestyles non-stop

This is comin from the east coast shore line

Your mother was on mine as soon as she saw mine

Tell your sister I said to stop hawkin

I never flirt with dirt, cause I'm just cold New Yorkin



(It ain't where you're from

It's where you're at)



(It ain't -

It ain't where you're from [x3]

It's w-w-w-where you're at)



[VERSE 3]

Now this goes out to every rapper in New York

Pop the cork and tell your DJ to walk

Mel-Ice the Sword is now on the job

Rollin like the mob in a Benz with Rob

From Zakia to Profile, just like before

Russell and Lyor makin sure I get paid more

Tables turn to accompany the tracks

Identify the talent of the Hollywood Impact

Xl Posse is down with 8-4

The regulators to make sure you pay for

Any mistake, for the mercy you'll beg

After you're stomped out by junior regs

Try to make it Uptown, I don't know why

You'll be stopped in the '80s by the D.B.I.

And ehm, not to mention, the family is Ruthless

If you ain't bullet-proof, then you're useless

Like En Vogue I'm tellin you to 'hold on'

You play a role, and I bet you get rolled on

Five buroughs of death, now keep talkin

From Medina to the Pelan, cold New Yorkin



(It ain't -

It ain't where you're from) [x3]

It's w-w-w-where you're at)



(It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at)