I keep the mic hot  I heat it up kid
 I keep the mic hot  I heat it up (x2)

 Mic check y'all
 Then throw it to the floor
 The crowd wanted more so I came in the door
 The great Rakim  papermates to the pen
 Knowledge is born and the light strikes again
 Elements burst and gave birth to the first
 Get the pen from the nurse and hook the mic up first
 When it absolutely positively has to be there on time
 I deliver a rhyme
 The heckler of hip hop, hop to this one
 I got more kid, they hate to miss one
 Style got jazz and the crowd's out of control
 Cause I've got the mic and I've got the soul
 New York's own microphone technician
 Thoughts'll give 'em visions
 Style'll make you listen
 Devastates the ear, my opponents can't see me
 I gave 'em directions, but wrote it in graffiti
 But they wanna know my m.o. ease back though
 They want the exact flow, then study my steelo
 Sketch the skit, but they still can't see what I did
 I heat the mic up kid

 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up kid
 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up (x4)

 Then I explode with a song with a original form
 Or I'll perform it at high mode, they want the code
 Destroyed the blueprints and documents and hits
 Crews been, um, looking for clues ever since
 Beats start brewing up, rhymes is rough
 Stages and microphones self-destruct
 And when you thought you had the format down pat
 You get kicked back to the doormat with that
 Cause I've got a high tech style with know-how
 Select the file watch the crowd go wild
 Bad beats to bless the females' finesse
 Points shot stress causing cardiac arrest
 Mics too hot for you to told in your hands
 Now they sell 'em with fifteen fans and mic stands
 Mine still overheats, if you touch it you can see what I did
 I heat the mic up kid

 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up kid
 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up (x4)

 If his opponents'll run a rap, tell 'em ease back
 I've got a knapsack with hip hop attacks
 Stacks of artifacts, formats in the act
 Tracks after macs, and you can't relax
 Rakim's equipped with penmanship
 Left my penmate, I could graduate from Penn State
 I could take any trade and make a high grade
 Even get extra credit when the rhyme's displayed
 As soon as I manifest, they cheat off my test
 Surround my desk and then stress the progress
 But they miss the point, forget the skit
 I'll bust your lip if you rip the script
 Brother's ain't cool and I'mma smoke up the room
 And I've got a crew called the last platoon
 Figure it out kid, problems coming
 Emcees are running cause I'm the gunman
 Extremely dangerous I bust rhymes into the crowd
 And watch 'em all scream out loud
 Aw man, and then I slam like a batteram
 Ra got the plan with your favorite jam

 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up kid
 I keep the mic hot, I heat it up (x4)

 The last platoon
 Rakim
 You know what I mean?
 And I'm out