Rapsody comes out swinging for her forthcoming album, EVE. Over 9th Wonder’s flip of GZA’s “Liquid Swords”, Rapsody brings The Genius himself on board with a rare feature from D’Angelo on the hook.
Dubbed after Ibtihaj Muhammad, who became the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while representing the U.S. during the 2016 Olympics, the inspiring visual depicts Muslim women walking through out New York in colorful hijabs. With cameos from Roxanne Shante and Mary J. Blige, Rapsody rides through the city and goes head-to-toe in a fencing match. En garde!
Stream “Ibtihaj” here: https://rocnat.io/n/ibtihaj
*Donate to Peter Westbrook Foundation. Support the fencers here: http://www.peterwestbrook.org/donate
LYRICS:
Now when the emcees came
To live out the name
And *shhkka shhhk* perform
Some had to snort cocaine
To act insane to provoke
It rocket on
Now on with the mental planes
Spark the brain
With the building to be born
Boy! Boy you sharp, boy!
Look that fade on you, boy!
Eww, boy! That’s liquid swords on your head, boy!
Yo, waves!
Thinkin’ like back in the days when niggas wore fades
Silk tied caps just tryna catch a wave
(boy you sharp)
Tryna catch a wave
(liquid swords sharp)
Tryna catch a wave
Tryna catch a wave
A wave
It’s been a long time coming
Since we had someone swarming with the bees (killah)
The birds and the killah bees
when the emcees came to live out their name
Inscribed in the halls and the walls of fame
Balancing life I wrote both the ying and yang
The Hansberry/hands bury the man and they raise the sun, Lorraine
That’s a play on words, they say herb ain’t all the same
Slaves in prison and they some unchained
While everybody in my gang a star, DJ Preem
screaming the sunroof “money still ain’t thang”
While I’m spending small bank asking “where is my change?”
Carpool with the homies saving gas in tank
I think like a billionaire, I spend less than I make
Strong minded I should bench way more than my weight
women been leading the way since Roxanne Shante
And the Unit had flavor and Jay had Marcy neighbors that waved
They lookin confused I’m like “cool maybe it’s age”
When I see Afro puffs i think maybe it’s Rage
Maybe it’s staged, they trippin, say they got beef
Ain’t a emcee on this earth that make me feel afraid
Wu-tang for the children, that’s a scripture and phrase
See my goals from a birds view like Trae Underage
Now when the emcees came
To live out the name
And *shhkka shhhk* perform
Some had to snort cocaine
To act insane to provoke
It rocket on
Now on to the mental planes
Spark the brain
With the building to be born
When Im so off the radar its very hard to find me
It’s space is selfie with the earth behind me
You follow the leader the track is off the meter
A lot of rappers wack, low frequency in the tweeters
Very inaudible clock radio speakers
Quietly whispering as a world of wiki leakers
Forget the gaudiness, my method is nausent
Transferring ideas into the brains of the audience
The street poet gave a special art form a global reach
ya burn your heart and then your ear by giving a local speech
Believe and wonder wit words as potent as the sorcery
Witch craft, wit a list of terms in the glossary
Written rap bound to have a great impact
On a listener for the fact, its well in tact
An emcee should electrify, beauty and strive to
Empower, inspire, transform a world view
back in the days when niggas wore fades
Silk tied caps just tryna catch a wave
(boy you sharp)
Tryna catch a wave
(liquid swords sharp)
Tryna catch a wave
Tryna catch a wave
A wave
It’s been a long time coming
Since we had someone swarming with the bees (killah)
The birds and the killah bees
(4)
