Definition
Black Star (Mos Def & Kweli) Lyrics

Lord, lord have mercy
Starting the song with a prayer and hoping for mercy from the lord

All nice and peace and true, follow me now, we say
Asking everyone to join them in spreading positive vibes and peace

Say Hi-Tek yes you're ruling hip-hop
Acknowledging Hi-Tek's contribution in ruling the hip-hop industry

Say J. Rawls yes you're ruling hip-hop
Acknowledging the role of J. Rawls in ruling the hip-hop industry

Redefinition say you're ruling hip-hop
Saying that they're redefining the hip-hop genre with their music

Say Black Star come to rock it non
Asking the audience to join them in rocking the hip-hop scene

Yo, from the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate
Their music is consistent and passionate from the start to the end

The whole and not the half of it, vocab and not the math of it
Their music is not just about half-hearted efforts or mathematical precision, but rather focuses on their vocabulary

Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit
Their music is aggressive and precise, like a weapon that can't miss its mark

Me and Kweli close like, Bethlehem and Nazareth
They have a close relationship, like Bethlehem and Nazareth in the Bible

After this you be pressing rewind on top your master disk
The audience will replay their music again and again after listening to it

Shining like an asterisk for all those that be gatherin'
Their music stands out from the rest, like an asterisk on a page

Connectin' like a roundhouse from the townhouse to the tenements
Their music connects with everyone, from the wealthy living in townhouses to the poor in tenements

Cause all my Brooklyn residents, heavy regiments
They're representing Brooklyn and its people, who are known for their strength and resilience

Don't believe, here the evidence, where Brooklyn whoa
If anyone is skeptical, they can see the evidence of Brooklyn's strength for themselves

See that? Bound to take it all kid, believe that
They're confident in their abilities and believe they will succeed

From where they sellin' tree at, to where the police be at
Their music touches people from all walks of life, from drug dealers to police officers

Talib Kweli e-Kweli-ty yo tell them where we be at
Talib Kweli is introducing himself and letting everyone know where they can find them

Brooklyn, New York City where they paint murals of Biggie
Describing the city they represent, where murals of the famous rapper Notorious B.I.G are painted

In cash we trust cause it's ghetto fabulous, life look pretty
In their community, cash is king and the lifestyle may seem glamorous even though there are struggles

What a pity. Blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense
It's unfortunate that some things never change and that smoking marijuana is still cheap but risky

Tree scents is dominant can't be covered with incense
The smell of marijuana is strong and can't be masked with incense

My presence felt my name is Kweli from the Eternal Reflection
Kweli has a strong presence and his name means 'truthful' or 'from God'

People thinkin' MC is short hand for Mis Conception
Some people have a misconception that being an MC means embodying negative stereotypes

Let me meditate, set it straight, came to the conclusion
Taking time to reflect and come to a conclusion before speaking on a topic

That most of these cats is featherweight, let me demonstrate
Most rappers are not as good as they claim, and Kweli is going to show them why

Walkin' the streets is like battlin', be careful with your body
Navigating the streets can be dangerous and you need to be cautious

You must know karate or think your soul is bulletproof like Sade
To survive, you either need to know karate to protect yourself or have unwavering confidence like the singer Sade

Stop actin' like a bitch already, be a visionary
Stop acting scared and be confident in yourself and your vision

And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituary
If you don't shape up, you might end up dead and your name will be in the obituary column

Third rate teacher readin' and talkin' about
Teachers who don't understand hip-hop are trying to criticize it

"I knew he'd amount to nothin'"
People are quick to discredit rappers and expect them to fail

Neighbors like, "He was the quiet type
After a rapper becomes successful, their former neighbors pretend to have known them all along

Who'd have thought they was frontin'?"
Those same neighbors just assumed the rapper was lying or pretending to be someone they weren't

Talkin' and loud like you in RCA, get carted away
If you're too loud and disrespectful, you might get taken away by the authorities

With body parts and treys, what a way to start your day
It's not a good look to start your day with violence and drugs

It's kind of dangerous to be a emcee
Being a rapper can be dangerous because of the violence that surrounds the industry

They shot Tupac and Biggie
Two famous rappers were killed and it's still a mystery who did it

It ain't about production and, what else we discussin'?
Music shouldn't just be about the production value, what else are we really talking about?

When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows
No matter what obstacles come my way, I will still make my music and be successful

Strivin' for perfection ever since I was a snot-nosed
He has been trying to be perfect in his craft since he was very young

Colossal, true original B-boy apostle
He is a huge, true, original B-boy apostle

Standin' on the rooftop with the, Zulu gestapo
Standing on the rooftop with the Zulu Gestapo, a reference to the African organization, while possibly suggesting a militant approach to making music

You think you the shit
You're not as good as you think you are

Somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
Someone will come along and prove that you're not as good as you thought and you'll have to quit

Consider me the entity within the industry without a history
Kweli is a unique entity within the industry who doesn't come from a well-known history

Of spittin' the epitome, of stupidity, livin' my life
He's not interested in rapping about stupidity, he wants to speak about real issues and experiences

Expressin' my liberty, it gotta be done properly
He wants to express himself and his freedom, but he knows it needs to be done in the right way

My name is in the middle of e-Kweli-ty
His name, Kweli, is in the middle of his trademark wordplay e-Kweli-ty which suggests equality and ability for self expression

People follow me and other cats they hear him flow
People follow him because they like his flow, they don't even care who some other rappers are

And assume I'm the real one with lyrics like I'm Cyrano
People assume he's the real deal when it comes to rapping, much like Cyrano de Bergerac when it came to love letters

Still sippin' wishin' well water, imported, from Pluto
Drinking water that is imported from Pluto (not actually possible) but also rare and wishing for better days

Three hundred and sixty milliliters for all our believers
Sharing with their fans and supporters, showing love for all of them with a specific amount of imported water

In miles or kilometers, most cats, cannot proceed us
No matter how you measure it, most other rappers can't compete with their skills

In the jungle with the leaders we the lions you the cheaters
They're in a jungle of rappers and they're the leaders, while others are just trying to cheat and copy their style

A cypher, will complete us if we come through your receivers
Their music, being passed through the radio waves, will bring the community together, like a cypher

You can play us and repeat us and then take us home and read us
You can play their music over and over again and even take it home with you to study the lyrics

(Line for line) Good Jesus, Mos Def and Kweli just
Line for line, Mos Def and Kweli's music is amazing and inspirational

Make a pussy freeze up, thinkin' we will ease up
Hearing their music might make people nervous, thinking it's too intense for them to handle

Hold your head when the beat drop, Y-O
The beat is about to drop, hold on to your head, as in prepare to rock out