Mind Over Matter
Ice-T Lyrics

It's been a long while
It has been a significant amount of time

Since I hit ya with freestyle
Since I last improvised rap for you

High tech selections
Songs chosen from advanced technology

From the vaults of the Ice files
From my personal collection of unreleased tracks

Kick back relax
Take it easy, unwind

And watch as I melt wax
Observe as I impress with my DJ skills

Don't ever let a brother like me
Never allow someone like me

Ride a dope track
Perform on an excellent instrumental

Cause once I hit it with the vocltone
Because once I infuse it with my unique sound

It's mine, have motherfuckers
It becomes my own, making everyone

Rushin' to rewind
Hurry to replay and listen again

Cause I'll flow slow
Because I'll rap with a relaxed pace

And still twist your tongues up
Yet still confuse and impress you

Rock the house from night
Electrify the audience all night long

Till the sun's up
Until the morning

Cause it really ain't
Because it truly isn't

How much you say
The quantity of your words

It's what you say
But the content and substance

I got no fuckin' time on the mic
I have no time to waste on the microphone

To play
To entertain casually

I write rhymes
I compose lyrics

With addition and algebra
Using mathematical concepts like addition and algebra

Mental geometry
Intellectual patterns and structures

Don't even come at me
Don't even approach me

Talkin' that weak and
Spouting inferior and

Popin' that bullshit
Talking nonsense

Get out my face
Leave my presence

A fool could get his head split
An idiot could have his head harmed

A lot of doubters
Many skeptics

Said it couldn't be done by me
Claimed I couldn't achieve it

Them same suckers
Those exact fools

Are now lookin' from under me
Are now viewing me with envy

Wonderin' what I did
Curious about my accomplishments

I didn't play myself kid
I didn't deceive myself, my friend

I respected my fans
I showed admiration to my supporters

And made the high bid
And achieved success

Sometimes I write my rhymes
Occasionally I compose my lyrics

At night and fall asleep
During nighttime and drift off to sleep

Wake up with new techniques
Awaken with fresh skills

Grab the pen
Take hold of the writing instrument

And place it on some loose leaf
And start writing on blank paper

Nothin' soft, always the tough meat
No weak content, always hardcore

The white paper and blue lines
The blank paper with its blue horizontal lines

Excite my mind
Stimulate my mental faculties

Not allowin' me to stop the rhyme
Preventing me from ceasing to rap

Until the whole motherfuckin' book's complete
Until I've filled an entire book with lyrics

Then I write on the back of the sheets
Then I continue writing on the reverse side of the paper

I made a promise
I made a pledge

To my brothers in street crime
To my comrades involved in criminal activities

We'd get paid with the use
We would earn money through

Of a sweet rhyme
The power and quality of our raps

We put our minds together
We collaborated and shared ideas

Made the tracks clever
Created smart and innovative songs

Now we're checkin'
Now we're examining

More bank than ever
More money than ever before

CHORUS
Refrain

I can drop rhymes in twos,
I can deliver raps in pairs,

And threes and fours
In groups of three and four

And still have much shit
And still have a lot of material

Left for encores
Remaining for additional performances

Cause once my mind locks
Because when my mind becomes fixated

In on a dope idea
On an exceptional concept

Motherfuckin' ducks
Damn fools

Should stand clear
Should move away

Cause I'm a hit the topic point blank
Because I will address the subject directly

It's jail ya better keep your shank
In prison, you should protect yourself with a homemade weapon

Cause I got mine
Because I am armed

And I'm out on a solo creep
And I'm sneaking around by myself

(Uggga!) Your face hits the concrete
(Uggga!) I will make your face hit the ground

You want to roll
You want to join

With the niggas that don't play
With the individuals who don't mess around

I think you got false courage
I believe you possess fake bravery

Get out my damn way
Move out of my path

Cause the car I'm in
Because the vehicle I'm in

Is rollin' full of men
Is filled with a group of men

No kids or boys, E got the Mac 10
No children or young individuals, I carry a submachine gun

Islam's got the Zulu Nation back up
Islam, as a member of the Zulu Nation, supports me

DJ Aladdin's who
DJ Aladdin is the person

Hooked the fuckin' track up
Who provided the instrumental for this song

Syndicate's make'n the move
My crew, Syndicate, is making power moves

With the ski masks
Wearing ski masks

And I'm housin' the long cash
And I'm earning a substantial amount of money

So now you realize
So now you understand

You underestimated the Ice
You undervalued Ice-T

You thought that I was OK
You believed that I was mediocre

But now you realize I'm nice
But now you realize I'm talented

But that's alright
But that's acceptable

Cause I knew I'd make it in the end
Because I had confidence in my eventual success

Those who like me now
Those who appreciate me currently

Might not of liked me then
May not have liked me in the past

But I'm a keep impressin'
But I will continue to amaze

Stressin' my lesson
Emphasizing my message

And keep motherfuckers guessin'
And continue to keep people wondering

Armor plate my mind
Protect my mind with tough defenses

With walls and shields
Using barriers and safeguards

As I escape from the killing fields
As I elude the dangerous and violent environments

Wise up
Become smarter

Move the tempo of this hype groove
Change and control the rhythm of this exciting song

You know this shit is dope
You are aware that this music is excellent

So what you tryin' to prove
So what are you attempting to demonstrate

Vu's max as Evil E
Vu is maximizing his skills as a DJ named Evil E

My nigga dogs the wax
My friend skillfully manipulates vinyl records

My brain's a hand grenade-catch
My mind is explosive and impactful

I'm a hit you with an overload
I'm going to overwhelm you

Of bottomless thought
With an endless stream of ideas

Reversin' all the shit you're taught
Questioning and challenging everything you've been taught

Then throw words at you
Then hurl words toward you

Syl-la-ble-at-a-time
One syllable at a time

Your brain recites the rhyme
Your mind automatically repeats the lyrics

No matter what you do
Regardless of your actions

The power's over you
The control is in my hands

when you sleep
As you sleep

You'll be sayin' these rhymes too
You'll also recite these lyrics

Cause the brain has the power
Because the mind possesses the ability

To control all
To dominate everything

Think positive
Have optimistic thoughts

You'll be unable to fall
You won't be able to fail

Brain cells swell
Neurons expand

Thought process becomes a trance
Mental cognition transforms into a hypnotic state

Makes you feel possessed to dance
Compels you to feel the urge to dance

I'll say I want a million
I will express my desire for a large sum of money

My mind is so deep
My thoughts are profound and complex

I'll be bustin' a check for it next week
I will have a check for that amount by next week

CHORUS
Refrain