Metamorphosis Lyrics: Brief History of Hiphop

Hiphop is of the heart whether Brooklyn or African.
Period.
The richy-businessmen can never tax it,
Many understand it only watching it happen,
As if DJ'ing only started because of rapping...
The story couldn't be more backward,
We wouldn't rap today had we never had scratching.

It was the table that gave the sound for rapping,
The audible evolution of African chanting,
The digital tune of blacks and latinos clapping,
With universal language that translated the planet, listen...you know the:

Hiphop kind of began with breakdancing,
As DJs and dancers toured without rappers,
The dancers "blew up" and gave Hiphop status,
As mainstream minds received it enthusiastic.
And it was mutual: DJ and dancer traveling,
All over the map, expressing their honest passions,
Graffiti artists emerged tagging and graffing,
Thus completing the culture as we have it.

Remember: Hiphop is of the heart,
The mother land is Africa,
Blended in Brooklyn with latin hands,
From the famished ghettos to what the industry grabbed...to suburban streets...

At some point, DJs and dancers let rappers
Tour with them across the map and travel,
But rappers became celebrities and somehow managed
To make the money by simply rapping.
So they belittled the dancers and the scratching,
Thus forsaking the roots they grew from to simply cash-in.
Even today, rappers get all the action,
So let's bring, way back, to the passion.

See most Hiphoppers forget Hiphop's atlas,
Some believe it grew from how analysts "handled" it,
Which is true but see it's culture is rooted in ancient Africa.
The call-and-repeat thing: an African practice.
Let's pay our dues to the scratching, graffing and breakdancing,
In sacred ritual, let's thank the latinos and Africans,
When I say "God Bless" you say the culture...
"God Bless" "The Culture"
"God Bless" "The Culture"
And yes it needs your blessing though bigger than all of its parts,
Unchartered moments are beating deeply in human hearts.

Call it entertainment, education, culture or art,
One thing's for certain: the small things carry the large.
And it needs your mind before its stomach starves...
It needs you, you need me, and I need you
Just as you are.

Hiphop is of the heart,
...for the love of Hiphop.

(chorus)