Capitol Hill Handyman's video: Eric B Rakim - I Ain t No Joke

Track 1 from Eric B. & Rakim's debut album Paid in Full (1987). Lyrics: I aint no joke, I use to let the mic smoke Now I slam it when Im done and make sure its broke When Im gone I wrote this song cuz I wont let Nobody press up and mess up to seen I set I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn Bu think about it then youll understand Im just an addict addicted to music Maybe its a habit, I gotta use it Even if its jazz or the quiet storm I hook a beat up convert it in a hip-hop form Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in Deep concentration cuz Im no comedian Jokers are wild if you wanna be tame I treat you like a child then youre gonna be named Another enemy, not even a friend of me Cuz youll get fried in the end if you pretend to be ? can be? cuz I just put your mind on pause And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stun Remember me, the one you got your idea from But soon you start to suffer but you only get rougher When you start to stutter thats when you had enuff of Biting it, I make you choke, you cant provoke You cant cope, you should of broke cuz I aint no joke I got a question, its serious as cancer Who can keep the average dancer Hyper as a heart attack nobody smiling Cuz youre expressing the rhyme that Im styling This is what we all sit down to write You cant make it so you take it home, break it and bite Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits Get the style down pack then its time to ? swit? Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours Then you figure youre ready for the neighborhood chores The e-m-c-e-e dont even try to be When you come up to speak, dont even lie to me You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me So when you see me come up, freeze Or youll be one of those 7 mcs They think that Im a new jack but only if they knew that They who think wrong are they who cant do that Style that Im doing, they might ruin Patterns of paragraphs based on you and Your offbeat dj, if anything he play Sound familiar, Ill wait til e say Play em, so ima have to dis and broke You could get a smack for this, I aint no joke I hold the microphone like a grudge Bll hold the record so the needle dont budge I hold a conversation cuz when I invent I nominated my dj the presdient When Im see ill, people freestyle, going steadily So pucker up and whistle my melody But whatever you do, dont miss one Theyll be another rough rhyme after this one Before you know it, youre following and fiending Waiting for the punchline to get the meaning Like before the middle of my story Im telling Nobody beats the r so stop yelling Save it, put it in your pocket for later Cuz Im moving the crowd and be a record fader No interruptions and the mic is broke When Im gone, then you can joke Cuz everything is real on a serious tip Keep playing and I varies quick And take you for a walk through hell Feed your dome then watch your eyeballs swell Guide you out of triple stage darkness When it get dark again then ima spark this Microphone cuz the heat is on, you see smoke And Im finish when the beat is gone, Im no joke