piano playing for 1:02 before the beginning of the main song*[Eric B] "Clap your hands" cut and scratched 6X[Rakim] Put your hands together... clap your handsVerse One: RakimThis is for thousands of people who cameA show from road to road you're entertainedI don't even have to say my nameCause when the place is ripped in half, I'm to blameMasses of posses packed up scheminLadies lovely and keep on screaminGo Rakim, go Rakim, goIt won't be long then it's on with the showI'm late, so hit the brakes and park the BenzitoDouble oh seven, incognitoSneak in the back door, lookin for the stageWhen I get on you react in a ragePeople from side to side and front to backwon't dance, if the MC's wackThe crowd go psycho even if I don't moveSome like the groove cause I'm so smoothThen somethin happens, feet start tappinYou can't hold back when Rakim's rappinThe man you've been waitin for, rougher than everLadies and gentlemen, put your hands together[Eric B] "Clap your hands" cut and scratched 8X[Rakim] Clap your handsVerse Two: RakimI create em, take em, shake em, then make em clap to thisMost of you rappers, can't even rap to thisI made it faster, you tried to masterSyncopated styles, words flowin afterMeasures of metaphor definitions of more than oneTake it both ways, I'll be here when you're doneRemember as the rhyme goes on it's rougherSoon as I stop, you had enough ofFollowin footsteps, you better turn back soonSucker MC's suck rhymes like vacuumsThe style remains the same, the words is changedBitten, rewritten, recited and rearrangedSing along if your tongue is strong, it gets soreSing when I'm gone and it'll break your jawWisdom flows so swift, I'm AsiaticIs it a gift, or automaticStatic, I don't clingI got a tip of my own and I don't singDon't understand, here's an exampleand why MC's and DJ's sampleCause we don't have a band, it's just my voice and his handsThat's what hip-hop was, it still standsThe records we use are from mom's and pop's collectionFind a break from a dope selectionAnd go to the store, then buy one moreSo my DJ can mix cause that's what his hands are forYears later hip-hop got contractsThe chance to put actual facts on waxA mind's the coach, the physical form's the teamThe top's the destination, I'm the creamAnd still I rise with somethin pumpin and somethin cleverLadies and gentlemen, put your hands together[Eric B] "Clap your hands" cut and scratched (7X)[Rakim] Clap your hands... clap em, clap emVerse Three: RakimNow who's the man with the masterplan?With stacks of verbal attacks so clap your handsRhyme written in graffiti xeroxed on blueprintsStudents influenced are now a nuisanceYou couldn't fight it, you had to clap to thisYou got excited, you almost snapped your wristThe rhymes was written for the crowd's enjoymentWhen I'm with this you can't toy withThe def jam juicer rough rhyme producerLoads of lyrics get you loose, then looserThe man so smooth and world so roughEric is throwin and sewin rippin restitchin the cutsMicrophone your majesty, no one's bad as meSeems the tragedy, Rakim had to beThinkin of some def view of a videoVisions are vicious, and I'll let the city knowWhoever's frontin they know, nothin to say thoughso lay low, musical forms are kickin' like KatoDon't get near it, hard as you ever hear itI know it's fearified, but don't fear itAnd try to predict which rhyme you can kickYou're quick to pick your best, for the mic is litInstead of goin with the flow like you're supposed to goAnd enjoy the show and yo, put your hands together[Eric B] "Clap your hands" cut and scratched 6X[Rakim] Clap your hands... put your hands togetherCLAP YOUR HANDS! *echoes*