It Gets No Rougher

(album: Walking With The Panther - 1989)

Let me tell you something about an a-b-c style
The A the B the C the D the E the F the G the H the I the J the K
The L the M the N the O the P the Q the R the S the T the U the V
W, X, Y, Z
It's bullshit to me

Rhyme to the rhythm of a
What should I give a brother
Time to move on, you better get another
Vick to work with or quit
Cause I'm on some old ill shit
Capable of murder but I never committed
Taking no shorts so you better forget it
Traveling the world on my total devastation tour
A supercalifragilistic emcee executioner
Wicked witch, digging your ditch
Giving ya stitch by stitch, ain't this a bitch?
Sweeter than lemonade, stronger than a hand-grenade
Rhymes I laid go deeper than a mermaid
Louder than a siren, I'm not retiring
Aspiring, admiring the way I'm getting fly and
MCs are kleptos and I resent those
Brothers who slept on, when they should have kept on
Rolling with Rush it don't get no rougher
I'll snuff a huffer and puffer, a brother'll suffer
I was holding back the man superior, right?
You wanna take my title, yo, you be alright
You stand below the plateau I stand on
You want perfection? Then put the man on
I shake and bake and break the laws of gravity
And if you chew on, you'll get a cavity
Cause I'm a giant, and you're a peewee
And all that LL shit, you can't see me
You're cheap and weak, incomplete and off-beat
Ehem! Cause it gets no rougher

It gets no rougher

(Yo in '89, we take out all the ABC emcee's youknowhatI'msayin'?
Yo, cut ain't no joke, yo L, release the juice on 'em)

I release the juice smack dab in your face
Do damage, I'm picking up the pace
My mic's like a torch when I'm walking at nighttime
Straight to the dome, it's like a pipeline
High speed, stronger than Thai-Weed
Before you pick up the mic to get fly you need
All the dope tactics that you can feature
So I can serve you, you know the procedure
Listen to the man intellectualize, visualize
Your whole posse getting paralyzed
I don't wanna hear no alibis, don't apologize
Eh-ehem, I'll put the highs in your eyes
The bass in your face, like a District Attorney, I'm on the case
With rhymes that'll hit ya, will get ya and sit ya down
The competition is booty, get the picture now?
Skip the rigmarole, to give me a go
I'm figuring yo, nigga you know
I won't allow, not now, no way, no how
Any form of disrespect, you better bow
Comp gets romped and swamped, I do it prompt
In between my jaws adversaries got chomped
The cordless mic's my only utensil
Lyrics you be running, I break 'em like a pencil
Cause I'm massive, and you're a small fry
You're all in, a stunt, a fall guy
Out of order, I slaughter wax and make you suffer
Cause it gets no rougher

It gets no rougher

(Shut up! Now that I got your attention
We're gonna drop these real dope lyrics on you
The beat is pumping, youknowI'msayin'?)

Let me ask you ask a question
Who could take the game of rap and rule it alone
Demonstrate many styles on the microphone
Build an empire like a African King
I had to show and prove Jack the Ripper could swing
I'm a rapper's nightmare, I crush my opponents
There's only one title: I own it
Emcees flip-flop, I bust out the workshop
They try to eavesdrop the way the man rock
Aerodynamically, it's all automatically
The way I articulate, full of originality
Chase, chop 'em and stop 'em like a cheetah and an antelope
Then I cut 'em like a cantalope on the table
They ain't able, I'm a legend not a fable, gotta keep it stable
Crack your back bone, hotter than brimstone
Doing you justice overseeing like a chaperone
Huh! Oh, on the hip-hop scene, I got shit sewn up like a sewing machine
Eat a rapper like a sandwich, leave 'em in a bandage
Crack the stage and leave the audience damaged

Yeah, get funky on that cut, get funky on it
(Yo, L, them lyrics is dope man youknowI'msayin'?
You been raw sick for years..) this how we do it dog
(...Pump that good man, let's cut us some real, real somethin')
Yo, bust this

I'm kinda like a soldier, see I told ya
When I pick up the mic I'mma hold ya
Captive, I'm active, I make sure the track give
Hell to speakers, sell the sneakers, your back's getting weaker
I freak the beat and get shieker
Move over King, you're too over-eager
To try to make a move for
I'mma prove you're ridiculous
I think he was jealous and in the mood for
An ass-kicking when you mess with
The man with the plan
Mic in his hand and the fresh get
R-O-U-G-H-E-R, rougher, so here we are
Face to face, mic to mic, man to man
While your battleship's sinking in quicksand
Dropping to the bottom like a two-ton anchor
And I break, pull a rank, point blank, I'mma spank a
Rapper like a brat, step on 'em like a mat
My DJ Cut Creator scratch a record like a cat
E at my side with pride we got a bigger rep
Sfff... smoke the mic like a cigarette
Every puff is rough, a pull could kill a bull
One toke, joke crews'll choke
I run through rappers like water through rubber hoses
Nigga, I'm coming up roses
Step back, I got the title
Bear witness to a dope recital
I've killed many men my friend
And I'mma do it again and again and again
Cause it gets no rougher

You know what I'm saying? I'm ruling this game
It don't get no rougher, peace, LL Cool J