Rakim - Strong Island lyrics

And the streets just a couple
Of miles East of Mecca
Where peeps touch nuttin but
Style heat and cheddar
Compete witcha livelihood to eat better
And ain't nuttin sweet but the
Ladies who speak wetter with a torn smile
Tryin to get my song on file
It's on now, the whole town done gone wild
Kicked rhymes off my heartbeat
As a unborn child
Then developed a strong style on Long Isle
Won't be long now, I started rhymin' young
I designed for fun
Knowin' my time would come
I started, payin dues DJin' with crews
Learnin' the inner city rules
Conveyin' the news soon as the jam start the
Man's art'll jam parks
Slam so hard it remains a landmark
The rhyme that I'm stylin'
Smooth as a violin
But rough enough to break New
York from Long Island

Rough enough to break New
York from Long Island

Like any GOD
Loose on a spree for new degrees
Things to do and see until
Nuttin is new to me
A true MC usually be into a breeze
And I can still see New
York City through the trees
My advance slams put you outside lookin in
Or the other way around, that depends
Look again took a pen so you could zero
In on my book of gems
It extends from the Hamptons to Brook-lyn
Through every hoodie in town
To learn the Boogie Down
Til every DJ around, wanted to put me down
Rhymes got rougher til I was
Ready to blast off
And harass all from Suffolk County to Nassau
Where we keep the money pilin
Keep the honies smilin
Keep the heater just in
Case kids start whylin
The rhyme that I'm stylin, smooth as a violin
Rough enough to break New
York from Long Island

Rough enough to break New
York from Long Island

Grew up in Wyndanch
Formerly known as Crime-Danch
Me and my mans we travel lands to find jams
Where violence usually ends in sirens
By all means, we all fiend for finance
We make cash on the
Street called straight path we take class
Build with the Gods with great math
Everyday true to the street
And never fronted along the way
Learned from the best that ever done it
Bein exposed to life's highs and lows
Got my flows ready for shows
I'm ready for the pros
I put it on a tape and then the city I tested
Then on the radio the R's requested
Now the whole world's whylin
All the girls smilin you know, it's on
Soon as they let the crowd in
The rhyme that I'm stylin, smooth as a violin
Rough enough to break New
York from Long Island

Rough enough to break New
York from Long Island