De La Soul - I Am I Be Lyrics






[Verse 1]
I am Posdnous
I be the new generation of slaves
here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes
the pile of revenue I create
But I guess I don't get a cut cuz my rent's a month late
Product of a North Carolina cat
who scratched the back of a pretty woman named Hattie
Who departed life just a little too soon
and didn't see me grab the Plug Tune fame
As we go a little somethin' like this
look ma, no protection
Now I got a daughter named Ayana Monay
And I can play the cowboy to rustle in the dough
so the scenery is healthy where her eyes lay
I am an early bird but the feathers are black
so the apples that I catch are usually all worms
But it's a must to decipher one's queen
from a worm who plays groupie and spread around the bad germ
I cherish the twilight
I maximize, my soul is the right size
I watch for the power to run out on the moon
(And that'll be sometime soon)
Faker than a fist of kids
speakin that they're black
When they're just niggas trying to be Greek
Or some tongues who lied
and said "We'll be natives to the end"
Nowadays we don't even speak
I guess we got our own life to live
Or is it because we want our own kingdom to rule?
Every now and then I step to the now
for now I see back then I might have acted like a fool
Now I won't apologize for it
This is not a bunch of Bradys
but a bunch of black man's pride
Yet I can safely say
I've never played a sister by touching where her private parts reside
I've always walked the right side of the road
If I wasn't making song I wouldn't be a thug selling drugs
But a man with a plan
and if I was a rug cleaner
betcha Pos'd have the cleanest rugs I am.

[Verse 2]
The Plug Two brand with the flavour
in the flute watch the sniffin'
so a sack of shows in demand
I read the diction from the second page
I got the one-two gauge
baritone to the izm fan
Trees fall so I can play ground with my ink
So let me need ya to my ems go
I push the infinite and carry it
My carrier's the three over one
so my pluggins already know
Lick shots with moo
catch the boo
from a ghost in the heckling crowd
if I give a foot
Jack Ville caught a spill
when a still came from my mouth
I brought a head down south
I don't check for the noose and the neck
So I never tell my ems
that finesse is knocking at my door
I choose to run from the rays of the burning sun
and dodge a needle washing up upon a sandy shore
I bring the element H with the 2
so ya owe me what's coming when I'm raining on your new parade
It's just mind over matter
and what matters is
that the mind isn't guided by the punished shade
I keep the walking on the right side
but I won't judge the next who handles walking on the wrong
Cuz that's how he wants to be
No difference, see
I wanna be like the name of this song I am

[Verse 3]
I am Posdnous
I be the new generation of slaves
Here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes
the pile of revenue I create
but I guess I don't get a cut cuz my rent's a month late
The deeds of a natural
are seeds that are no longer planted
so the famine in the mind is strong
Tactics of another plane is now proven sane
Sane enough to let you know from within this song
I stabilize many cableized viewers
So my occupation's known
But not why I occupy
And that is to bring the peace
not in the flower but the As-Salaam Alaikum in the third I am





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De La Soul I Am I Be Comments
  1. s.... s....

    I am I be

  2. s.... ....

    I guess we got our own life to live, or is it because we want our own kingdom to rule? Every now and then I step to the now, but now I see back then I might've acted like a fool.

  3. j.... ....

    best hip hop song . Done

  4. J.... B....

    I Am Jo, aka Soulbrother.. DELA SOUL is a legend of Hip-hop.. 👌

  5. N.... P....

    "I am short"

  6. C.... B....

    De La Soul will always be an underappreciated hip hop band..but damn do i love their music.

  7. J.... M....

    [Intro]
    I am Shortie
    I be 4'11"

    [Verse 1: Posdnous]
    I am Posdnous
    I be the new generation of slaves
    Here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes
    The pile of revenue I create
    But I guess I don't get a cut cuz my rent's a month late
    Product of a North Carolina cat
    Who scratched the back of a pretty woman named Hattie
    Who departed life just a little too soon
    And didn't see me grab the Plug Tune fame
    As we go a little somethin' like this
    Look ma, no protection
    Now I got a daughter named Ayana Monet
    And I can play the cowboy to rustle in the dough
    So the scenery is healthy where her eyes lay
    I am an early bird but the feathers are black
    So the apples that I catch are usually all worms
    But it's a must to decipher one's queen
    From a worm who plays groupie and spread around the bad germ
    I cherish the twilight
    I maximize, my soul is the right size
    I watch for the power to run out on the moon
    (And that'll be sometime soon)
    Faker than a fist of kids
    Speakin that they're black
    When they're just niggas trying to be Greek
    Or some tongues who lied
    And said "We'll be natives to the end"
    Nowadays we don't even speak
    I guess we got our own life to live
    Or is it because we want our own kingdom to rule?
    Every now and then I step to the now
    For now I see back then I might have acted like a fool
    Now I won't apologize for it
    This is not a bunch of Bradys
    But a bunch of black man's pride
    Yet I can safely say
    I've never played a sister by touching where her private parts reside
    I've always walked the right side of the road
    If I wasn't making song I wouldn't be a thug selling drugs
    But a man with a plan
    And if I was a rug cleaner
    Betcha Pos'd have the cleanest rugs I am
    The Plug Two brand with the flavour
    In the flute watch the sniffin'
    So a sack of shows in demand
    I read the diction from the second page
    I got the one-two gauge
    Baritone to the izm fan
    Trees fall so I can play ground with my ink
    So let me need ya to my ems go
    I push the infinite and carry it
    My carrier's the three over one
    So my pluggins already know
    Lick shots with moo
    Catch the boo
    From a ghost in the heckling crowd
    If I give a foot
    Jack Ville caught a spill
    When a still came from my mouth
    I brought a head down south
    I don't check for the noose and the neck
    So I never tell my ems
    That finesse is knocking at my door
    I choose to run from the rays of the burning sun
    And dodge a needle washing up upon a sandy shore
    I bring the element H with the 2
    So ya owe me what's coming when I'm raining on your new parade
    It's just mind over matter
    And what matters is
    That the mind isn't guided by the punished shade
    I keep the walking on the right side
    But I won't judge the next who handles walking on the wrong
    Cuz that's how he wants to be
    No difference, see
    I wanna be like the name of this song I am
    I am Posdnous
    I be the new generation of slaves
    Here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes
    The pile of revenue I create
    But I guess I don't get a cut cuz my rent's a month late
    The deeds of a natural
    Are seeds that are no longer planted
    So the famine in the mind is strong
    Tactics of another plane is now proven sane
    Sane enough to let you know from within this song
    I stabilize many cableized viewers
    So my occupation's known
    But not why I occupy
    And that is to bring the peace
    Not in the flower but the As-Salaam Alaikum in the third I am

  8. j.... ....

    The best hip hop album ever and this song takes me to a place no other hip hop song has come close to in n 30 yrs

  9. d.... ....

    what kind of person gives this a thumbs down?

  10. M.... b....

    The epitome of a poetic rant ..

  11. S.... D....

    Shortie mo mass in the beginning. Her voice is just so cute.

  12. a.... ....

    2019 and this song is still fresh as hell.

  13. r.... n....

    I am Patrick, I be the biggest shoe collecter in the world.

  14. C.... ....

    Brooooo what the fuck this is gold

  15. S.... ....

    De La Soul is hip hop personified!

  16. J.... B....

    This is my life song. I'm sending it to the woman I love to help her through hard times. I hope she gets it. Love everyone. Out

  17. D.... H....

    Speaking real shit their whole career... Salute to Plug 1 Plug 2 Maseo👁

  18. e.... s....

    I cherish the twilight
    I maximize, my soul is the right size
    I watch for the power to run out on the moon
    (And that'll be sometime soon)

  19. A.... ....

    I am i be Artifax

  20. S.... 7....

    I can hear Dres, Chip Fu, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes talking about Milo from LOTNS, but I can't really hear what else they're saying or who else is in it.

    S.... 7....

    Q tip chimes in with a syllable now and then lol

    S.... 7....

    Short No Mas is the one who's been short. She rhymes on "In Da Woods"

  21. A.... F....

    AWESOME SONG !!!!

  22. B.... g....

    The real hip hop

  23. C.... M....

    "I'd never play a sister by touching where her private parts reside"

    He's like the opposite of donald trump.

    C.... M....

    Circle Mouth Exactly

    C.... M....

    Exactly

  24. H.... ....

    rest in power david axelrod

  25. G.... S....

    R.I.P. Real Hip Hop

    G.... S....

    Geoff Spencer, sad to say

    G.... S....

    De La Soul still exist

  26. H.... B....

    This album was a challenge, whereas ATCQ cared that people got them, De La never did. It took some time to get the lyrcis on the album. Shit, it took a year to figure out that Patti Duke was about a damn dance. However, I enjoy deciperhing De La in a way that I didn't with Wu-tang-also indeciperable with their lyrics at times. Sometimes NY rappers forget that the rest of us don't live in the boroughs. 'I am I be' is one of the most personal raps I've ever heard.

    H.... B....

    H Bentley you trying to dechyper wu tang but a cannot get these words ?

    H.... B....

    De la's lyrics can be as Chuck D once said about them "rhyming for the sake of riddlin' ", De la is musically dense, so some songs warrant a third or fourth hearing....at least for me. You may be different.

    H.... B....

    Bentley, it's not they forget the rest of yall are not from the boroughs. Rap sprung from them boroughs and it sprung as a raw (at its best when it is abstract) art form, more than some songs or entertainment, much more.

    H.... B....

    Once you try to appeal to the world instead of relating specifically to where you come from is when your music loses it's magic. Like selling out.

    H.... B....

    Shiiit, I still have no idea what Dave is talking about in his verse here. Like I understand some of the wordplay and puns (the h2o line) but no clue where he's going with it. Posdnuos is easy to decipher but Dave's verse could do with some explaining.

  27. J.... M....

    Inspiring, original and amazing....

  28. g.... s....

    this might well be the best thing De La ever put out. glorious tuff

  29. J.... M....

    Genius...that is all

  30. J.... X....

    I admit mass appeal documentary de la soul is not dead bought me here to this album never knew this de la album existed glad I found it

  31. s.... ....

    the Axelrod sample is incredible. Prince Paul is brilliant

  32. p.... ....

    badass, thanks for the upload.

  33. b.... ....

    This album was so over people's heads...and somehow they still managed to produce a classic that stands alone in its own orbit.

    b.... ....

    For me, this is like Kind of Blue....possibly the most creative hip hop album ever,,,

    b.... ....

    +Julian Milnes I totally agree with you on this comment. It truly makes me sick to think that there are wack MCs out here ruining people's perception of a 'true' lyricist.

    b.... ....

    Yo agreed, apart from the magnificent beats, basslines, and essential flows...it's all about losing ones ego (I believe) and for them being true to oneself..as echoed

  34. P.... o....

    Words can't express how good this song is.

    P.... o....

    Plenty of Sleep Sleep - Bangin!! De La is my favorite hip hop group of all time. They never sold out for the money, and are still together today. That’s very unique for any group that has been around as long as they have.

    P.... o....

    Yes this whole album is a masterpiece!

  35. j.... ....

    I am a terrorist and I be KILLING 'EM!