Ain’t Sayin Nothin’ New Lyrics

[Intro: Black Thought]
Nothin' new, what?
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
I represent the legendary Fifth Dynasty crew
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new (Check this shit out, it's nothin')
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the Roots Crew


[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Ghetto-related rendition the whole world awaited (Right)
Y'all Dorito-head cats, that yak and stagnated
Black Thought, the Doug E. most war veteran
The crown ruler, soul controller of this lyrical land
Spliff wizard, kid, who is it? Fifth dinosaur ghetto
Beat detonator, apex my level, next
My complex patterns of speech is like sex
I mastered the art of makin' you snap your necks
And Chase Manhattan endorse my mic checks
Upset poet threat just collectin' my debt
Yo, I'm overpaid in dues, blood, tears, and sweat
When you're fuckin' with The Roots, that's as good as it get
Ultramagnet, we pull you in a drag net
Then brainwash your clique and extort your assets
Then brody all your homies on some old-school shit
The Roots Crew represent, the next movement
[Verse 2: Dice Raw]
Life's a gamble, step up and place your bets
I drift through space, then make my escape on through the 'net
With CDs, cassettes, no CODs or checks
Straight from the old-school, ayo, Raw's in full effect
I'm like Lex Luthor with rifles filled with kryptonite
When you grip the mic, it's like, "C'mon, kids, let's say goodnight"
You don't like me, but don't even know why should you hate me
You scared to face these, so I still remain safely confidin'
North Phil' where I'm residin'
Never let an outside nigga slide in
This ain't home plate
I dunk on you once inside the paint (Uh-huh)
Flow like this, you can't (Right)
Take me you out, you ain't

[Chorus: Black Thought]
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Nothin' new, nothin' new, tell me what you could do
When we droppin' the funk and droppin' the jewels

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
Yo, head lost, sippin' this Lambic Framboise
Spittin' it for like whoever demand the answer
What's the cure for this hip-hop cancer?
Equivalent to this avalanche of black snow rap flow
To get my people thinkin' more, we at the brink of war
What does it all mean? What's it all for?
With knowledge of yourself, then you're through the first door
My people hungry and thirst for more, next music explore
It's heavenly to your ebony daughter next door
So what you think The Roots get the world respect for?
The splendid, authentic hip-hop that's raw-core
Severe world premiere, a superior sophomore
No doubt, wherever you dwell, that's where the bomb fell
Explodin' from the imperial ensemble, for real
From the venue to the avenue
We truly only got respect for a few
Y'all ain't sayin' nothin' new
[Chorus: Black Thought]
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the legendary Fifth Dynasty crew
Roots Crew comin' through, tell me what you could do
Yo, you lookin' for me? Naw, I'm lookin' for you
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the legendary, with nothin' to do
Feeling, yup, one-one-one-one, one, two
What-what? Yo, it's nothin' new, nothin' new

[Verse 4: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Boy, come on, you just an army ant, I'm a giant
Arm fist, king of my city, runnin' this shit just like a tyrant

Y'all clowns know what I meant, that's if we at war
Then my henchmen will be at your back door
Uh, waitin', why the debatin'?
Trippin' over Legos, runnin' up the steps and lookin' for a weapon
But you come out wavin' a white flag
That's why I just back-slap fags like Shaq did Ostertag
Either take me out or be taken
You think I'm goin' down? Psych
The jury, they're still deliberatin'
I got half of they kids tied up in a basement
No, I'm just playin', yo, but that's how I'm playin', yo (Right)
Dig what I'm sayin', yo? D-I-C-E
Shove a mic in your mouth, like Ted DiBiase
When you come sloppy, fuck is y'all tryin' to do?
Y'all into some wack shit, and ain't sayin' nothin' new
[Outro: Black Thought]
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the legendary Fifth Dynasty crew
Roots Crew comin' through, tell me what you could do
One, two, one, two, yo, we lookin' for you
One, two, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the Fifty Dynasty crew
Check it out, one, one-one, two, one, two, one, two
Know what I'm sayin', yo? It's nothin' new
Nothin' new, nothin' new, y'all not sayin' nothin' new
Represent the legendary Fifth Dynasty crew
Roots Crew, tell me what you could do
You lookin' for me, o-o-o-o-one, two, one, two
Hah-hah-hah, y'all ain't sayin' nothin' new
O-o-one-one, two, one, two
Represent the legendary Fifth, know what I'm sayin'?
Blowin' your vent, yo, content, yo, it's like that

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About

Genius Annotation

“The kind of thing that Dice and I would always put together. A song very much like "The Lesson” or any of the other collaborative efforts between he and I. There’s that underlying competitive spirit between brothers. It was an ill beat that Quest came up with and we just kinda freaked. It was one of the very first records that you hear Eve’s voice on. She’s doing background vocals on ‘Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin' New,‘ and then she raps later on the album, on 'You Got Me.’ But “Nothin' New” was the first thing we put her voice on.

Black Thought (Complex Magazine)

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