Cover art for En Focus by De La Soul
Sep. 21, 19931 viewer6K views

En Focus Lyrics

[Intro]
Biofeedback

[Verse 1: Posdnuos + Dres]
You go "ichi, ni, san, shi"
I can't cook, but being a cook I'm servin' much to eat
I got multiple stabs of jazzy, sassafrassy
As I caught the fame of soul, years after mama had me
Tell ya' gladly, I brung forth the Tunin'
Which caused eyes to zoom in (Which put your person into focus)
No longer Kelvin Mercer but the Posdnuos, Plug One
Yo, I found fun
in the scribblin' of speak
On a naked white sheet
Most recognized with my dark-brown self (Yo, you found some wealth?)
More in my mind than in my pocket
But I's got every Girbaud that ever sagged
I met some hoes, met some girls
Did a tour that took me all around the world
Did a tour that took me all around the world

[Verse 2: Dove]
I hit the shines but I'm shooin' it now
Remember when the floor might've had a spine? Well it's all bent over
A DayGlo nigga gets the red door mat
It's a roller coaster when your shit's burnt toast
Now Mr. Club Owner knows your jam (Jam)
When your jam is the jam and there's a tab at the bar
My mindstate's great, no thanks I don't drink
I sip the bo-bo, then I kettle it quick
I felt the heave in the jeeve, tap it in the basement
Diggin' my own understanding, quick
Let me get the single out, think Mr. Radio
Say the starlight is the same star bright
I figure now a nine and a blunt is a switch
But turn out the lights and some'll go bitch
It was one MC after one MC
Play the lamppost do the blow the dynamite
Well it's okay, and it's alright
Cause our birthday cake's external light
It'll all get graphic, people made of plastic
Look at the shine with my 50 watt eye
But man, I got the eye patch, and here's the latch
I fame it to a dame from Denver up to Maine
And lovin' deluxe, you won't catch me in no tux
Nah, man I won't honor the style
Break: Dres +"Shorty" + [Sample]
(Serious, serious, serious, serious)

Yo, shorty! Oh my goodness
How you doing, my name is Dres, listen-
Oh, isn't that Posdnuos? Oh, my God, yo
Honey you are-
Yo wassup, yo, man
Look, what's wrong with me? Honey, check this out
What about you?
Da-da-da dun-dun
Da-da-da dun-dun
Da-da dun-dun (Dun-dun) (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Da-da dun-dun (Dun-dun)
Da-da dun-dun-da-dun-dun-da-dun-dun (Da-da dun-dun)

[Post-break: Posdnuos]
Funny funny, how, time, fly
When, you, have, some

[Verse 3: Posdnuos]
Light on the face cause the focus is the fickle
State of usin' I'ma use it to the rule and not the trickle
Caught a rush, but I played hush
While Andres Titus' into grabbin', as a pair we put the hearts to mush
Lush Dalea would hear the public beat
The same way for Titus when he Blacked the Sheep
But as the Knee went Deep, to deeper off the charts
The album faded to black, that's when the amnesia starts
Break: Dres +"Shorty" + [Sample]
(Serious, serious, serious, serious)

Aren't you Dres from Black Sheep?
Oh my god, what are you doing here?
Who are you here with?

I'm with my man Pos, you know Pos
Oh yeah, Positive K, yo, I like your music

(Stickabush, stickabush, stickabush, stickabush)

[Verse 4: Dove]
Hey boy, watch that style man, shit's all in
Shoot a shot, it all begin
I saw bootleggers dough shinin'
I saw Big 4 go get shinin'
A typical flick was the moment when the man said
"Ain't you?" Yeah, I is 'im
Hush yo' mouth, fallin' incog
Caught the light, didn't you, dog?
A fist of funk and a pocket that's clean
In the scene or in between
Gimme but a little bit of the starlight
I mail my ass to the darkness
I dig it, I dug it, I dig it, I dug it
I wiz it, I was it, I wiz it, I was it
Oh, Lord, lemme switch it off because you'll find
Some'll do it all for the light (Stop jivin')

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did De La Soul say about "En Focus"?
Genius Answer

“En Focus” was dope to me. Being at that point ample music enthusiasts, we knew we could come back to Paul like, “Masta Ace done used this sample first [Grand Funk Railroad’s ‘Nothing Is the Same,’ used on his song ‘Music Man’]. We need it the way we flipped it.” We took two sections and made it into a whole different record.

— Pos, Rolling Stone, 2023

Recording that album, I always remember the studio being dark, quiet, like a cave. The only thing that I felt came out of those sessions there was rhymes. We were rhyming. Again, that was that time around Pharcyde. The influence of hearing dudes rhyme again and being creative just came over me personally. I considered a song like “En Focus” a raw beat. There’s no real concept. The approach was, we can’t make this a concept song. We gotta just rhyme on it.

— Dave, Rolling Stone, 2023

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