Cover art for You Ain’t Fly by The Roots

You Ain’t Fly

Produced by

Jan. 17, 19951 viewer

You Ain’t Fly Lyrics

[Hook x4]
You ain't fly, you ain't fly, you ain't fly
So go 'head witcha self

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
I'm just playin' the wall, I'm just playin' the wall
Coolin' with my niggas on the right, hold tight
Late Friday night, strobe-light shine bright, blind
Coolin' at this party with the sugars on my mind
It's the sex patrol! The sex patrol!
A-yo, sis was stacked wicked, wanted me to kick it
Said I never dance, made advance outside
Took a glance to inspect — shorty was correct
So it seemed, her name Siobhan, age 17
I flipped when I seen her eyes, bloodshot green
She said she wanted riches and a nigga with cash
Lex, Land or a Path, didn't know the half
I react to flip the script and get ill
My man Malik B. kept tellin' me to relax
Diggin' how you're livin' on some unreal high
As I realize, you're not that fly

[Hook x4]
You ain't fly, you ain't fly, you ain't fly
So go 'head witcha self
[Verse 2: Malik B]
Dig it, you see, sister's thinkin' that I snooze
She must don't know, I had the sister confused
Thinkin' that she's pretty and saditty when I spill
She said, "I might, I think I can, alright, I will"
Tossed up was the digits 'cause the game is like Splendor
I said, "Sabrina, yeah, I met you way back in December
You remember?" She said, "I guess"
Substitute to Santa, she was sittin' on the desk
And then she said, "You never called me
Malik, you never tried to press
You never tried to push the seven buttons and address"
I said, "Hold up, sis! You're out of order, man, you lost it
My name ain't Jake, Malik's no Flake that's Frosted"
Tryin' to cause a scene, Sabrina's best is self-redeemed
She thought she was cute, but never made it on my team
I should beam up, about-face fall out
And don't ya even dare to ask why, because you're not that fly

[Hook x4]
You ain't fly, you ain't fly, you ain't fly
So go 'head witcha self

[Verse 3: ?uestlove]
Mmmmmm, strollin' in my Pumas down the avenue
Not tokin' on a J, not sippin' on a brew
Saw soul sister on the streets of 5-2
"Mmm, my name's Question, umm, who are you?"
She didn't respond, she didn't respond
(*MUFFLED VOICE*) Continue on
Thought to myself, should've said a little louder
Better hurry up before she gets lost in the crowd of
"Excuse me, miss! Excuse me, miss!"
"No, I'm not havin' it!"
— I just got dissed
I didn't get mad, was calm and collect
I didn't call her bitch, I didn't break her neck
Start to wonder why the brothers disrespect the cutie
It's a place of 180's and the high-priced floozie
As she walked away, man I couldn't deny
Started lyin' to myself, man, she wasn't that fly
[Hook x4]
You ain't fly, you ain't fly, you ain't fly
So go 'head witcha self

[Verse 4: Black Thought]
Black.. butter, umm.. that's what I be
Had to tell a girl to set her mind free
Use the Third Eye, possibly you will see
What you get, with material objects
Wanna be the envy of the whole projects, gettin' loot
Pretty in your cute, limited Express suit
Baby, I can see everythin' you wanna be
See, you're gamin as a key to escape poverty
Known to be shown around, sported by the niggas
Thinkin' you a woman 'cause your ass got bigger
Kickin' it to me as if I don't know the time
But I'm the Black Thought, I'm all up in your mind
I figure you the kind to say, "Give me a call"
But then switch to act strange, countin' all my change
Pay to the order of who?! Not you
Why? You're not THAT fly

[Hook x4]
You ain't fly, you ain't fly, you ain't fly
So go 'head witcha self

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About

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Genius Annotation

Each verse of the track is a short story involving a different girl; who disses Black Thought, Malik B and ?uestlove in specific situations. After they get dissed, the only thing that is left to say is that the girl wasn’t that cool (wasn’t fly) in the first place.

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Credits
Produced By
Arranger
Background Vocals
Fender Rhodes
Recording Engineer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Copyright ©
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Performance Rights
Recorded At
Nebula Sounds (Philadelphia)
Release Date
January 17, 1995
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