Playa Playa Lyrics
We're the playas, number one (Do you want the track up?)
(Put it all the way down)
We're the playas, number one
We're the playas, number one (Hey)
We're the playas, number one (Ah, ah)
We're the playas, number one (Yeah-yeah, yeah)
We're the playas, number one
You
Yeah
Yeah (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Hey
Ah-ah-ah
Ooh
Yeah
Yeah
[Verse 1]
Steal you with my two-shot
Control you with my drop (Take 'em out)
Blaze you with my handle
Impress you with my rock
Play you like a pro
And take over the show
Sneak you and defeat you
Rob you of your glow
Rob you of your glow
Bring the drama, playa
Give me all you got
Make your move
Shoot your best shot
(I see right through your riddle)
I keep on when I dribble (Oh-oh)
Slip right past the block
Set you up for two (Yeah)
Shoot your best shot
Shoot your best shot (Oh-oh)
[Interlude]
Let me turn this up
[Chorus]
We're the playas, number one
We're the playas number one (Get down, hey, hey)
We're the playas, number one (Let me take 'em down)
[Verse 3]
Playa, try and play me
We dyin' to set it off
Marlon, Slick, and Weasel
Can hardly wait to ball (Shit)
My groove is tight (Oh)
Drummers drummin' right
That's our secret weapon (Oh-oh)
Each and every night (Each and every night)
Each and every night (Came to do y'all)
We come here to rip shit (Oh)
Make y'all scream and shout (To all the playas out there)
Later for all y'all haters
We gon' turn this motha' out (Put your hands up)
If you came to ball (Yeah, yeah)
If you're game at all (If you're game at all)
We don't plan to stop (No)
'Til you bouncin' off the wall ('Til you bouncin' off the wall)
'Til you bouncin' off the wall
[Verse 5]
Bring the drama, playa (Yeah)
Give me all you got (Oh)
Make your move
Shoot your best shot
(I see right through your riddle)
I dribble it (Oh)
Slip right past the block (Oh)
Set you up for two (Oh)
Shoot your best shot (Oh)
Shoot your best shot (Oh-oh)
[Interlude]
One more time
Yeah, yeah, yeah
We're the playas, number one (Ooh)
We're the playas, number one
We're the playas, number one (Hey)
[Outro]
Play on, play on (Huh)
Play on, play on
(Oh, won't you play on? Yeah)
Play on, play on
(Put your hand to God)
Play on, play on, play on, play on, play on (Oh)
(Play all day, I do mine)
Play on, play on (Yeah)
(Play on)
Play on, play on (Oh)
(Pull up to the pass, baby)
Play on, play on
(Play on, yeah)
Play on, play on, play on, play on, play on
(Say what you say, what you say)
(Keep on playin')
Play on, play on (Teachers keep teachin')
Play on, play on (Buyers keep on buyin')
Play on, play on (Woah, woah, woah)
Play on (Yeah), play on, play on, play on, play on
About
Voodoo’s opening track is a braggadocious, sparse funk track that kicks off the album on a slightly menacing tone. This was the first track recorded for the album when D'Angelo was working on the Space Jam soundtrack and contains a lot of basketball references.
The first cut of “Playa Plays” leads into the last cut of The Roots album Illadelph Halflife which D'Angelo discusses at the 2014 RBMA.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
I was doing Space Jam soundtrack. And so the concept of the song was the real NBA players against, you know, the monster. Hence the basketball references in “Playa Playa.” So that was the first song [Questlove and I] did. When we got together, we at The Hit Factory. And we just was like nuttin' off, like two little kids in the toy store.
“Playa Playa” is another good example: It’s really funky, but there’s a lot of these psychedelic elements. It was kind of like he was schooling me on a lot of funk music, and I was schooling him more on the rock side.
That was actually a track that was recorded in Cuba. They went to take pictures for the album, and while they were there they were at a ceremony — like, Santería. So that’s a remote recording of a real voodoo ritual.
Yes!
- 1.Playa Playa
- 2.Devil’s Pie
- 3.Left & Right
- 4.The Line
- 5.Send It On
- 7.One Mo’ Gin
- 8.The Root
- 13.Africa
