Lyrics: KRS One. Hip-Hop Lives. I Was There.

Do it Marley, ha, killin' 'em
You killin' 'em, where were you?
I wanna talk about these rap historians
Y'all better get it together, where were you?
I be readin' your books, where were you?
Y'all better get it together, word up

When Hot 97 started I was there
When Rap City got started I was there
When KDAY got started I was there
When Jive Records got started I was there

When Yo MTV Raps started I was there
When The Source magazines started I was there
When Cedric and Seda started I was there
When Biggie was doin' his album I was there

When Tookie Williams was buried I was there
'73, Cedar Park I was there
One-twenty-three park I was there
You ain't tellin' me the history 'cause I was there, I was there

And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
Where were you?

When Moe Dee challenged LL I was there
When that bus blew up in London I was there
When Death Row challenged Bad Boy at the Source Awards
In New York at the Garden, yup I was there

When Kwame Toure formerly known as Stokely Carmichael
Was passin' on I was there
When Nelson Mandela was freed from prison
And spoke out at Yankee Stadium in New York I was there

For all the births of my children I was there
When the Rodney King uprisings happened I was there
These objective rap historians tryin' to document
Hip hop from outside forget it I was there, I was there

And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
Where were you?

Look, The Jive Records label, I was there
The Columbia Records label, I was there
The Elektra Records label, I was there
The Warner Brothers Records label, I was there

The Koch Records label, I was there
The Capitol Records label, I was there
I know about they contracts 'cause I was there
I wrote and rewrote most of 'em when I was there

I ain't readin' a book or recitin' a hook
I am hip hop itself 'cause yup I was there
Y'all need to get it together with hip hop's history
And get it right 'cause yup I was there, I was there

And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
And where were you? Where were you?
Where were you?