Early Days Songtext
von Wendy O. Williams

I lived in Detroit and I lived in LA
In Houston and Boston and San Jose
I slept in the Hilton, I slept on the curb
I lived in the cities and in the suburbs
I was born in the Bronx 19 years ago
My mother was a roadie for an acid rock show
My old man went to ′Nam, I never saw him alive
And my mother started livin' with a guy named Clive

Clive was a con that was on the lamb
But Clive could cut and scratch and we used to jam
And so at nine years I was already rappin′
But that ain't nothin', let me tell you what happened

We jammed all day and we jammed all night
But the noise from the crowd put the neighbors uptight
They showed Clive′s picture on the news one day
The building super called the cops, they took old Clive away


But I made every jam and I just wouldn′t stop
'Cause I knew I could make my way right to the top
I had a friend at school, his name was Fred
Fred was on drugs and now Fred is dead

All the guys at school liked Brenda and Sue
They had so many friends, they didn′t know what to do
It seems every night they all got laid
Now them and their friends, they all got AIDS

Meanwhile I'd draw a crowd wherever I′d be
To everyone in my school I was the number one MC
In the bathrooms and the halls and out in the street
We'd rap and jam wherever we′d meet

When I was fourteen my mother moved in with a banker
Fred had plenty of money but Fred was a wanker
He had sweaty palms and a nervous glance
And when my mother was away he tried to get into my pants
They had the ... of the night when I was out rappin'
But that ain't nothin′, let me tell you what happened

My mother one day was taking a nap
And Fred said "Hey, why don′t you come sit on my lap?"
I said "I don't do it with wankers", he said "Gimme a chance"
A wanker is a jerk whose got his brains in his pants


My mother saw the light on one fateful day
When Fred was caught in a raid where wankers pay to play
They caught him in flagranto at the Bristol hotel
If you don′t know where that's at you have to ask LL
Meanwhile they were comin′ from miles around
Diggin' my jam and gettin′ down
From number one in the state to number one in the nation
The deffest the baddest, number one of creation