Zealots Lyrics
[Intro: Wyclef Jean]
One, two, I'm bout to set this off!
Like this, hip-hoppers, check it
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Another MC lose his life tonight, Lord
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury me, woah
[Verse 1: Wyclef Jean]
I haunt MCs like Mephistopheles, bringing swords of Damocles
Secret service keep a close watch as if my name was Kennedy
Abstract raps simple with a street format
Gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax
Check out the retrograde motion, kill the notion
Of biting and recycling and calling it your own creation
I feel like Rockwell, somebody's watching me
I got no privacy whether on land or at sea
And for you biting zealots, your raps are cacophonic
Hypocrite, critic, but deep inside you wish you had the pop hit
It hurts, don't it?
A refugee come to your turf, and take over the earth
[Interlude: Lauryn Hill]
See, my rhymes are the type of fly rhymes
That can only get down with my crew
And if you try, to take lines or bite rhymes
We'll show you how The Refugees do
One, two, I'm bout to set this off!
Like this, hip-hoppers, check it
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Another MC lose his life tonight, Lord
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury me, woah
[Verse 1: Wyclef Jean]
I haunt MCs like Mephistopheles, bringing swords of Damocles
Secret service keep a close watch as if my name was Kennedy
Abstract raps simple with a street format
Gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax
Check out the retrograde motion, kill the notion
Of biting and recycling and calling it your own creation
I feel like Rockwell, somebody's watching me
I got no privacy whether on land or at sea
And for you biting zealots, your raps are cacophonic
Hypocrite, critic, but deep inside you wish you had the pop hit
It hurts, don't it?
A refugee come to your turf, and take over the earth
[Interlude: Lauryn Hill]
See, my rhymes are the type of fly rhymes
That can only get down with my crew
And if you try, to take lines or bite rhymes
We'll show you how The Refugees do
[Verse 2: Lauryn Hill]
Yeah, yeah behold, as my odes, manifold on your rhymes
Two MCs can't occupy the same space at the same time
It's against the laws of physics
So weep as your sweet dreams break up like Eurythmics
Rap rejects, my tape deck, ejects projectile
Whether Jew or Gentile, I rank top percentile
Many styles, more powerful than gamma rays
My grammar pays like Carlos Santana plays "Black Magic Woman"
So while you fuming, I'm consuming mango juice under Polaris
You just embarrassed 'cause it's your last tango in Paris
And even after all my logic and my theory
I add a "motherfucker" so you ignant niggas hear me
Crew remember take notes, as I sow my rap oats
And for you biting zealots, here's a quote
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Another MC lose his life tonight, Oh
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury we, I
[Verse 3: Wyclef Jean]
You can try but you can't divide the tribe
These cats can't rap, Mr. Author, I feel no vibe
The magazine says the girl should have went solo
The guys should stop rapping, vanish like Menudo
Took it to the heart, but every actor plays his part
As long as someone was listening, I knew it was a start
For me to get my chance, grab my pen and revamp
Do a cameo while everybody do the dance
Quick now, 'cause you running out of luck-a
Playing Mr. Big, I'm gonna get you sucka
While you munching at your luncheon
I'll be planning your assassination, then hit you like the Dutchman
Yeah, yeah behold, as my odes, manifold on your rhymes
Two MCs can't occupy the same space at the same time
It's against the laws of physics
So weep as your sweet dreams break up like Eurythmics
Rap rejects, my tape deck, ejects projectile
Whether Jew or Gentile, I rank top percentile
Many styles, more powerful than gamma rays
My grammar pays like Carlos Santana plays "Black Magic Woman"
So while you fuming, I'm consuming mango juice under Polaris
You just embarrassed 'cause it's your last tango in Paris
And even after all my logic and my theory
I add a "motherfucker" so you ignant niggas hear me
Crew remember take notes, as I sow my rap oats
And for you biting zealots, here's a quote
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Another MC lose his life tonight, Oh
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury we, I
[Verse 3: Wyclef Jean]
You can try but you can't divide the tribe
These cats can't rap, Mr. Author, I feel no vibe
The magazine says the girl should have went solo
The guys should stop rapping, vanish like Menudo
Took it to the heart, but every actor plays his part
As long as someone was listening, I knew it was a start
For me to get my chance, grab my pen and revamp
Do a cameo while everybody do the dance
Quick now, 'cause you running out of luck-a
Playing Mr. Big, I'm gonna get you sucka
While you munching at your luncheon
I'll be planning your assassination, then hit you like the Dutchman
[Verse 4: Pras]
I compress sound sets with my rap DBX
Then drop vocals on my 456 Ampex
Bring terror to the shop of horror
As she cry, "mi amor," the phantom dies in the opera
And to the youngins who carry gadgets
And kill six days a week, then rest on the Sabbath (Hold up, hold up)
Violence ain't necessary, unless you provoke me
Then get buried like the great Mussolini
And for you biting zealots, your rap styles are relics
No matter who you damage, you're still a false prophet
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Ayy, another MC lose his life tonight, Lord
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury me, yeah
[Outro]
Yo what the fuck going on man?
Yo kid, we can't let these cops come around here
5-O come here and just do whatever want, rob, joke, or steal from people, shoot us down
We gotta do something about this man
I was with Floyd the other day
You know Floyd the cop, he just get a hard on from just shooting niggas
I compress sound sets with my rap DBX
Then drop vocals on my 456 Ampex
Bring terror to the shop of horror
As she cry, "mi amor," the phantom dies in the opera
And to the youngins who carry gadgets
And kill six days a week, then rest on the Sabbath (Hold up, hold up)
Violence ain't necessary, unless you provoke me
Then get buried like the great Mussolini
And for you biting zealots, your rap styles are relics
No matter who you damage, you're still a false prophet
[Chorus: Wyclef Jean]
Ayy, another MC lose his life tonight, Lord
I beg that you pray to Jesus Christ, why
Oh Lord, father don't let him bury me, yeah
[Outro]
Yo what the fuck going on man?
Yo kid, we can't let these cops come around here
5-O come here and just do whatever want, rob, joke, or steal from people, shoot us down
We gotta do something about this man
I was with Floyd the other day
You know Floyd the cop, he just get a hard on from just shooting niggas
About
Genius Annotation
In this classic single off of the Fugees' The Score, Wyclef, Lauryn, and Pras make a bunch of nerdy references and metaphors to show that they know a lot of random stuff. While some would say they try too hard, the song just sounds so cool and has a lot of sentimental value
The song samples The Flamingos' “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Red Intro
- 3.Ready or Not
- 4.Zealots
- 5.The Beast
- 6.Fu-Gee-La
- 9.The Score
- 10.The Mask
- 11.Cowboys
- 12.No Woman, No Cry
- 13.Manifest/Outro
- 16.Mista Mista
Credits
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Writers
Mixed At
Engineer
Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Release Date
February 13, 1996
Zealots Interpolations
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