The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
[Intro]
One two
It's Masta Ace, Cunninlyguists
We about to get into the seasons
The seasons of hip hop
How we gonna start it?
[Masta Ace]
As we spring back to the past, it was all happening fast
We glorified coke and smoking crack in a glass
When b-boys danced to the latest jam
You could say this man was the greatest fan
When shoelaces were fat, and all the rapper's faces were black
And light-brown, a box with the right sound was all you needed
When it blast...they must move
You just proved you're hard like L in Krush Groove
And songs started to drop - Ain't nobody start at the top
Before Preme (DJ Premier) learned the art of the chop
This is way before SP's...and MPC's
And long before CD's and MP3's
The game started to bloom and blossom
And masters ready for the cermony, like a groom in costume
Growth from the rain of the previous years
I took notes from what I heard through these devious ears
Yeah
[Deacon the Villian]
As Summer's heatwaves ascended in it's splendid manner
Green was flooding our scene, although the skin was tanner
'f**k The Police!!' jumpin over radio scanners
It was hot in the shade, wet paint all over the canvans
f**k Vanilla Ice cones, we had T, Cube's Amerikka's Most
And wanted that Chronic on the Left-Coast
Talent pools were full and fresh for swimming
Backstrokin' through Dark Sides and Illmatic beginnings
Them lemonade stands would make you street platinum
It was 2 Live.. Florida crews caught heat for rappin
But free speech pollination kept bee's colonizing in hives
And stung Delores Tucker right in her pride
The Tribes ocean splash was rising the tide
Strictly 4 My Niggaz that were ready to die in the ride
I wish the summer's vibe could've lasted forever
To bad we had to have a change in that weather.. that sh*t was beautiful
[Chorus]
'Seasons Change, mad things rearrange' - Lauryn Hill, 'How Many Mics'
'Play me in the winter, play me in the summer, play in the autumn, any order'-
Ladybug, '9th Wonder'
'Seasons Change, mad things rearrange' - Lauryn Hill, 'How Many Mics'
'Trees bright and green turn yellow brown, autumn caught em
See all them leaves must fall down' - Andre 3000, '13th Floor/Growing Old'
[Kno]
As the East vs. West winds blew, causing two
Legends to Fall like maple leaves from escalated beef
Assumed that the worst was over
Til these cats started wearing shiny costumes like the 31st of October
The weather's colder, but the word jacket/jack it
Is what they did to people's styles, not what they covered they backs with
Tactics of the skill impaired
No Limit to what they'll do when the green is scarce
Some be Thanksgiving for who they know, while others get jerked for loot
Cause gettin signed ain't a turkey shoot
No respect for the pilgrims who paved the way so you could rock that
Just pop crap and Plymouth Rock-Rap
Beyond gimmicks and fake plastic tits
Outkast and Raekwon dropped fall classic discs
Born to Roll, so I'm taking you back to school days of autumn
Before the bottom dropped out in 2K
[SOS]
By the dawn of the new millennium we saw bright chains
Winter brought along platinum causing the ice age
No more Gold, no more YO! MTV RAPS
Now we got R&B cats stealing classic rap tracks
In winter it's snowed in like the temperature's below ten
Citizens open up shows for more snowmen
Scrawny boys rock bubblegooses to pose like grown men
And you can catch freezer burn from women when they show skin
Jolly, fat, white men get paid when rap hits the shelves
And artists themselves get treated like Elves
Matter of fact, Santa's gotten so greedy when a rapper sells
You even need clearance to sample Jingle Bells
What the hell! You need cells and 2 ways for chicks to bone ya?
And so much ice on ya body that you can get pneumonia
Even at the beaches of Daytona it's gotten colder
But it's about time for the cycle to start over (echo)
How we gonna start?
One two
It's Masta Ace, Cunninlyguists
We about to get into the seasons
The seasons of hip hop
How we gonna start it?
[Masta Ace]
As we spring back to the past, it was all happening fast
We glorified coke and smoking crack in a glass
When b-boys danced to the latest jam
You could say this man was the greatest fan
When shoelaces were fat, and all the rapper's faces were black
And light-brown, a box with the right sound was all you needed
When it blast...they must move
You just proved you're hard like L in Krush Groove
And songs started to drop - Ain't nobody start at the top
Before Preme (DJ Premier) learned the art of the chop
This is way before SP's...and MPC's
And long before CD's and MP3's
The game started to bloom and blossom
And masters ready for the cermony, like a groom in costume
Growth from the rain of the previous years
I took notes from what I heard through these devious ears
Yeah
[Deacon the Villian]
As Summer's heatwaves ascended in it's splendid manner
Green was flooding our scene, although the skin was tanner
'f**k The Police!!' jumpin over radio scanners
It was hot in the shade, wet paint all over the canvans
f**k Vanilla Ice cones, we had T, Cube's Amerikka's Most
And wanted that Chronic on the Left-Coast
Talent pools were full and fresh for swimming
Backstrokin' through Dark Sides and Illmatic beginnings
Them lemonade stands would make you street platinum
It was 2 Live.. Florida crews caught heat for rappin
But free speech pollination kept bee's colonizing in hives
And stung Delores Tucker right in her pride
The Tribes ocean splash was rising the tide
Strictly 4 My Niggaz that were ready to die in the ride
I wish the summer's vibe could've lasted forever
To bad we had to have a change in that weather.. that sh*t was beautiful
[Chorus]
'Seasons Change, mad things rearrange' - Lauryn Hill, 'How Many Mics'
'Play me in the winter, play me in the summer, play in the autumn, any order'-
Ladybug, '9th Wonder'
'Seasons Change, mad things rearrange' - Lauryn Hill, 'How Many Mics'
'Trees bright and green turn yellow brown, autumn caught em
See all them leaves must fall down' - Andre 3000, '13th Floor/Growing Old'
[Kno]
As the East vs. West winds blew, causing two
Legends to Fall like maple leaves from escalated beef
Assumed that the worst was over
Til these cats started wearing shiny costumes like the 31st of October
The weather's colder, but the word jacket/jack it
Is what they did to people's styles, not what they covered they backs with
Tactics of the skill impaired
No Limit to what they'll do when the green is scarce
Some be Thanksgiving for who they know, while others get jerked for loot
Cause gettin signed ain't a turkey shoot
No respect for the pilgrims who paved the way so you could rock that
Just pop crap and Plymouth Rock-Rap
Beyond gimmicks and fake plastic tits
Outkast and Raekwon dropped fall classic discs
Born to Roll, so I'm taking you back to school days of autumn
Before the bottom dropped out in 2K
[SOS]
By the dawn of the new millennium we saw bright chains
Winter brought along platinum causing the ice age
No more Gold, no more YO! MTV RAPS
Now we got R&B cats stealing classic rap tracks
In winter it's snowed in like the temperature's below ten
Citizens open up shows for more snowmen
Scrawny boys rock bubblegooses to pose like grown men
And you can catch freezer burn from women when they show skin
Jolly, fat, white men get paid when rap hits the shelves
And artists themselves get treated like Elves
Matter of fact, Santa's gotten so greedy when a rapper sells
You even need clearance to sample Jingle Bells
What the hell! You need cells and 2 ways for chicks to bone ya?
And so much ice on ya body that you can get pneumonia
Even at the beaches of Daytona it's gotten colder
But it's about time for the cycle to start over (echo)
How we gonna start?
Lyrics submitted by SphagnumEsplanade
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i definately love this song. i am the sports editor for my school magizine and this song inspired me to do a two page feature spread on this very topic. the path of hip hop and i used the actual song lyrics as the intro to each time period. giving full credit to the artist of course. i definately agree that hip hop is getting to commercialized. but we still have some amazing hip hop artists in the mainstream. like Lupe Fiasco, Kenye West, Nas. they all spit it how it is and thats what we need not this ballin bling shit. i don't even mind the club hit hip hop, the songs about specific dance moves, it gets people dancing and has descent beats but i think it should be classified in a different sub genre than just hip hop cause it give a false sense about what hip hop is.