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.
Hiero, y'all
It's not a wrong thing
To be addicted to the microphone like a heroin fiend
I'll tell you one thing
You'll never catch me fronting
As I proceed to give the people what they wanting
You're making some green
But not for glamour or fashion
I'm stacking cash until I can get moms a mansion
All from rapping?
Nah, man, there's many plans
Like investing in land
It started all from impressing the fans
With brand-new flows
And you know
All the way from gangsta clones to weirdos
Fools used those
But we ain't tripping
Give respect when you see this
You need us
Or your rhymes underdevelop like a foetus
Those that know, not doze
And it shows
When we broke out the knock
Hoes hopped out they clothes
That's positive feedback
Yep, The prose
I'm poised, we never pose, you'll never know
From ninety-three 'till infinity, we've been inventive
Creating the bump is our only incentive
And it's been a long time since I feel I've been felt
But the only thing I fear is fear itself
So you know what we gots to do
Maybe could we keep it within the crew
Like it should be?
Never givin' out
We're livin' out our dreams
If there's something I can't live without
That's my team
You never knew
Hieroglyphics
Hip-hop is vintage
Underground like silos
Launching long-range ballistics
World-renowned, we ground-breaking
Musical boundaries
Runnin' circles around emcees
Del, been rhyming for more than a decade
Onto the next stage, while emcees need aid
Stay paid, I'm still grade-A
None of that tomfoolery
As you can see, this shit ain't nothing new to me
Utterly hovering over other things material
You're stuck in the here and now
Plus you're sweating profusely, here's a towel
Your fears are now reality
When I take your dream states
And elaborate on how your team's fake
Like phony IDs, but sometimes I feel like
Only I see through the charade you've made
In today, but hey, tomorrow it's played
And then they got a new fool in your place to be okayed
Hieroglyphics
Hip-hop is vintage
Invented in days back
Rekindling in ways that many thought was lost
In this contemporary maze of methods to floss
We finding trees and trails to blaze
Boundaries to cross
We can be found beyond the bounds of reason
Or earthbound, heatin' up the Coliseum
They rushed the stage full-throttle in Chicago
Our brains interlocked
Where fakin' emcees get caught with the forty-bottle
Or get their chains snatched, pronto
We unstoppable, droppin' flows in Toronto
Maneuverin' through Vancouver and on to Japan
Where they put major grands in my hand
Follow
Straight from the heart, we set apart from the rest an'
Our perfection on the microphone was predestined
World-renowned, we ground-breaking
Musical boundaries
Runnin' circles around emcees
It's not a wrong thing
To be addicted to the microphone like a heroin fiend
I'll tell you one thing
You'll never catch me fronting
As I proceed to give the people what they wanting
You're making some green
But not for glamour or fashion
I'm stacking cash until I can get moms a mansion
All from rapping?
Nah, man, there's many plans
Like investing in land
It started all from impressing the fans
With brand-new flows
And you know
All the way from gangsta clones to weirdos
Fools used those
But we ain't tripping
Give respect when you see this
You need us
Or your rhymes underdevelop like a foetus
Those that know, not doze
And it shows
When we broke out the knock
Hoes hopped out they clothes
That's positive feedback
Yep, The prose
I'm poised, we never pose, you'll never know
From ninety-three 'till infinity, we've been inventive
Creating the bump is our only incentive
And it's been a long time since I feel I've been felt
But the only thing I fear is fear itself
So you know what we gots to do
Maybe could we keep it within the crew
Like it should be?
Never givin' out
We're livin' out our dreams
If there's something I can't live without
That's my team
You never knew
Hieroglyphics
Hip-hop is vintage
Underground like silos
Launching long-range ballistics
World-renowned, we ground-breaking
Musical boundaries
Runnin' circles around emcees
Del, been rhyming for more than a decade
Onto the next stage, while emcees need aid
Stay paid, I'm still grade-A
None of that tomfoolery
As you can see, this shit ain't nothing new to me
Utterly hovering over other things material
You're stuck in the here and now
Plus you're sweating profusely, here's a towel
Your fears are now reality
When I take your dream states
And elaborate on how your team's fake
Like phony IDs, but sometimes I feel like
Only I see through the charade you've made
In today, but hey, tomorrow it's played
And then they got a new fool in your place to be okayed
Hieroglyphics
Hip-hop is vintage
Invented in days back
Rekindling in ways that many thought was lost
In this contemporary maze of methods to floss
We finding trees and trails to blaze
Boundaries to cross
We can be found beyond the bounds of reason
Or earthbound, heatin' up the Coliseum
They rushed the stage full-throttle in Chicago
Our brains interlocked
Where fakin' emcees get caught with the forty-bottle
Or get their chains snatched, pronto
We unstoppable, droppin' flows in Toronto
Maneuverin' through Vancouver and on to Japan
Where they put major grands in my hand
Follow
Straight from the heart, we set apart from the rest an'
Our perfection on the microphone was predestined
World-renowned, we ground-breaking
Musical boundaries
Runnin' circles around emcees
You Never Knew Lyrics as written by Damani Thompson Adam Ryan Carter
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Hieroglyphics are tight! Just wanna let you all know! Life is a blast!
hiphop at it's finest. hieroglyphics is definetly one of the best crews ever.
I dont usually listen to hip-hop, but i gotta say, this is one of the best hip hop songs ive ever heard. Underground shit is so much better then Nelly "yeah i have some stupid band-aid on my face" and DMX (how the hell does he not tear up his throat talking like that) and all that corporate crap rap
I dont usually listen to hip-hop, but i gotta say, this is one of the best hip hop songs ive ever heard. Underground shit is so much better then Nelly "yeah i have some stupid band-aid on my face" and DMX (how the hell does he not tear up his throat talking like that) and all that corporate crap rap
i agree! hieroglyphics is what hip hop is supposed to be, not all that commercial shit, del said it best... 'rap aint about bustin caps or fuckin bitch, its about fluency with rhymin ingenuity'.
<3 hieroglyphics !
What Heartbreaker said.