[KRS-One]
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

[Hook]
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?)
[KRS-One]
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 Ture, 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

[Hook]

[KRS-One]
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
[Hook]