Vocab – English Lyrics

• By: Fugees
• Album: The Score

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the Fugees' "Vocab" and explore the rich language and lyrical skills that define this 90s hip-hop gem. This track not only showcases the group's unique blend of hip-hop, soul, and Caribbean influences but also offers a lesson in conscious lyricism and wordplay.

[English]

- Yo, this is the Fugees, Refugees,

about to take you on a journey

into the dimensions of the Booga-Basement.

The basements, word.

♪ Hey yo, one, two, three ♪

♪ The crew is called Refugees ♪

♪ And if you come to test the rap stylee ♪

♪ Stop the violence and just bring it on, wild ♪

♪ Hey yo, I feel kind of melancholy ♪

♪ People think they really know me ♪

♪ I keep a rap-book by me while I'm driving daddy's Audi ♪

♪ I pay the toll, fighting for my own soul ♪

♪ 'Cause the bourgeoise type of mental ♪

♪ Sucks like a black hole ♪

♪ But I be baitin' the rebel base to bass distort the EQ ♪

♪ The devil's wishin' they could send me back to Mogadishu ♪

♪ 'Cause I've been wild since I was a juvenile ♪

♪ Afro-centric profile ♪

♪ Back when righteous rap was your style ♪

♪ Now kids are whylin', so I ask the bad black ♪

♪ Boogie bandit, what's the damage, gimme the estimate then ♪

♪ Pray tell me when the revolution will begin ♪

♪ I turn on my TV I check out Farrakhan on CNN, see ♪

♪ I'm like the phantom that's flying like the bird do ♪

♪ And things you never heard, plus I come from the suburbs ♪

♪ Word to God, I heard you're acting kind of hard ♪

♪ And you got your skin scarred ♪

♪ When they was shootin' on the boulevard ♪

♪ You got the vocab ♪

♪ I got the vocab ♪

♪ On the real, got the vocab ♪

♪ You know, we got the vocab ♪

♪ All my peeps got the vocab ♪

♪ Yeah, we got the vocab ♪

♪ Aiyo Praz, grab the mic ♪

♪ And show 'em you got the gift of gab ♪

♪ Then cast off from here to Mexico ♪

♪ You see my four-five-six a-be my Celo ♪

♪ And when I rest my head is on a pillow ♪

♪ Be-ba-dee-be, be-dee-be, be-dee-be-bo ♪

♪ You see the skills I manifest is very thorough ♪

♪ And if you don't believe me ask Frere Jacques-o ♪

♪ Mm, Frere Jacques-o, Frere Jacques-o ♪

♪ A dorme vous, a dorme vous ♪

♪ Watch out now when I choose to speak ♪

♪ I'm forming the cipher fly East to the Five Percenter ♪

♪ Knowledge is born, to all beginners ♪

♪ Cast the first stone, if you feel you ain't a sinner, ah ♪

♪ Say our father, who art in heaven ♪

♪ Forgive the foolish rapper ♪

♪ For he not know how Fugee be steppin ♪

♪ Correct and stopped and kept in, nuff respect to the DJ ♪

♪ That be selectin' the type of record, ah ♪

♪ You got the vocab ♪

♪ I got the vocab ♪

♪ The click's got the vocab ♪

♪ You know, they got the vocab ♪

♪ Brooklyn got the vocab ♪

♪ We got the vocab ♪

♪ Aiyo, Clef, grab the mic ♪

♪ And show 'em you got the gift of gab ♪

♪ Check it out, here we go ♪

♪ Back in Eighty-tree, no one wanted to be nappy ♪

♪ I turn on my TV, it's a dreadlock for free ♪

♪ Kill the gimmick, it's nonsense, it's no sense or value ♪

♪ A rapper, disaster, nobody ever told me that ♪

♪ Roxanne, you don't got to work for money no more ♪

♪ And back in the days I used to listen to Kool G Rap ♪

♪ Way back when before guns became gats ♪

♪ And Run D.M.C. used to ask Mary was she buggin' ♪

♪ I loved PE, they kept me conscious of what I was saying ♪

♪ Afrika Bambaata, Poor Righteous Teacher ♪

♪ Got within myself so it made me a Five Percenter ♪

♪ Say La-Di-Da-Di, oh ♪

♪ We like to party but my jam was BDP, with My Philosophy ♪

♪ Say Grandmaster Flash, MC Melle Mel ♪

♪ Then LL Cool J came with Rock the Bells ♪

♪ See I'm the one for the crew, like a Jew is a Jew ♪

♪ Like Apollo got the moon, like the men who got the blue ♪

♪ Like the Fu got the Manchu, Shaka got the Zulu ♪

♪ Hawaii got the Honolulu ♪

♪ I got the rap lieu, so skippedy-de-bop-bop, you don't stop ♪

♪ You do the rock-rock from hip-hop through be-bop ♪

♪ From be-bop to bee-bee ♪

♪ You got the vocab ♪

♪ I got the vocab ♪

♪ Boogie Down got the vocab ♪

♪ You know they got the vocab ♪

♪ Black people got the vocab ♪

♪ Word, we got the vocab ♪

♪ Aiyo peeps, grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab ♪

♪ You got the vocab ♪

♪ Yeah, we got the vocab ♪

♪ Queens got the vocab ♪

♪ You know y'all got the vocab ♪

♪ Uptown got the vocab ♪

♪ Yeah, they got the vocab ♪

♪ Aiyo, bros grab the mic and show you got the gift of gab ♪

♪ DC got the vocab ♪

♪ Word, y'all got the vocab ♪

♪ Virginia got the vocab ♪

♪ Ay, I know y'all got the vocab ♪

♪ Oakland got the vocab ♪

♪ Word, they got the vocab ♪

♪ Aiyo, sisters grab the mic ♪

♪ And show them you got the gift of gab ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
vocab /ˈvoʊkæb/ B1	noun - the total stock of words known by a person
violence /ˈvaɪələns/ B2	noun - behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something
melancholy /ˈmelənkɒli/ C1	adjective - a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause
bourgeois /ˈbʊərʒwɑː/ C1	adjective - relating to the middle class, typically with reference to a perceived materialistic lifestyle
rebel /ˈrebəl/ B1	noun - a person who rises up against authority verb - to fight against or refuse to obey authority
juvenile /ˈdʒuːvənaɪl/ B2	adjective - young or immature
righteous /ˈraɪtɪəs/ B2	adjective - morally right or justifiable
damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ A2	noun - physical harm caused to something verb - to cause harm to something
revolution /ˌrevəˈluːʃən/ C1	noun - a forcible overthrow of a government or social order
phantom /ˈfæntəm/ B2	noun - a ghost or apparition
manifest /ˈmænɪfest/ C1	verb - display or show (a quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance
cipher /ˈsaɪfər/ C2	noun - a secret or disguised way of writing; a code
sinner /ˈsɪnər/ B1	noun - a person who sins
steppin' /ˈstepɪn/ B1	verb - moving or walking
select /sɪˈlekt/ B1	verb - to carefully choose something
nappy /ˈnæpi/ B1	adjective - having tightly curled hair
conscious /ˈkɒnʃəs/ B2	adjective - aware of and responding to one's surroundings
gimmick /ˈɡɪmɪk/ B2	noun - a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business

Key Grammar Structures

• Yo, this is the Fugees, Refugees, about to take you on a journey into the dimensions of the Booga-Basement.

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense

  ➔ The phrase 'about to take you' uses the present continuous tense to indicate an action that is imminent or planned in the near future.

• I keep a rap-book by me while I'm driving daddy's Audi.

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense with 'while'

  ➔ The use of 'while I'm driving' shows an action happening at the same time as another action, emphasizing the simultaneous nature of keeping a rap-book and driving.

• But I be baitin' the rebel base to bass distort the EQ.

  ➔ Present Progressive with 'be'

  ➔ The phrase 'I be baitin'' uses a non-standard form of the present progressive to convey a habitual or continuous action, typical in informal or poetic language.

• The devil's wishin' they could send me back to Mogadishu.

  ➔ Present Continuous with 'wish'

  ➔ The structure 'wishin' they could send' uses the present continuous with 'wish' to express a desire that is ongoing or unfulfilled.

• You got the vocab, I got the vocab, on the real, got the vocab.

  ➔ Simple Present Tense

  ➔ The repeated use of 'got' in the simple present tense emphasizes possession or a state of being, reinforcing the idea that the speaker and others have the 'vocab'.

• Aiyo Praz, grab the mic and show 'em you got the gift of gab.

  ➔ Imperative Mood

  ➔ The phrase 'grab the mic and show 'em' uses the imperative mood to give a direct command or instruction, urging Praz to take action.

• Knowledge is born, to all beginners.

  ➔ Passive Voice

  ➔ The phrase 'Knowledge is born' uses the passive voice to emphasize the action of knowledge being created or given, rather than focusing on the doer.

• Say our father, who art in heaven, forgive the foolish rapper.

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood

  ➔ The phrase 'forgive the foolish rapper' uses the subjunctive mood to express a wish, desire, or suggestion, indicating a hypothetical or non-factual situation.