Track selection by: Phenomenal P 

Respiration - Black Star Feat. Common
Album: Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998)
Producer: Hi Tek

Verse 1 (Mos Def)

The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis
Shinin', like "Who on top of this?"
People was tusslin', arguin' and bustlin'
Gangstas of Gotham hardcore hustlin'
I'm wrestlin' with words and ideas
My ears is pricked, seekin' what will transmit
The scribes can apply the transcript
Yo, this ain't no time where the usual is suitable
Tonight alive, let's describe the inscrutable
The indisputable (what!), we New York, the narcotics
Draped in metal and fiber optics
Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips
For profits, thirsty criminals sic pockets
Hard knuckles on the second hands of working-class watches
Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of livin' is preposterous
Stay alive? You pay or die, no options
No Batman and Robin
Can't tell between the cops and the robbers
They both partners, they all heartless
With no conscience, back streets stay darkened
While unbeliever hearts stay hardened
My eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbin'
You either make your way or stay sobbin'
The shiny Apple is bruised, but sweet and if you choose to eat
You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat
Nightly news repeat who got shot down and locked down
Spotlight the savages, NASDAQ averages
My narrative rose to explain this existence
Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance