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Beat Street (1984)
Beat, Beat, Beat Street
You got to believe in something You got to believe in someone You got to have that special something makes you want to meet the morning sun 'Cause there's people laughing and people crying There's people giving up and people trying There's people living and people dying Nobody seems to know the reason why It's like a heartbeat Beat Street It's like a heartbeat I'm talkin' about Beat Street No one said it'd be easy And people never treat you like they should You got to get out and go for yourself But you knew that you always would It's like a heartbeat Beat Street Kenny, let me go with you. All right. Fresh. Ramo, when will you teach me that style? Practice up on it. I like you, man. - I'm going with you. - Check it out. Cotton-Field Chants and Hollers. Very fresh. - Why can't I go with you, Kenny? - Do your homework. Man, you're crazy. If I take you, I got to bring you back, and maybe I don't want to come right back. Maybe I'll meet a female. Come on, let's go. About time. Meet a female. That's bullshit... 'cause you ain't going nowhere till you bring your records home. Yo, Mom. - Where are you going? - Off to work, Mrs. Kirkland. It's party night. - Which is it? - It's both. Well, you boys be careful. - See you later, Momski. - Kenny, don't get in too late. Lee, where do you think you're going? You get in there and do your homework. - Y'all haven't seen the last of me yet. - Lee! Check it out. Fresh. I could use this sound. It's cold, man. Let's get. Luis! Hi. How about checking out that train we bombed yesterday? Jackpot! Come on, fellas! Slow down. Merry Christmas, New York. - Check it out, man. - "Island paradise." That's fresh, man. Get good pictures, I need them for my kid. - You got it in focus? - I know what I'm doing. Ramon, my man, that is bad. Right! That's the word! Man, that's def! - That's it, kid. - Fresh, Ramon! - King of the line. - All right. You see that? That is your baddest burner. That is my favorite. It's all right. - Heads up! - Yo, Chollie. What's up, Tony? What's going on? - Yo, Tony! - Kenny. - Make it snappy, we're running behind. - Right, let's go. - Yeah. - Come on. - Let's go, Double K. - Yo, Kong. How's it going? King Kong. Angie. It's about time. Sorry, we had business to take care of. But we're here now, all right? Everything under control, baby? Yo, Pop, how you doing? All right, go! Testing, one, two, three. It's working It's working Party people, if you're ready to rock Let me hear you scream If you really, really came to party Then let me hear everybody Say, "We came to party!" We came to party! Everybody put your hands together like this Come on, clap Let me hear you clap, everybody clap Now here's a funky beat Now here's a scratch beat Put it all together and make it complete Break, break, break Play that beat Why don't you play it for me? Play it, kick it, play that beat Why don't you play it for me? Play it, kick it Yo, bust it, bust it. Why don't you break, man? Why don't you break for us? Come on, now! Come on, baby, get down! Beat this All right! Kenny, there goes Sha-Rock, Lisa Lee and Debbie D. Go get their record. Well, here are three ladies from our neighborhood Guaranteed to rock the beat and rock the beat good So come on, Debbie D, Sha-Rock and Lisa Lee Step up to the front so all your friends can see We're all backing you up 100 percent We know you practiced all week Now this is it If you're in favor of what I've said Everybody say, "Go ahead!" Go ahead! Us girls can boogie, too We can dance, we can shake it 'Cause us girls can boogie, too So come on, girls, let's go break it Let's go break it Us girls are the best of friends If one ain't got no money, the other one lends When we go out, we know we look real hot What the boys want, you know we got The fly girl Debbie D Needs someone who can hold my policy So fellas, move on close Take me on a cruise and watch me float Wine and dine my mind, show me I'm fresh and I'll always let you know Debbie D is best Sha-Rock's the woman with the magical touch I'm like burning fire, you know I'm just too much Treat you like a king In the heat of the night Romance to the moon if your timing is right Get your back wet, all soaked in sweat He says I'm the kind of girl that he can never forget Sophisticated is the lady Lisa Lee To be the man in my life, you got to be my only I'll always hold ya secure In my arms real tight Squeeze you real good till you feel just right Have a heart of gold I want to share with you Give you the type of loving you never been through And if you dig where we're comin' from say, "Yeah!" Yeah! And if you want to rock this party tonight say, "Yeah!" Yeah! Us, us, us Us, us, us 'Cause us girls can boogie, too We can dance, we can shake it 'Cause us girls can boogie, too So come on, girls, let's go break it Us girls can boogie, too We can dance, we can shake it 'Cause us girls can boogie, too So come on, girls, let's go break it Chollie. Do you hear that? Yeah, man. It's weird. What the hell is that? It's weird, man. It's spooky. It's coming from in there. Tito? - Tito who? - Tito Reyes. What the hell are you doing down here? I'm looking for him, all right? He's about this high, plays congas. I was in the army with him. - You're looking for him in the basement? - Este esta loco. Let's get out of here. No, wait. This is the address, right? - Sure. Malo's big brother. - Yeah, but they dipped out a long time ago. - After the fire. - What fire? Tito was in a fire? Tito wasn't in a fire. The building was. Landlord torched this building about five times. Damn. I've thought about him for almost a year. Man, he could play them conga drums, too. We were supposed to get up a band. It's been my dream to play in a band in New York. This ain't New York, this is the Bronx. Come on, K, let's get back to business. - Could you give me something to eat? - You got any cash? Come on. What's up? You're biters. All your homeboys are biters. - You're all wack. What's up with that? - What are you talking about? I never stole moves from you. Your moves ain't worth it to be bit. What's up with that, punk? Punk? Who you calling punk? That's biting. Later. Roxy? - Don't flake. - Be there. - Damn Spit! Writes his name on everything. - Ramo, what you doing? Lousy bastard, Spit! That was Luis' best burner. It's only been running three days. - Ramo, later for that. - Come on. Get on the train. Good morning. Ramo's making us the baddest sweatshirts. Word. You know the kind that turn inside out? One side's gonna say "Beat Street" and our name. The other side will have curvy lines. And when I do my backspin... it'll be the baddest, man. Incredible. Kenny, why don't you just move that cereal and lay your whole body across the table? I thought we'd stopped dancing on the sidewalk for pennies. But, Mom. We made $46 last time. The money is not the issue, Lee. Sit up, Kenny. What time did you get in last night? About midnight. I'm glad you're still telling me the truth. Now eat. What's the big deal about eating oatmeal... when all I feel is tired for real? Is my rap too slick, my tongue too quick my gallant talent like a magic trick? Eat your eggs before I break your legs. Now you know where your gallant talent came from. Open the door, Lee. Open the door. Who goes there? Chollie, brother. Who goes there, little brother? You know I don't want you out so late. When you do it, Lee does it, too. Then I've got the both of you to worry about. I've already lost one son out there. There he is, Double K. How you doing? - How are you, Mrs. Kirkland? - Good morning, Chollie. You want this toast, man? Tomorrow, we're loose. And I got a rocket in my pocket. Comps to the Roxy. I'm talking major leagues. How did you do that? Just a little business. If you're going to be a superstar you have to check out the style. I've got my own style. Yeah, but you just need some of them professional touches. Chollie, superstar is not a profession. You can keep your dreams, gentlemen. But get something to fall back on. We got to get going. Yo, Kenny. Yo, Chollie. What's happening, Lee? Yo, Chollie. Watch this. You better practice up. When we get to the Roxy tonight, Beat Street breakers are gonna kick ass. I don't know, little brother. The Bronx Rockers are tough. Yo, Ramon, let's go, my man. Goddamn. What are you doing? Stop! Please, don't do this to me. Stop. Man, I would not put up with that shit. What are you, crazy? - You're beautiful. - Yeah, I'm beautiful. Fuck him! He's just helping you stir the paint, brother. "When are you going to stop writing on the walls and make some money? "When are you going to stop tagging the subway cars? "When are you going to make your son legitimate?" Legitimate, shit. Just tell him about all the money you're going to make with me and Kenny. You know we're gonna have album covers, posters, T-shirts, buttons... - Chollie, you're always talking that shit. - You're damn right. Talk about something else. Yeah, let's talk about bombing subway cars, Ramon. That's real fresh, brother, real smart. Why don't we talk about what a big goddamn deal you're gonna be? That's all you ever think about anymore. King of the Hustlers. And you think like some little kid. Man, you're so phony. What are you doing? Live from the Bronx, it's the 6:00 news Tapin' two little homeboys singin' the blues One talkin' paint, the other one money And they're so full of shit that it ain't even funny Take it away, Walter. Let's kick his ass. You gonna kick what? This could be the night Gonna find the special one to make you feel all right This could be the night We'll be living in a dream until the morning light I'm talking to you, ladies Listen to me carefully I know you're gonna find what you want If you're waiting patiently Don't make your move too fast If you want this night to last forever Love is waiting for you This could be the night Gonna find the special one to make you feel all right This could be the night We'll be living in a dream until the morning light Do you feel the magic Everywhere tonight? If you are gonna give all your love Make sure that the feeling's right This could be the night Don't you make your move too fast This could be the night Tonight's gonna be for you and me Hold it. He with you? Yeah. He's my bodyguard. Hi. What you doing, man? How come you don't frisk them? Tracy! Robert! I'll see you all later. I got a battle to attend to. Yo, Double K, chill out. All right! Get down! So come on, everybody, everybody come on Let's all get together and rock along Twist and scream and shout Twist and scream and shout Now do what you came here to In order to get frantic, you got to get loose Say, say what, everybody say Say, say what, everybody say It's a frantic Situation Worldwide It's a musical drive Emancipation It's a proclamation All across the nation It's a heavy situation Frantic, frantic, frantic Now Shango and Soul Sonic Two groups of heavy knowledge are trying to educate you So you won't become a frantic fool Vibration of the music, On the dance floor, fantasy illusion A breakin' beat, electric boogaloo Street dancing's now a cultural school Now sing, now sing Yo, Jazzy! Jazzy J! What's happening? What's up, man? What's up, Double K? What's going on, man? All right. Come here. Come on up. Come on up and check this out. Bronx Rockers. Gino. Come on. There's Beat Street. Let's serve them. The Bronx Rockers are here, man. It's Beat Street, man. They're gonna battle, man. Do it! Break dancing's where it's at Say what? Hit me We all take Energy San Francisco And Zimbabwe Break dancing's where it's at Say, where it's at Break, break Come on, Crazy baby. Crazy, my man! Do it! Break, break, break, break, break Let's go, Kuriaki! Come on, Beat Street! Little brother was hot. The Roxy's having auditions next Tuesday, my man. - We're gonna get you in here, mark my word. - Baby, let's dance. All right, let's dance. Hi, I'm Tracy Carlson from City College. What's your name? Hello, my name's Lee. - You're a wonderful breaker. - Thank you. I like you a lot. Can you give me your phone number? Damn! - Why'd Spit do it, man? - 'Cause he can't do no better. Like, he used to do these tags that were just stupid. They were so lame, everybody thought they were already messed up. So now, he's gonna go over everybody else's stuff. Man, somebody needs to break his hands. Does anybody know who this guy is? Nobody knows. Check it out. It's so white. It's so clean! Ramo, we gotta. All you ever talk about is white trains. We gotta go. If I get in that show of theirs, ain't gonna be nothing like it. Just let us do all the talking about business. But I don't need help. I can do my own talking. We're all going in with you, Lee. She didn't invite nobody but me. Little brother, this is the big time. If you want to be part of their show, your manager has to protect your interests. What if they want to take you on the road? How about some extra money if they put you on TV? You think about that? Check that out. Hold it. Tracy, hold it. Tracy, the tempo on this section is a little slow... Yo, Tracy! Lee! Come on up. Bring your friends! That's the guy that I met. The dancer. He's a fabulous dancer. Thank you so much. Thank you, too, Tracy. It's a wonderful idea. We're going to have a discussion now, but you're all welcome to stay. And Tracy knows where to reach you with tickets for our performance. I want to check something out. My brother ain't here to be in your show, is he? I'm afraid this performance is limited to our students. - How come no one told him that? - I thought they had. I made it perfectly clear to Lee. That's cool. Ain't no big deal. I've never been on TV before, so if you just flip on that tape... I don't think so. Maybe tomorrow, if you come back, we can... - But I don't understand. - We're too busy now. Wait a minute. He can't see the tape? After you all check him out like he's some freak? - Wait a minute... - You wait a minute, mister. Lady, you're showing people how you down with breakin'... and that's bullshit, because you ain't down with nothing. And you looked so proud. "I found that little nigger myself. Do I get an A, teacher?" You're like all the biters. You just take a bite and leave the rest. - Our tape! - Let him have it. Linda. Little runt. Carmen! Ramon! Where have you been all week? I missed you. I had some stuff to take care of. Yeah, I know. I've been wanting to talk to you. - Where's Julian? - He's in the kitchen. - I brought a gift for him. - You did? Hello, Mrs. Cavarro. Here's your daddy. That's a joke. How can you even look him in the face? Ramon. It's so beautiful. A little T-shirt doesn't make up for anything. When will you take some responsibility, Ramon? - I'll put it on him right now. - Is everybody deaf? - Mommy, please don't start. - I have to know why... I'm sorry. You can see how bad it is here. Take us somewhere. I got no place to take you. Please, Ramon. We'll be together. - Where? - Anywhere. Two more. Now single count. Reach left and right, and left, and right. Come on. Hold on now. Just four more. - Yes? - Is this Lee Kirkland's house? I'm Lee's mother. What you want him for? I'd like to talk to him. Maybe you want to talk to his brother. I'd like to talk to him, too. - Come on in. - Thank you. This young lady's looking for Lee. For what? Could you turn that down a little? Lee's out right now. If you want, I can tell him what you came for. Exactly what did I come for? To get your tape back. Who do you think you are? You wreck my class with bullshit about me... taking a bite out of your brother and leaving the rest. Let me tell you something. I'm not a taker, and I'm not a user. I told Lee exactly what was involved. He's out right now. I don't know what to tell you. You just tell him I came by. I know where Lee's at. Where? It's kind of dangerous. I mean, you might not be up to it. - Let me be the judge of that. - Yes, ma'am. Can I ask what you were doing? Mixing, just trying some new stuff. Like what? It's kind of hard to explain. Do you want to hear something? Yeah. See, I tape anything I think sounds good. You know, add it with a lot of other stuff. Water coming off a pipe... making that tick-tock sound. Add a little reverb. Or this... That's my piece. - You mean you wrote that? - Why, is that strange? No. That is some heavy shit. You know, it's not so different from what you're doing here. How do you mean? When I wrote this, I tried to combine different styles... - but it's really hard. - Tell me about it. I can't get the sounds in my head on tape. I haven't got the right equipment. You should come to school. We have great equipment. - I'd introduce you to the studio guy. - You'd really do that? Yeah. You still feel like being dangerous? Come on. You sure now? Let's go. Where are we going? Down there? I'm not going down there. You're crazy. It's not too far. This time of night, locals run every 16 minutes. - There's lights all the way. - I'm not going down there. I'm not gonna let you get hurt. I promise. There's no electricity this side of the tracks. Stay right with me. When the spur comes in up ahead, just watch where I'm walking. Right over here. Train! A white one. Train's coming. Come on. - Yo, Ramo. - Yo, check this out. All right. Get back up, guys. I saw a cop on that last train. Hurry! - Hi, Lee. - Hi. How you doing? I dig it. This is really fresh, Ramo. Where'd you learn to do this? - English class. - No, I'm serious. No kidding. I used to trace these old DC comics, 'cause it was so boring. That's where I figured out all the streaks and blurs and shit. Not too high on that cloud, all right? You're gonna go over that Phase 2. Come on, I ain't stupid. What's Phase 2? Phase 2 is the guy who practically invented the idea of burners. Before that, everything was just these little tags. A tag is your name. And this... That's a burner. Pack it up! Want to get something to eat? No. We got some plans. How about you? Do you have brothers and sisters, besides Lee? I had an older brother. What happened? He was in this big gang in the Bronx. He was into some bad shit. When the cops came down on them... a lot of guys got wasted, and Franklin was one of them. I was 12 years old, and I was mad. I wanted to go to war. But my friends told me that that was stupid. Anyway, gangs died out back then. Are you cold? No. Do you have a boyfriend? Not really. What are you doing here? You have a home? Damn, you smell good. I'd say you got up. Be cool, Kenny. Let me hear the details. Kenny, was she good? - What? - Man! Little brother might have to learn that information someday. Turn me loose right now, or you'd better never let go. See that, Lee? Man gets a little nooky, he cops an attitude. He already has an attitude. Damn it! You're gonna give me rabies. You keep your voice down. What are you doing here, man? Opportunity is beating on our door, man. DJ at the Burning Spear got his fingers smashed by his little brother. Slammed 'em in a window. We'll be in Kool Herc's office before Kool Herc. - Kenny, tell me how she feels. - Shut your dumb mouth. Sounds to me like Double K is in love. Better get some sleep, brother. We got work to do. It's a shame about Super Ease's hands and all... but you're gonna love Double K. He is the baddest, the freshest young DJ in the Bronx. He better be. Funk Ain't it funky now? - You think you got it together? - Yeah, man, it's chill. All right, you people get ready to cheer For the Christmas show at the Burning Spear All you hip-hops are in for a treat 'cause Santa Claus is on Beat Street Open up your door I'm Santa Claus, and guess what, y'all? I got something to show I came to bring some Christmas spirit I got a big bag, now guess what's in it Something for the rich and something for the poor So Merry Christmas and ho, ho, ho! "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas", my foot I'm gonna tell you what Santa really put Under my so-called tree But in reality looked like nothing but a decorated pole to me Man, you talk about a tree, it makes me wonder 'Cause I never had a tree to put anything under If I ever did luck up and get a tree There was never anything under it for me Man, y'all should be glad that I didn't quit 'Cause I'm gettin' too old for this Santa Claus shit Y'all think I'm gettin' presents made for free? I got to pay them elves, nobody payin' me You big fat whale, you might as well quit 'cause I can name 100 presents I didn't get And if I did get a present it'd be a hand-me-down I got this for Christmas Now how'd that sound? It sounds good to me 'cause I'm about to freeze Want to see something? Look at the bottom of these Me and my brothers can't go out at the same time A coat that's theirs is a coat that's mine I know one thing, y'all better get off my neck And wait till you get your welfare check Go on down to the office and stand on the line Better hurry up, see, I got mine Jingle jangle Jingle for the poor And once you get your welfare check Y'all can kiss my mistletoe That's why the presents keep getting mixed up 'Cause year after year, you keep fucking up And now I know why, 'cause you're always drunk - Instead of G.I. Joe, you send me this junk - That ain't a G.I. Joe, that's a G.I. Jerk With a kung fu grip that don't even work So all I did was just put him away 'cause my G.I. Joe looked G.I. Gay That's why you don't get presents 'cause you're ingrates If G.I. Joe's gay what difference does it make? He's just a doll, ain't too much he can do If you ask me, boy, I ain't too sure about you Listen, bloat-o, with your big fat suit Next time say no, don't send no substitute Because I asked you for a beat box and you know what I got? Douggie Fresh You know, that kid from down the block? For a facsimile, we must admit Douggie Fresh is good and made a perfect fit He's the only reason why we weren't totally mad Without Douggie, our Christmas would have been really sad Go sing Silent Night and Jingle Bells And all those Christmas rhymes 'Cause nobody gives a shit About a reindeer and hard times You just jingle and jangle And hang out with the poor And when you get your welfare check You can buy reindeer by the score Well, let's get Douggie Fresh And Magnificent Force And head on out the door And leave these party people singing Jingle jangle for the poor Sing jingle jangle Jingle jangle with the poor Jingle jangle, jingle with the poor Jingle jangle Jingle jangle with the poor What are you doing next weekend? - I'm free. - No, you're not. Let's dance. Tell your mother Pedro wants me to work late tonight. Carmen needs to stay with us. - We have no bed for her. You know that. - She can stay with me. You are not married to her. If I marry her, she can stay with me? She can stay in the place that you make for her... if you was a man. I am a man. A man? A man takes care of his own. A man has a job. He's not a criminal who goes around scrawling on the subways. How come a man's what you say? I'm a graffiti writer. I'm an artist. I don't just throw up little tags all over the place. I make them trains beautiful. How come you won't even come see what I do? Nothing's gonna come easy In your life, not in your life Nothing's gonna come easy in your life In your life I don't know why you can't see All the things in your life you could be You could live out your fantasies in your life Make sure I speak to her manager. It is possible That a man can fly, make a fool of science Gravity defied If you're searching for paradise Searching for something that'll make you feel all right Take a look deep down inside yourself Just move your feet and let the music do the rest While the music's hot it just won't stop Everybody dance to the radio rock Music's hot, it just won't stop Everybody's dancing, they'll baptize the beat Baptize the beat, baptize the beat Next. Damn. That's right, that's deep Everybody jumps to the vicious beat Vicious beat, beat, vicious beat, beat I'm Brenda Starr, and I rap to the beat I go to the Roxy just to move my feet You see, I break and boogie, I rap to the beat I'm rappin' to the rhythm of the vicious beat Vicious beat, vicious beat vicious beat, vicious beat Hey, you Yeah, I'm talkin' to you I'm here to tell you, to tell you the scoop I play no games, I'm right to the point Make sure her manager gets in touch with me. - Hold up a minute, K. - What are you talking about? I want you to wait outside for me, all right? I know what I'm doing. What are you doing? I am just about to take the biggest chance of your life. Great. Next. Come on. Trust me. I was born and raised in the South Bronx streets I'm so proud to say that my life's complete My father's strong, and I am told The family name I must uphold Strong, bold, and demanding That makes the girl outstanding Often imitated But never duplicated I always stated Wanda Dee is one of a kind And elegant is here, she's gonna rock your mind You know you won't resist When I give you this You know that we just met Tonight I know you'll get wet You showed up just in time Nice. I'm gonna make you sweat and whine You are the one I want I hold the tongue of fun You know it's hip-hop rock That's why you won't stop So shake down, break down - Shake down, break down - Here's some guitar Thank you. That's it. You've got some pretty good talent for your show. You think they're talented? - No, most of them are pretty lame, right? - Who the hell are you calling lame? You calling Tina B lame? No. My point is, I got a man that's got something special. Auditions are over. He's Kool Herc's main man down at the Burning Spear. Kool Herc? Okay, bring him in. I'll give him a listen. - You want to see him? - I just said I did, Jim. Then be at the Burning Spear, Saturday night. Yo, Kenny! - Let's go. - What happened? It's in the pocket, brother. Okay. What do you think? - The place don't look so bad after all. - Looking good. Landlord's gonna raise your rent. You can really fix up one of these old places. Yeah. Yo, Double K, what's happening? How's it going, Kenny? Trace cut you loose tonight or what? She's rehearsing her show. Girl's too busy for me. You really think Monte will show up Saturday night? I told you, it's in the pocket. I really charmed that sucker. You know, I was thinking... that empty apartment upstairs... maybe I'll start hanging out around here. Fix it up for me and Carmen and the baby. Really, Ramo? That'd be great. We could be neighbors. What're you gonna do about money, man? - Get a job. - Say what? You? Yeah. What the hell. Give me some tape. Watch it. Surprise! Merry Christmas. Welcome home. God. Let's throw on some music here. Get this party going. You know what I mean? See? We put the crib right by the heat. Keep him nice and warm. Water's running. Yeah, and the bed works, too. We checked it out personally. Oh, God. I just don't know how I'm gonna thank you all. - How you feeling? - Great, man. Thanks a lot, you guys are the greatest. Us Puerto Ricans got to stick together, right? He's crazy. Yo, Kenny, it's Monte. He's coming? - You listen pretty good. - Herc, I'm not stealing your headliner. Just giving him a little downtown exposure. You got everything to gain. - I'm looking out for the boy's interest. - I can look out for Double K's interests. Do me a favor. New Year's Eve, do exactly what you did tonight. Don't worry about it. Double K won't change a note. So when do we see the contract? He your manager? Yeah, well, don't let that stop you. Yo, chill out, man. I hear something. Battle cry Let's do the right thing. Let's serve these dudes, man. Fight this dancer Super solid Fight this dancer Super solid The battle cry No way. You see Is it time for what's in store The crews are headed for a dancing war Who rocks, who rocks, who rocks, who rocks? Battle cry Street drums Speed drums Street drums Speed drums Street drums Who rocks, who rocks, who rocks, who rocks? Battle cry It's the police! Come on, man. Let's get out of here! Get off me, man! Stay still. Amazing, isn't it? Then do the same thing to add other sounds to other keyboard registers. Look. Add a little scratch. And the computer prints out the score. Isn't that incredible? Yeah. That's good, man. Here, play with it a while. In a couple of hours, he'll probably have it doing tricks nobody else thought of. Kenny, while you're working, I have some work to complete with Tracy. - It's the piano part. - The intro. Yes. - I can't believe the performance is tomorrow. - You'd better believe it. Need some help? The keyboard went dead. You wiped out the disk. Here, I'll reprogram it for you. - I got to get going. - Going? I thought you wanted to use the studio... to try out some sounds for your New Year's Eve show at the Roxy. I don't need new sounds, man. What I got's plenty. It was plenty good enough to get me the gig. Excuse me, Robert. Kenny, what's the matter? Nothing's the matter. I'm fine, you're fine. We should just leave it that way. What do you mean by that? I've got things to do, my own things. You got your own things to do with your own friends. Robert? You think that was so new and great, what he was doing? That was nothing. - We were just trying to help you. - I don't need help. - Other people respect what I do. - And I don't? You don't even know why I'm with you. I got it figured out. You are the missionary, and I'm the native. Man, look at these toy cops. They don't know the difference between dancing and fighting. Word. It's true, man. If we were fighting, these people would've run the other way. If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up! Mom! Mom, these fools busted us for dancing. Could you believe this? I believe you better shut your mouth before I decide to leave you here. Take my advice. You better nip that little attitude in the bud. That's heading for nowhere but trouble. You're kind of young to be giving advice, aren't you? If my son says he was dancing, that's what he was doing. If you're gonna arrest people for dancing, maybe you're the one who needs advice... 'cause there are lots of worse things these kids could be doing. - That I know. - Word. I don't know. Maybe I made a bad mistake. I mean, she's got this big performance of her composition tonight... so she's thinking about that. Man, women are always trying to change you. Is Carmen trying to change you? Hell, no. Who told you that? You got that dumb job. That's a big change, isn't it? That was just something I had to do. It'll be better once I start working day shifts. Night shifts interfere with my real work. Is that all you want to do? Go bombing trains at night and pushing a broom all day? Why are you getting on my case? I'm not getting on you, man. You see them? Their tags are little black letters on little white cards of paper. My tag's running... in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, right now. In every borough, on every line. It's eight feet high, and it's beautiful. - But what about tomorrow? - Tomorrow's a long way off, man. When I'm writing trains... or when you're mixing sounds, making people dance, that's everything. We're alive. The white one. - Somebody made it an A train. - So, what does that mean? That means tonight, after work, it's mine. There it is. Take this off, will you? - Do that fill-in in red, okay? - Okay. Come on. Let's go do the other side. You've got to be kidding. Ramo! Do you hear something? Spit! Kenny. Sorry I missed your concert. That wasn't important. I know what you mean. That New Year's Eve gig at the Roxy... I don't think that's so important. But you're gonna do it, aren't you? I don't know. I have an idea for something I could do. - But I'm not sure how. - Can I help? Please? Grand Master Melle and the Furious Five... Twenty-five breakers, the City College dancers... and a Bronx gospel choir? Do you realize what you're asking these people to do? - They'll do it. - They'll do it. Yeah, so they'll do it... but there's no way in hell anybody's gonna let you turn New Year's Eve at Roxy... into some kind of a funeral. It won't be a funeral. It'll be a celebration. Kenny, are you crazy? This is the opportunity of your life. It's my life. Okay, brother. Then let's do it right. Beat Street, breakdown Beat Street, the king of the beat You see 'em rockin' that beat from across the street Beat street is a lesson, too Because you can't let the streets beat you Well, a picture can express a thousand words To describe all the beauty of life you give And if the world was yours to do over I know you'd paint a better place to live Where the colors would swirl and the boys and girls Can grow in peace and harmony And where murals stand on walls so grand As far as the eyes are able to see I never knew art till I saw your face And there'll never be one to take your place 'Cause every time you touch a spray-paint can Michelangelo's soul controls your hands Then serenades of blue and red And the beauty of the rainbow fills your head Crescendo colors play in tune Man, why did you have to die so soon? Sayin' one, two, three, four Just let me know what you came here for And just clap your hands, everybody And let me know that I'm not alone And if you knew my man when he was alive Scream it out and say, "Ramon!" Ramon! I'm talking 'bout ashes to ashes and dust to dust Where the good die young as all they must 'Cause as life must live, death must die And the tears shall fall from the living eye Tell me, who's gonna dream the impossible dream Of the beautiful cities and the island streams When your works of art brought into being All that the ghetto stopped you from seeing Still-life, urban masterpiece Your trademark was written on trains and walls A million-dollar gift only God would leave And yet you got killed for nothing at all So after this, there'll be no more hard times No more bad times, and no more pain No more chump change, none of that bull Just movies, museums, and the hall of fame So all you hip-hops, get on up And let's take it to the top where we belong 'Cause the age of the Beat Street wave is here Everybody, let's sing along, now come on, say, "Ho!" Say, "Ho!" And to let me know I'm rockin' the microphone Everybody say, "Ramon!" Ramon! A newspaper burns in the sand And the headlines say, "Man destroys man" Extra, extra, read all the bad news On the war of peace that everybody would lose The rise and fall, the last great empire The sound of the whole world caught on fire The ruthless struggle, the desperate gamble The game that left the whole world in shambles The cheats, the lies, the alibis And the foolish attempt to conquer the skies Lost in space, and what is it worth? The President just forgot about Earth Spendin' multi-billions and maybe even trillions The cost of weapons ran in the zillions There's gold in the street Diamonds under feet And there's children in Africa don't even eat Flies on their faces, they're living like mice The houses even make the ghetto look nice The water tastes funny, it's forever too sunny And they work all month and don't make no money A fight for power, a nuclear shower People shout out in the darkest hour At sights unseen and voices unheard And finally the bomb gets the last word Christians killed Muslims, and Germans killed Jews And everybody's bodies are used and abused Minds are poisoned and souls are polluted Superiority complex is deep-rooted Leeches and lices, and people got prices Egomaniacs control the self-righteous Nothing is sacred, and nothing is pure So the revelation of death is our cure Dachau, Auschwitz, Hiroshima Vietnam, Leningrad, Iwo Jima Okinawa, Korea, the Philippines Devastation, death, catch the killing machine The people's in terror, the leaders made an error And now they can't even look in the mirror 'Cause we got to suffer while things get rougher And that's why we got to get tougher So learn from the past and work for the future And don't be a slave to no computer 'Cause the children of man inherit the land And the future of the world is in your hands So just throw your hands in the air And wave them like you just don't care And if you believe that you're the future Scream it out and say, "Yeah!" Yeah! Everybody, do you believe? Yeah! Do you believe? Let me hear you say, "Yeah!" Believe it Believe it They buried us So we became a flower, believe it Believe it They gave us nothing So we took power, believe it Believe it They tried to break us And now we're the breakers, believe it Believe it We come from the ashes The movers and shakers Believe it Now we're going on We're the hip-hop Now we're going on We're gonna take you to the top Now we're going on We can't stop, believe it Strut, strut Break it down, break it down We are the harvest of a bitter seed Some of us fall Some of us bleed But we are the future And we will succeed Believe it Believe it We are the miracle We are the strong We are the right that came from wrong We made hope into our song Believe it Believe it I'm a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew Believe it I believe in me, I believe in you Yes, I believe it, I do believe it Yes, I believe it Do you believe it? |
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