"Mantis" lyrics - RZA

[Intro: 'Invincible Shaolin' sample]
The technique depends mainly on arm and finger strength
Once you've that
Then the next step is to learn how to pierce stone
Well you might as well start practicing now
Do you-Do you-Do you-Do you
Do you know, mantis legends?
How it was it all started?
It was fighting off this blackbird
Although it was only a tenth of the bird's size
It was a very valiant insect
And that's why the technique needs a brave man
And a strong one who isn't afraid of odds

[Verse 1: RZA]
Welcome back to the temple of Hip Hop and Sword Kenpo
Lyrical rhyme nympho, b-boy Bob Digital
Diamond crystal ring, solid gold bone rituals
We be the humble, most calmest individuals
Hard to spot microdots, we Sasquatch
Stomp MCs, third eye Cyclops laser beam shots
Being fired once the father get raised up
We John Blaze up, abrasive heat from a phaser gun
Never left for a stun dunn, Atilla the Hun
Type Killa Park Hilla, eighteen wheeler
Macks in the truck lanes from the rugged grains of Shaolin soil
You red wolves be prowling
Howling over the shit that got the whole world bowing
We spoiled, one thousand swordsmen
One thousand recordings, one thousand Wu stores and
One thousand rap tours and global insurance
Not your everyday occurrence
My rhyme torments MCs with the fear of God
You'll be cursed like Farad and struck by the iron rod
Tchka-tchka-tchka-tchka-tchka-tchka-POW

[Chorus: Tekitha] [2x]
Hell's Wind Staff, the wrath of Black Titans
Niggas battling, sword swinging
Cut-throat women, whirlwind given, save the children
Escape the poverty for living
Let live, die by the mic, shadow skill by night

[Break: 'Invincible Shaolin' sample]
Man-Mantis style isn't easy to learn
A mantis is small but powerful
With it's arms it can lift up many times it's own weight

[Verse 2: Masta Killa]
On behalf of the Wu-Tang Clan I'll display the Hong Kong
Shaolin King Kong poems
Slaps niggas in half from Kwangtung
Ten Tigers scratch like Allah Math, the Hell's Wind Staff
Watch the Eight Diagram strike the diaphragm
Pierced lung minute funk tongue double-edged, sound the drum
Here I come as predicted
Holding the raw seal, all heads kneel
7th Degree black mic skill is ill, listen to the guns holler
Swallow the shell, East New York terrorist
Break fool to this, madness, crazy low-hand
Grabs the mic stand, smooth as water
Spat Seven Seas you've not yet mastered
Breathe and lungs wheeze, Earth kills
I'm wrecking MCs, blood spills, meadow, is round
The piercing sound of silence deafens ears
Fires fears, wood sharp eagle claw tears
Tree from bark, hard to maintain control
When you leaking, I stand with the strength of Jobe
And hold pressure that'll bust your head, while I'm teaching
Civilization, one having Knowledge
Wisdom Understanding, culture refinement
Not a savage in pursuit of happiness
Thunderous Mantis, all chant this