[Verse: Rakim]
I was a fiend before I became a teen
I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream
Music orientated so when hip-hop was originated
Fitted like pieces of puzzles, complicated
'Cause I grabbed the mic and try to say, "Yes, y'all"
They tried to take it and say that I'm too small
Cool 'cause I don't get upset
I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug then I jet (Then I jet)
Back to the lab without a mic to grab
So then I add all the rhymes I had
One after the other one, then I make another one
To this the opposite then ask if the brother's done
I get a cravin' like I fiend for nicotine
But I don't need a cigarette, know what I mean?
I'm ragin', rippin' up the stage and
Don't it sound amazin'?
'Cause every rhyme is made and thought of
'Cause it's sort of an addiction
Magnetized by the mixing
Vocals, vocabulary, your verses, you're stuck in
The mic is a Drano, volcanoes eruptin'
Rhymes overflowin', gradually growin'
Everything is written in the cold, so it can coincide ('Cide)
My thoughts to guide
Forty-eight tracks to slide
The invincible, microphone fiend, Rakim (Rakim)
Spread the word 'cause I'm in
E-F-F-E-C-T
A smooth operator operating correctly
But back to the problem, I got a habit
You can't solve it, silly rabbit
The prescription is a hyper tone that's thorough when
I fiend for a microphone like heroin (Heroin)
Soon as the bass kicks, I need a fix
Give me a stage and a mic and a mix
And I'll put you in a mood or is it a state of
Unawareness, beware, it's the re-animator (Re-animator)
A menace to a microphone, a lethal weapon
An assassinator, if the people ain't steppin'
You'll see a part of me that you never seen
When I'm fiendin' for a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend
After twelve, I'm worse than a gremlin
Feed me hip-hop and I start tremblin' (Tremblin')
The thrill of suspense is intense, you're horrified
But this ain't the cinemas of 'Tales From the Darkside'
By any means necessary, this is what has to be done
Make way 'cause here I come
My DJ cuts material (Material)
Grand imperial
It's a must that I bust any mic you hand to me
It's inherited, it runs in the family
I wrote the rhyme that broke the bull's back
If that don't slow 'em up, I carry a full pack
Now I don't wanna have to let off, you should've kept off
You didn't keep the stage warm, step off (Step off)
Ladies and gentleman, you're about to see
A pastime hobby about to be
Taken to the maximum, I can't relax, see
I'm hype as a hypochondriac 'cause the rap be one
Hell of a antidote, somethin' you can't smoke
More than dope, you're tryin' to move away but you can't, you're broke
More than cracked up, you should've backed up
For those that act up, need to be more than smacked up
Any entertainer, I got a torture chamber
One-on-one and I'm the remainder (Remainder)
So close your eyes and hold your breath (Breath)
And I'ma hit you with the blow of death (Death)
Before you go, you'll remember you seen
The fiend of a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend (I'm the microphone fiend)

[Outro: Rakim]
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The micro-the micro-the micro—, the microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The micro-the-the mic-the microphone fiend
The micro-the-the microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The micro-the microphone
The micro-the micro-the microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The micro-the micro-the microphone
The micro-the micro-the microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The-the-the-the-the microphone fiend (The microphone fiend)
The mic (The mic), the microphone fiend