Started subversive it was anti-Imperial schemes
Commoners took up arms, Arnis in the Philippines
During the Qing, the Red Boat Opera Company
Used their fists to rise up against the emperor's dynasty
Translation: this art form's foundations
Was for the poor to fight back against the wealth a whole nations
No surprise then for some immigrant Chinamen
To turn to it to defend
Against the steel in the sinner's hands
Yea, captivatin', caught the imagination
Jesse Glover, the first disciple on Bruce foundations
Jeet Kune Do, be like H 2 O
Flow water drip harder than my Li-Ning 2 0s
Body shots, karate chops? We gon prolly pop
Laundry shops, golden rush, they used to strung us up
Couldn't trust racist cops, we hadda knuckle up
Golly gosh, MMA, yea, now they copy US
They gon see
Art of War's in my blood, tread lightly
Be like Lee
Channel Bruce how I live my life
I'm a Warrior, living by the code of the Warrior
Fists of Fury if I go to war with ya
Come at me and I'll wipe the floor with ya
I'm a Warrior
Prepared for battle, channel Bruce when I flow
So when I mic drop, Taimak, you see the glow
Who woulda known that our movies will go global like this?
From rising against oppression with fury, spoke with our fists
Different fighting styles, living by the warrior code
Learned from ancient grandmaster teachings recorded on scrolls
Expanded to Black and Brown folk through kung-fu cinema
White folks made their own McDojos, cuz they want to mimic us
While they paint our culture as something that no one's supposed to like
Unless you put a white face on it, just look at Cobra Kai
I'm building Chi, ain't no Karate Kid move
You sold your soul to pop, I'd rather be Water like Bruce
The art of Sun Tzu, gong fu, appealing to all colors
Thanks to wushu flicks from Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers
Influenced Dead Prez and Wu-Tang, obviously
So martial arts to my heroes was what Hip-Hop was to me
They gon see
Art of War's in my blood, tread lightly
Be like Lee
Channel Bruce how I live my life
I'm a Warrior, living by the code of the Warrior
Fists of Fury if I go to war with ya
Come at me and I'll wipe the floor with ya
I'm a Warrior
Yeah! This is what I live for
Through all the ups and downs
The blood, sweat, and tears
I'm here now!
Stronger than ever!
Ain't nothing you can do to stop me