Pete Rock and Cl Smooth - Ghettos of the Mind(1992)

[00:08.41] Ghetto of the Mind...
[00:43.37] I catch a body at a party, sort of herbal with the verbal
[00:56.11] Look above and see the vultures fly around in a circle
[00:58.86] Baggin' while you're lollygaggin', raggin', tow-taggin'
[01:01.68] Assassin with the millimeter roars of a dragon
[01:03.59] Here stood the black hood, thirsty for the end
[01:06.27] And for the love of money, kind of funny, new friends
[01:09.00] Public housing, a thousand in a tent
[01:11.73] So I'm forced to sell hell just to pay the rent
[01:13.51] Killin' my own people, I put 'em out of order
[01:16.32] Just like the liquor store scene on every corner
[01:19.09] I'm tryin' but the kids keep cryin', and the bullets keep flyin'
[01:22.70] Look, a boy, he's on the curb just dyin'
[01:24.65] Finally the cops come dumb to the slum
[01:27.35] Pull out a gun and arrest the wrong one
[01:29.15] Wax all the Puerto Ricans and blacks
[01:31.95] So they can never relax
[01:32.88] I dwell, might as well learn the facts
[01:34.62] Pete Rock and C.L. can radio a shack up
[01:37.42] Sparkin' off and have 'em all callin' for backup
[01:40.13] "Watch another crime and you're gonna do time"
[01:42.08] All this you'll find in the ghettos of the mind
[01:46.53] Ain't that somethin'?...
[02:05.70] Listen to cats and rough rats war under the window
[02:07.62] When the ghetto forts flarey, never was a Tom and Jerry
[02:10.43] Livin' ain't cheap, my survival is deep
[02:13.18] In this part of town where the city never sleep
[02:15.97] A Barney Miller roller, you can bet the car's stolen
[02:18.66] Or static with your BM, only when you see them
[02:21.40] Speakin' on your baby's mom, a best for the drama
[02:23.23] Always tryin' to make a movie, little stark-ravin' looney
[02:25.97] Stressin' it, but you know the ghetto keep ya busy
[02:28.67] A place that when I die it would never even miss me
[02:31.45] Crack phials in the aisles as one pimp smiles
[02:34.13] Dope piles workin' hookers by the miles
[02:36.95] But still my pop's got three jobs to stable
[02:38.74] A family household and food on the table
[02:41.50] So as we pray for all our souls to keep
[02:43.36] Somebody's on the project roof, ready to leap
[02:46.07] I want to stop the pain or the bad situation
[02:48.81] But backwards wisdom I can't afford to give 'em
[02:51.58] Self savior is much braver with the conscious behavior
[02:55.25] Designed in the ghettos of the mind
[02:57.01] Ain't that somethin'? C'mon...
[03:16.23] It's like that y'all...
[03:28.11] I could never look forward to an early retirement
[03:29.97] But still I maintain in a hostile environment
[03:32.79] Hustlin' the concrete jungle for loot
[03:35.49] My parents hated blood money so they gave me the boot
[03:38.19] Take a risk 'cause the peer pressure has the edge
[03:40.02] It was a blessin' when I saw my life dangle on the ledge
[03:43.63] The streets coulda swallowed me whole
[03:44.68] But the pain was all gone when I got to see my healthy son born
[03:47.45] And now I bring him home to the ghetto,
[03:50.14] Only to make a stronger fellow
[03:51.00] Maybe do some good for the neighborhood
[03:53.89] It's hard playing hero livin' less than a zero
[03:55.62] Raging Bull like DeNiro, the modern day pharoah
[03:57.48] A concentration camp with the Section 8
[04:01.15] Welfare checks given at a monthly rate
[04:03.02] Apply for the get high, or just plain lazy
[04:05.71] Many steady collect right around the fifth baby
[04:08.52] The hawk is out but the niggaz never pack it
[04:11.39] A hundred dollar sneakers with the skimpy-ass jacket
[04:14.07] When people are deaf, dumb, and blind they get left behind
[04:16.85] Imagine in the ghettos of the mind
[04:18.64]