Coolio - On My Way To Harlem lyrics

I know a place where the trees don't grow
Just another place where niggas live low
I know a place where life is fucked up
Make a wrong move and your ass get stuck up
Time ain't nothin' but a frame of mind
And life is like a mountain
Or a steep ass climb
I've been lookin' for a place to leave
The only free place is inside of me
So let's take a trip
And you don't need a grip
But you better be equipped cause
It might be some shit
African-American, nothin' but a nigga
Had our fingers on the trigger
But I pulled mine quicker
I know a place where there ain't no calm and
You better stay away if
You're soft like Charmin
South Central, Los Angeles, Watts
And Compton a nigga from the west coast
On his way to Harlem

Now it's time to step into the light (Light)
Put up your dukes, there's gonna be a fight
(Fight) and when it's time to fight
You better fight right
'Cause if it don't fight right
Out goes your light
Take a close look at what I'm freakin' on
Niggas think I'm tweakin'
But I'm speakin' on subject matter, data
Information that I gather through my travels
'Cause the hardest of the hard
Hit hardcore killer
Can't stop the slug of a nine millimeter
Everybody thinks they know, but they know not
If they haven't caught a cap
On the block gunshot
So shine up your boots and pick up the pieces
Grab a fresh pair of khakis
With the sharp ass creases
Ring the alarm, here comes the storm
I got a firearm on my way to Harlem

I know a place where the sun don't shine
Everybody is a victim of neighborhood crime
I know a place where niggas walk the line
One false step and they must do time
Since I'm in the same boat
I must stay afloat and sing every note
From the quotes that they wrote
So, I look into the past and
Walk the path of the greats
So I won't make the same mistakes
That sealed my ancestors fates
If I had to be a slave
I'd rather be in my grave
If I get in how many lives could I save?
One, two, three, a hundred, a thousand
My heart is poundin'
The devil keeps soundin'
But he don't want my money, he wants my soul
So I reach like a tree
And like a weed I grow
My stomach is full, but my mind is starvin'
Rollin in a g ride on my way to Harlem