Dead prez, Maintain - The Hood lyrics

Goin’ out to the block, come on
All the homies in front of the liquor store
Little girls jumpin’ rope
Grandmas hanging out the windows
All the hustlas tryin’ to get that dough
The whole hood walk with me

It’s the congressman, and the policeman
And the businessman, working hand in hand
And the way they play, we don’t have a chance
Gotta give my life in my own black hands
Because, I can’t take it anymore

I seen the pigs harassing this
Little kid on my block
So I stopped my car and
Jumped out like why not
What y’all doin’ to that man I’m sayin’
Them handcuffs too tight for his hands
At least pull up his pants
Undercover van jumped out on ‘im


He shoulda ran they talkin’ about they had
Something in his hand
Then them crackers tried to intimidate me
They even threatened to arrest me
But, I’m thinking to myself these
Motherfuckers can’t touch me
Plus I know my rights
And I’m lookin’ out for his
I got a right to stand on this block
This is where I live i’m stayin’ right here
Folks start crowdin’ around
Niggas at the liquor store seen
It all go down
They say police been on the creep
All this week
Doin’ sweeps grabbin’ anybody standing
On the street
And we outnumber these motherfuckers
A hundred to one
They think they can’t get it cuz they
Got a badge and a gun
But then, little man’s mom came downstairs
She was screamin’ on them crazy when
She seen her son in tears
We’ve been goin’ through this
Same bullshit for years
Livin’ in fear, you have no fuckin’ idea
What it’s like to be the prey, all day
Every day don’t want minds to grow up
And catch the same way
So I stayed until the lil’ homie
Got released on the spot
It felt good to see the hood
Push police off the block cuz the

It’s the congressman, and the policeman
And the businessman, working hand in hand
And the way they play, we don’t have a chance
Gotta give my life in my own black hands
Because, I can’t take it anymore

It was a hot day, record hot, hundred degrees
Niggas irritated and broke
Perfect for summer beef
Franklin Avenue crews
Wore wifebeaters and brews
Then my homie’s sister came through
With the bad news
Niggas threw on they shoes with
Straps ready to move
My nigga Ryder got cut because of his shoes
On Washington Avenue
Where niggas don’t like blue
And if niggas don’t know you
Then niggas don’t like you
But, I know them niggas too
Yeah they know the rules
Why I gotta come to the
Tools before we catch dues
And since I be comin’ through
I'mma see what it’s bout’
Check it out, if I see a spark
Imam put it out
By the time I arrived, it was live
The war was on
I’ve seen blazed hands into shirts
I knew where it was goin’
So I threw my hands up
Tried to reason with them soldiers
Blood was in they eyes and
They was shoulder to shoulder
That’s a nigga in jail
Not to mention another nigga up
In the white man’s hell they said
Move out the way before
Somethin’ happen to you
Call me crazy or brave
I said do what you gots to do
Yeah, we quick to retaliate when the enemy us
But when it’s pigs on the block
I don’t see nobody bust
Yeah, we quick to retaliate when the enemy us
But when it’s pigs on the block
I don’t see nobody bust word up
These are the hard facts
Time for the hood to uprise
We gotta organize ourselves
We gotta mobilize
But there can’t be no confusion
‘bout our collective solutions
If not for ourselves than for our kids
Cuz we know who our enemy is

It’s the congressman, and the policeman
And the businessman, working hand in hand
And the way they play, we don’t have a chance
Gotta give my life in my own black hands
Because, I can’t take it anymore