Pete Rock, C.L. Smooth - Ghettos of the Mind lyrics

Ghetto of the Mind

I catch a body at a party
Sort of herbal with the verbal
Look above and see the vultures
Fly around in a circle
Baggin' while you're lollygaggin', raggin'
Tow taggin'
Assassin with the millimeter roars
Of a dragon here stood the black hood
Thirsty for the end
And for the love of money, kind of funny
New friends
Public housing, a thousand in a tent
So I'm forced to sell hell
Just to pay the rent
Killin' my own people, I put 'em out of order
Just like the liquor store
Scene on every corner
I'm tryin' but the kids keep cryin'
And the bullets keep flyin'
Look, a boy, he's on the curb just dyin'
Finally the cops come dumb to the slum
Pull out a gun and arrest the wrong one
Wax all the Puerto Ricans and blacks
So they can never relax
I dwell, might as well learn the facts
Pete Rock and CL can radio a shack up
Sparkin' off and have 'em
All callin' for backup
"Watch another crime and you're
Gonna do time" all this you'll find in the
Ghettos of the mind

Ain't that somethin'?

Listen to cats and rough rats
War under the window
When the ghetto forts flurry
Never was a Tom and Jerry
Livin' ain't cheap, my survival is deep
In this part of town where
The city never sleep a Barney Miller roller
You can bet the car's stolen
Or static with your BM
Only when you see them
Speakin' on your baby's mom
A best for the drama
Always tryin' to make a movie
Little stark ravin' looney stressin' it
But you know the ghetto keep ya busy
A place that when I die it
Would never even miss me
Crack phials in the aisles as one pimp smiles
Dope piles workin' hookers by the miles
But still my pop's got three jobs to stable
A family household and food on the table
So as we pray for all our souls to keep
Somebody's on the project roof, ready to leap
I want to stop the pain or the bad situation
But backwards wisdom I can't
Afford to give 'em
Self savior is much braver
With the conscious behavior
Designed in the ghettos of the mind

Ain't that somethin'? yeah, c'mon

It's like that y'all

I could never look forward
To an early retirement
But still I maintain in a hostile environment
Hustlin' the concrete jungle for loot
My parents hated blood money so
They gave me the boot
Take a risk cause the peer
Pressure has the edge
It was a blessin' when I saw
My life dangle on the ledge
The streets coulda swallowed me whole
But the pain was all gone when I
Got to see my healthy son born
And now I bring him home to the ghetto
Only to make a stronger fellow
Maybe do some good for the neighborhood
It's hard playing hero livin'
Less than a zero raging Bull like DeNiro
The modern day pharaoh
A concentration camp with the Section 8
Welfare checks given at a monthly rate
Apply for the get high, or just plain lazy
Many steady collect right around
The fifth baby
The hawk is out but the niggas never pack it
A hundred dollar sneakers with
The skimpy-ass jacket
When people are deaf, dumb
And blind they get left behind
Imagine in the ghettos of the mind