Street Livin'

Album: Single release only (2018)
Play Video
  • Streets, streets
    Livin' in the streets

    Street livin', caught in the trap
    Guns or books, sell crack or rap
    Be like kings or be like pawns
    They called us coons, now they call us cons
    Street niggas be packing pistols
    Terrorists be blasting missiles
    Crips and Bloods and retail thugs
    CIA planes bring Colombian drugs in
    Don't push me 'cause I'm close to hell
    The teachers in my neighborhood can hardly spell
    And compare to them, prison guards get paid well
    Ten years no bail is 4 years at Yale
    So, forget about the statue of General Lee
    Because the status of Blacks are generally
    Gonna end up in some penitentiary
    Systematically, that's how they made it to be
    Listen, they derailed the soul train
    And put a nightmare in every Martin Luther King
    And privatized prisons are owned by the same
    Slave masters that owned the slave trade game
    And racists no longer have to be racist
    'Cause niggas kill more niggas than the KKK did
    Now, every time I hear a new def jam
    Niggas killing niggas like they Ku Klux Klan
    I understand what's a nigga to choose?
    Be the killer or be the dead dude in the news
    I get it, what's a nigga to do?
    No education in the hood got a nigga confused

    Street livin', tough conditions
    Brainwashed by the television
    We lost in the war we live in
    Double cross, love lost, no religion
    Street livin', oh my gosh
    Another brother got shot by the searg'
    Another cop got off with no charge
    If you black in the hood, you at large
    You're guilty until you prove you're innocent
    If you're ivory, they treat you different
    If you're ebony, they assume your temperament
    Will be vigilant and they call you militant
    And you'll get shot and they'll say the incident
    Is 'cause you're belligerent, what a coincidence?
    Born and bred but you're still an immigrant
    And if you ain't dead, you can see imprisonment

    There's more niggas in the prisons than there ever was slaves cotton picking
    There's more niggas that's rotting in the prisons than there ever was slaves cotton picking
    So, how we gon' get up out the trap?
    Guns or books, sell crack or rap
    Street livin', hustle or hoops
    Guns or books, get shot or shoot

    Street livin', ain't no rules
    Break the law, make the breakin' news
    The life you choose could be the life you lose
    Niggas getting stuck for the Nike shoes
    Street livin', ain't no joke
    It's a cold world, better bring your coat
    Revoke 'cause the streets are broke
    And now they wanna take away our dreams and hopes
    Street livin', no economics
    No way out of the Reaganomics
    Infected by the black plague, new bubonic
    No comprende, we speak ebonics
    Street livin', what's your position?
    You can take action or take a dick and listen
    You can get fucked by the system
    Or you can say "fuck the system" Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Louris of The Jayhawks

Gary Louris of The JayhawksSongwriter Interviews

The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.

Vince Clarke

Vince ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.