Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Ghettos of the Mind Lyrics

Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind
Ghetto of the mind

Uh-huh, once again
Back to attack
C.L. Smooth
Talkin' 'bout the ghetto, yeah
Ghetto of the mind
Let me hear what you got, come on

I catch a body at a party, sort of herbal with the verbal (uh)
Look above and see the vultures fly around in a circle (woo, yeah)
Baggin' while you're lollygaggin', raggin', toe-taggin' (what?)
Assassin with the millimeter roars of a dragon (yeah)
Here stood the black hood, thirsty for the end (uh-huh)
And for the love of money, kind of funny, new friends
Public housing, a thousand in a tent (uh)
So I'm forced to sell hell just to pay the rent (yeah)
Killin' my own people, I put 'em out of order (what? Uh)
Just like the liquor store scene on every corner (uh)
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 (uh)
Pull out a gun and arrest the wrong one
Wax all the Puerto Ricans and Blacks
So they can never relax (woo)
I dwell, might as well learn the facts
Pete Rock and C.L. can radio a shack up (uh-huh)
Sparkin' off and have 'em all callin' for backup (say what?)
"Watch another crime and you're gonna do time" (yeah)
All this you'll find in the ghettos of the mind

Ain't that somethin'? Come on
Ah, yeah
Come on
It's like that, uh
Yeah
Come on

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 (what?)
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 you busy (yeah)
A place that when I die it would never even miss me (miss me)
Crack vials in the aisles as one pimp smiles
Dope piles workin' hookers by the miles (that's right)
But still my pop's got three jobs to stable (yeah)
A family household and food on the table (woo)
So as we pray for all our souls to keep (yeah)
Somebody's on the project roof, ready to leap (woo)
I want to stop the pain or the bad situation (uh-huh)
But backwards wisdom I can't afford to give 'em (yeah)
Self-savior is much braver with the conscious behavior
Designed in the ghettos of the mind

Ain't that somethin'? Yeah, c'mon
Yeah, come on
Come on, come on, come on
Yeah, uh

The funky break
Uh, yeah, the funky break
The flow
Come on

I could never look forward to an early retirement
But still I maintain in a hostile environment (yeah)
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 (uh)
The streets coulda swallowed me whole
But the pain was all gone when I got to see my healthy son born (uh)
And now I bring him home to the ghetto
Only to make a stronger fellow (woo)
Maybe do some good for the neighborhood (yeah)
It's hard playing hero livin' less than a zero (uh-huh)
Raging Bull like DeNiro, the modern-day pharaoh (yeah)
A concentration camp with the Section 8
Welfare checks given at a monthly rate
Apply for the get high or just plain lazy (uh)
Many steady collect right around the fifth baby (uh)
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 (left behind)
Imagine in the ghettos of the mind (ghettos of the mind)

Come on
Yeah, uh
That's right, come on
The ghetto
Talkin' from the ghetto, yeah
The ghetto