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 C.L. 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 flarey, 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'? 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 niggaz 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