Black Eyed Peas - Street livin

Str^Bmeets, streets Livin' ^Bmin the streets

^Bm Street livin', caught in the trap ^Bm Guns or books, sell crack or rap ^Bm Be like kings or be like pawns They c^Bmalled us coons, now they call us cons ^Bm Street niggas be packing pistols ^Bm Terrorists be blasting missiles ^Bm Crips and Bloods and retail thugs ^BmCIA planes bring Colombian drugs in

N.C.

Don't push me 'cause I'm close to hell

N.C.

The teachers in my neighborhood can hardly spell

N.C.

And compare to them, prison guards get paid well

N.C.

Ten years no bail is 4 years at Yale

N.C.

So, forget about the statue of General Lee

N.C.

Because the status of blacks are generally

N.C.

Gonna end up in some penitentiary

N.C.

Systematically, that's how they made it to be Listen, t^Bmhey derailed the soul train And p^Bmut a nightmare in every Martin Luther King And pr^Bmivatized prisons are owned by the same Sl^Bmave masters that owned the slave trade game And r^Bmacists no longer have to be racist 'Cause n^Bmiggas kill more niggas than the KKK did ^Bm Now, every time I hear a new def jam

N.C.

Niggas killing niggas like they Ku Klux Klan

N.C.

I understand what's a nigga to choose?

N.C.

Be the killer or be the dead dude in the news

N.C.

I get it, what's a nigga to do?

N.C.

No education in the hood got a nigga confused

^Bm Street livin', tough conditions ^Bm Brainwashed by the television ^Bm We lost in the world we live in D^Bmouble cross love lost no religion ^Bm Street livin', oh my gosh An^Bmother brother got shot by the searg' An^Bmother cop got off with no charge ^BmIf you black in the hood, you at large ^BmYou're guilty until you prove you're innocent If y^Bmou're ivory, they treat you different If y^Bmou're ebony, they assume your temperament Will b^Bme vigilant and they call you militant And y^Bmou'll get shot and they'll say the incident Is 'c^Bmause you're belligerent, what a coincidence? ^Bm Born and bred but you're still an immigrant

N.C.

And if you ain't dead, you can see imprisonment

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

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