Mathematics

[Produced by DJ Premier]

[Intro]
Bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka, haha!
You know the deal; it's just me, yo
Beats by Su-Primo for all of my people, Negroes and Latinos
And even the gringos

[Verse 1]
Yo, check it
1 for Charlie Hustle, 2 for Steady Rock
3 for the forth-comin' live future shock
It's 5 dimensions, 6 senses
7 firmaments of heaven and hell
8 million stories to tell
9 planets faithfully keepin' orbit, with the probable 10th
The universe expands length
The body of my text possess extra strength
Power-lift the powerless up out of this towering inferno
My ink so hot, it burn through the journal
I'm blacker than midnight on Broadway & Myrtle
Hip-Hop passed all your tall social hurdles
Like the nationwide projects-prison-industry complex
Working-class poor — better keep your alarm set
Streets too loud to ever hear freedom ring
Say evacuate your sleep, it's dangerous to dream
For ch-ching, cats get the "Cha-pow!" — you dead now
Killing fields need blood to graze the cash cow
It's a numbers game, but shit don't add up somehow
Like I got 16 to 32 bars to rock it
But only 15% of profits ever see my pockets
Like $69 billion in the last 20 years
Spent on national defense, but folks still live in fear
Like nearly half of America's largest cities is one-quarter black
That's why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack
16 ounces to a pound, 20 more to a ki
A 5 minute sentence hearing and you no longer free
40% of Americans own a cell phone
So they can hear everythin' that you say when you ain't home
I guess Michael Jackson was right — you are not alone
Rock your hardhat, black, 'cause you in the Terrordome
Full of hard niggas, large niggas, dice-tumblers
Young teens and prison greens facin' life numbers
Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients
Young bloods can't spell, but they could rock you at PlayStation
This New Math is whippin' motherfuckers' ass
You wanna know how to rhyme? You better learn how to add
It's mathematics

[Hook]
"The Mighty Mos Def"
"It's simple mathematics"
"Check it out"
"I revolve around science"
"What are we talking about here?"
"The Mighty Mos Def"
"It's simple mathematics"
"Check it out"
"I revolve around science"
"What are we talking about here?"
"Do your math, do your math"
"1, 2, 3, 4"
"What are we talking about here?"

[Verse 2]
Yo, it's 1 universal law, but 2 sides to every story
3 strikes and you biddin' for life, mandatory
4 MC's murdered in the last 4 years
I ain't tryin' to be the 5th when the millennium is here
Yo, it's 6 million ways to die from the 7 deadly thrills
8-year-olds gettin' found with 9mils
It's 10PM, where your seeds at? What's the deal?
He on the hill pumpin' krills to keep they bellies filled
Light in the ass with heavy steel, sights on the pretty shit in life
Young soldiers tryin' to earn they next stripe
When the average minimum wage is $5.15
You best believe you gotta find a new grind to get C.R.E.A.M
The white unemployment rate is nearly more than triple for black
Some front-liners got they gun in your back
Bubblin' crack, jewel theft and robbery to combat poverty
And end up in the global jail economy
Stiffer stipulations attached to each sentence
Budget cutbacks, but increased police presence
And even if you get out of prison still livin'
Join the other 5 million under state supervision
This is bidness; no faces, just lines and statistics
From your phone, your Zip Code, to SSI digits
The system break man, child and women into figures
2 columns for "Who is" and "Who ain't" niggas
Numbers is hard and real and they never have feelings
But you push too hard, even numbers got limits
Why did one straw break the camel's back?
Here's the secret — the million other straws underneath it
It's all mathematics

[Hook]
"The Mighty Mos Def"
"It's simple mathematics"
"Check it out"
"I revolve around science.."
"What are we talking about here?"
"The Mighty Mos Def"
"It's simple mathematics"
"Check it out"
"I revolve around science.."
"What are we talking about here?"
"Do your math, do your math"
"1, 2, 3, 4"
"What are we talking about here?"

[Outro]
(Mathematics, mathematics, mathematics...)