The Block

[Verse 1: Akua Naru]
Another block caught, crooked cops, gunshots
'Nother body dropped, Grandma waitin' at the bus stop
County jail letter in the mailbox, house shoes, the sweat socks
[?] braided heads on the porch to get that extra guap
Eviction, facin' rock bottom, pray she bounce back on top
American dream a nightmare, please make it stop
Neighbors watch, inhale, modern day dress, God slingin' rocks
Black boy, white tank top, baggy jeans, dreadlocks
Dreaming of that drop top non-stop Chinese spot
And let me get a [?] navigate liquor stores
Projects lords in vacant lots, we be the have-nots
When we have, we become what we got
Another car ride by, system knocks that new shit
Pedestrians jot, hip hop corner stay a track in the flop
The pain immaculate, watch single mothers hustle
To punch the time clock, crime a cash crop
Somebody runnin', the dime drops
Ice grills mask a kind heart
As time talks, fathers are holograms
Sons waitin' for the day to snuff Uncle Sam
Why not? No sympathy for that man
He get what he deserve, damn
I say he get what he deserve
Yeah, he get what he deserve

[Chorus]
[?]
So you keep tellin' me
[?] (Hey)
I heard my brother says
[?]
You keep tellin' me
[?]
Uh huh

[Verse 2: Akua Naru]
Another woman raped, choked, battered, body found in the attic
Contents of her purse scattered, leftover re-shattered
Clothes tattered, lipstick smeared, broken glass
No news reports on the matter, oh, nobody gathered
Nothing change, ask around ‘bout her name
Some said Tamika, some claim Loraine, the tag on the foot said Jane
I wonder who she was, did she give and receive love?
Did she fight back, or just gave up?
She laid dead, legs cold, hair gold
Framed in the child’s pose
Bruised nose, semen-stained pantyhose
Sade on the radio, [?] singin' through the window
I wonder if pain has a tempo, I bet it's slow
Streets survive, never live, then we die
Dreams deferred, glass ceiling high
Born on the wrong side, is there a right side?
Classifies our labour, sold for nickel and dime
And who decides our lives by signin' on the dotted line?
Next week, they gentrify, push us outside the city lines
Sirens frame the evening
Profiled for being non-white and breathin', walkin' the streets
Bored cops, they fiendin', probable reason
No donut shops [?] and roll up
On a couple cats, Spanish speakin'
Mexicans, what they screamin'? Puerto Ricans
They thinkin' they're all the same, fuck 'em
Blow out their brains, killin' season, it's war hour
Wish they could take us all out, let the dogs out
Niggas should be hangin' from trees, auctioned off now
Load 'em up, blast until they all down
Fire shots at full force now, we'll never see the court house

[Chorus]
[?]
So you keep tellin' me
[?] (Hey)
I heard my brother says
[?]
You keep tellin' me
[?]
Uh huh