See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

Ayo, the sun still shinin’, earth still spinnin’

Poor still grindin’, rich still winnin’

Imagine that, another day, another merger

One step further towards takin’ this rat race

But, while we make false starts and don’t finish it

They built more Walmarts and small business get swept aside

Like dirt off the floor, headquarters offshore

Young kids off to war, that’s if you’re poor

Big biz like Juice Crew, honest work doesn’t pay like it used to

Man, so we do what we can, shop for bargains

They outsource and expand profit margins

And mark down what they already marked up

And leave town when the heat gets sparked up

So good jobs make the exodus to poor countries where they make even less than us

****, if you was the richest cat, bona fide aristocrat, kicked it with diplomats

You smile and tip your hat, lyin’ an’ tit for tat, if you could buy this and that

You wouldn’t switch it back, now would you?

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

Ayo, the rope still swingin’, the door still shuttin’

The bell still ringin’, kids still cuttin’, go figure

Everyday the gap grows bigger and you wonder why they pullin’ those triggers man

What you expect? It must be a hell of a lot

Some kids surrounded by drugs, whether they sell ‘em or not

But they ain’t got brand-new laptop computers and they ain’t got the money for a tutor

So they learn geometry by studying angles on every corner

An’ chemistry class is makin’ that pot warmer

So if pop warner doesn’t lead to a scholly

They prolly ain’t goin’ to college (no)

And now the system really only about preppin’ for tests

And they invest more in the schools reppin’ the best

Of course poor schools get less with time

And they callin’ that No Child Left Behind

But see, schools are still really segregated

And poor people still miseducated

So if one half of black kids live below the poverty line

Fact is they probably lyin’

But they ain’t losin’ no sleep, no toss and turnin’

And keep raisin’ that cost of learnin’

I guess it’s still crosses burnin’

Watch how they fan them flames, understand them thangs

It’s why:

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

Ayo, the bombs still droppin’, Snoop still crippin’

Guns still poppin’, scales still tippin’

You don’t say? See these kids don’t play, but they all justified in they own way

Cause if jobs don’t pay and schools don’t teach

Ain’t a whole lot within reach

You either catch a case, catch wreck, catch alley-oops

Catch a ride to the spot where they rally troops

Or you go an’ get your own recruits, if you catch my drift

Givin’ them fiends that extra lift

So hustlers cook rocks, accountants cook books

I figure the bigger the crime, the bigger the crook

Look, this song ain’t about crack per se

It used to be about moonshine back in the day

Now kids smoke M E T H O D, man

So really it’s an OG plan

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)

See, gangsters sell crack, kids get held back

Wages fell flat, now if you felt that

Say when (when, when, when)

Say when (when, when, when)