Good morning, but this ain’t Vietnam
We ain’t the Viet Cong but we get armed
And move through the belly that the beast has spawned
The feast is on, police gon feed upon
Every one of us, that’s why we keep the heaters on
And walk this way, like I got Adidas on
But I ain’t Run,
Muhammad Ali, the don
I stand strong for my freedom like a Cimarron
a cimarón, it’s me, Rico Pabón again
still in the battle that I know I was born to win
against a system that was born in sin and formed against
the east, south, north and west
African and indigenous people can attest
to the fact that being brown or Black means you under arrest no matter how you dress, how you put it KRS?
And if you fight back they put a hole in your chest
And they just ride around all smug
Short fuse, quick to blow like they high on drugs
never low on their supply on slugs they keep blastin’
God complex, cold soul of an assassin
With they guns cocked, lookin for some action
Treat us any kind of way to get a reaction
It’s asinine to think that they won’t keep attackin
And then get off like nothing happened
Here in America
War in the streets of America
And this ain’t 1492
Still keepin our eyes open for Columbus and his crew
Cuz it’s true, we never know just what he’s gonna do
He could pull up, pull out and then you’re through, bid you adieu Ain’t nothing new cuz it’s the same game often
Take your face off, closed case and closed coffin
Tape the place off, no questions, no crossing
Traced in grey chalk, the stage is so common
the rage, the pain is a plague and the press has no comment makes me wanna vomit
makes me wanna holler
the way they do
again and again, it’s a déjà vu
so I say “I do”, I’m married to,
the struggle like I’m Fela Kuti in ‘72
I’m spittin heavenly dew, a remedy to what the enemy do It’s my destiny and legacy to
Put some truth on a beat, let it speak to the streets
‘til we all get free and it becomes obsolete
to talk liberation, til then it’s no patience
my only motivation’s to crack the foundation
of this house that was built on the blood of the innocent where your skin color determines if you a citizen
and common folk are told to be vigilant
a civil war is imminent
here in America
War in the streets of America
And we keep screaming revolution
Cuz every other day we see a public execution, no lie
Watch it on facebook live or youtube
A million views when a Black man dies
And no answer to why cuz it’s no reason
Just a demon gone hunting and guess who’s in season
on the Earth
When you’re marked for death since your birth
There’s no justice served cuz your life has no worth
Not at all
We livin behind the eight ball
Racism’s as American as apple pie and baseball
Kill em all that’s the protocol
Don’t ever stall, keep it moving like a waterfall
And don’t worry, you won’t face a jury
The judge is the king of the court like Steph Curry
You won’t see the killer cop’s future looking blurry
Cuz even if they do catch a case they’ll be acquitted in a hurry
War in the streets of America...
UK label Def Pressé taps legendary New York hip-hop producer Blockhead for the fifth installment of their KPM Crate Diggers series. Bandcamp New & Notable May 5, 2024
