[Intro: Marley Marl & Guilty Simpson]
"Ladies and gentlemen— ladies and gentlemen—
We got— finest up in this motherfucker tonight"
Ode to the ghetto, yo
"Bitch!"
[Verse 1]
From the land where they hustlin' hand to hand
And the pigs rush in to jam your plans, yeap
The Ghetto—home where the sharks give loans
And if you don't pay they'll break your bones
Old school whips on rims
Dope boys blowing through chips on Timbs
You could get rich if you grind substantial
And there's a lot of dudes that's prime examples
My old neighbor had gators
Every flavor, raking that heavy paper
However, you get too rich
The boys in blue investigate ya (Ride it)
He used to have lethal trees
Now it's just P.O.'s and legal fees
But he can't be mad
The police steal, he got charged for half
[Chorus: Guilty Simpson, Rakim & The Real Roxanne]
I've traveled the world, did this and that
Been so many places, but still come back
("'It— it— it—")
My ode to the ghetto, struggle, that hustle
("'It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at")
I escaped through it
I've traveled the world, did this and that
Been so many places but still come back
My ode to the ghetto, where it ain't all fun
("'It— it— it— it— it—")
(Yes, you— you are now rocking with the best—
Now rocking with the best— uh-uh")
[Verse 2]
We used to do so much for so little
Needy hands held out when the dough trickles
They gotta eat, and if not they ain't scared of poppin' heat
You get shot for dumb shit, still I'm thankful
To see what I saw to get this angle
And understand cats don't give a fuck about another man
And the ones with the dough got the upper hand
It might not get your praise
But I love the hood where I was raised (I love it)
It made me the person I am today (Uh-huh)
And a part of every word I say (Sure)
So when I'm in spot with a blunt lit
With my homies from the hood that I run with
Dap me up and keep moving, shit
I pray for the fool that tryin' to play us on some child shit
[Chorus: Guilty Simpson & Rakim]
I've traveled the world, did this and that
Been so many places, but still come back
("'It— it— it—")
My ode to the ghetto, struggle, that hustle
("'It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at")
I escaped through it
I've traveled the world, did this and that
Been so many places but still come back
My ode to the ghetto where it ain't all fun (Aha)
("'It— it— it— it— it—")
Where I go (Yeah), where I'm from (Yeah)
("'It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at")
[Bridge]
The concrete jungle (Uh-huh), the hood, the blocks (Yeah)
The late night shootouts (Uh), the weed, the rocks (Whatever)
The evil cops (Yeah), the pimps, the whores (Uh-huh)
The drug wars, bloodshed galore
The concrete jungle (Right), the hood, the blocks (Uh-huh)
The late night shootouts (Yo), the weed, the rocks (Yeah)
The evil cops, the pimps, the whores
The drug wars, bloodshed galore
[Outro: Guilty Simpson & Rakim]
In the ghetto
"'It— it— it— it— it—"
"'It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at"
"'It— it— it— it— it—"
"'It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at"
