911 Is a Joke Lyrics

[Chorus]
So get up, get, get, get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown
So get up get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown

[Interlude]
911 is a joke
911 is a joke

[Verse 2: Flavor Flav]
Everyday they don't never come correct
You can ask my man right here with the broken neck
He's a witness to the job never being done
He would've been in full effect
But late 911 was a joke cause they only joking
They the token to your life when it's croaking
They need to be in a pawn shop on a
911 is a joke we don't want 'em
I call a cab cause a cab will come quicker
The doctors huddle up and call a flea flicker
Reason why I say that cause they flick you off like fleas
They be laughing at you while you're crawling on your knees
And to the strength so go the length
Thinkin' you are first when you really are tenth
You better wake up and smell the real flavor
Cause 911 is a fake life saver

[Chorus]
So get up get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown
So get up get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown

[Interlude]
Ahh, (911 is a joke) ahh (Ahh)
Ahh, Flavor Flav says Ahh
Ahh, ahh, (911 is a joke) ahh (Ahh)
Ahh, ahh (911 is a joke)

[Chorus]
So get up get, get get down (911 is a joke)
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown (911 is a joke)
So get up get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town (911 is a joke)
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown (911 is a joke)
[Outro]
"Somebody call an ambulance!"
(911 is a joke)
"There's not a minute to spare"
"Don't worry"
"Somebody call an ambulance!"
(911 is a joke)

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About

Genius Annotation

This solo Flavor Flav track playfully tackles the deathly-subpar response of the 911 hotline to medical emergency calls in poor, Black communities.

Writing for The Grio, David A. Love references the song a few times on his retrospective commentary about 911’s response times, observing that:

The song’s themes resonated with poor, black and Latino communities who often are victims of crime but are not properly served by emergency responders when they are in need… So, is 911 really still a joke? Apparently yes, two and a half decades later. But in Far Rockaway, nobody’s laughing, only crying. As the song says, there’s not a minute to spare.

“911 Is A Joke” reached number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and number 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, becoming Public Enemy’s second number-one rap chart hit as of June 1990 after “Fight the Power.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Public Enemy say about "911 Is a Joke"?
Genius Answer

“911 Is A Joke” was said to have been inspired by a stabbing incident Flavor Flav’s friend in junior high school experienced in Freeport, Long Island, intimating in an interview with VladTV that:

Back in those days, 911 was like a brand new system and they (were) supposed to show up in… like, 9 minutes… We called 911, and it took them about, maybe 25-30 minutes to come. By the time 911 got there, the guy slipped into a coma. When they put him on the ambulance and they was tryin' to work on him on his way to the hospital, he died.

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