Ghetto Show Lyrics

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
If lyrics sold, then truth be told
I'd probably be just as rich and famous as JAY-Z

Truthfully I wanna rhyme like common sense
Next best thing I do a record with Common Sense

Cause it's the music, the blues, it's the jazz, it's acoustics
Soul, Rock and Roll, the hip-hop that we producin', yea

It's the gear, it's the flare, it's the stare
Nowadays they'll shoot you where they used to shoot the fair
Remember lost soldiers, pour a beer, shoot the air
We got our own elected officials, no matter who the mayor
I know you know what I'm talking about
From New York to the South, take off your shoes when you walk in the house

[Refrain: Anthony Hamilton]
Whatever's in your heart is where you want to be
My hood is the ghetto
Even when you look it's never what you see
My hood is the ghetto
I've been down before up is just a reach
Cause my hood is the ghetto
Catch a second wind then begin again
My hood is the ghetto


[Verse 3: Talib Kweli]
Yo, I grew up where they're playin' skelly in the parking lot
And sell paintings of Aaliyah, B.I.G. and Pac up in the barbershop
Buildings too big so you don't really see the stars a lot
But rappin', drinkin', and goin' to prison you see them bars a lot
I feel the spirit in the dark and hear it in my heart
And always keep my ears to the block till I dearly depart
Hip-hop is really the art
We have to express the part of ourselves that make us want to martyr ourselves
It ain't harder to tell when somebody stick you up and put the hammer to you
They want them dead presidents like stic.man and Mutulu
With a gun to your jaw, these kids don't run anymore
Kicks is a hundred or more

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Genius Annotation

This song samples “Wait” by Earth, Wind & Fire. It’s also one of just a handful of songs that these two renowned lyricists have collaborated on – an excellent track to say the least.

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Release Date
September 28, 2004
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