Respiration

[Intro] "What'd you do last night?" "We did umm, two whole cars It was me, Dez, and Main Three right? And on the first car in small letters it said 'All you see is..' and then you know Big, big, you know some block silver letters That said '..crime in the city' right?" "It just took up the whole car?" "Yeah yeah, it was a whole car and shit..." Escúchela.. la ciudad respirando [Verse 1: Mos Def] The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis Shining, like who on top of this? People was tussling, arguing and bustling Gangstas of Gotham hardcore hustling I'm wrestling with words and ideas My ears is pricked, seeking what will transmit The scribes can apply to transcript, yo This ain't no time where the usual is suitable Tonight alive, let's describe the inscrutable The indisputable, we New York the narcotic Draped in metal and fiber optics Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets Hard knuckles on the second hands of working class watches Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living is preposterous Stay alive, you play or die, no options,no Batman and Robin Can't tell between the cops and the robbers, they both partners, they all heartless With no conscience, back streets stay darkened Where unbeliever hearts stay hardened My eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbing You either make a way or stay sobbing The shiny Apple is bruised but sweet and if you choose to eat You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat Nightly news repeat, who got shot down and locked down Spotlight to savages, NASDAQ averages My narrative rose to explain this existence Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance [Hook] So much on my mind that I can't recline Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline Heard the bass ride out like an ancient mating call I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathing Chest heaving, against the flesh of the evening Sigh before we die like the last train leaving [Verse 2: Talib Kweli] Breathin in deep city breaths, sittin on shitty steps We stoop to new lows, hell froze the night the city slept The beast crept through concrete jungles Communicatin with one another And ghetto birds where waters fall From the hydrants to the gutters The beast walk the beats, but the beats we be makin You on the wrong side of the track, lookin visibly shaken Taken them plungers, plungin to death that's painted by the numbers With Krylon applied pressure, cats is playin God By havin children by a lesser baby mother but fuck it We played against each other like puppets, swearin you got pull When the only pull you got is the wool over your eyes Gettin knowledge in jail like a blessing in disguise Look in the skies for God, what you see besides the smog Is broken dreams flying away on the wings of the obscene Thoughts that people put in the air Places where you could get murdered over a glare But everything is fair It's a paradox we call reality So keepin it real will make you casualty of abnormal normality Killers Born Naturally like, Mickey and Mallory Not knowing the ways'll get you capped like an NBA salary Some cats be emceeing to illustrate what we be seeing Hard to be a spiritual being when shit is shakin what you believe in For trees to grow in Brooklyn, seeds need to be planted I'm asking if y'all feel me and the crowd left me stranded My blood pressure boiled and rose, cause New York niggas Actin spoiled at shows, to the winners the spoils go I take the L, transfer to the 2, head to the gates New York life type trife the Roman Empire state [Hook] [Spanish speaking woman] Escuchela.. respirando ?? [Verse 3: Common] Yo...on The Amen, Corner I stood lookin at my former hood Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it Mixin down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered I choreograph seven steps to heaven In hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leaven Veteran of a cold war It's Chica-I-go for What I know or, what's known So some days I take the bus home, just to touch home From the crib I spend months gone Sat by the window with a clutched dome listenin to shorties cuss long Young girls with weak minds, but they butt strong Tried to call, or at least beep the Lord, but didn't have a touch-tone It's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush on Some of this land I must own Outta the city, they want us gone Tearin down the 'jects creatin plush homes My circumstance is between Cabrini and Love Jones Surrounded by hate, yet I love home Ask my guy how he thought travellin the world sound Found it hard to imagine he hadn't been past downtown It's deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleep Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep Deep, I heard my man breathe in his sleep Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep [Hook: Mos Def and Crew]