Brooklyn Public Part 1

It's dedicated to Bed-Stuy It's representing of Brownsville It's representing of Bushwick It's dedicated to Fort Greene A matter fact I hold Brooklyn Or better yet the whole New York Or better yet the whole America It's going out to all Worldwide [ Refrain ] Welcome to Brooklyn Public One of the hardest places to work So please don't apply Unless you really love it It's nine to five or rather eight to three It's really five to nine, A to P If it's your job place nothing above it You make more in other places With higher property tax and less faces But if that's what you covet You ought to ask yourself if this is where you want to be To help you by I'll try to paint a picture of it One class, 31 students, 32 chairs, 25 desks I guess they gotta share 19 textbooks and most are missing pages Junior high: three grades, but six different ages Teaches and janitors double as deans Deans double as security guards and crime scene investigators Older teachers need respirators. At elevators The bad odors from the back stairs are made of Gutter (garshavegas?) used condoms and puddles of piss Try not to slip there in a fire drill Every now and then a scandal might reach the paper For every story, there's thirty in the category Hard work and progress are on display in the hallways Demoralized and vandalized every day Lessons cut short to prep for tests that only test how well you prep Man, no wonder why the score's a mess Knuckle-heads begging for detention or suspension Truthfully told, they really only crave attention Some kids showing up unprepared and dirty Cause their parents gotta punch in by seven thirty Shit, some other parents seven thirty They put the wrong kids on pills to be still Fiending for refills Principals with no principles Priorities political Pedagogical planning is pitiful Low on tolerance, high on ridicule Even the infirmary's inhospitable Assembly required Metal detectors seeming unjust but inspired by shots fired Terms like zero-tolerance and lock-down Aging out, if you ask me, does not sound Like education But I suppose that's a cause and effect' When the city spends more on incarceration [ Refrain ] Grown-up, roam the halls with me So many characters Some sweet some shifty Some loud some quiet Some trusting, some don't buy it - don't try it Some'll try to squash beef and some start riots Some are motivated some are lazy Some are geniuses some are crazy The line between is hazy Some'll love you some'll hate you Some'll need you some'll spite you Some are thankful, some are ungrateful Yo, some are there and really care About what's being learned and taught They fought through it when they got stuck Some are there 'till the bell rings Run through the day without thinking Cause they really don't give a fuck Some'll run some'll fight Some'll tell, some might change the world Some are early to the grave or jail Some are so complicated, some are so simple Some are students, some are teachers Some are principals [ Refrain ] Come upstairs, keep roaming the halls with me Some many characters, some sweet some shifty Like I said, some are complicated some are simple Some are students, some are teachers Some are principals The littlest thugs walk like they are invincible Comical, just look at little Dexter Yo, he got the type of Napoleon complex to Step in front of Devon, twice his size, just to get him vexed but Devon's a gentle giant Thirteen, five foot eleven His mom's a nurse and his dad's a reverend Every now and then he gets irreverent...