Front Line

[ VERSE 1: DCQ ] On urbain terrain I strive to maintain Stress is strain with a whole heap of pain A lotta fuckin games that I can't seem to win I'm livin in the land of sin I close my eyes and I count to 10'000 Shit is still fucked up down in public housing Turn on the TV just to see my man on the news No job, but he had a pair of $100 shoes So I get my head ready cause I know where I'm at I got good sense and now I need a 1'000 gats Cause times in America is all out of order You gotta pay just to get good drinkin water They goin bucknuts and I ain't tryina hear it The end ain't near, it's here I stay cool in the Babylon swelter Bout to build a house with a fuckin bomb shelter Cause it's a lotta smilin faces out here and I don't trust em Muthafuckas make a wrong move and I'ma bust em I'm sleepin on the floor with my nines by the door War ain't fair, it's war Front line, muthafucka [ Mos Def ] You can never underestimate your enemy You gotta realize there's people who wake up 6 AM in the morning to jog Running for their life cause they underestimate... [ VERSE 2: Ces ] Shit in here is gettin kinda warm Muthafuckas didn't know that I had this for em I'm spittin buckshots and you could all get dropped Muthafuck a vest, I'm takin all headshots It's the great beat breaker, Brakalak jacker Dominant genes, son, it gets no blacker You're scared, bitch, as is with the style you lack I'm havin reoccurin dreams of blowin out your back So take that ( *gunshot* ) and that ( *gunshot* ) And that ( *gunshot* ) and that ( *gunshot* ) I'm as hard as it gets, you can't sit where I sat Roll with a ill crew, pack a big god jewel I ain't the bitch steady tryina get a new hairdo (Ooh) Look, you ain't gotta like it, cause shit is real I'ma say how I feel, the truth must be revealed Your eyes wide open and you still can't see Steady smokin blunts talkin bout I'm free Spend all of your time sleepin with the enemy Doin dumb shit that you seen on TV Can't get caught up in the hocus pocus Times is so hopeless, I gotta keep focus And I'ma do whatever it takes Cause shit ain't easy, but that's the breaks Times is too wild to smile I'm ready, get it on, son, you know my style Can't clown cause I'm down for mine From now to '99, frontline, muthafucka [ Mos Def ] It's no room for fear We givin these heads the respect and the credit that they don't deserve Youknowmsayin? That's why they don't respect us When we start to realize who we are Then we can clearly see who they are [ VERSE 2: Mos Def ] Originality is now a yummy soundbite Everything sounds aight but trite, but it don't sound right Treadin over urban terrain is a great source of pain But it's the path that I chose, so I can't complain If I get honory, pardon me, gems and gents I'm on a mission in the very literal fuckin sense If heads don't understand it's of no consequence Cause not everyone is worthy to hold my confidence In a world so clandestine I stand frontline ( ? ) motion and mad explosion The vision descension and massive tension Stiflin congestion and no progression I try to keep on lookin at the prize But I'm steady wipin blood out my eyes Mr. Charlie kill your pops and rape your mother Now we fuckin turn around and shoot each other? Run for cover, well that ain't a fuckin option I'm comin through head first, I ain't stoppin Suckers want beef cause I speak on these topics But don't sleep, I'm keepin heat like the tropics A full clip and my hand on my dick I'm like a muthafuckin elephant, I don't forget shit From Medgar Evers down to Emmet Till Black bodies swingin from trees outlining American hills Talk all that racism shit if you want to But white man, I don't trust you, and I will bust you Even if you try to act trife It's the M-o-s loced out for life 100 years ago you brought the rah-rah Now it's recycled in Kumbaya And I ain't goin out like a punk You say holier than thou, well you can call it what you want No slippin, I gotta stay aware I'm too prepared to be steppin out scared Brothers' eyes are watchin, can't go out like a sucker Mos Def is in another frontline muthafuckas [ Mos Def ] Victory is the only choice There's no other alternative but victory And the only way to be victorious is to understand your enemy You have to understand that they're fighting to survive But we are fighting to live They're fighting for something totally different The differences are great And we have to realize that their time is up And if they're desperate... A desperate enemy should not be hard-pressed because he has nothing to lose And he will take you to hell with him So you either to win or you fight to die Fight to win or you fight to die