Hardcore Nights

(Man, I am ready Are y'all ready to get down? Boy, I cannot wait to blow my horn in here tonight) [ Mos Def, (Ces) ] Ha Geah Shit is real (Hardcore nights in the city) Word up, don't be out here slippin You might not get up (Hardcore nights in the city) Times is rough And if it ain't rough it ain't right (Hardcore nights in the city) So let's it get set tight (Everybody's creepy) Like this... [ VERSE 1: Mos Def ] First and foreMost, from the East Coast We got it in a smash, so it's no need to boast Bogart your block with the Brakalak bop 'll have your whole mass yellin out (Don't stop!) This is the way it is and how it must get (done) To make the engines run like a fat trust fund And send you all off to the record store strollin For the raw boom that have your speakers swollen Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's (sleepy), everybody's (creepy) Stay on the top since I can't be slouchin Too many heads crawlin, too many creeps (crouchin) And when I slide by, I glide by Easy, pa, this ain't no drive-by So relax the lines in your face Ease your hands off your waist Unless you gonna pull out somethin you can taste Cause straight up, you gon' be eatin it Whatever assault you form, I'm defeatin it Abusin, confusin and beatin it Son, I know about these streets and shit Don't test me I don't let time stress me Remain on the even kill, I'm in the realm of the real Times across the land is gettin Steelier than Dan And I be damned if I let any man disturb the program Punks go on with they curb curb all sincere When their straight line's the crookest way anywhere So don't be swayed by these fools Live your life right, baby pa, you know the rules Never ever show disrespect to a gee If it ain't in your heart, don't do it for free Never sit nowhere where you can't see And don't go nowhere where you ain't gotta be And that's from Mos to you, on the real Be alert out here, before your cap get peeled And for all y'all herbs that be scopin One eye rest while the other one's wide open [ Chorus: Ces, (Mos Def) ] Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's sleepy, everybody's creepy (Word up, ain't nobody sleepin) Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's sleepy, everybody's creepy (Better get ruff and ready) [ VERSE 2: Ces ] Hardcore nights in the city, I'm not feelin sleepy I'm feelin kinda creepy Straight from Medina, yo, my shit is meaner Than any new gee that you heard or even seen-ah It's 2 AM, I'm hoppin on the D Nobody else on the platform except me Some kids comin down the stairs Actin iller, but I ain't scared I'm prepared, kids can get stupid if they want I roll up the bomb and serve them they fronts Don't mistake me for a vic just cause I'm a female I don't got a pump, I don't wear the Lee nails So 'press on' and you get pushed on the tracks This ain't romper room, you better learn how to act Before I take my trey-eight to your door So "Yo chill, everything cool sweetheart" - yeah, I thought so Times is too critical and shit is too real Before long I have to peel with my steel To y'all muthafuckin herbs that be trippin Y'all better watch your muthafuckin back cause I ain't slippin [ Chorus: Ces, (Mos Def) ] (Word up) Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's sleepy, everybody's creepy (Shit is too critical It's too late in the day to be playin around) Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's sleepy, everybody's creepy (Word up, aight?) [ VERSE 3: DCQ ] Well I'm cruisin in the Path down Atlantic Ave Brothers wanna scope but they don't know the half A punk step up, I'ma have to blow the staff And show him I'm the master of the science and the math It's so many thugs creepin on the daily (Yo, we caught just his head up the block) Word really? I just maintain and stay cool like the breeze ( ? ) fuckin thieves Now we're approachin Eastern Parkway Some brothers on the corner just lookin like they wanna Reach for they gats and twist they caps back Yeah, I pack my steels too, but I ain't livin like that (Beep beep) goes my pager, yo, let's stop at this bodega So I make this call and get somethin to drink I hop out the ride, go step inside I see some heads to my left with they eyes all wide I pay it no mind cause I see it all the time (Don't be fooled by the shades) don't mean I'm blind I got a water and a stoge, a quarter for the phone Yeah, it's my d callin to let me know she's home I tell her that I love her and I sign off with a kiss I hear a ( *tires screeching, gunshots* ) hey yo, what the fuck is this? The guns rode by and at the blink of an eye They was dead where they stand, what a fuckin way to die Damn, I guess that's how shit be If I was standin over there, it coulda been me Either dead or badly fuckin hurt That's why I stay on a-fuckin-lert Out here in the streets [ Chorus: Ces (repeated) ] Hardcore nights in the city Nobody's sleepy, everybody's creepy [ Mos Def ] Word up A very, very critical time Don't be out here slippin You might not get up Word up Don't be sleepin You might not get up This is another Urban service announcement from the UTD Be alert out here before your cat get peeled Word up Be alert out here before your cat get peeled Word up Be alert out here before your cat get peeled If you're in Brooklyn Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're troopin Uptown Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're in DC Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're in South Central Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're in Atlanta Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're in Chicago Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're in South Florida Be alert out there before your cat get peeled If you're anywhere be alert Be alert out here before your cap get peeled And that's on the real Givin you shit that you can feel The UTD for the nine-for Another Urban Dynasty, word up