Prison

[Intro] {Mumia Abu-Jamal]: Slavery is back. In fact it was never abolished. The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery. Except in prison At. The current rate of incarceration. By the year 2010 the majority of all African American men between 18 and 40 will be in prison. The State as their captor It's gonna take people who are willing to fight Not people who wanna negotiate with the enemy Prison, prison, prison, prison [Verse One] [Brother J]: The pits of life contain men Where reform and discipline unlabeled enslaved men From rights of passage to stacking arraignments To sporting the iron bars disgracing the pavements It's just like cavemen from the pages of myth Cohabiting in darkness while we wallow in filth Generations of jewels who trickle down to abyss As blood stains these prisons like the pyramid glyphs Guilty or innocent agents of government Treat our hoods like pickin grounds (schools to tenements) All sag in uniform as thugs they represent Racial stereotypes a profile for the oppressed When you witness genocide everyday you get the hint That the ghettos are cold like a lab experiment As young women and men street hustle before they're ten Graduating from juvenile halls then up the river to the Prison, prison, prison, prison (Christian Scott solo) [Hook] [Brother J]L Fear and oppression plague generation next The house of regret locks down our street vets Regroup and repair we lost sight of our mission With honor we ride for justice we must remain out the Prison, prison, prison, prison (Christian Scott solo) [Brother J]: We trade wisdom for greed, we trade light for wealth Fools wait for lock down to find knowledge of self I bang hard on the left I never fiend for cream If you borrow you owe it, if you take it you know you're goin to the prison [Verse Two] [Brother J]: The penalty for criminal states If you're herb or bird man you're steady runnin from jakes I circle with street soldiers that build and plant stakes Free the land from Babylon my skills educate In these United Snakes cause there's no debate With these restrictions of law makes us communists of hate New world of new focus the streets need to deal with new purpose The eldership is lacking the cirus of guidance it's deep The prison state of mind will have you dead in the street yelling P.I.M.P If you're stressed fake playa cards to rest Tell youths to stay in school research and manifest Avoid Slave ways from the whip to the gauge From streets to the cage we stand judged cloak and dagger Let twelve heads decide if you keep you're street swagger Or be between bars as this crazed world gets madder Come and heed funkin' lesson wise dome the mad hatter Rock an onk off my dome cause I deal with life matters It's straight genocide of my people and what's sadder We bake devil's pie and put our heads in the batter Prison, prison, prison, prison