I was born and raised in the city of hate
Only way to get away was to dig in the crates
Outside the basement, gunshots would break
And when the records hit, somebody lost their face
Police try to break records, try to go deep
Kicks and snares put cracks in the streets
Walking through the hood, took 16 bars
Anyway vibrate through passing cars
DJ's are like drug dealers, mixing that dope
And putting in the hand of a listener
The MC who's on a mission
Control the crowd, under corny-ass conditions
B-Boys are like soldiers, dancing for freedom
Until the LocalScene didn't need 'em
There's a game called the East Coast Fist
Fighting over turf with the Dirty South Rollers
Twist a crub finnit when you walk the streets
And jsut to watch who you meet
Females are like a bunch of bad samples
A waste of time; too much static to handle
Anybody flinch; you put out the 12 inch
And let the neighborhood know you the shit
The hood got a fragrance and it stinks
I gotta get back to the basement
And I know that we (gotta get back to the basics)
And she knows that we (gotta get back to the basics)
And they know honestly (gotta get back to the basics)
We will win eventually (gotta get back to the basics)
We will win eventually (gotta get back to the basics)
An OG got killed by the Triton
Police was out wilin' and MC's were fighting
One thug had a 1200. Didn't know what to do with it
Shot himself in the stomach
Shorty got EPS forsee the future without the time stretch
She told a tale about going to jail over sample clearance
Got touched by her parents. And little kids getting brainwashed
12 times a day, same song planted by Viacom
These are the stories of the Rap City
Where hip Hop doesn't exist amongst the many
So be prepared, a change going to come
It starts right here, taps on the one
Some times I can't take it. But when the bomb drops
The revolution starts from the basement
And I know that we (gotta get back to the basics)
And she knows that we (gotta get back to the basics)
And they know honestly (gotta get back to the basics)
We will win eventually (gotta get back to the basics)
We will win eventually (gotta get back to the basics)
